Skiptrace (film)

Skiptrace
American film poster
Traditional	絕地逃亡
Simplified	绝地逃亡
Mandarin	Jué Dì Táo Wáng
Cantonese	Zyut6 Dei6 Tou4 Mong4
Directed by	Renny Harlin
Produced by	Jackie Chan Charlie Coker Damien Saccani[1]
Written by	Jay Longino BenDavid Grabinski Jay Longino Wen-Chia Chang
Screenplay by	Jay Longino BenDavid Grabinski
Story by	Jay Longino
Starring	Jackie Chan Fan Bingbing Johnny Knoxville
Music by	Chan Kwong-wing
Cinematography	Chan Kwok-Hung Lam Ching-ying
Edited by	Derek Hui Judd H. Maslansky David Moritz
Production company	Cider Mill Pictures Dasym Entertainment InterTitle Films JC Group International Talent International Film Cultural Company Talent International Media
Distributed by	Beijing Talent International Film (China)[2] Saban Films (U.S.) DirecTV (U.S.)
Release dates	July 21, 2016 (2016-07-21) (China) September 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) (USA) [3]
Running time	120 minutes
Country	Hong Kong China United States[4]
Language	English Chinese
Budget	US$30 million[5] US$60 million[6]
Box office	US$134 million[7]

Skiptrace is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese-American action comedy film directed by Renny Harlin, produced by, starring and based on a story by Jackie Chan.^[8][4] The film co-stars Chinese actress Fan Bingbing^[4] and American actor Johnny Knoxville.^[9] It was scheduled for release in China on December 24, 2015 but was rescheduled to July 22, 2016, then opened a day earlier.^[10][11]

Plot

Hong Kong detective Bennie Chan (Jackie Chan) has been tracking notorious crime boss "Matador" – whom he believes to be businessman Victor Wong (Winston Chao) – for over a decade after the death of Bennie's partner Yung (Eric Tsang). When Yung's daughter Samantha (Fan Bingbing) gets into trouble with Wong's crime syndicate, Bennie must track down an American conman, Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville), who gambles his way through Chinese casinos after being banned in America and he witness the murder of a woman named Esther Yee in Wong's Macau casino. However, before Bennie can find him, Connor is kidnapped by a Russian kingpin to answer for leaving his daughter pregnant.

After intercepting several Russians, Bennie rescues Connor. Bennie races against the clock to bring Connor back from Russia to Hong Kong. But after Connor steals Bennie's passport and burns it, the unlikely pair is forced to travel on foot and embark on a perilous adventure from the steppes of Mongolia to the windswept dunes of the Gobi Desert. While on journey, Connor reveals that he has a phone that Esther gave to him before she dies on his side. The phone is encrypted with a thumbprint access. Bennie then learns that the person who is capable to unlock this phone is none other than the "Matador."

Connor sees Victor Wong on the news and recognizes him as Esther's murderer. Bennie learns that Samantha is already taken by Wong's right-hand man, Willie, and his men, threatening to kill her if Bennie refuses to bring the phone back to Hong Kong. Connor parts ways with Bennie, giving him evidence that could lead to Victor Wong's arrest. Reaching Hong Kong, unfortunately the plan doesn't go well when the phone denies access to Victor's thumbprint, meaning that Victor is not Matador at all. Bennie is detained but he later escapes with Connor's help and follows a clue to the whereabouts of Samantha.

Bennie's co-worker Leslie informs him that their police captain, Tang, is now working with Wong. Bennie and Connor sneak to the shipyard where Matador's criminal organization is located. Bennie witnesses Wong being killed by an unseen man. The two are then caught by the men. There, Bennie discovers that "Matador" has all along being the supposedly deceased Yung. After Yung confessed to Bennie about faking his death, he goes to find Samantha being locked up in a room. Upon seeing her dad, Samantha becomes frustrated when she learns that he faked his death in order to work as the criminal organization's boss. When a boat hits the cargo ship, the compartment starts to flood. At the same time, Yung locks Samantha up just as the water enters the room. The fight ensues with the Chinese when the Russian gangsters show up. With the police surrounding them, Bennie and Yung work together to save Samantha from drowning inside a sinking ship, with Yung committing suicide by drowning himself, because of guilt and shame. The authorities then arrest Tang and Willie.

Connor goes back to Russia in order to see his baby of the kingpin's daughter. Later, Connor and Samantha surprises Bennie back at his farm, surprising him with Alpacas.

Cast

Production

The film was first announced in May 2013 as Sino-American co-production to be directed by Sam Fell and starring Jackie Chan and Fan Bingbing ^[1] with Chan playing a Hong Kong detective who allies with a gambling conman to find a criminal mastermind.^[14] Exclusive Media is selling the international sales rights.^[15] On 22 October 2013, it was announced that actor Seann William Scott has been added to the cast as the previously uncast gambler.^[16] On September 3, 2014, Johnny Knoxville replaced Scott for the supporting role.^[9]

Production was due to begin on January 13, 2014 and will be filmed in Hong Kong and China.^[17] Filming began on September 3, 2014, in China,^[9] and was due to end on December 15, 2014.^[18]

On December 17, 2014, cinematographer Chan Kwok-Hung drowned while on a shoot for the film.^[19]

Reception

The film was number-one on its opening in China, grossing US$60 million.^[20] The film has grossed a total of CN¥870 million at the Chinese box office.^[21] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 36%, based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10.^[22]

References

External links

• Skiptrace at the Internet Movie Database
• Skiptrace Press Conference Jackie Chan site 25. May 2016