But for most of the Chan/Li fight, I'm thinking, "This is so not kicking my ass."
Is it simply because no fight could live up to that expectation? I don't think so. When Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen teamed up for the first time in SPL, there was a much touted final brawl, mostly improvised by the two masters. Not only were these two going to carry the climax of the film, they were going to wing it. That's a hella-build-up. And still, it delivers.
The teaming of Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, or Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, or Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh (maybe it's just Yeoh that's missing here) have all lived up to the hype (not to mention Donnie Yen and Jet Li).
Fortunately, I've heard tell that Li and Chan are going to try to work together again, and that this wasn't their first choice of projects to collaborate on, it was just the one where the timing worked out the best.
I would recommend The Forbidden Kingdom for a lazy Saturday afternoon where you're flipping around cable and it happens to be on. But don't expect it to live up to the fact that kung fu cinema history is being made.
From there I hoofed it across town to check out Timecrimes, a Spanish thriller about... well, there's the problem. If you know what kind of movie it is, it's fairly easy to predict about half of the film's twists. From the title alone, though, you've probably already guessed that it's a time travel chiller. Writer/director Nacho Vigalondo does a good job of playing with the paradoxes of the genre, infusing the film with a welcome sense of humor. In fact, Timecrimes is as much dark comedy as it is Twilight Zone. I was a little underwhelmed with where it chose to take its premise, but your mileage may vary, and either way it makes for good post-flick coffee shop fodder.
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