Plot
A bet pits a British inventor, a Chinese thief, and a French artist on a worldwide adventure that they can circle the globe in 80 days.
Release Year: 2004
Rating: 5.6/10 (32,194 voted)
Critic's Score: 49/100
Director:
Frank Coraci
Stars: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Jim Broadbent
Storyline Set in 1872, the story focuses on Passepartout, a Chinese thief who steals a valuable jade Buddha and then seeks refuge in the traveling companionship of an eccentric London inventor and adventurer, Phileas Fogg, who has taken on a bet with members of his gentlemen's club that he can make it around the world in a mere 80 days, using a variety of means of transportation, like boats, trains, balloons, elephants, etc. Along the way, Passepartout uses his amazing martial arts abilities to defend Fogg from the many dangers they face.. One major threat to their adventure is a detective that's following them. Why? Just as Fogg and Passeportout left London, a major bank was robbed, with Fogg suspected of using the "around the world" trip as an excuse to escape.. Their path from London and back includes stops in Paris, Turkey, India, China and USA...
Writers: Jules Verne, David N. Titcher
Cast: Jackie Chan
-
Passepartout
/
Lau Xing
Steve Coogan
-
Phileas Fogg
Cécile De France
-
Monique La Roche
Robert Fyfe
-
Jean Michel
Jim Broadbent
-
Lord Kelvin
Ian McNeice
-
Colonel Kitchener
David Ryall
-
Lord Salisbury
Roger Hammond
-
Lord Rhodes
Adam Godley
-
Mr. Sutton
Howard Cooper
-
Academy Member #1
Karen Mok
-
General Fang
(as Karen Joy Morris)
Daniel Hinchcliffe
-
British Valet
Wolfram Teufel
-
Belgian Dignitary
Tom Strauss
-
Academy Member #2
Kit West
-
Academy Member #3
Opening Weekend: $7,576,132
(USA)
(20 June 2004)
(2801 Screens)
Gross: $72,178,895
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The French balloon man who calls the main characters insane as they jump into the basket is a cameo appearance by Sir Richard Branson. As well as being the boss of Virgin, he is also famed for his sometimes life-threatening ballooning record attempts.
Goofs:
Continuity:
At the beginning when Passepartout escapes the bank where he robbed the Buddha, he can be seen wearing a beard, but later, being chased by the police, he gets into a moving carriage, as he goes out of it, the beard is gone, which would be impossible given the short time that has passed and considering that it wasn't that easy to shave at the beginning of the century.
Quotes: Phileas Fogg:
Unlike you and your colleagues, money does not inspire me. Lord Kelvin:
I believe every man has his price. Even you, o noble Phileas Fogg. There must be something I could offer that would be worthy of your time. Phileas Fogg:
There is. Your position as head of the Royal Academy.
[chattering begins]
Phileas Fogg:
I could lead Britian and the rest of the world into a new age of progress and discovery.
[everyone begins laughing]
Lord Kelvin:
Fair enough. Phileas Fogg:
What? Lord Kelvin:
I, Lord Kelvin, hereby vow to surrender my position as minister of science to Phileas Fogg if he can circumnavigate the globe... in no more than 80 days. But if he cannot, he must never set foot in the academy again, he must tear down that abhorrent eyesore he calls a labatory, and he must swear... never to invent again.
[Phileas is taken aback by this vow, not knowing what to say]
[...]
User Review
Decent entertainment, but forgettable.
Rating: 6/10
Jackie Chan has had a mixed time of late in Hollywood. There was the good
fun of Shanghai Knights and around that was the poor duo of Tuxedo and The
Medallion. This falls somewhere in the middle. Around The World is good fun.
It's not great but it has charm and energy and is the sort of mindless,
competent movie making that is hard not to enjoy watching. It's forgettable,
could have been much better, but all in all not a bad way to spend a
Saturday afternoon.
The look of the film feels very Disney. It is all very much orientated
towards satisfying children. It's almost a cartoonish realism with the set
design and costumes, clearly evident with Philleas Fogs gadget laden home.
The action in the film and the looks could probably have been more gritty
but in any case it looks very colourful and the various settings all catch
the eye. It is clearly evident that the film had a lot spent on it, although
some of the CGI effects are not of the standard expected from a $110 million
film.
Cast-wise, Jackie Chan as ever is good. He's a comical genius and as usual
performs his own stunts. The fight scenes are good. Nothing compared to
Chan's Hong Kong stuff but far superior to much of his Hollywood action.
Steve Coogan is someone I am a big fan of. He is the dog's hairy things as
Alan Partridge. He is a comical genius. He doesn't seem as entirely natural
here though and the character he creates doesn't always work. It seems too
cartoony at times especially the accent. Cecile De France is very good as
Coogan's love interest. She is attractive, in a cutesy sort of way but she
has a charm and a likeability that works very well and the three leads seem
to have a good chemistry. The rest of the cast are all excellent with a huge
list of supporting parts and cameo's including an excellent Jim Broadbent, a
great part for Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger, and it was great to see him on screen
with Chan, also Rob Schneider, Luke and Owen Wilson, John Cleese, Kathy
Bates, and particularly exciting to me as a Hong Kong action fan, Sammo
Hung. The best supporting part for me was Ewan Bremner as the accident prone
police sergeant.
Overall it's worth watching and is entertaining enough but don't expect it
to blow your socks off. ***
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