The antics of Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson in Shanghai Knights are reminiscent of the physical comedy that characterized the films of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Wilson plays straight man to Chan's manic court jester and the duo's chemistry is worthy of the great movie comedy teams of the past.

When audiences first met Chon Wang (Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) in Shanghai Noon, they were shooting up and tearing down the Wild West.

In Shanghai Knights, opening in town today, they're off to Victorian England to help save both China and Britain from a pair of international rogues.

Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen), who is 10th in line to the British throne, conspires with Wu Chan (Donnie Yen), the illegitimate brother of the Chinese emperor.

Rathbone steals China's Imperial Seal, the symbol of absolute power, which he will give to Chan when that dastardly villain has killed Queen Victoria and the first nine people in line to the British throne.

Wang and O'Bannon become involved because Rathbone killed Wang's father who was the keeper of the seal and has shifted blame to Wang's sister Chon Lin (Fann Wong), who is languishing in a cell in Scotland Yard.

There's never any doubt Wang and O'Bannon will save the day and cause major mayhem in the process and that's a good part of the fun in these Shanghai adventures.

Wang works his heart out battling hordes of foes, while O'Bannon tries to seduce every beautiful woman who crosses his path. In this case, that includes Lin, who Wang has sworn to protect from such womanizers as O'Bannon.

The fight sequences in Shanghai Knights are the best that have been devised for any of Chan's American films, if one places Rumble in the Bronx in Chan's Asian filmography even though it was shot in Vancouver.

Chan is credited with choreographing the action sequences with longtime collaborator Chung Chi Li. They are the visual equivalent of Wilson's wry comments.

Chan has long admired the choreography in the Gene Kelly musicals and pays tribute to Kelly by staging the fight sequence in a backstreet London market to the strains of Singin' in the Rain. He even uses umbrellas - but in the most amazing of ways.

Director David Dobkin gets major laughs when he sneaks in such anachronistic songs as Winchester Cathedral, Magic Bus, Time of the Season, One and My Generation.

Writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are on the same level with tongue-in-cheek references to such famous Victorian icons as Queen Victoria, Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes.

The battle in the clock tower of Big Ben ends as a homage to silent film star Harold Lloyd as O'Bannon and Wang dangle precariously from the giant minute hand.

Wong is an excellent addition to the series because she makes just as credible a kung fu fighter as she does a love interest for Wilson.

Gillen's villainous Rathbone is a nod to actor Basil Rathbone, who played some of the great nasties of the 1930s and '40s.

Yen is a talented martial artist and an established actor, so his duel with Chan and Wong is spectacular.

Shanghai Knights is a happy marriage of East and West that makes one long for Shanghai Morn, Shanghai Dawn and Shanghai Midnight.

(This film is rated PG)

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