Movie Review: The Forbidden Kingdom
By Shane Jenkins
April 17, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Because, regardless of the movie the ads are trying to sell you, The Forbidden Kingdom is a movie for kids. It's The NeverEnding Story with a martial arts theme, and it's about to become your ten-year old nephew's favorite movie. It's got magic, time-travel, endearingly dodgy special effects, a pretty girl, and the first-ever pairing of martial arts legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It's an absolute home run for kids (the PG-13 rating is inexplicable to me); your enjoyment level will depend on your tolerance and/or secret love of the cheesy elements on display here. A working knowledge of 1985's cult hit Berry Gordon's The Last Dragon is a good start.
Actually, Forbidden Kingdom is a sort of mash-up of various 80s favorites, as if the writer had a fever dream after watching too many Saturday afternoon TV matinees. Jason, after toppling off the roof, wakes up in a different place and time (hello Time Bandits!) - in this case, an ancient China where everyone speaks pretty decent English. He is told the legend of the Monkey King (Li), a prankster who is a master of martial arts and magic. The Monkey King is tricked by an evil warlord, turned to stone, and needs the staff that Jason possesses to return to power. Jason, then, is schooled in kung-fu by the wise (and comically drunk) Lu Yan (Chan) in a series of Karate Kid-ish montages. He is also assisted by the lovely/fierce Sparrow (Yifei Liu) and the mysterious Silent Monk (Li again), who actually has plenty to say.
These four journey to the Temple of the Five Elements, where they will face off against the warlord's army. They trek through seemingly endless deserts, and lush forests. They fight off baddies as Jason falls on his butt a lot. There is much jovial bickering between Chan and Li and googly eyes between Angarano and Liu along the way. Obviously, the story is fairly formulaic stuff.
The Forbidden Kingdom has a secret weapon, though - the amazing fight choreography by Woo-ping Yuen. Yuen has been directing action for 35 years, and has gained fame in the U.S. recently for being the choreographer behind The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and the Kill Bill movies, among others. He doesn't disappoint here either; the fight scenes are plentiful and creative. This is the first American-made film that Chan hasn't choreographed himself, but he is in good hands with Yuen; he hasn't seemed this energetic in years. And Li, supposedly retired from martial arts epics, still looks great and has fun with his dual roles. These are two very charismatic men, and it really is a kick to see them occupying the same screen.
I can't help but be curious about the marketing, though. This is undeniably Jason's story; the Chan and Li characters are supporting roles. The action is primarily seen through Jason's eyes, and Angarano is in nearly every scene. So, it's puzzling that the television ads I've seen go to great lengths to avoid showing him at all. Even one of the trailers downplays the time-travel aspects as much as possible, while playing up the Chan/Li fighting. Obviously, I understand that the two action legends are a much bigger draw than the kid from Sky High and Snow Angels. But there seems to be a concentrated effort to misrepresent the movie they have actually produced. I think there is a danger that the action fans they are so aggressively courting will be disappointed with the NeverEnding Story aspects of the film, and the real target audience won't realize it's a movie made primarily for them.
Basically, The Forbidden Kingdom is a perfectly fine April movie, a kind of placeholder while Hollywood wheels in the big guns. In another two weeks, we'll all be getting THX headaches from three months of $200 million summer movies; The Forbidden Kingdom is a little simpler, a little more easygoing. For young people, it will be a great introduction to the work of Chan and Li, and hopefully some will be inspired to follow it up with their more classic movies. For those of us who already enjoy their films, it's nice to see them having a good time and playing off each other's energy. And even if there is a bit of the ol' switcheroo going on with the marketing, well, who can't use a bit of magic and fantasy in their lives? Let your inner ten year-old enjoy him/herself a little. Dream a dream. And what you see will...be... Ahhh! Curse you Limahl!!!