The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Director:

Rob Minkoff

Writer (WGA):

John Fusco (written by)

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

The path is unsafe. The place is unknown. The journey is unbelievable.

Plot:

A discovery made by a kung fu obsessed American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Plot Keywords:

Staff | Martial Arts | Warrior | China | Kung Fu

Awards:

4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 28	9:00 PM	SHOW
Sun. Nov. 29	2:45 PM	SHOW

Cast

Jet Li	...	The Monkey King / The Silent Monk
Michael Angarano	...	Jason Tripitikas
Jackie Chan	...	Lu Yan / Old Hop
Yifei Liu	...	Golden Sparrow / Chinatown Girl
Collin Chou	...	Jade Warlord
Juana Collignon	...	Southie Girl
Morgan Benoit	...	Lupo
Bingbing Li	...	Ni Chang
Jack Posobiec	...	Southie
Thomas McDonell	...	Young Southie
Zhi Ma Gui	...	Old Woman
Shen Shou He	...	Farmer
Bin Jiang	...	Young Village Man
Shaohua Yang	...	Jade Soldier
Yu Yuan Zeng	...	Inn Keeper

Also Known As:

Gong fu zhi wang (China: Mandarin title)
Gong fu zi wong (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Jackie Chan/Jet Li Project (USA) (working title)
King of Kung Fu (Hong Kong: English title) (literal title)
Untitled J&J Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | China

Language:

English | Mandarin

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44223) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-13 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Iceland:12 | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Anji bamboo forest, Jiangsu, China

Company:

Casey Silver Productions

Trivia:

This movie went through five script re-writes before it was completed, many of which were done in the middle of filming.

Goofs:

Continuity: Before Jason, Lu Yan, Golden Sparrow and the Silent Monk enter the desert, they were riding horses. As they enter the desert they are suddenly on foot. When Lu Yan wants to make water with magic and the Silent Monk starts urinating on his head from a rock, the Silent Monk tells them there is a body of water and as they run towards the sight they see at the foot of the dark clouded Five Element Mountain. A moment later we see Jason getting trained in a bamboo forest by the Silent Monk and Lu Yan. After those shots Jason walks up to Golden Sparrow playing a snared instrument between blossom trees and he forgets to kiss the fabulous lips of Golden Sparrow. Then suddenly the White Haired Witch comes running over the pink blossomed trees and after a fight with her and her ever oncoming hordes of soldiers, our heroes decide to flee, jump on the suddenly reappeared ready horses and gallop off.

Quotes:

Jade Warlord: Martial art is based on deception, my friend.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Kung Fu Dream Team (2008) (V)

Pointlessly Enthusiastic

If you're not a 13 year-old boy, Forbidden Kingdom was not really made for you. I understand the appeal of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, together at last, and everyone's hopes for a harmonious combination like peanut butter and chocolate. I shared this hope, but was served something more like canned cheese with crackers. It's not that this combination is bad, just that their pairing is framed within a feeble, pointlessly enthusiastic action film.

Forbidden Kingdom follows the story of Jason (Michael Angarano), a die-hard kungfu fan and his concussion-induced journey back in time to a mythical China. Jason must return a golden staff to the Monkey King (Jet Li), who is imprisoned in stone under the evil gaze of the immortal Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). Jason meets a silent monk (Jet Li), drunken master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), and musical assassin Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu) who all have a vested interest in the Monkey King or the demise of the Jade Warlord. They accompany Jason on his quest and give him the skills he needs to repel his foes.

The characters are interesting but completely shallow. We're introduced to them as stock. There's an assumed level of familiarity with martial arts movies, which they're directly inspired by, but little more is given than this stereotype. Lu Yan and the Silent Monk profess death threats, engage in playful antics, and display some unknown kinship, sometimes all within the same scene. We like Golden Sparrow because she's beautiful and she's the same age as our protagonist. Beyond an obvious romantic setup, a briefly uttered revenge quest, and a catfight, she's completely pointless. It's interesting that Li and Chan both play secondary characters in this movie, and in roles that are not their traditional typecast fare. Jackie Chan is terribly sympathetic, but by his own undeniable Jackie Chan charm, not on any strength of the movie.

My biggest problem with this movie lies in Jason's story. He's sent to mythical China with more stereotypes than skills, and through truly excessive use of montage, becomes a warrior who can help the Monkey King. I suspend disbelief for fantasy films, but the montages are as repetitive and annoying as the whiny Jason. Since we're so interested in Jet Li and Jackie Chan, why make them secondary characters and give the focus to a coming-of-age quest? My rhetorical question is answered for you in the first sentence of the review. But I think this also skirts the issue of trying to give equal screen time and top billing to the two biggest martial arts stars of our age.

As repugnant as the writing and editing may be, Forbidden Kingdom makes up for this in a good dose of fight scenes. This has some of the best story-to-action ratios of any martial arts movie, hearkening back to the heyday of kung fu, where the story is minimized to make room for more action. Nothing wrong with that! It's still entertaining as always to watch Chan and Li fight. There is one very long sparring sequence and while it's nothing terribly flashy, you do get a sense that the two are very well matched. Some of the editing is sketchy, relying heavily on reaction shots rather than allowing us to see maneuvers connect. Some of the fighting is extremely theatrical and extended, in true wushu style, and beautiful to see.

The visuals have that nearly animated quality, with emphasis on glow and gold, that we've seen so often in fantasy movies lately. Combined with the cutout characters, it gives the impression that you're watching more of a video game than a movie. I like video games, but this is not necessarily a boon. I'd like to see something more original, or maybe something that draws more heavily on Chinese cinema, since the movie already borrows so liberally from those films.

Forbidden Kingdom has all of the good components of a classic action film, but together, these elements work against each other in a big way. The narrative is short, but not short enough. The general tone is more like a poor comic book movie than a kung fu fantasy. This may appeal to some, but dressing up in silks doesn't make this tired thing new again.