Too DIFFERENT!
Before watching this film, I expected a modern version of the 1956 version directed by Michael Anderson. However at the end of it, I was left speechless as they had changed too much of it for my liking.
In my opinion, there was either a massive problem in casting, or scriptwriting! Don't get me wrong, Jackie Chan is a superb actor, but in this instance, he definately DOES NOT fill the role of passepartout. Not only that, but they decided to alter his background completly, giving him a chinese origin to suit his complexion. This for me did not work at all, as the storyline is drifting away from the original.
Because of this change in character, this got the ball rolling for even more changes, which disappointed me further. They introduced a 'jade buddha', and decided to include it as a sub-plot for the film. (Although this would be very creditable for other movies, it does not work when creating a remake of a Jules Verne classic!) They also decided to remove a vital character from the original (Princess Aouda) and introduce an alternate French artist. Again, Cecile De France acted well in the film, but her character is totally wrong for this remake.
The only credit I would give to this film relating to originality was the conference between Phileas Fogg and Lord Kelvin about the possibilty of travelling the world in 80 days. This scene really made it for me.
Although this is a very watchable film and does have it's comical moments (aided by Steve Coogan's recognisable humour), the film as an adaptation did not work for me, and (like the Thunderbirds movie), left me slightly disappointed.
6/10