The Medallion

According to this movie, every thousand years a child is deemed “The Chosen One” who has the ability to unite two pieces of metal, creating a medallion which can give people incredible supernatural powers. Eddie Yang (Chan), Nicole Jones (Forlani), and Arthur Watson (Evans) fight to protect the child from Snakehead (Sands), a man who wants the medallion’s powers for his own villanous gain.

The violence in this film is pretty much what you would expect from a Jackie Chan movie—a mixture of stunts, martial arts, and gunshots—but no blood is involved in any of the fight scenes. In fact, the only bit of red fluid is found in the first few minutes when Snakehead digs a letter opener under the chin of a shady book dealer.

The language was mild with some instances of toilet humor, a reference to body parts, and a misunderstood conversation which conveyed some homosexual overtones. A subtle hint of a past love affair between Eddie Yang and Nicole Jones is presented, implying they might have lived together at one time, though the reference is minor; they kiss at the end.

Another area that might concern some parents is the danger the child is subjected to throughout the movie. Also, Buddhist mysticism is a minor part of this fantasy. Monks worship in a temple surrounded by candles. The character Jai sits Buddha-like with the medallion parts, and in the end he is transported into another dimension through a mystic vortex.

Snakehead makes an interesting comment to Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan): “We are immortal! Why should we care about these worthless humans?” Even we, as Christians, may wonder why should the true divine beings—the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit—care about human beings at all? The reason is love. Wonderful, beautiful, unconditional love, the kind of love which only God can give. The kind of love which each of us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, give others every day.

In this film fantasy, immortality is portrayed as a strictly after-death situation. Even though both the good and the bad are made immortal in this movie, they are each rewarded according to the nature of their hearts, just as our place in the afterlife is determined by whether or not we have given our hearts to Christ or if we have not.

Overall, I recommend this movie. It is cleaner than recent Jackie Chan movies. However, the PG-13 rating should be enforced by parents, even if your child is a huge fan of “Jackie Chan’s Adventures” on Kids WB or the Cartoon Network.

Violence: Moderate | Profanity: Minor | Sex/Nudity: Minor