The Forbidden Kingdom Review

by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)
August 20th, 2008
"The Forbidden Kingdom" - Monkey Business
by Homer Yen
(c) 2008

"The Forbidden Kingdom" is a fun film that everyone can enjoy. But
it's a project that should have been made 10 years ago. It has that
kind of sweeping epic arc in which an entire civilization is in
danger. It has a few breathtaking sequences where legions of troops
go to battle. And martial-arts-film-legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li finally-finally unite. So, what's wrong? Well, it's perhaps too
little too late.

I think that Jet Li described it best. Last year, I read an article
in an entertainment magazine in which he was interviewed. Li was
urging audiences to keep expectations low for his eagerly anticipated
fight scenes with Jackie Chan in the film. "When Jackie Chan and I
first wanted to work together 15 years ago, our passion was at its
peak. ... Our desire to succeed was very strong," the 45-year-old Li
told The Associated Press. "Now we joke that when we watch the `The
Forbidden Kingdom' our combined age is 100." (Chan is 54.)
Truthfully, there is only one fight scene between the two, and it's
pretty fun to watch. Jackie Chan brings to the project his familiar
style of slapstick humor alongside high-energy martial arts. Jet Li
brings his natural prowess for combat and precision.

Happily, they still look to be close to the top of their game. But,
as with this and pretty much all the other fight scenes, it's just
highly stylized violence without any real drama. Entertaining? Yes!
Moving and absorbing? No!

The story initially centers on the dorky Jason (Michael Angarano) who
is in possession of a mystical staff that the evil forces want to get
their hands on. Our
fish-out-of-water-white-boy-who-must-be-the-only-person-in-China-who-doesn't-know-Kung-Fu eventually meets and befriends a drunk kung fu master (Chan), a silent
monk (Li), and a beautiful Chinese warrior-girl (YiFei Liu) who just
sort of randomly appears and joins their group. Give Chan and Li
oodles of credit because even though they are both baby boomers, they
can still put a good whooping on anybody half their age. But
admittedly, they do not seem as intense as they once were, and neither
can quite carry the mantle of the Messiahs-going-into-enemy-territory
to destroy the dark forces of evil.

This film is based on the Chinese epic story 'Journey to the West',
one of the four great classic novels of Chinese Literature. For this undertaking, there should be romance, drama, sacrifice, majesty, and
an abounding sense of poetry. But all the filmmakers could muster
here was a kung-fu family comedy. The story seems lazy, borrowing
elements from the "Karate Kid", "Lord of the Rings", and "Mortal
Kombat."
It's not nearly as epic in feel as Jet Li's "Hero". It is, however,
more intense that Jackie Chan's "Around the World in 80 Days". I'm
not sure if that's a compliment or not.

Nonetheless, as a ChineseAmerican, I have to support my brethren! I
mean, who doesn't want to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li in the same
movie? For some, it has been a long time coming. "The Forbidden
Kingdom" does offer up a few very funny scenes, it never seemed dull,
and it makes for a decent evening out. If the American Idol judges
were casting their opinions, Randy would say "Dawg, it was ok! Hey,
just keeping it real." Paula would say, "keep being who you are
because that's what the audience wants." Simon would say, "I
completely disagree with you, Paula."

Grade: B-

S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3

More on 'The Forbidden Kingdom'...

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