The Forbidden Kingdom
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Movie Reviews of The Forbidden Kingdom
Movie Review: Amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
What a fabulous film - stunts and scenes were something else. A must see film.
Amand.
Movie Review: Fun Kungfu-Fantasy Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
The Story: Some bloke called Jason Tripitakas (Michael Angarano) is entrusted a golden-staff by a dying pawnshop owner, Hop (Jackie Chan) to be returned to its rightful owner. It turns out that the rightful owner is the legendary Monkey-King (Jet Li). Jason somehow fell through the Gate of No-Gate (don't ask) and landed in Ancient China. Thus begins his quest to carry the staff all the way to the Five-Element Mountains and return it to the Monkey-King, who had been turned to stone by the evil Jade Warlord (Colin Chou). Along the way, he meets up with the Drunken Taoist Lu Yan (also played by Jackie Chan), a Monk (also played by Jet Li) and Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei). Together, they form the Fellowship of the Staff and travel to the Five-Element Mountains to confront the evil Jade Warlord and his assistant, the Bride With White Hair (Li Bing Bing).
Acting: C'mon, you're not planning to watch this film for the acting, right? If you are, you'll probably want to murder the annoying Michael Angarano! He plays this stupid kid obsessed with Shaw Bros. kung-fu movies who is thrust into this fantasy world where everyone speaks English with a Chinese-accent. Therefore, he appears blur throughout the film - even when he finally kills the evil Jade Warlord! The best actor in the film is Jackie Chan. He's not as good a martial artist as Jet Li but he's a far better comic-actor. As for the others, Colin Chou does a good job as the megalomaniacal Jade Warlord. Liu Yifei is under-utilized here. She doesn't do much except to look good and to play the pipa. I was surprised by how good her English was though (unless it's dubbed). Li Bing Bing, known for her roles as the quiet and demure girl, puts in a surprising turn as the maniacal Bride With White Hair (a role made famous by veteran actress Bridgette Lin).
Cinematography, Setting & Soundtrack: The sets and scenery are breath-taking. Throw in a beautiful soundtrack and the whole thing looked and felt really epic. I also loved the opening credits with animated shots featuring old Shaw Bros. movie posters. The whole movie comes across as a weird mixture of The Lord Of The Rings, Chinese mythology and Shaw Bros. wuxia but it works! The whole Ancient China landscape is really an imaginary fantasy-wonderland. Watching this movie (and seeing through the eyes of the lead character Jason Tripitakas) is like being immersed in a fantasy-land of flying characters, magical weapons, mystical mountains and maidens who looked like Liu Yifei.
Fighting: Finally, the main reason why you want to watch this movie. Just to let you know, there's only one real long fight scene between Jackie Chan and Jet Li but that alone is worth the price of admission. Very well choreographed fight by veteran Yuen Wo-Ping. In other words, Jackie Chan does his Drunken Master stuff and Jet Li does his lightning-fast kicks & punches. Other than that, we also get countless other fights with the soldiers of the evil Jade Warlord, Jackie Chan beating up a lady (Li Bing Bing) into pulp and the 3,294,285th time Jet Li fights Colin Chou in a movie! There are also some really good expositions of Zen-like thoughts on martial-arts during the scenes when Jackie and Jet both take turns to teach Jason Tripitakas.
Overall: Very fun action-adventure movie for the whole family. The kids will love it (and so will the "kid" in you). I'm getting the DVD once it's out. Knowing my kids, they'll probably watch it again and again and again... :)
Movie Review: Monkeying Around with Kung Fu
Summary: 4 Stars
The Good Things
*Good video/sound quality (great on Blu-Ray).
*Avalaible in either a single-disc version with no features, or 2-disc or Blu-Ray versions with numerous featurettes and a digital copy of the film.
*The movie itself has quite a bit of great fight scenes and slick special effects.
*Its very well-filmed. Lots of strong imagery and colors. Good cameramanship.
*Production design is great. Costumes and sets are very detailed and vivid.
*Storyline is okay.
*Okay music.
*Violence is not so bad, and there is nothing graphic. Would be acceptable for older children (rated PG-13).
The Bad Things
*Characters are nothing to scream about. The Monkey King and the guy Jackie Chan played were probably the most memorable characters. The main character is just a boy who wants to go home, and shows no development (other than is fighting skills). Bad guys were cool, but also shallow.
The Questionable Things
*The movie overall is short and simple. Its great for quick and easy entertainment, but don't expect anything as deep, complex, or moving as other wuxia films (like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" or "Hero").
This is what you get when you mix "The Neverending Story"'s plot structure with an Asian fantasy epic. It's pretty darn fun, with lots of great fighting, special effects, and smooth photography. But it lacks depth in its characters and story. It makes for some awesome mindless entertainment, but if you're a fan of the genre and looking for something thought-provoking or deep, this would not be it.
Movie Review: "Of Course I'll Live, I'm Immortal"
Summary: 4 Stars
While the '08 film `The Forbidden Kingdom' starring Chinese superstars Jet Li and Jackie Chan certainly doesn't qualify for the Martial Arts Cinematic Hall of Fame there is definitely more positive than negative to be said about this production. Admittedly there's not a lot original here, one can clearly see a plethora of storyline elements liberally borrowed from other films, some of the most obvious being; `The Neverending Story', `The Karate Kid' and `The Wizard of Oz'. There are also occasional hints of; `Warriors of Virtue', `Narnia' and `Lord of the Rings' that are hard to miss. Since this is a martial arts film one cannot help but notice a few similarities with such Chinese films as the blockbuster `Hero' and the lesser known cult classic `Legend of Zu'.
Ok, I think I've made my point. Originality is definitely not the strength of this film. However that doesn't mean that the viewer, especially the younger males in the audience won't enjoy this one immensely. The action is fast and furious, Shia LaBeouf look-a-like Michael Angarano is likeable and solid in the role of Jason Tripitkas, the fung fu fan who is transported through time and space to ancient China to return the magical staff to the mythic Monkey King. Liu Yifei will also attract your full attention as the lovely young female warrior Golden Sparrow.
`The Forbidden Kingdom' may not garner high marks from the more astute martial arts fans but the kids will love it. Finally, you've got to admit classic or not it's kind of nice to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li in a film together.
Movie Review: Cool Movie for the Teen who Loves Kung Fu Stuff - a 'Dream Come True"
Summary: 4 Stars
The Forbidden Kingdom is a great romp through time travel back to when there was a bid for superiority in China of the Immortals. Pretty cool stuff for the kid who just can't get enough of Kung Fu movies. Maybe the young boy from Boston who could not fight his way out of a paper bag liked KF movies so much that he fantisized about beating his opponents. He goes back in time to deliver to the rightful owner of an ancient staff that has great powers.
Chan is a drunken ancient who lives off of wine and Jet Li is a priest of sorts who is on a quest to find the person who will give the staff back to its owner as well. The young boy from Boston learns martial arts while in the care of Li and Chan.
Really, I could see the writer of this amazing action fantasy being a would be Kung Fu expert who wished all of his or her life to be just that expert. It represents good verses evil and hard work to get to improve yourself. Again, keeping in mind it is a fantasy, people flying through the air, well, it is no difference than a Harry Potter type of film.
Chan and Li together make a great team. I hearkened back to the time of Bruce Lee type flicks. Definate fun for the Kung Fu buff.