Team up the two most recognised protagonists of martial arts on the modern screen Jet Li and Jackie Chan, then throw in a legend of the Monkey King against his archrival the Jade Warlord, and you should have something interesting. Add a Kung Fu mad American teenager to the mix and Iβm not so sureβ¦.this is however what Director Rob Minkoff has fused together as the background to The Forbidden Kingdom.
The action starts with teenager Jason (Michael Angarano) who appears as some geeky loner, who spends his time watching Kung Fu films, and checking local shops for more of the same that he does not yet own. His favourite place is a Chinese pawn shop, where he has befriended the owner, but it all goes wrong when he is forced to be the bait by getting a gang of bullies access to the shop one night, and his friend the owner is shot. Jason however grabs a charmed staff, a pole inscribed with some Chinese styled writing and runes, and this transports him into a mythical Chinese place where legendary figures still roam. The story is now one of the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) attempting to stop Jason from delivering the staff to the Monkey King (Jet Li) who is frozen in stone from an earlier battle, whilst his helpers are a drunken fist warrior (Jackie Chan) and Silent Monk (Jet Li) along with Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu) who is the female interest for Jason. I think that about sums it up as far as storyline goes.
In terms of the action, relentless is the word I would use. Punching, high kicking, chopping, palming and the use of lots of props are the order of the day, with plenty of magical staging and bedlam to go with the martial arts. Keeping the tone of the movie slightly tongue in cheek is itβs best asset, in doing so it has comedy to go with the action, and epic tale. All in a a surprisingly good blend.
7.5/10, Well worth the watching, even though LKI and Chan are now past their prime in terms of action sequences, and some CGI etc is evident, it does nothing to spoil the tale. The comedy is well paced with the action and I have to say it left me with an upbeat feeling at the end (even though that is somewhat predictable).