The Forbidden Kingdom
I'll be honest here: I don't "get" martial arts movies. I appreciate a good ass-kicking as much as the next person, but martial art buffs nerd out in a way that I'll probably never relate to. So when people talk about the momentous, long-awaited union of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, two names familiar even to those that don't spend their time watching bootleg Hong Kong action flicks, it doesn't register that much with me. All I expect is that at least they'll know what they're doing.
Still, it's obvious that those two are the main draw of The Forbidden Kingdom. The posters for the movie and even the opening title emphasizes their roles, excluding, funnily enough, the main character. Because for some reason, despite the presence of two likeable, talented martial arts stars, the creators of this film decided that they wanted to center the story on Lame White Dude extraordinaire, Michael Angarano. If this name isn't familiar to you, don't be surprised. Just picture an off-brand Shia LaBeouf.
The film begins with L.W.D. Jason Tripitikas, an awkward, nerdy adolescent patronizing a bizarre local store run by a kindly old Chinese man that seems to specialize in priceless Chinese artifacts and martial arts films. And as you can tell, writer John Fusco wastes no time in hitting every stereotype he can. Even the character's name seems to come from the standard formula: common first name, funny last name. (cf. Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky in last year's Transformers or, for another movie involving weird Chinese stores, Randall Peltzer in Gremlins.) Jason is later beset upon by bullies that might as well have been digitally inserted from another film, and is forced to help them break into the old man's place. Long story short, Jason finds an ancient staff and is magically transported back to prehistoric China.
If this sounds familiar, that's because it is, but thankfully "long story short" is a creed that the film adheres to as well. It takes mere minutes for the film to move past the perfunctory modern day scenes, and when we get to ancient China, Jason meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) almost immediately, who begins explaining the significance of the ancient staff almost immediately, and it's not long before Jet Li joins the gang as a monk. Oh, and a girl with deadly throwing darts and a musical inclination shows up too.
The plot of The Forbidden Kingdom is based on the Chinese myth of the Monkey King, who (here, at least) was turned into stone by an evil warlord who currently rules evilly over the land, and the Monkey King can only be restored by the power of the previously mentioned ancient staff. Lu Yan and his party spend the movie journeying to the fortress where the Monkey King is held, battling minions of the evil warlord and training Jason in the ways of kung fu along the way.
Let me get this out of the way: this movie is not written well. Characters don't really develop, the story progresses too quickly and clumsily, and viewers will be able to see plot developments and even specific lines coming a mile away. If I wasn't feeling particularly nice, it would be easy to dismiss this film as a thin excuse for Jackie Chan and Jet Li to hang out and kick each other.
But you know what, I am feeling nice, because this film doesn't really do anything to offend. Sure, the main character is lame (really lame), but Jackie Chan and Jet Li are pretty much impossible to hate. They may not be the greatest actors (though that's mostly due to their slight difficulties with English), but they're more than capable and both are affable guys who manage to get in a genuinely funny joke every now and then - Jackie Chan with his goofy, drunken master stylings, and Jet Li with a more reserved, but nonetheless engaging, energy. Plus, they spend a lot of their time berating the Lame White Dude, including one scene where they "train" him by beating the shit out of him in tandem.
And you don't need to be a martial arts fan to enjoy the fight scenes. The fights were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, one of the most famous and influential Chinese martial arts choreographers, and Jackie Chan and Jet Li are great, as you would expect. They're both getting on in years, but you would never know it from the moves they pull off. Because the movie has a strong fantasy bent, the fight scenes are a satisfying mix of intense, up-close fist exchanges and more elaborate scenes involving any number of weapons, props, and a magic power or two. And these fights take place in plenty of lush, outdoor environments or elaborate indoor sets which may not get points for historical accuracy, but they sure are fun to see busted up.
The Forbidden Kingdom is not a great movie. It's not really a good movie. If someone asked me whether they ought to see it this weekend, I would ask them what else they're considering. But if you happen to find yourself in the theatre as the lights dim and this movie is about to start and you're prepared to enjoy it for what it is, then you should have a pretty good time.
3 stars out of 5
Still, it's obvious that those two are the main draw of The Forbidden Kingdom. The posters for the movie and even the opening title emphasizes their roles, excluding, funnily enough, the main character. Because for some reason, despite the presence of two likeable, talented martial arts stars, the creators of this film decided that they wanted to center the story on Lame White Dude extraordinaire, Michael Angarano. If this name isn't familiar to you, don't be surprised. Just picture an off-brand Shia LaBeouf.
The film begins with L.W.D. Jason Tripitikas, an awkward, nerdy adolescent patronizing a bizarre local store run by a kindly old Chinese man that seems to specialize in priceless Chinese artifacts and martial arts films. And as you can tell, writer John Fusco wastes no time in hitting every stereotype he can. Even the character's name seems to come from the standard formula: common first name, funny last name. (cf. Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky in last year's Transformers or, for another movie involving weird Chinese stores, Randall Peltzer in Gremlins.) Jason is later beset upon by bullies that might as well have been digitally inserted from another film, and is forced to help them break into the old man's place. Long story short, Jason finds an ancient staff and is magically transported back to prehistoric China.
If this sounds familiar, that's because it is, but thankfully "long story short" is a creed that the film adheres to as well. It takes mere minutes for the film to move past the perfunctory modern day scenes, and when we get to ancient China, Jason meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) almost immediately, who begins explaining the significance of the ancient staff almost immediately, and it's not long before Jet Li joins the gang as a monk. Oh, and a girl with deadly throwing darts and a musical inclination shows up too.
The plot of The Forbidden Kingdom is based on the Chinese myth of the Monkey King, who (here, at least) was turned into stone by an evil warlord who currently rules evilly over the land, and the Monkey King can only be restored by the power of the previously mentioned ancient staff. Lu Yan and his party spend the movie journeying to the fortress where the Monkey King is held, battling minions of the evil warlord and training Jason in the ways of kung fu along the way.
Let me get this out of the way: this movie is not written well. Characters don't really develop, the story progresses too quickly and clumsily, and viewers will be able to see plot developments and even specific lines coming a mile away. If I wasn't feeling particularly nice, it would be easy to dismiss this film as a thin excuse for Jackie Chan and Jet Li to hang out and kick each other.
But you know what, I am feeling nice, because this film doesn't really do anything to offend. Sure, the main character is lame (really lame), but Jackie Chan and Jet Li are pretty much impossible to hate. They may not be the greatest actors (though that's mostly due to their slight difficulties with English), but they're more than capable and both are affable guys who manage to get in a genuinely funny joke every now and then - Jackie Chan with his goofy, drunken master stylings, and Jet Li with a more reserved, but nonetheless engaging, energy. Plus, they spend a lot of their time berating the Lame White Dude, including one scene where they "train" him by beating the shit out of him in tandem.
And you don't need to be a martial arts fan to enjoy the fight scenes. The fights were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, one of the most famous and influential Chinese martial arts choreographers, and Jackie Chan and Jet Li are great, as you would expect. They're both getting on in years, but you would never know it from the moves they pull off. Because the movie has a strong fantasy bent, the fight scenes are a satisfying mix of intense, up-close fist exchanges and more elaborate scenes involving any number of weapons, props, and a magic power or two. And these fights take place in plenty of lush, outdoor environments or elaborate indoor sets which may not get points for historical accuracy, but they sure are fun to see busted up.
The Forbidden Kingdom is not a great movie. It's not really a good movie. If someone asked me whether they ought to see it this weekend, I would ask them what else they're considering. But if you happen to find yourself in the theatre as the lights dim and this movie is about to start and you're prepared to enjoy it for what it is, then you should have a pretty good time.
3 stars out of 5