Skiptrace (film)

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 witnesses 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 are 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 died at his side. The phone is encrypted with a thumbprint access. Bennie then learns that the person who is able to unlock this phone is none other than the "Matador.". Connor and Bennie was forced to fight a Mongolian Wrestling match until the kid Bennie helped earlier disclaimed them both. They went into a drinking orgy until the Mongolians sing "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. Moments later, they tried to cross to China, but was captured by police and was saved by the Siberian woman and her gang. They crossed a river until they go to a village under a festival, chased upon by Willie.

Connor sees 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 Wong's arrest. Reaching Hong Kong, unfortunately, the plan doesn't go well when the phone denies access to Wong's thumbprint, meaning that Wong 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 (Michael Wong), is now working with Wong. Bennie and Connor sneak to the shipyard where Matador's criminal organization is located and Bennie witnesses Wong being killed by an unseen man. The two are then caught by the men. There, Bennie discovers that "Matador" has been the supposedly deceased Yung all along. After Yung confesses 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 — revealing that Connor is no longer their enemy. 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 to avoid being captured. The authorities then arrest Tang and Willie.

Connor goes back to Russia in order to see his baby of the kingpin's daughter. He finds out that he is actually not the father. Later, Connor and Samantha surprise Bennie back at his farm, providing him with alpacas to help fulfill his earlier-confessed lifelong dream of running an Alpaca farm. He is then knocked out by Connor and left in the hands of Leslie before leaving with Samantha.

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 with Chan playing a Hong Kong detective who allies with a gambling conman to find a criminal mastermind. Exclusive Media is the agent for the international sales rights. On 22 October 2013, it was announced that actor Seann William Scott has been added to the cast as the previously uncast gambler. On September 3, 2014, Johnny Knoxville replaced Scott for the co-starring role.

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

On December 17, 2014, cinematographer Chan Kwok-hung drowned while on a shoot for the film.

Reception

The film was number-one on its opening in China, grossing US$60 million. The film has grossed a total of CN¥870 million at the Chinese box office. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 36%, based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10.