---
title: "Around the World in 80 Days"
year: 2004
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days-2004"
fi1m_id: "around-the-world-in-80-days-2004"
imdb_id: "tt0327437"
tmdb_id: 10204
wikidata_id: "Q156519"
fi1m_score: 56
critics_score: 51
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-10-05T03:42:46.030414+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-05T03:42:47.048494+00:00"
region: "SA"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

Directed by Frank Coraci · 2h 00m · Action, Adventure, Comedy

## Identity

Around the World in 80 Days

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days-2004
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** around-the-world-in-80-days-2004
- **IMDb ID:** tt0327437
- **TMDB ID:** 10204
- **Wikidata ID:** Q156519
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327437/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10204, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q156519

**Fi1m score: 56** · Critics 51 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Even Jackie Chan cannot fight his way through all these detours

> Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan make agreeable travelling companions, but their adventure keeps getting held up by extra plot. There is enough comic skill to enjoy in patches, not enough momentum for two hours.

## Synopsis

Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) and Passepartout / Lau Xing (Jackie Chan) share a journey around the world in this adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel. Monique La Roche (Cécile de France) is part of the adventure, with Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent) and Inspector Fix (Ewen Bremner) among the other figures in their story. A stolen jade Buddha adds a separate complication to the travels. The journey brings martial-arts fights and comic encounters into period settings, with Fogg and Passepartout / Lau Xing forming the central partnership.

## Review

Frank Coraci’s [*Around the World in 80 Days*](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days) is a patchily enjoyable adventure that keeps making its own journey harder than it needs to be. Turning Jules Verne’s novel into a vehicle for Jackie Chan’s action and Steve Coogan’s dry comedy is a reasonable idea. The performers have different strengths, and watching them share a film gives us some pleasure. The trouble is the amount of business arranged around them: the travelling adventure, the stolen jade Buddha and the fights all compete for attention.

Steve Coogan is the main reason the comedy survives. His Phileas Fogg has a dry way of meeting the surrounding silliness that gives the jokes somewhere to land, without suggesting that the actor would rather be elsewhere. We laughed at his restraint alongside Jackie Chan’s physical exuberance; the difference between their approaches makes the pairing work. There is a useful generosity in both performances, with neither man needing to make the other look foolish simply to claim the scene.

Jackie Chan’s martial-arts passages supply the other reliable pleasure. His comic timing makes the fighting approachable even if choreographed combat is not usually the attraction, and the physical skill is worth watching in its own right. But a fight can be entertaining and still arrive when the story needs to get on with something else. Frank Coraci does not consistently make the action serve the adventure, so we find ourselves enjoying individual stretches while wishing the film would leave them behind.

The screenplay, credited to David Andrew Goldstein, David N. Titcher and David Benullo, gives the stolen jade Buddha too much weight. That extra strand ought to supply another reason to care about the trip; instead, it keeps dividing our attention just when the central partnership might sustain it. Tom Lewis’s editing cannot find a steady pace through these competing demands. At 120 minutes, the film has room for digressions, but too many of them feel like delays.

Phil Meheux’s cinematography makes the period locations inviting, and Perry Andelin Blake’s production design gives the film a welcome sense of somewhere to explore. Anna B. Sheppard’s costumes belong to that same appealing period presentation. There is pleasure in looking around these settings, which matters in an adventure that depends on the prospect of another destination. Trevor Jones’s score helps keep things cheerful, though it cannot supply the urgency that the storytelling lacks. Too often, the fights and gags take precedence over the places themselves.

For a comic adventure, this is oddly short of the pleasure of pressing on towards the next destination. We kept wishing the film would trust its leads with less distraction, because their company is sufficient reason to stay interested for a while. There are agreeable stretches, but they do not add up to a recommendation for the full two hours. If the attraction is Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan sharing a film, keep expectations at that scale.

*Fi1m score 56, published 5 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean towards a mixed response, with a wide gap between those who enjoy the light adventure and those who find it muddled and tiresome. Praise clusters around Jackie Chan’s action and comic timing, alongside Steve Coogan’s dry wit and ability to hold his own. The more favourable accounts find the pairing agreeable enough to carry the film through its rougher passages. Period detail, locations and occasional cameos also earn approval, though these pleasures do not settle the broader doubts about the storytelling.

The main divide concerns whether the martial arts and comedy serve the adventure or overwhelm it. Radio Times admires Chan’s fighting but finds the stolen jade Buddha subplot a drag. Slant Magazine goes further, criticising both the unnecessary fights and Chan’s stereotyped portrayal. The spread is substantial rather than a disagreement over minor faults, although two of the eight reviews have no accessible verdict to explain their scores.

## Straight answers

**Is Around the World in 80 Days worth watching?**

*Around the World in 80 Days* offers patchy enjoyment for admirers of Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan, but we score it 56 and cannot recommend the full two hours. Their contrasting comic styles work well together; the competing plots and martial-arts detours too often hold up the journey.

**How long is Around the World in 80 Days, and what is it rated?**

*Around the World in 80 Days* runs 2h 00m. It is an action and adventure film.

**Where can I watch Around the World in 80 Days in Saudi Arabia?**

*Around the World in 80 Days* is not on any streaming or rental service in Saudi Arabia at the moment. It is available in 35 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How does Around the World in 80 Days compare to The General?**

*Around the World in 80 Days* is the weaker choice beside [*The General*](https://film.one/film/the-general), which we recommend for physical comedy driven by travel and machinery. Chan and Coogan make agreeable companions, but their adventure keeps losing pace to extra plot; Buster Keaton’s railway ingenuity gives the action and comedy a clearer focus, despite a thin romance.

**Is Around the World in 80 Days based on a true story or a book?**

*Around the World in 80 Days* is adapted from Jules Verne’s novel, rather than a true story. We would approach it as a vehicle for Jackie Chan’s martial arts and Steve Coogan’s dry comedy, without needing to know the book; the stolen jade Buddha strand receives more attention than the travelling adventure can comfortably accommodate.

**What should I watch after Around the World in 80 Days?**

After *Around the World in 80 Days*, try [*The General*](https://film.one/film/the-general) (1926, Fi1m 91): For physical comedy built around travel, with machinery setting the pace. Then [*The Adventures of Tintin*](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-tintin) (2011, Fi1m 77): A globe-trotting mystery whose action keeps the story moving rather than delaying it.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **The AV Club**, Nathan Rabin (70/100, inferred): Rabin finds the film an agreeable, entertaining blockbuster despite a bumpy opening. He praises the likable pairing of Jackie Chan’s action with Steve Coogan’s dry wit. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/around-the-world-in-80-days-1798199680)
- **Screen Daily**, Mike Goodridge (64/100, inferred): Screen lists this as a review of the 2004 film. The accessible page provides no verdict or specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/around-the-world-in-80-days/4019122.article)
- **Time Out**, TJ (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a film review, but the accessible text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. No specific praise or complaint is visible in the available material. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/around-the-world-in-80-days)
- **The Guardian**, Rob Mackie (55/100, inferred): Mackie finds the film pleasantly inoffensive, though it feels like another Jackie Chan buddy movie and takes liberties with the story. He praises Steve Coogan for holding his own and singles out Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cameo as especially memorable. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/nov/19/dvdreviews.shopping)
- **Radio Times**, Gareth Moses (2/5): The review finds the film slowed by an unnecessary subplot. It praises Jackie Chan’s trademark martial-arts action, but says the stolen jade Buddha storyline drags things down. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-be0b0j/around-the-world-in-80-days/)
- **Empire**, Caroline Westbrook (25/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a slapdash, disappointing adaptation that loses the story’s sense of adventure. They praise its period detail and locations, but say the kung-fu action and gags overwhelm the central story. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/around-world-eighty-days-review/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Ed Gonzalez (1/4): Gonzalez dismisses the film as lifeless and culturally shallow, despite some entertaining effects and action. He singles out Jackie Chan’s stereotyped portrayal and the film’s unnecessary fight sequences for criticism. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/around-the-world-in-80-days/)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (75/100, inferred): The critic finds it a thoroughly entertaining adventure, light in style and never witless. Jackie Chan’s comic timing and fighting skills stand out, while Ewen Bremner’s performance is the lone exception. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/around-the-world-in-80-days-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

## Details

- **Director:** Frank Coraci
- **Director:** Frank Coraci
- **Screenplay:** David Andrew Goldstein, David Benullo, David N. Titcher
- **Novel:** Jules Verne
- **Cinematography:** Phil Meheux
- **Editor:** Tom Lewis
- **Music:** Trevor Jones
- **Production design:** Perry Andelin Blake
- **Costume design:** Anna B. Sheppard
- **Producer:** Bill Badalato, Hal Lieberman
- **Cast:** Jackie Chan as Passepartout / Lau Xing; Steve Coogan as Phileas Fogg; Cécile de France as Monique La Roche; Jim Broadbent as Lord Kelvin; Ewen Bremner as Inspector Fix; Karen Mok as General Fang; Ian McNeice as Colonel Kitchener; Roger Hammond as Lord Rhodes
- **Runtime:** 2h 00m
- **First release (the US):** 13 June 2004
- **Genres:** Action, Adventure, Comedy
- **Budget:** $110 million
- **Box office:** $72 million

## Where to watch in Saudi Arabia

Not streaming, renting or buying in Saudi Arabia at the last check.

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HU, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The General* (1926), Fi1m 91: For physical comedy built around travel, with machinery setting the pace. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-general.md)
- *Project A* (1983): Jackie Chan gets more room for elaborate fights and carefully timed physical comedy.
- *The Great Race* (1965): Another long journey crowded with eccentrics, with more confidence in its silliness.
- *The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec* (2010): French period adventure with an enterprising heroine and a taste for the ridiculous.
- *The Adventures of Tintin* (2011), Fi1m 77: A globe-trotting mystery whose action keeps the story moving rather than delaying it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-tintin.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days-2004