'The Medallion' (PG-13) (Out of four)

It's certainly not one of his best films, but it's not one of his worst, either. "The Medallion" captures Jackie Chan's self-deprecating humor and his skill at using martial arts to create some straight-up action with a little slapstick thrown in for good measure.

There's actually even an interesting story to "The Medallion," which is must more than can be said of Chan's most recent stinker "The Tuxedo."

Chan stars as Eddie Yang, a Hong Kong cop who has joined forces with the British Interpol to catch a smarmy smuggler named Snakehead, played with evil cunning by Julian Sands.

After tracking the wrongdoer down at a Buddhist temple, Yang discovers what Snakehead is after – a mysterious medallion bequeathed to a young boy.

When the boy gives Yang the medallion for safe-keeping, the cop soon discovers that he has the strength of Superman and a dose of immortality, too.

"The Medallion" has its highs and lows. When the action is at its height, moviegoers will forget the paper-thin love story and dismiss the ridiculous antics of sidekick Arthur Watson (played by Lee Evans). Watson makes "Johnny English" look like Einstein.

To round out the Three Stooges, Yang's re-teamed with a former love, British Interpol agent Nicole James (Claire Forlani). When Watson's out of the picture, Forlani and Chan actually create some great on-screen chemistry.

On an interesting note, the kiss between the two is Chan's first on-screen kiss in a movie. He told a British magazine that he's always had a movie girlfriend, but there was never actual kissing.

Also, the name of the film was changed from "Highbinders" to "The Medallion." During the outtakes at the end credits in the movie, you'll see "Highbinders" on the clapboard. The title refers to the mythology of Highbinders warriors, a fascination of the film's producer Alfred Cheung.

Chan will turn 50 soon and we've been following his career for more than three decades, but the action star is starting to slow down. His kicks aren't so high and his punches not as swift.

"The Medallion" covers up the pitfalls of Chan's aging by employing more special effects than most of his other films. The overuse of computer generated effects chip away at Chan's ability to engage his audience with physical stamina.

But fans of Chan won't care. There are still plenty of laughs, lots of good Chan-style stunts and great fight scenes.