History Film / ShanghaiNoon

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shanghai_knights.jpg]]
->''"[[Creator/JohnWayne Chon Wang]], [[ItWillNeverCatchOn movie star]]? [[SubvertedTrope It could happen]]."''

In the sequel directed by David Dobkin, ''Shanghai Knights'', they travel to Victorian London to foil a plot against [[UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria the Queen]]. Also starring Singaporean actress [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fann_Wong Fann Wong]] as Chon Wang's sister, Chon Lin. In the 1880's, Chon Wang's father and keeper of the Imperial Seal has been murdered by Parliament and royal family member Lord Rathbone, who steals the Imperial Seal, with Chon Wang's sister, Chon Lin, witnessing the murder. Lin follows Rathbone to London to kill him, while sending Wang a letter telling him of the murder. Wang then travels to New York for Roy O'Bannon. Together they travel to England and meet up with Lin to defeat Rathbone and get the Imperial Seal back.

----
Talk of a third movie titled ''Shanghai Dawn'' has been on and off for years, but nothing concrete as of late.

----

* TheArtfulDodger: Wang and Roy befriend a young street urchin in ''Knights'' who fits this trope to a T. He later reveals that his name is [[spoiler:Creator/CharlieChaplin]].

* BigBrotherInstinct: Wang towards Lin in ''Knights''.

* BritishRoyalGuards: In ''Knights'', Roy, after failing to provoke a reaction from a guard, gives the guard a friendly pat on the shoulder, and receives a GroinAttack with the butt of the guard's rifle in return.

* ClockTower: ''Shanghai Knights'' [[spoiler:has its climax in Big Ben. Rathbone is tossed out of it, and Wang and O'Bannon must go the same way. But they have a flag to slow their descent.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Usually utilised by the bad guys while Chon Wang is all about fighting honorably, however in the sequel [[spoiler: after he realises he can't defeat Rathbone in a swordfight, Wang cuts the rope supports on the platform they're both standing on, throwng him out the window.]]

* DescriptionCut: In the beginning of ''Knights'', Chon Wang insists that Roy has changed. Cue the next scene, which shows Roy being the same old HandsomeLech and surrounded by women.

* DisneyVillainDeath: Happens in ''Knights'' when [[spoiler: Wang cuts the supports and sends Rathbone flying out the clock tower face. Rathbone falls to his death and even gets a Wile E. Coyote puff of smoke when he hits the ground.]] Subverted immediately after when [[spoiler: Wang and Roy fall off the clock tower as well, but survive after grabbing the flag and landing in the Queen's carriage]].
* DopeSlap: Lin gives one to Wang in ''Shanghai Knights''.
-->'''Wang:''' ''[confused]'' But I just saved you.\\
'''Lin:''' ''[mad]'' You were late!

* EvilBrit: Lord Rathbone is a Brit noble who murders and steals from China in ''Knights''.

* GroinAttack: Roy taunting a royal guard in the sequel, who stands there as expected, until he leaves off ''by'' reaching over physically brushing him on the way out, ends with a rifle butt to the groin. ("You're not allowed to do that!")

* HeroicSacrifice: In the climax of ''Knights,'' [[spoiler: rather than allow Rathbone to defeat him and go on to kill again with his father's (and Roy's as far as he knew) death's go unavenged, Chon attempts to sacrifice himself by launching both of them off of Big Ben. Luckily, Roy is alive so Chon has a friend to save him - while Rathbone, who has nobody, dies from the fall.]]

* IHaveNoSon: At the start of the second movie, Wang's father has disowned him for abandoning the family for America. Wang does not take this very well when Lin informs him of this, especially since [[spoiler:his father said it shortly before he was murdered by Rathbone.]] However, [[spoiler:Wang is given a puzzle box containing a message from his father that he was indeed proud of him.]]
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: In the second movie, while [[spoiler: being captured by Rathbone]], after initially objecting to the idea of a relationship between his sister Lin and Roy, Wang accepts it, but adds, "if you break her heart, I break your legs," to which Roy replies, "That's fair."

* InThePastEveryoneWillBeFamous: In the second movie, the main characters create the personas of Literature/SherlockHolmes and [[TheWatson Watson]], freely give the idea to Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, and take on a young Creator/CharlieChaplin as a sidekick. Oh, and Roy O'Bannon's real name is [[spoiler:Wyatt Earp.]] The RuleOfFunny applies in spades: Doyle is inaccurately depicted as a policeman, and the film is set two years before Chaplin was even ''born''.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: O'Bannon dismisses Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle's detective stories as ridiculous and is glad he invested his money in zeppelins instead of that new-fangled "automobile". He finally strikes gold with motion pictures.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Played with since Wang isn't a {{Jerkass}}. [[spoiler: In ''Knights'', Roy asks Wang to speak to Lin and put in a good word with her. Instead, Wang tells Lin of Roy's bad habits, including drinking, smoking, gambling, womanizing and tendency to lie. While this is undoubtedly stabbing Roy in the back, Wang does have a point. Despite being friends, Roy has often lied to Wang and has indulged in habits that make him unsuitable for marriage. What can lead this trope to be played straight is that Roy is genuinely in love with Lin.]]

* LineOfSightAlias: In ''Shanghai Knights'', Roy comes up with the pseudonym "Literature/SherlockHolmes" in this manner. No, not from seeing anything written by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle: In fact, he's the one who inspires Sir Arthur to use that name. He notices the manufacturer's nameplate on the Grandfather Clock reading, "Sherlock Watchmakers Holmes County Ireland". He's put on the guest list as "Literature/SherlockHolmes." [[BeenThereShapedHistory Doyle was also in attendance, and asks Roy if he can use that name once things clear up.]]

* MickeyMousing: In ''Knights'', part of the market fight scene is choreographed to "Film/SingingInTheRain", an homage to one of Jackie Chan's favorite scenes in film.

* NoNameGiven: Chon Wang's CluelessDeputy from the beginning of the sequel is unnamed.

* ParasolOfPain: Wang has a memorable umbrella fight in ''Shanghai Knights'', complete with a {{Homage}} to ''Film/SinginInTheRain''. Directly in front of Creator/CharlieChaplin. Can you read the subtext?

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: In ''Shanghai Knights'', with the sole exception of Wang, nobody ever seems surprised to see Roy showing romantic interest in Lin. In the 1880s in London, interracial marriage was explicitly seen as horrific, and the effects of British colonialism are largely unaddressed in the film, and is actually used for comedy at one point.

* PrisonEscapeArtist: In ''Knights,'' Lin nearly escapes from jail by using her pills to make it look like she's asleep under her bedsheets, then [[CeilingCling drops down from the ceiling to attack whoever comes in.]] This only fails because her brother and Roy are the visitors and she stops to talk to them. Later, she successfully escapes (albeit offscreen) by picking the lock to her cell with a deck of playing cards and climbing down the wall using a mop, fork, and her undergarments.

* RulingFamilyMassacre: This is Lord Rathbone's plan in ''Knights'': in exchange for giving Wu Chow the Imperial Seal of China, Chow will kill the nine members of the British Royal Family ahead of him in the line of succession and then frame Wang's sister Lin for the deed.

* SequelGoesForeign: ''Shanghai Knights'' shifts the setting to London.

* SherlockScan: In Shanghai Knights Inspector [[spoiler: Arthur Conan]] "Artie" Doyle claims to have invented inductive reasoning. He gives an uncanny description of Roy just by looking at his watch, and later identifies where Charlie Chaplin is hiding from the wax in his hat.
* SherlockHomage: While Chon Wang and Roy O'Bannon are waiting in front of Creator/ArthurConanDoyle's door, they are dressed in similar clothing as Holmes and Watson. As Doyle sees their silhouettes he is stunned.
* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: In the sequel, the street urchin who steals Roy's watch returns it, partially out of kindness (after seeing how much it meant to Roy), but mainly because a pawnbroker told him it was a worthless knockoff.

** In ''Knights'', Wang and Roy jump from Big Ben, ripping the middle of the Union Jack hanging on the tower to slow their descent, like how in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Film/JamesBond and Wai Lin jump from Elliot Carver's building, slowing their descent by ripping the middle of a wall photo of Carver. Wai Lin was played by Creator/JackieChan's friend and ''Film/{{Supercop}}'' costar Creator/MichelleYeoh.
** The fight in the mansion where Wang forces the mooks to protect Rathbone's PricelessMingVase is a shoutout to ''Film/RushHour'', only with the roles reversed.

* StockClockHandHang: In ''Shanghai Knights'', the heroes find themselves in Victorian London. While Wang fights inside the Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster, Roy spends the time crawling on the giant hand of the tower clock. Wang and his opponent fall off the window. Roy manages to catch Wang's hand and they both hang for their lives.
* SwordFight: At the climax of ''Shanghai Knights''.
* TakingYouWithMe: At the climax of ''Shanghai Knights'', [[spoiler:Chon Wang is clearly outmatched by Lord Rathbone, so he cuts the ropes supporting the platform they are both standing on and sends both of them through the glass face of Big Ben. Wang is caught by Roy, who was knocked through the same glass a little earlier.]]

* UnexpectedSuccessor: The second movie has a noble who is way, way far down the line of succession hatch a conspiracy to kill everybody ahead of him so he can ascend to the British throne.
* UnwillingSuspension: Wang and Roy are left hanging from the clock face of Big Ben in the finale of ''Knights''.

* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: They hadn't yet begun a relationship at that point, but when Lin beats up Rathbone's goons, Roy likes her even more.
-->'''Roy:''' ''[with a big smile on his face]'' She's going to fight my battles for me.

* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: In ''Shanghai Knights'', Roy tries to sell Jackie Chan's character, a Chinese cowboy named Chon Wang (say it out loud and see [[Creator/JohnWayne who it sounds like]]) on the idea of the then-new "moving pictures", even going so far as to suggest "You could do your own stunts." In an aversion, Wang nods and replies:
--> Chon Wang, movie star? It could work.

* YouKilledMyFather:
** Wang uses this at the end of ''Knights'' when [[spoiler: he plans to take Rathbone with him off of Big Ben]].
** In the first film, he initially wants revenge on Roy for killing his uncle, although he accepts Roy's excuse that it was actually done by Wallace, an uncontrollable idiot rookie from his gang (who had already betrayed him).

* WhereDoYouThinkYouAre: "This isn't the East, this is the West. The sun doesn't rise here, it sets."

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: In ''Shanghai Knights'', with the sole exception of Wang, nobody ever seems surprised to see Roy showing romantic interest in Lin. In the 1890's in London, interracial marriage was explicitly seen as horrific, and the effects of British colonialism are largely unaddressed in the film, and is actually used for comedy at one point.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Roy claims to have dug himself out of the hole we was trapped in, using only the chopsticks Wang gave him.