![]() ![]() Unbeknownst to all, Lord Kelvin is desperate for the Buddha as well, as he’s in cahoots with the leader of a nasty band of Chinese assassins known as the Black Scorpions who turn up at the voyagers’ first destination, Paris, to attack Passepartout in a big street brawl. Passepartout, aka Lau Xing, has been sneaking around London avoiding the authorities after robbing the Bank of England of a much-sought-after jade Buddha that he merely wants to return to its proper home in his native Chinese village. If not, he’ll be banned from inventing ever again. They have turned Phileas Fogg (British comic Steve Coogan) into an inventor obsessed with creating the world’s first flying machine, and Passepartout (Chan) into a Chinese adventurer pressed by circumstance into serving as Fogg’s valet.Īs set up here, Fogg, a wealthy and egocentric British gentleman in 1890 London, is given a personal motive for accepting the bet that provokes his rushed circumnavigation of the globe: Disrespected as a dilettante by the Royal Academy of Science, Fogg will assume the organization’s leadership, held by the disdainful Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), if he can get around the world and back to London in 80 days. So only viewers with the Foggiest of memories of that 48-year-old pic will mind the changes wrought by screenwriters David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein. Certainly one of the least deserving recipients of the best picture Oscar, the original (just released on DVD) gets by, to the extent that it does at all, on the charm of leads David Niven and Cantinflas, the scenic qualities and Victor Young’s score. hit and personal triumph for producer Michael Todd, the first version is a stodgy affair that proves a very tough sit today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |