The Forbidden Kingdom

The Forbidden Kingdom focuses on Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano, who played Jack’s son, Elliot, on Will & Grace), a white, American teenager who loves Chinese martial arts films. One night, some bullies force Jason to get them inside a store run by an elderly Chinese man (Jackie Chan), who is the source for Jason’s martial arts movie DVDs, to steal his money. When the old man gets shot in the process of trying to stop the thieves, Jason grabs a staff as a weapon and runs from the bullies. Trapped on a building’s roof, Jason is suddenly pulled into the air by the staff and whisked away. When he awakens, he finds himself in ancient China. At first, this presents a language barrier, but Jason is soon magically able to hear Chinese as English (and, presumably, speak English as Chinese). He soon meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan again), who specializes in the “Drunken Fist” style of martial arts. Lu Yan tells him a legend concerning the staff Jason carries: It belongs to the Monkey King (well-played by Jet Li), who was turned into stone by the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). Once the staff is returned to the Monkey King, he will awaken and regain his powers, which the Jade Warlord is determined to stop at all costs. As the Jade Warlord’s soldiers, and later, Ni Chang (Li Bingbing), a white-haired witch working for the Warlord, pursue Jason for the staff, the boy is aided in his quest to return the staff to the Monkey King by a young girl named Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu) and The Silent Monk (also Jet Li). Before joining forces, however, the plot creates circumstances for Lu Yan and The Silent Monk to have a showdown, a scene that is wonderful to watch for any fan of Chan and Li’s skills. (The film’s fight choreography was also handled by the renowned Woo-ping Yuen.) Eager to learn martial arts, Jason becomes a student to Lu Yan and The Silent Monk, which may be reminiscent of The Karate Kid, but the script also playfully throws in references to fighting moves in martial arts films like the “No Shadow Kick.” Written by John Fusco and directed by Rob Minkoff, The Forbidden Kingdom might come off as a male martial arts movie lover’s fantasy come to life, but it is still a fun flick that gets to feature Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for the first time.

Written by: Jessica Chung

Reviewers Rating: 8.5
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