The action scenes, like the performances, are hit-or-miss; a dash through Shanghai streets becomes so hectic you wonder whether the filmmakers blurred the images because they didn't have time to get the effects right. (By the way, as The Dark Knight also proves, these days you can get a PG-13 and still mangle bodies as long as you don't show any blood.) The climactic battle between two spectral armies is impressive, but the one novel stroke is the appearance of three righteous yetis - scary-looking, good-hearted abominable snowmen. And the one surefire low-comic laugh comes from a nauseated yak.
Cohen, who started the Fast and Furious franchise, may have figured this film could revive his fortunes after the commercial disappointment of his far more entertaining Stealth. But if he continues to do indifferent work in pre-sold movies like this one, he may become an abominable showman.
michael.sragow@baltsun.com
