The Tuxedo Review

The film's title refers to the suit that imbues all those who wear it with special powers ranging from the ability to climb up walls, be a martial arts expert, even an accomplished mambo dancer. The outfit was originally created for the ultra suave secret agent Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs) for whom Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) has been hired as a chauffeur. When Devlin is injured in a bomb explosion, Tong dons the suit and teams up with the droll rookie agent Delilah Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt) as the two endeavour to track down the evil Diedrich Banning (Ritchie Coster) who has plans to pollute the world's water supply.

The 48-year-old Chan has recently been talking about moving beyond action films to encompass more dramatic roles. It's hard to imagine audiences embracing him with quite the same enthusiasm, especially as the further he moves away from his trusted formula, the less convincing he is. In The Tuxedo he takes his first tentative steps down the romantic comedy path, but what little romance there is feels clumsy and more like a set-up for another elaborate stunt sequence than anything vaguely sensual.

Elaborate stunt sequences are the one thing you can generally be assured of in abundance with Chan's films, but prove to be another disappointing element of The Tuxedo. Much of Chan's appeal stems from his ability to do his own athletic stunts and not resort to special effects, which makes the extensive use of computer trickery in The Tuxedo appear either as a sign of his advancing years or a waning passion for the genre. Whatever the reason, it reduces the impact and puts Chan in danger of being just another action star. One with an impenetrable accent at that.

There were moments at the end of The Tuxedo, particularly during the obligatory outtake sequences over the closing credits, when the wit and fun Chan and Hewitt were capable of finally emerged. The late appearance of such moments only emphasised how sorely lacking they had been before and what a missed opportunity The Tuxedo was in establishing the pair as a viable comic duo in the way Chan has done with many previous on-screen partners.