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

5 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 | wuxia | time travel | based on novel | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

The battle for eternity is the fantasy of a lifetime. (Canadian poster)

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Early in the movie, Jason (Michael Angarano) finds the DVD Guangdong shi hu xing yi wu xi (1980) in Hop's (Jackie Chan's) pawn shop. "Ten Tigers" is often regarded by martial arts movie experts as the ultimate Shaw Brothers martial arts movie, because it featured a star-studded cast of legendary martial arts actors, including Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, and major and supporting actors from The Venom Mob (which includes all six principle actors from The Five Venoms). The movie also featured a younger generation of Shaw Brothers actors, and was meant as a way to "pass the torch" from then-veteran Shaw Brothers actors to the new generation of actors. The Shaw Brothers Creative Group's movies rarely featured so many star actors in one movie, and Ten Tigers of Kwang Tung (1980) was one of the few movies to do so.

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Goofs

When Jason is fighting the witch in the Jade castle, he jumps to recover the staff. You can clearly see that he has his hands on the pole when lands. In the next shot, the pole is several feet away from him. The shot after that, it's just within fingers reach.

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Quotes

Jason Tripitikas: Is this a dream?
Lu Yan: No, Where you came from is the dream, Through The Gate of No Gate.
Jason Tripitikas: What is that, like a wormhole or something?
Lu Yan: No, It means. You are either a Zen Master or You carry something very special.
Jason Tripitikas: [Pointing towards the staff] This? It was in a pawnshop waiting for a man to pick it up and return it to it's rightful owner. What?

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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

Referenced in The Debt Collector (2018)

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Soundtracks

The Shepherd Girl
Traditional
Arranged by Cheng Yu
Performed by Cheng Yu
Courtesy of Extreme Music

User Reviews

Likable Martial Arts Fantasy

Jackie Chan has to be one of the more likable actors of his generation, a man who can successfully combine martial arts brutality and humor.....and pull it off, each time. "The Forbidden Kingdom" is another example of his talents, geniality and flair for comedy in addition to the obvious martial arts skills he's shown us all these years.

To make long story very short, this is tale an American teen who finds an ornate bo-staff at a friend's shop in Chinatown and the kid's mission winds up to deliver this age-old weapon to its rightful owner across the world in China and in a different time period. Yeah, I know, the story is ludicrous, but who cares? It's an entertaining film with some great stunts and some good humor. We have young people, old people, amateur fighters and pros, pretty girls with pretty moms, exotic locales and a lot of seriousness mixed with goofiness and Chinese mythology.

This is a not a film for "hard core" martial-arts fans, nor is it an "intelligent" film but if you're looking for a fun two hours of total escapism without the story being too stupid to enjoy, this fits the bill. I mean, you get Chan and Jet Li, in the same movie for the first time, too - not bad!

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 USA:

$21,401,121, 20 April 2008

Gross USA:

$52,075,270

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$128,792,411

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:

2.39 : 1