n late 1800s London, inventor Phileas Fogg (Coogan) is on the cusp of a major breakthrough with his flying machine, which follows in the tradition of his other outlandish experiments, among them electricity and in-line skates.
Determined to find credibility with the scientific community, which is led by the scheming Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), Fogg stakes his future experiments in London and makes an unprecedented wager for the head position of the Royal Academy of Science: He will circumnavigate the earth in only 80 days.
Setting off with his valet, the mysterious Passepartout (Chan), Fogg finds that his route has been beset by interruptions, many of which were designed by Kelvin and his lackey, Inspector Fix (Ewen Bremner), and many that he in his insular laboratory never expected to encounter.
After stumbling quite literally across an ambitious chambermaid named Monique (Cecile De France), who volunteers herself to join the pair on their journey, Fogg and his companions set upon a whirlwind journey around the globe, discovering strange cultures and perilous surprises that may or may not keep them from reaching their goal.
Old Hollywood made new again
When the original Around the World in 80 Days debuted in 1956, few audience members had seen Asia and Europe in any detail, and almost no one had explored the vast possibilities of widescreen cinema (the film was one of the first shot in Cinemascope). As a result, the film marveled at its own magnitude much longer than perhaps it needed to, and was a sluggish exploration of foreign cultures that happened to have some interesting performances from the likes of David Niven (as Fogg) and Mexican actor Cantinflas (as Passepartout), as well as a host of enchanting cameo appearances (including Frank Sinatra, Buster Keaton and Marlene Dietrich).
The new film, directed by Frank Coraci (The Waterboy), is a fairly typical update of sacrosanct material—it rachets up the action while foregoing much of the character development—but, strangely, the end result works far better than expected. With Chan on board, the fight scenes bounce with an ebullient electricity, recalling many of his most famous moments in such Hong Kong action films as Drunken Master and Project A, but the performer has a terrific foil in Steve Coogan, a relative newcomer to stateside audiences, who manages to leaven the oversimplified physical and emotional conflicts with a degree of subtlety that adults will appreciate.
Only Cecile De France, as Fogg's love interest, fails to inspire much interest as the gears of the plot grind toward their destination, but Coraci, Coogan and Chan do a pretty great job keeping the story on track otherwise, and indulge only occasionally in "what I learned from my experience" diatribes. The cameo appearances, a holdover from the first film, provide an invigorating framework for the update's many set pieces, and show actors like Luke and Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates and Arnold Schwarzenegger in top form (Arnie's scene-stealing performance is the highlight of the film).
