The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

A discovery made by a kung fu obsessed American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Director:

Rob Minkoff

Writer:

John Fusco

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	The Monkey King / The Silent Monk
Michael Angarano	...	Jason Tripitikas
Jackie Chan	...	Lu Yan / Old Hop
Juana Collignon	...	Southie Girl
Morgan Benoit	...	Lupo
Jack Posobiec	...	Southie
Thomas McDonell	...	Young Southie
Zhi Ma Gui	...	Old Woman
Shen Shou He	...	Farmer
Bin Jiang	...	Young Village Man
Shaohua Yang	...	Jade Soldier
Yu Yuan Zeng	...	Inn Keeper
Deshun Wang	...	Jade Emperor
XiaoLi Liu	...	Queen Mother
Collin Chou	...	Jade Warlord

Storyline

An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

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Plot Keywords:

urination | monkey king | staff | teenager | warrior | 

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Taglines:

The path is unsafe. The place is unknown. The journey is unbelievable.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Entertainment [United States] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA China

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jackie Chan/Jet Li Project

Filming Locations:

Anji bamboo forest, Jiangsu, China

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$21,401,121 (USA) (18 April 2008)

Gross:

$25,040,293 (USA) (13 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Casey Silver Productions, China Film Co-Production Corporation, Huayi Brothers Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening credits features photographs of famous martial arts actors from the famous The Shaw Brothers Creative Group during the 1970's and 1980's. Among the actors shown are Bruce Lee, Kara Hui, Lung Ti, David Chiang, Chia-Liang Liu, Chia-Hui Liu, Kuan Tai Chen and The Venom Mob.

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Goofs

When the Jade Warlord slams the Silent Monk onto the Monkey King's altar at the end, it cuts to a different shot and the Silent Monk disappears, reappearing in the next shot.

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Quotes

Jason Tripitikas: I can't understand you.
Lu Yan: That's because you're not listening!

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Crazy Credits

Jackie Chan and Jet Li are credited together before the title. Jackie Chan's name is spelled out horizontally, but Jet Li's is spelled out vertically, and the same "J" is used for both.

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Connections

Version of Journey to the West (1986)

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Soundtracks

Tosehe Sugze Laa Part 2
Written by The Tibet Foundation
Performed by The Tibet Foundation
Courtesy of Extreme Music

User Reviews

A Nice Martial Arts Fantasy Story

Jackie Chan returns in a Drunken Master (1978) role along with Jet Li in a more mysterious but delightful twisting role in this fantasy martial arts film that requires a leap of faith into myths, legends, and magic. In doing so, this adventure tale is compelling from the very beginning with a quick, fast martial art scene followed by some amazing opening credits. The martial art fights are prolonged and exciting and the storyline is although predictable, entertaining and worthy of an evening storytale. Not a classic, nor epic, not heavy, and never managing to enter into serious realm of award-winning, this movie is nevertheless a summer, adolescent family movie that is worth its admission price and both Jackie Chan and Jet Li offer up some good performances in a movie without any real failings. Eight out of Ten Stars.