The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

A Major Disappointment

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Seldom does a film come along that one can just view with utter enjoyment. Combining two of the most fluid martial artists in the world with Jackie Chan and Jet Li is martial arts gold. The film transitions comedic dialogue with fluid movements of kung fu styles. The plot itself is a fantasy driven story of a teen from America who has an infatuation with everything Kung Fu. He comes across a magical Staff and is catapulted into another realm to find it's original owner. Along the way he learns about morality, fighting from within and being true to his inner self.The film has signs of brilliance in it's stunt choreography as well as Chinese culture. It's fantasy mixed with comedy and action/adventure. A welcome surprise to many a violent film. Think of Big Trouble In Little China and this will become a cult classic. 7/10

The Forbidden Kingdom is Hollywood's answer to Asian cinema. Surprisingly it's the first time Jackie Chan and Jet Li have collaborated together, and it's been worth the wait. It's such a momentous occasion seeing the martial artists do what they do best and it has taken our attention away from what's deemed more important; the story itself. Our western friend Jason (Angarano) is the weakest link, overshadowed for reasons out of his control. Jason is the nerdy kid that's obsessed with kung-fu and visits a Chinese pawn shop in his free time. Touching a fabled magical staff transports him to ancient China where he ends up on an adventure to save the Monkey King (Li) who's been turned to stone by the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). Accompanying him is drunken warrior Lu Yan (Chan), The Silent Monk (also Li) and love interest (because that's all she seems to be there for) Golden Sparrow (YiFei Liu). Many battles ensue; there are more fights and battles than there are plot advancements. TFK has enough might and steel to match Hero or House of Flying Daggers, and the world is beautifully layered like Middle Earth. This is adventure for all to enjoy, not just fans of martial arts. It plays it nice and easy, and it's worth the watch for Li and Chan alone.Check out my other reviews on http://straighttelling.co.uk

THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM is one of those Asian-loving Hollywood movies that always seem to have the need to cast a Western actor in the central role in case audiences are put off by seeing a foreign face as the lead. Thus we get THE KARATE KID remake with Jaden Smith and BULLETPROOF MONK with Seann William Scott. This film features the very first on-screen pairing between Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but the whole plot is centred around an American teenager who becomes involved in a mystical Chinese adventure.Put simply, I could have done without the kid. He's not great, and he's a distraction, getting in the way of what we really want to see, which is more Jackie and Jet. Thankfully, they do both get quite a lot of screen time, which means that THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM is a fairly enjoyable movie. Jackie plays his Drunken Master role for the most part, while Jet Li has fun in a dual role as both the Monkey King and a mysterious monk. Their eventual showdown in a massive martial arts battle is doubtlessly the highlight of the movie.The rest of the film is okay, and features some passable villain duties from the reliable Collin Chou. In comparison to the other films Jackie had done in Hollywood, it's pretty decent, and it's a lot better than the previous Chinese version of the story I saw, MONKEY MAGIC. That's not to say it's brilliant, because it's a bit too cheesy, stylised and reminiscent of THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR to be a great film, but kung fu fans should enjoy it if only for the presence of the two genre icons.

This is an incredible fantasy adventure movie about Hong Kong cinema-obsessed American teenager Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) discovering the powerful staff of the legendary Monkey King in a Chinatown pawn shop. In an attempted robbery, shop owner Hop (Jackie Chan) is wounded, but tells Jason to return the staff to its rightful owner. After fleeing from the thieves and falling off a building, he awakens into ancient China, where he finds himself on an unforgettable journey to free the Monkey King (Jet Li).This is a classic-style martial arts/fantasy movie that I've found to be very entertaining, and, even though the martial arts element is pretty cliché, the story is fresh and captivating - from Jason learning Kung-Fu to the appearances of the mystical characters such as the Jade Warlord, White-Hair Witch and the Silent Monk.There is an endless supply of martial-arts action, courtesy of some very notable Chinese martial arts star such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Collin Chou, and it gives the film continued excitement and non-stop fun for its save-the-Monkey King quest. Even the subplot about Jason overcoming his personal adversaries is a captivating element. The beautiful Yifei Liu and Bingbing Li make great leading actresses and they provided great on-screen chemistry and drama.Overall, it is a neat, fun and adventurous film - recommended for any martial arts-genre movie fans.Grade B+