Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Frank Coraci

Writers (WGA):

Jules Verne (novel)
David N. Titcher (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance | Western

Tagline:

The race begins: June 16.

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.

Plot Keywords:

Box Office Flop | Steampunk | London | Paris | Jules Verne

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Passepartout / Lau Xing
Steve Coogan	...	Phileas Fogg
Robert Fyfe	...	Jean Michel
Jim Broadbent	...	Lord Kelvin
Ian McNeice	...	Colonel Kitchener
David Ryall	...	Lord Salisbury
Roger Hammond	...	Lord Rhodes
Adam Godley	...	Mr. Sutton
Karen Mok	...	General Fang (as Karen Joy Morris)
Howard Cooper	...	Academy Member #1
Daniel Hinchcliffe	...	British Valet
Wolfram Teufel	...	Belgian Dignitary
Tom Strauss	...	Academy Member #2
Kit West	...	Academy Member #3
Ewen Bremner	...	Inspector Fix

Also Known As:

Around the World in Eighty Days (USA) (alternative spelling)
In 80 Tagen um die Welt (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for action violence, some crude humor and mild language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Ireland | UK

Language:

English | Cantonese | French | German | Hindi | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

France:U | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Ireland:PG | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 | Canada:PG | Germany:6 | Iceland:10 | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40586) | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Johnny Knoxville was originally cast as the San Francisco Hobo, but had to bow out due to conflicting schedules.

Goofs:

Continuity: Passepartout gets only one hand dunked in green paint, however in the next shot, both of his hands are covered in green.

Quotes:

Lord Kelvin: What's the point in hiring a corrupt inspector when he can't even abuse the Law properly?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Top Gear: (2006-07-23)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Mystery Continues

I didn't expect the Ten Tigers of Kwantung!

Around the World in 80 Days (2004), starring Jackie Chan, currently has an IMDb user rating of 5.7. And they say it's one of the biggest flops in history, having failed to recoup more than a fraction of its (estimated) $110 million budget.

I say, give it time! Overseas box office plus rentals and DVD sales - this movie will turn a profit in the end. As I understand it, movie companies now make most of their money off the rental market, so I am rather mystified to hear that a movie flopped just because it didn't earn back its cost at the U.S. box office in the first couple of months of release. Doesn't seem like a fair and complete calculation to me.

Anyway, I go to the trouble of wondering about this because I thought this was a great and delightful romp of a comedy, and I believe posterity will be much kinder to it than "5.7". The movie is witty, beautiful, well-acted and contains virtually everything any kung fu adventure fan's heart can desire. Before watching it, I thought it would be more faithful to the original book, so I was surprised to see the Ten Tigers of Kwantung, and let me say the surprise was 100% positive. This movie is, absolutely first and foremost, a comedy. And it is something so rare as a literate one, which does not ridicule the premise it is based on. The movie makes the only right choice, namely to update the classic story and add new levels and new ideas, which keeps it fresh and adventurous. Let's face it, Jules Verne's science no longer holds up in the present day, so we have to make modified versions of the stories for a modern audience (hence also the very entertaining updated version of Journey to the Center of the Earth: The Core).

To see this movie as a remake of the 1956 movie - which seems to be the position that many reviewers take - is completely faulty. This is a riff/homage to the original novel, having nothing whatsoever to do with any previous movie version.

I thought Jackie Chan's part in this movie was great fun, and I was very entertained throughout. I can't think why it bombed in the U.S. I'm gonna get it on DVD very soon.