The Forbidden Kingdom (DVD)

...decide to take advantage of the situation by forcing Jason to get them inside the pawn shop after hours so that they can rob Old Hop. Jason, unable to defend himself, gives in and the gang manages to get inside the shop where one of the gang members shoots Old Hop.

In the fray that ensues, Old Hop, who has been the keeper of a legendary weapon used by the Monkey King, gives the weapon (an elaborately carved staff/stick) to Jason and ...
...Clutching the weapon, Jason makes a dash to escape the gang who will do anything to silence him about the shooting, but he gets no further than the roof of the building before the gang catches up. Backing away from them, Jason inadvertently falls off the building and is transported back through time to ancient China where he will be facing dangers far greater than the gang of hoodlums who shot Old Hop.

Armed with the weapon belonging ... more

Director: Rob Minkoff
Writer: John Fusco
Genre: Action – Adventure – Martial Arts - Fantasy
Country: USA/China
Certification: 12+
Language: English/Mandarin

MAIN CAST:

Michael Angarano [Jason Tripitikas]
Jackie Chan [Lu Yan & Old Hop]
Jet Li [Monkey King & Silent Monk]
Yifei Liu [Golden Sparrow & Chinatown Girl]
Collin Chou [Jade Warlord]
Bingbing Li - White Hair Witch [Ni Chang]

Obsessed with martial arts, Jason Tripitikas, a somewhat introvert teen, spends most of his time watching kung fu classics. His favourite haunt is a pawn shop run by Old Hop, an elderly Chinese man.

When a gang of hoodlums discover that Jason and Old Hop are friends, they decide to take advantage of the situation by forcing Jason to get them inside the pawn shop after hours so that they can rob Old Hop. Jason, unable to defend himself, gives in and the gang manages to get inside the shop where one of the gang members shoots Old Hop.

In the fray that ensues, Old Hop, who has been the keeper of a legendary weapon used by the Monkey King, gives the weapon (an elaborately carved staff/stick) to Jason and tells him to return it to its rightful owner. Clutching the weapon, Jason makes a dash to escape the gang who will do anything to silence him about the shooting, but he gets no further than the roof of the building before the gang catches up. Backing away from them, Jason inadvertently falls off the building and is transported back through time to ancient China where he will be facing dangers far greater than the gang of hoodlums who shot Old Hop.

Armed with the weapon belonging to the Monkey King, not that it will help him because he is totally worthless when it comes to kung fu, Jason’s path crosses that of Lu Yan, a drunken kung fu master, who manages to come in handy… to say the least. Added to this the fighting prowess of the Silent Monk who is also a kung fu master and has spent his life looking for ‘The Seeker’, the person who possesses the Monkey King’s weapon, in order to help him return the weapon to its rightful owner… and the feminine might of a beautiful kung fu warrior, Golden Sparrow, with vengeance in her heart.

As the four unlikely travellers make their way to the Jade Warlord’s lair high up in the mountains in order to free the Monkey King from his stone suit (so to speak – he’s been turned to stone), they will have to outwit and outfight the Jade Warriors, the Cult Killers and the White Hair Witch Bingbing Li.

‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ is filled choc-a-bloc with expertly choreographed fights, breathtaking scenery, punchy one-liners, mind-blowing special-effects and a winning cast. What more can you ask for?

The action scenes are non-stop, there are more than a few slapstick moments that will make you laugh out loud, and for those who just can’t bear to watch a movie without a bit of romance, there’s some nice chemistry going on between Jason and Golden Sparrow.

Unlike your average Jackie Chan and Jet Li films, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ has an epic feel to it, like ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Lion’ or ‘Hero’. There’s an atmosphere to this movie that makes you feel as though you are witnessing something extraordinary, something grandiose… that you are part of a privileged few. It’s the scenery that does it, the majestic mountains that seem to float above unnaturally green forests, meandering rivers, chillingly beautiful waterfalls and serene fields filled with small trees possessing millions of delicate pink blossoms. The scenery is one of this movie’s greatest assets.

The storyline is quite good too, not as majestic as the décor nor as memorable, but with the help of Jackie Chan and Jet Li it holds up… there are those moments when my thoughts wandered to another movie and I was momentarily comparing the similarities between ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ and ‘The Karate Kid’. ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ is visually superior with a far more elaborate storyline, but the main character just reeks of ‘The Karate Kid’. It isn’t a facial similarity, more is it the kung fu ‘apprenticeship’ the two characters take on, the ‘learning’ and ‘grooming’ periods that are tutored by quirky kung fu masters… it came as no surprise to learn that Jackie Chan will be taking up the role of Mr. Myagi in a remake of ‘The Karate Kid’. As far as I’m concerned, Michael Angarano [Jason Tripitikas] should be given the part of Daniel Larusso. Although there is a slight nagging similarity, it isn’t anything tangible that you can actually put your finger on.

‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ is a visual feast, and even if the storyline isn’t worthy of an award, the film itself was deserving of an award, even if it was only for décor. Unfortunately, it won zilch in the awards department, and that’s a shame because the cast and crew travelled the length and breadth of China to bring us some of the most spectacular scenery ever seen in a movie… something along the lines of ‘Hero’ and ‘The Curse of the Golden Flower’.

The acting itself is nothing spectacular, after all, we are talking Jackie Chan and Jet Li… if anything, they are performers, not actors. Both are extremely talented martial arts experts and, especially in Jackie Chan’s case, comedians. Lets face it, Jackie Chan’s facial expressions alone are worthy of a laugh or two, and he’s fantastic with one-liners. Jet Li isn’t as ‘funny’, but he makes up for it with some pretty amazing kung fu moves.

Another bonus, definitely worthy of mention, is the addition of some pretty nasty villains. The White Hair Witch Bingbing Li, Ni Chang, is absolutely amazing, her presence on screen is awe-inspiring, the way her long hair seems to clutch at the enemy, coming alive, the long white tendrils like snakes… she’s a chilling character, stunningly beautiful yet ice cold.

The Jade Warlord is a nefarious character, a liar and a cheat, a powerful magician, but he’s far from being as deadly-looking as the White Hair Witch Bingbing Li… his presence is necessary, his prowess as a kung fu warrior is worthy of mention, but his acting skills have made him neither believable nor memorable.

All in all, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ is a fantastic movie… and if you purchase the DVD, you’ll get a few commentary reels (which I ignored – can’t stand these), bloopers (absolutely love Jackie Chan bloopers, although these weren’t as funny as usual), deleted scenes, and my absolute favourite… a close-up of the locations that were used in the making of the movie. This clip was amazing… it tells you how some of the scenes were shot towards the sky because they were shooting during a holiday period when the Chinese literally swarm to the area, and how they had to hire thousands of people to glue pink blossoms back onto the trees because they’d fallen off before the scene could be shot… you get a good view of the Gobi desert, and you see how some of the views are incorporated within the movie. There are a few short commentaries by the cast and crew concerning their stay in China (nothing too long or boring) and the person who was in charge of finding the location for the filming tells us of his uncharted journey through China in search of the perfect spot.

I purchased the DVD at Amazon for £4.98 – note that this item was available for free Super Saver Delivery as long as I reached the minimum £5.00 mark. I was just .02p short of the mark… go figure. Luckily, ‘Australia’ was on sale for £3.98 (I really wanted to see this movie) so I was able to pick both movies up for under £10.00 with free delivery.

 

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