HONG Kong legend Jackie Chan may be comfortably in his fifties, but he still manages to put many of the action genre's young pretenders to shame with his acrobatics in The Spy Next Door.

Targeted at families, Brian Levant's high-tech comedy marries martial arts prowess with slapstick and cartoon violence.

It is the sort of hare-brained caper that elicits squeals of laughter from young audiences as Chan wields two frying pans, one in each hand, and proceeds to batter a pantomime henchmen into unconsciousness.

This film is everything you'd expect from a Jackie Chan escapade that merrily appropriates elements from The Pacifier, Spy Kids and Kindergarten Cop.