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.
A Chinese man travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped Princess. After teaming up with a train robber, the unlikely duo takes on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss.
A Secret Agent loses his memory after falling from a crashing helicopter. He is then chased by several other agency operatives, but he has no idea why.
After an attempted assassination on Ambassador Han, Lee and Carter head to Paris to protect a French woman with knowledge of the Triads' secret leaders.
A Chinese chef accidentally gets involved with a news reporter who filmed a drug bust that went awry, and is now being chased by gangs who are trying to get the video tape.
A hero cop accidentally leads his team into a trap from which he is the only survivor. Drowning his guilt in booze, he is eventually assigned a new younger partner who turns out to have his own secrets.
At a Hong Kong shopping center, Buck Yuen's (Jackie Chan's) intuition warns him. He saves a robbery's loot and gets on television, ends up in Istanbul via South Korea, and accidentally becomes a spy. Fortunately, he knows Kung Fu.
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.Written by
Anonymous
Before crossing the desert, our four heroes are riding horses. During their crossing, there are no horses. After the cherry blossom fight, they escape on four horses. See more »
Quotes
[Lu Yan meets the Silent Monk for the first time]
Lu Yan:
Ahh, good to get off my feet! Long day. So, where you from? Shangdong Province? You look like the Shangdong Province type. You come here often?
[the Monk doeesn't answer]
Lu Yan:
That staff doesn't belong to you. You have to give it to me, or somebody might get hurt.
See more »
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. See more »
That's all you have to know to want to see this movie. Contrasting and complementary and ... the best. Add Director of Photography Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Martial Arts Choreographer Woo-ping Yuen (Fearless, Unleashed, Kill Bill, The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Once Upon A Time In China) and you have what it takes for an excellent presentation. Woo-ping has worked extensively with Jackie and in this movie has formed a solid relationship with Jet.
Li Bing-Bing and Liu Yifei are two young actresses of surpassing beauty. This is only Liu's third movie, but she has really come into her own with a very convincing presence and acting ability. She is strongly reminiscent of Zhang Ziyi when she exploded on the scene some 8 years earlier. Li is better known, at least in China, where she is an established star. Here she is cast against type, as an evil villain, and she seems totally at home in this role, which she carries off with style.
Michael Angarano seems to be confined by his role as written, which is stereotyped and not too interesting or endearing. Unquestionably he is capable of a fine performance, as he shows in Black Irish. Here we see only brief glimpses of his talent. It is too bad, and the failure to bring out his potential is the greatest disappointment of The Forbidden Kingdom.
Nonetheless, this film deserves a high rating, primarily on the strength of Jet and Jackie, but also the wonderful new Liu. It was worth the long, long wait to see Jet and Jackie fighting.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
That's all you have to know to want to see this movie. Contrasting and complementary and ... the best. Add Director of Photography Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Martial Arts Choreographer Woo-ping Yuen (Fearless, Unleashed, Kill Bill, The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Once Upon A Time In China) and you have what it takes for an excellent presentation. Woo-ping has worked extensively with Jackie and in this movie has formed a solid relationship with Jet.
Li Bing-Bing and Liu Yifei are two young actresses of surpassing beauty. This is only Liu's third movie, but she has really come into her own with a very convincing presence and acting ability. She is strongly reminiscent of Zhang Ziyi when she exploded on the scene some 8 years earlier. Li is better known, at least in China, where she is an established star. Here she is cast against type, as an evil villain, and she seems totally at home in this role, which she carries off with style.
Michael Angarano seems to be confined by his role as written, which is stereotyped and not too interesting or endearing. Unquestionably he is capable of a fine performance, as he shows in Black Irish. Here we see only brief glimpses of his talent. It is too bad, and the failure to bring out his potential is the greatest disappointment of The Forbidden Kingdom.
Nonetheless, this film deserves a high rating, primarily on the strength of Jet and Jackie, but also the wonderful new Liu. It was worth the long, long wait to see Jet and Jackie fighting.