The Forbidden Kingdom

The Forbidden Kingdom strikes me as a Kung-Fu version of the brilliant "The NeverEnding Story" I saw as a kid in the 80's. The parallels are obvious.

Like "NeverEnding Story", it's a fantasy movie that tells the tale of a boy's coming of age journey, from picked-on weakling to warrior and savior. On the way friendships are woven, difficulties are overcome, and lessons are learned. Both films cater to children audiences, but will satisfy grown-ups as well. Both bring to the table a good mixture of fantasy, action, comedy blended with a dash of romance and drama - Baked just right and garnished with magnificent special effects and stunning visuals.

The Kung-Fu battles are dazzling, and having both Jet Li and Jackie Chan sparring in this movie is just the sugar on top of the wholesome family fun.

Jackie Chan has to be one of the more likable actors of his generation, a man who can successfully combine martial arts brutality and humor.....and pull it off, each time. "The Forbidden Kingdom" is another example of his talents, geniality and flair for comedy in addition to the obvious martial arts skills he's shown us all these years.

To make long story very short, this is tale an American teen who finds an ornate bo-staff at a friend's shop in Chinatown and the kid's mission winds up to deliver this age-old weapon to its rightful owner across the world in China and in a different time period. Yeah, I know, the story is ludicrous, but who cares? It's an entertaining film with some great stunts and some good humor. We have young people, old people, amateur fighters and pros, pretty girls with pretty moms, exotic locales and a lot of seriousness mixed with goofiness and Chinese mythology.

This is a not a film for "hard core" martial-arts fans, nor is it an "intelligent" film but if you're looking for a fun two hours of total escapism without the story being too stupid to enjoy, this fits the bill. I mean, you get Chan and Jet Li, in the same movie for the first time, too - not bad!

Watched Forbidden Kingdom yesterday. And I found I really liked it. A lot! I have to admit that I'm a sucker for those zero-to-hero movies and I thought that Michael Angarano did a good job of playing a dorky, wannabe kung-fu fighter. The only thing I thought was dodgy was the fact that the whole movie was in English. It just felt a bit off.

And of course Jackie Chan and Jet Li together on screen? Fantastic. They had one of the greatest choreographed scenes, that were really, really cool. Especially when both of them were fighting together for the staff. I especially like Jet Li's portrayal of Sun Wukong! Jet Li's previous roles were serious warriors, but it was fun to see him act like a cheeky monkey god. And Jackie Chan, he was OK in his own way, but most of the time when he fought he looked sober. Which was odd, considering that he was a master of the drunken kung-fu style.

I have been a big fan of Jet Li/ Jackie Chan since I can remember. All I have to say is that they deserve better. A movie that consists of both these remarkable actors should be incredible and unforgettable, but, in my opinion, this movie can only be remembered probably because it's their first tandem. I don't know what the writers in this movie are thinking. They should have watched the old movies of these two and studied it. They should have written a story that will compliment both their strengths in the screen (not just their martial arts techniques), and the tone of the movie is well-off. Needless to say, if you want to see a feel-good, relatively entertaining then this movie is definitely your cup-of- tea.

¨Forbidden kingdom¨ is a rich , enjoyable and romantic take on the Chinese Martial Arts genre with inventive choreography and it also belongs to ¨Wusia¨ theme, China's heroic swordsman subgenre. Regarding a kung fu obsessed American teen, Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop run by an elderly man (Jackie Chan): the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. And he then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with mysterious and strange characters. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China and sends him on a risked adventure, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors (Jackie Chan, Jet Li) in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King (Jet Li) and along the way facing off villainous Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) and Ni Chang (Bingbing Li) . All of them clash over a magic staff, a stealen priceless old relic as a mark of defiance. Meantime, they have to reach the mountain of the five elements. The path is unsafe !. The place is unknown !. The journey is unbelievable !. The battle for eternity is the fantasy of a lifetime !.

This amusing film is packed with fantasy, magic, art martial fights, silly laughter, great entertainment and lots of fun. A fantastic film including a deadly confrontation and a martial arts love story that satisfies on both accounts, concerning some heroes on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King. Rob Minkoff imbues every look, every gesture with grace and resonance, he has always been a filmmaker of finesse and fine feeling, directing competently this film, but his touch is just as deft even as he extends his grasp to show the timeless Chinese legends, being based on the enjoyable script written by John Fusco. The first fifteen minutes offer dense exposition, introducing the naive young Michael Angarano, the righteous pawn shop seller and the legendary alcoholic warrior Lu Yan, his steemed partner of adventures. This is an immortal story of strength, secrets, and dealing with some warriors who would never surrender. Action , adventure , romance , drama , heroes , heroines, tradition and martial arts blend in this attractive movie that belongs to Oriental genre. Providing overwhelming images, impressive production design, sense of style and revealing the breathtaking vistas of mythic China. The emotional impact of the fantastic adventure is as real and spectacular as the choreographed figh scenes are grateful and brilliant. The magnificent fight scenes were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping who performed the same duties for ¨Brothers Wachowski's Matrix¨ and ¨Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill¨and the Oscarized : ¨Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon¨. Providing gorgeous chases in glamorously modulated set pieces across the palaces, and forests, while defying the gravity in exhilarating leaps and bounds . Once it takes flight the film never touches the ground , spinning myriad duels of the body and spirit ; only relaxing to stage with some touches of slapstick and ironical aplomb . Stars a stunning cast with notorious Chinese and American actors , such as: Jackie Chan in a double rol as Old Hop and drunken immortal Lu Yan , as well as Jet Li as The Monkey King/ The Silent Monk , Bingbing Le as nasty contender Ni Chang and Collin Chou as Jade Warlord, but the real starring is Michael Angarano as an american teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics to join a crew of warriors from martial arts. Most of them performed their own stunts, CGI was used to remove the wires holding them up. A great and successful movie which was a complete hit on Western/Eastern screens. Adding a spectacular y luxurious photography by cameraman Peter Pau who previously won an Oscar for 'Crouching tiger, hidden dragon' ; furthermore, a nice artistic direction, and great musical score David Buckley,

This decent motion picture was compellingly directed by eclectic filmmaker Rob Minkoff, but nothing special, because the situations we see we had already seen before, and there're too much struggles. Minkoff is a successful filmmaker with several hits, such as: "The Lion King", "Haunted mansion", "The Forbidden Kingdom", "Stuart Little I and II" , "Adventures of Peabody and Sherman", "Flypaper" and his last one: "Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank" (2022). Rating: 6/10. Well worth watching. Essential and indispensable watching for Jackie Chan and Jet Li fans, it's a feast for the senses and 100 per cent sheer cinema.