Assuming that martial arts epics are your thing and you insist that Steven Seagal films aren't that bad then the chances are that you'll already be salivating at the prospect of Jackie Chan and Jet Li working together. The rest of us will probably not care that much but having said that, it cannot be denied that the two of them are entertaining to watch and especially doing what they do best. However, people like me have seen a few of these now and in truth, this is little more than the usual chop-socky action tarted up with CG effects and a ridiculous story. Oh good...
I'll briefly summarise the plot but really, don't focus too much on it. Jason (Michael Angarano) is a Boston native obsessed with martial arts films and buys them from a strange old man in Chinatown. After the shop is robbed by street punk Lupo (Morgan Benoit), Jason flees onto the roof and falls off. However, he wakes up in ancient China with a staff, apparently belonging to an imprisoned Monkey King. Told by drunken master Lu Yan (Chan) that the staff must be returned, he finds himself trekking across the land with a silent monk (Li) and a beautiful female assassin (Yifei Liu) with a score to settle against the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou).
It's best not to take "The Forbidden Kingdom" too seriously because you'll only end up hating it. This is silly, stupid and a simple bit of fun. And it is - the fight scenes have the usual "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" tricks up their sleeves, full of fancy wire-work and excessive sound effects. The dialogue takes its cues from another source, full of "Kung Fu Panda" nonsense about "praying mantis against tiger". But the biggest problem, for me, was that none of it felt authentic. It's more of a tribute to the martial arts films of the Seventies and early Eighties - the opening title sequence confirms that - and it never felt anything more than a US remake of the likes of "Hero" or "House Of Flying Daggers". Personally, I'd preferred the whole thing in Chinese but then, it wouldn't have appealed to American audiences which this does. Also, I didn't like Angarano as a lead - I found him annoying, whiney and clearly channelling "The Karate Kid" instead of Bruce Lee.
I'm sure that martial arts fans will probably enjoy this more than I did but I do enjoy the odd foray into that territory. I loved "House Of Flying Daggers" but I didn't feel the same magic with this, mainly because it simply doesn't feel like an Asian movie - it's soaked in Hollywood gloss and it ruins it for me. Without the American influence and stupid time-travelling story (which I promised I wouldn't dwell on but it IS stupid and when the whole thing feels like a dream, what happens to the suspense and excitement?), this might have been another classic but personally, I found it daft and occasionally boring. If you have to see Chan & Li in the same film then this will suit you fine but honestly, I'd rather just watch one of their films separately.
I'll briefly summarise the plot but really, don't focus too much on it. Jason (Michael Angarano) is a Boston native obsessed with martial arts films and buys them from a strange old man in Chinatown. After the shop is robbed by street punk Lupo (Morgan Benoit), Jason flees onto the roof and falls off. However, he wakes up in ancient China with a staff, apparently belonging to an imprisoned Monkey King. Told by drunken master Lu Yan (Chan) that the staff must be returned, he finds himself trekking across the land with a silent monk (Li) and a beautiful female assassin (Yifei Liu) with a score to settle against the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou).
It's best not to take "The Forbidden Kingdom" too seriously because you'll only end up hating it. This is silly, stupid and a simple bit of fun. And it is - the fight scenes have the usual "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" tricks up their sleeves, full of fancy wire-work and excessive sound effects. The dialogue takes its cues from another source, full of "Kung Fu Panda" nonsense about "praying mantis against tiger". But the biggest problem, for me, was that none of it felt authentic. It's more of a tribute to the martial arts films of the Seventies and early Eighties - the opening title sequence confirms that - and it never felt anything more than a US remake of the likes of "Hero" or "House Of Flying Daggers". Personally, I'd preferred the whole thing in Chinese but then, it wouldn't have appealed to American audiences which this does. Also, I didn't like Angarano as a lead - I found him annoying, whiney and clearly channelling "The Karate Kid" instead of Bruce Lee.
I'm sure that martial arts fans will probably enjoy this more than I did but I do enjoy the odd foray into that territory. I loved "House Of Flying Daggers" but I didn't feel the same magic with this, mainly because it simply doesn't feel like an Asian movie - it's soaked in Hollywood gloss and it ruins it for me. Without the American influence and stupid time-travelling story (which I promised I wouldn't dwell on but it IS stupid and when the whole thing feels like a dream, what happens to the suspense and excitement?), this might have been another classic but personally, I found it daft and occasionally boring. If you have to see Chan & Li in the same film then this will suit you fine but honestly, I'd rather just watch one of their films separately.