Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Shanghai Knights is the sequel to Shanghai Noon and involves the same kind of martial arts violence that appeared in the first movie. Characters are hung, killed with arrows, and stabbed with daggers and martial arts pratfalls and sight gags appear in abundance. Owen Wilson's character starts out as a prostitute, and frequently makes off-color jokes about sex and frequent stereotypical jokes about the differences between American, Chinese, and British culture. He also smokes a cigar in one scene, and appears drunk after downing several shots of liquor.
Sexual
Content
Roy is a former prostitute and discusses having sex with women for money. After finding a copy of the Kama Sutra, one of the lead characters becomes engrossed in the book; he later has a dream in which he's surrounded by scantily-clad women as his love interest passionately licks his face. Topless statues on either side of a mantle are used as comedy props; characters push their breasts to move the mantle into a secret room. After a pillow fight with scantily-clad women, the two lead characters are found naked except for a pillow covering their private parts. Much humor is made of the English dish "Spotted Dick," with one character thinking it has something to do with "the clap." One of the main characters tells his sister that his best friend "shoots blanks," as an attempt to have her lose interest in his friend.
Violence
Frequent martial arts violence. Two guards are hung and killed, and two more guards are killed with arrows. A machine gun is used on the lead character and on royalty, and a pistol is fired at the lead characters. Slapstick pratfalls. A character falls to his death from a high altitude.
Language
Occasional profanity and sexual language. The main antagonist, Rathbone, is nicknamed "Rathboner" by one of the lead characters.
Social
Behavior
The value of friendship, even across cultural and personality barriers, is expressed. Violence is the primary method for solving problems. Some iffy messages about prostitution and revenge.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Early in the film, characters drink champagne. Roy smokes a cigar and drinks wine. Later, he is at a bar drinking shots of liquor and acts intoxicated.
