Fans of martial-arts movies will be delighted to discover a
movie that premieres this weekend, “The Forbidden Kingdom.” Even though the
plot is not truly an audience-drawer, the movie has another irrefutable
strength: grand names of the genre, Jackie Chan and Jet Li unite for their
first production together. Therefore, any flaws will be forgiven and forgotten.
As its name suggests, the movie depicts a fantasy story of a
far-away kingdom, inaccessible to the uninitiated. Even though the two tough
guys have accustomed their fans with action movies in which every scene takes
place so fast that it makes your head spin, “Kingdom” slows down, to allow
children and parents to enjoy the film’s fantasy world. Those who have seen Chan’s
“Drunken Master” or Li’s “Shaolin
Temple” might frown upon
“Kingdom,” until they finally acknowledge that this one is a family movie.
“The Forbidden
Kingdom” is a combination
of motifs from classics such as “The Wizard of Oz” (the traveling master), “The
Karate Kid” and elements of Chinese folklore. But at the same time, the movie
is in no moment clichéd, and it cannot be accused of lacking originality, but
in fact it can be praised for blending so smoothly so many strengths of other
successful productions, without becoming kitschy.
As it strikes everyone from a first look, the plot is set in
Oriental venues, and features Asian characters. Therefore it comes as an evident
fact that the hero, the originally uninitiated, is a white young guy, scarcely linked
to the upcoming adventures. So, we have Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano –
sorry, Shia LaBeouf couldn’t make it this time), an average Boston teenager whose passion is kung-fu
movies (and despite his hobby, he is not able to deal with local bullies).
Jason buys his chop-socky movies at a pawn shop in Chinatown, and one day he is entrusted with a magical
battle staff there and wakes up in ancient China. The secret mission is to end the hundreds of
years of tyranny from the ruthless Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) and to liberate
Monkey King (also played by Jet Li) from imprisonment.
Just as in any initiating story, the protagonist is
accompanied and helped by some friends: Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) who is a master of
drunken kung fu passionate about wine, Silent Monk (played by Jet Li), a
pacifist taciturn (as his name clearly suggests) and Golden Sparrow (Liu
Yifei), a young girl craving for revenge after her family has been killed.
The long-waited scene of the union of Chan and Li consists
of a fight between the two of them, until they realize that they are on the
same side in the battle against Warlord. The fact that the two iconic
characters fight alongside each other, rather than against each other is a
means of combining their fight styles, making them heroes at the same time, having
no necessity of choosing a winner and a loser between them.
Behind the successful cast members, stands a successful
team. Based on the script written by John Fusco, the story’s magic is augmented
by computer-generated effects under the wing of director Rob Minkoff (we were
marveled by his work in “Stuart Little”). The fight scenes, even though not
bloody, are so spectacular that they seem detached from a peculiar dance;
behind them we find choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, whose outstanding work we’ve
seen in the “Matrix” trilogy or “Crouching Tiger.”
“The Forbidden
Kingdom” won’t become a
must-see movie, but will constitute the perfect way to spend almost two
entertaining hours with your family. The plot will manage to make the viewers
remain in the magical kingdom and the fight scenes will keep the blood pumping
higher than usual long after the movie has finished.
Movie Type: Action/Adventure and Science Fiction/Fantasy
MPAA Rating:PG-13 for for sequences of martial arts action and some violence.
Running Time:1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By: Rob Minkoff
Cast:Jet Li,Jackie Chan, Li Bingbing,Collin Chou, Michael Angarano, Liu
Yifei,
Released: April 18th, 2008 (wide)
