Forbidden Kingdom Review
This movie seemed to be giving mixed signals through its previews, as to what sort of movie it actually was. Now that I've seen it, I understand why!
Here's what I thought:
Forbidden Kingdom
7 out of 10 overall.
Matinee value.
Well worth seeing.
Interesting story telling techniques.
Rated PG-13
Running time: 1h 53m
Imagine if you will -- or if you can -- Jim Henson having done a kung-fu movie! Okay, so maybe that's not the best start for this sort of review, but I couldn't help but feel there was something to that idea. The director of Forbidden Kingdom, Rob Minkoff, made an obvious and deliberate choice to work to the strength of whatever scene was being played out, in whatever form that might take. Humorous scenes were over-the-top, fight scenes were overly action packed, while moodier scenes were dark and somber, with no attempt given to a cohesive tone to the overall movie. In that way, this movie reminded of how Jim Henson had handled the making of the movie, Labyrinth. With each of these movies, every scene had its own distinct character and feel, while still serving the progression of the story -- and it works!
Forbidden Kingdom follows the unlikely travels of 4 characters through events played against the beloved Asian folktales of The Monkey King! One of these four characters is a boy, Jason, from contemporary New Jersey, who haplessly initiates the quest to return the magic rod to the Monkey King -- all of which is happening in feudal China! We're meant to follow the story through Jason's exploits, which ends up giving the movie an odd Karate Kid, crossed with Narnia kind of feel, and may be the movie's only true weak point.
But the real reason to see this movie is for the performances of Jet Li and Jackie Chan! I don't know if they were feeding off of each other, or inspiring each other, (or whipping out their rulers to measure) but they're wonderful on the screen together! The fight scenes, whether humorous or out-for-blood, were a delight to see! And although the story doesn't cover much new ground, it was still a lot of fun to go on the journey!
I think Jackie Chan's character, Lu Yan, summed-up the feel of Forbidden Kingdom best with one of his lines in the film, 'Crouching Tiger, Spanking Monkey'!
I'm glad I got to see it all up on the big screen!
Here's what I thought:
Forbidden Kingdom
7 out of 10 overall.
Matinee value.
Well worth seeing.
Interesting story telling techniques.
Rated PG-13
Running time: 1h 53m
Imagine if you will -- or if you can -- Jim Henson having done a kung-fu movie! Okay, so maybe that's not the best start for this sort of review, but I couldn't help but feel there was something to that idea. The director of Forbidden Kingdom, Rob Minkoff, made an obvious and deliberate choice to work to the strength of whatever scene was being played out, in whatever form that might take. Humorous scenes were over-the-top, fight scenes were overly action packed, while moodier scenes were dark and somber, with no attempt given to a cohesive tone to the overall movie. In that way, this movie reminded of how Jim Henson had handled the making of the movie, Labyrinth. With each of these movies, every scene had its own distinct character and feel, while still serving the progression of the story -- and it works!
Forbidden Kingdom follows the unlikely travels of 4 characters through events played against the beloved Asian folktales of The Monkey King! One of these four characters is a boy, Jason, from contemporary New Jersey, who haplessly initiates the quest to return the magic rod to the Monkey King -- all of which is happening in feudal China! We're meant to follow the story through Jason's exploits, which ends up giving the movie an odd Karate Kid, crossed with Narnia kind of feel, and may be the movie's only true weak point.
But the real reason to see this movie is for the performances of Jet Li and Jackie Chan! I don't know if they were feeding off of each other, or inspiring each other, (or whipping out their rulers to measure) but they're wonderful on the screen together! The fight scenes, whether humorous or out-for-blood, were a delight to see! And although the story doesn't cover much new ground, it was still a lot of fun to go on the journey!
I think Jackie Chan's character, Lu Yan, summed-up the feel of Forbidden Kingdom best with one of his lines in the film, 'Crouching Tiger, Spanking Monkey'!
I'm glad I got to see it all up on the big screen!