The Forbidden Kingdom [Theatrical Release] (2008)

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Getting martial-arts superstars Jet Li and Jackie Chan together in the same action film is like a fantasy come true, even if The Forbidden Kingdom is more of a children's movie than an instant kung-fu classic. Yes, Li and Chan square off in a lengthy, acrobatic fight scene that is a lot of fun, though it can't be what such a scene might have been even a decade ago: careful editing now compensates for the 54-year-old Chan's slower moves and reflexes. Still, Chan doesn't disappoint as Lu Yan, a drunken immortal in ancient China who mentors a modern-day American kid, Jason (Michael Angarano), the latter having slipped into the past while in possession of a magical staff that belongs to the imprisoned Monkey King (Li). In order to get back to his own time and help an old friend (also Chan) wounded by thugs, Jason accompanies Lu Yan and a lovely warrior, Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), on a journey to return the staff. Along the way, a (mostly) silent monk (Li, again), who has spent his life in search of the staff, joins their mission. He helps Lu Yan train Jason in fighting and adding more muscle to the party as it comes under siege from a violent witch (Li Bing Bing) and pathological warlord (Collin Chou). Screenwriter John Fusco (Hidalgo) and director Rob Minkoff (The Haunted Mansion) have made a slightly chintzy, Western version of a Chinese swords-and-sorcery tale. The gravity-defying, flying-through-the-air-while-fighting choreography looks pretty choppy and graceless compared to, say, the martial arts films of Zhang Yimou. But The Forbidden Kingdom is really aimed at kids, not aficionados of epic fight movies. On that score, the movie aims to please and does so for the right audience. --Tom Keogh

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25 Reviews 5 star:  (8) 4 star:  (13) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (25 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   12 of 13 people found the following review helpful: A westernized Kung-Fu movie for everyone to like, May 7, 2008 By  M. B Cole "Kegrun" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews    Pop........POP.... POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP! Ok take that popcorn out of the microwave, grab your cola, and set the lights down low and get ready for some kung-fu action. At first glance, the movie seems to be full oh wired choreographed fight scenes which I pretty much loathe. But the movie took the scenes and made them `ok'. It was like it was telling us "Yes, we know you know it's wires, but you and we are ok with it". And I was. It starts with The Monkey King kicking some butt up on top of a fake looking mountain top, and then *poof* we find out that it was all but a dream. Jason Tripitikas wakes up and heads to his favorite pawn shop down in Chinatown to pick up some more kung-fu movies. As Jason is heading out of Chinatown, he gets stopped by some local thugs/bullies. They make fun of him about his kung-fu movies and then show him some of their own fighting style. After the beat down they tell him to take them to the pawn shop so they can rob the place. The old man, knowing a few moves himself, takes it to them, but only cheated out of the grace of fighting like a man, by a single bullet. Jason runs from the thugs with a staff that the old man hands him. As Jason tries to get away, he falls and lands... ...in a different world in a different time. He comes across a man named Lu Yan (Chan) who tells him about his staff. That it once belonged to powerful man named The Monkey King. The Monkey King was tricked into a non fair fight and before the King was imprisoned he sent his staff away so that someone could come rescue him with it. They assume it's Jason, but is it? As they travel to where the Monkey King is imprisoned they come across Golden Sparrow. A girl seeking revenge for her family's death. They also come across The Silent Monk (Li), who is also on a mission to free the Monkey King. With their journeys intertwined, we can only hope for some sweet Kung-Fu action. And boy do we get it. Jackie Chan vs. Jet Li was truly fun to watch. We all know it could've been MUCH better if they were probably 10 or 15 years younger than they are, but come on, it was still a great fight scene. Praying Mantis, Snake, Tiger, Crane, all types of Kung-Fu was used. It was definitely something to witness. The Monkey King vs. The Jade Emperor, even though CGI enhanced and wire enhanced, was pretty awesome. It made the fact that they were godlike characters more believable. The CG used for this was spectacular and looked close to being real. And there were many more scenes where Lu Yan, The Silent Monk, the Golden Sparrow are fighting all types of people. You won't be bored with a lack of Kung-Fu. I also liked how there was a white haired woman bounty hunter after them. When she fought her hair became part of arsenal along with a whip she carried. Now I've seen some Kung-Fu flicks with people using their long hair before and the way it seems fake, always made it great. In this movie, when she starts to whip her hair around, it's CG looking (but once again this does not hurt it), until it hits the person. For instance on one scene it's got Lu Yan grabbing her hair and looks totally fake, but at the same time amazi