The Forbidden Kingdom is a martial arts/fantasy romp that makes no excuses for itself. The movie isn’t supposed to be a thought-provoking emotional journey. It’s just good, clean fun with a lot of over-the-top violence thrown in. I sat down, gave my adult self a brief leave of absence, and thoroughly enjoyed myself with predictable plot twists, stunted character development, and villains who were just bad without getting into why they were villains.
Jackie Chan plays Lu Yan, an Immortal that drinks to keep his power flowing. Kind of like Popeye, only with wine instead of spinach. His kung fu is mighty, but more than that, he mugs for the camera and takes pratfall after pratfall in a way that only he can. I enjoy watching him work because he’s so good with facial expressions while he’s pulling off incredible feats and taking a lot of physical punishment.
Jet Li plays a dual role as the Monkey King and Sun Wukong, a somber monk. As the Monkey King, Li gets to access a humorous side of himself seldom seen in his movies. He’s been relegated to the tough guy role as either villain or hero in most of his films. When he first appeared in the movie in heavy makeup, I didn’t recognize him. It wasn’t till I watched him go into action that I knew who he truly was.
The movie centers around Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) as he tries to find his way in the real world. He loves kung fu movies and has made a friend of Hop, an old Chinese pawnbroker. After the initial setup where we see that Jason’s life isn’t really great, thugs force him to help them break into Hop’s shop. While there, Jason tries to protect a strange staff that Hop says has been there for a hundred years or so.
As the danger increases, Jason gets transported to a mystical world, joins up with Jackie Chan, and is told that he’s the Traveler, the one who will take the staff back to the Monkey King. From that point on, the movie turns into a road film, with death and adventure around every corner.
I loved the fantasy elements in the film. The choreography of the fight scenes was excellent. Jackie Chan and Jet Li were flawless, and it was awesome to see them working together for the first time. For martial arts enthusiasts, The Forbidden Kingdom is a visual treat.
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