Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film)

Plot

Chinese thief Lau Xang robs a Jade Buddha from the Bank of England belonging to Lord Kelvin, head of the Royal Academy of Science, given to him by extremist group the Black Scorpions in exchange for providing military assistance to their cause. Lau Xang seeks refuge with inventor Phileas Fogg; giving his name as "Passepartout", he is hired as Fogg's valet and assists testing his inventions. Fogg's eccentric ways are mocked by members of the Royal Academy and, when he calculates it is possible to circumnavigate the world in eighty days, Kelvin - who stands on tradition over ambition and innovation - offers to vacate his position in favour of Fogg if he is able to do so, but if he can not Fogg must cease scientific pursuits.

Fogg accepts and is joined by Passepartout, who sees the endeavor as a way of returning home. The two journey to Paris, where Fogg encounters impressionist painter Monique La Roche and Passepartout finds he is being pursued by General Fang, who Kelvin has ordered to retrieve the Jade Buddha. Monique flees with the two men in a hot-air balloon, and they continue the journey by train. Monique learns Passepartout's true intentions - that he is travelling with Fogg in order to return the Jade Buddha, which was stolen from his village - and promises to keep his secret if he allows her to continue travelling with them.

Arriving in Istanbul, they are thrown a banquet by Prince Hapi, who seeks to make Monique his seventh wife. Fogg and Passepartout get him to release Monique by threatening to destroy his statue of "The Thinker"; Hapi agrees but the statue is still broken, and the trio flee for their lives. Kelvin learns that Passepartout is the bank thief and orders colonial authorities in India to arrest him and Fogg. The trio avoid capture by the Black Scorpions and escape to China where Fogg learns the truth about Lau Xang after arriving in his village of Lanzhou. The village is seized by the Black Scorpions and Lau Xang challenges their leader, defeating him with the help of his fellow "Ten Tigers of Canton", and the Jade Buddha is returned to the village temple.

Feeling his trust in his companions has been betrayed, Fogg continues on alone and reaches San Francisco, where he has all his money stolen, and days later is found destitute by Lau Xang and Monique, who have followed him. Reunited, the trio cross America, encountering the Wright Brothers testing their prototype flying machine on their way to New York Harbor, where they are ambushed by General Fang. Lau Xang offers to hold her off so Fogg and Monique can board the boat that will get them to London on time; however, they decide to assist him in defeating Fang, but in doing so miss the boat.

The trio board a smaller boat which runs out of coal en route to London, prompting Fogg to construct a flying machine based on the Wright Brothers' plans. The flying machine is catapulted to London, crash-landing outside the Royal Academy. The clock strikes noon and Kelvin proclaims himself the victor, but when his attempts to interfere in Fogg's attempt are discovered, Queen Victoria has him arrested. Fogg is despondent about having lost the wager until he realizes he didn't factor in crossing the International Date Line; realizing they arrived back in London with a day to spare, the trio and the rest of London joyously celebrate Fogg's success.

Cast

• Jackie Chan as Lau Xing "Passepartout"
• Steve Coogan as Phileas Fogg
• Cécile de France as Monique La Roche
• Jim Broadbent as Lord Kelvin
• Ewen Bremner as Inspector Fix
• Ian McNeice as Colonel Kitchener
• Karen Joy Morris as General Fang
• Roger Hammond as Lord Rhodes
• David Ryall as Lord Salisbury
• Mark Addy as Steamer Captain
• Richard Branson as Balloon Man
• John Cleese as Grizzled Sergeant
• Will Forte as Young Bobby
• Macy Gray as Sleeping French Woman
• Sammo Hung as Wong Fei Hung
• Rob Schneider as San Francisco Hobo
• Luke Wilson as Orville Wright
• Owen Wilson as Wilbur Wright
• Daniel Wu as Bak Mei
• Kathy Bates as Queen Victoria
• Arnold Schwarzenegger as Prince Hapi
• Robert Fyfe as Jean Michel
• Adam Godley as Mr. Sutton
• Kit West as Academy Member #3
• as French Ticket Clerk
• Perry Blake as Vincent van Gogh
• Michaël Youn as Art Gallery Manager
• Maggie Q as Female Agent
• Natalie Denise Sperl as Stunning Woman
• Frank Coraci as Angry Dapper Pedestrian
• Phil Meheux as London Hobo

Production

Warner Bros., which owned the rights to the 1956 adaptation, planned its own remake with Stephen Sommers directing and Brendan Fraser starring, after the success of The Mummy. Stan Chervin wrote the script for this utilization of the film. Around the same time, 20th Century Fox and Good Machine were developing their own version with Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner writing the screenplay. Ang Lee and Stephen Herek were considered to direct.

When Frank Coraci got involved, he went back to read the original novel and watch the 1956 film, where he realized that the story didn't really have a driving lead character. So he decided to rework the plot considerably, which involved giving Phileas Fogg an arc. Coraci's first choice for Fogg was Johnny Depp, but studio executives at the time didn't think Depp in a family movie would ever work. Jackie Chan was announced to play Passepartout in June 2002. He was paid about $18 million for the role. After Chan was cast, the filmmakers settled on lesser known character actor Steve Coogan for Fogg. Walden Media was in charge of investing the film while Summit Entertainment handled foreign sales. Paramount Pictures acquired domestic distribution rights, and set a release date for 21 November 2003. However, the studio stepped out at the start of the year, with concerns over the high budget and bankability of the cast.

Principal photography began on 13 March 2003 in Thailand, followed by a three month shoot at Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. Before Disney had picked up the film for North American distribution, it was one of the highest-budget films produced without a distributor attached.

Release

Around the World in 80 Days premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on 13 June 2004, and was released in the United States on 16 June 2004, by Walt Disney Pictures. Summit Entertainment handled international sales of the film. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Entertainment Film Distributors released the film on 9 July. On 23 December, Universum Film and Buena Vista International released it in Germany.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and VHS in the United States on 2 November 2004 by Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 32% approval rating, based on 128 reviews, with an average score of 4.79/10, with the site's consensus stating: "Hit-and-miss family fare that bears only the slightest resemblance to Verne's novel." Metacritic gives the film a weighted score of 49 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

The Guardian critic Rob Mackie criticized it for having little to no resemblance to the novel it is based on. Roger Ebert praised it for its visual style and for being "goofy fun". Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Takes plenty of liberties with the material and never generates much genuine excitement, but provides an agreeable ride without overloading it with contemporary filmmaking mannerisms."

In 2014, the Los Angeles Times listed the film as one of the most expensive box office flops of all time.

Accolades

AccoladesThe film was nominated for two Razzie Awards - Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Supporting Actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Notes

References

References

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22. (6 August 2012). "Eller, Claudia,"The costliest box office flops of all time", ''Los Angeles Times'' (January 15, 2014)". Los Angeles Times.
23. "For Immediate Release". Razzies.com.