- 23,800
- Philippines
Just finished watching "The Forbidden Kingdom"... a martial arts pic that features the first ever collaboration between Jet Li and the legendary Jackie Chan. Wasn't expecting too much from it... never heard of the producer, and the idea of having a martial arts semi-historical pic revolving around a young American just seems so... 80's.
But there was nothing better on at the Cineplex (Semi-pro? Nim's Island?... errh...), so we decided to give it a whirl. Many of Jackie's recent movies have been complete bombs... focusing more on Jackie as a comedy prop than as a martial artist... we figured this ought to be a bit better, since it's Jackie back at what he does best... Kung Fu.
The first fifteen minutes of TPK introduce the main character, Jason Tripitakas (played by Michael Angarano, who led last in "Sky High"), a wimpy loser who lives only for cheesy Kung Fu movies bought from a little old man in ChinaTown. On his way back from the shop, he's accosted by a bunch of bullies... and one thing leads to another... well... the old man gets shot, bullies chase him across the roof of the building next door, and he falls off the roof clutching a magical staff that takes him to the Forbidden Kingdom, centuries in the past.
Here, he learns from the "Drunken Immortal", Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) that the staff belongs to the Monkey King (Jet Li), who was tricked into letting it go before being turned into a Jade Statue by the Jade Warlord (Collin Chan) during a duel.
They are joined by the Orphaned Warrior (Crystal Liu) and the Silent Monk (Jet Li... again) in their quest to return the Monkey King's staff and to free him of his bondage at the castle on Five Elements Mountain. They are opposed and harried in this quest by the Jade Warlord's soldiers and the white-haired witch (Li Bingbing), and, in the end, come up against the Jade Warlord himself.
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While Michael Angarano isn't a bad actor... the whole "American-kid-travels-to-a-fantastic-land-has-an-adventure-and-comes-back-a-hero" thing has been done to hell and back countless other times. The intro of the movie feels suitably Kung Fu... with the opening mood set by the awesome soundtrack music and a pretty decent fight scene featuring Jet Li as the Monkey King... but the scenes of modern America seem... forced. I haven't heard a Jersey accent that thick since the 70's... come on... in fact, the first fifteen minutes of the movie could have come straight out of a crappy 70's Kung Fu flick.
But once we're immersed in the world of the Forbidden Kingdom... such sins are forgotten. Michael, as Jason, does a creditable job of being the wide-eyed tourist, and Jackie's performance is outstanding. Particularly noteworthy is the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Jet Li, which is electric. Their obligatory fight scene when Jet Li's Monk character is introduced is exceptional, and their banter throughout the film is memorable (if you can understand Jackie's english, that is...). The training scenes on their journey, as well as many of the fights are classic Kung Fu movie fare, also, and the final showdown with the Jade Warlord is a good one. I'm impressed with Angarano's work ethic... learning enough rudimentary Kung Fu to get through the movie must have been awfully hard. He's a more convincing fighter than Ralph Macchio, but I still can't stop comparing him to Shia LeBeouf... who's possibly a better and more versatile actor... and who may have not been completely overshadowed in the presence of the two martial arts legends.
What's not convincing is the budding romance between "Jason" and "Sparrow"... it's a little forced, a little cheesy, and a little too predictable.
The production design is lush, beautiful and well-thought out. The sets, costumery and special effects are all breathtakingly wonderful, and capture the feeling of being in a classical Chinese play.
Unfortunately... this being an "American-kid-travels-to-a-fantastic-land-has-an-adventure-and-comes-back-a-hero" movie... (breathe... hurrrrrhhhhhh
) you know that eventually, he's going to go back home. And when he does, the results are utterly predictable, and cheesier than the ending of Karate Kid. But you've got to admit, it's about the only ending that makes sense.
Definitely a recommend. 👍 It's not the best movie I've ever watched, but it's worth getting on DVD so you can watch Jackie and Jet together on screen. That alone is worth the price of admission. In fact, I'd actually watch it again, in the theater, given the chance.
But there was nothing better on at the Cineplex (Semi-pro? Nim's Island?... errh...), so we decided to give it a whirl. Many of Jackie's recent movies have been complete bombs... focusing more on Jackie as a comedy prop than as a martial artist... we figured this ought to be a bit better, since it's Jackie back at what he does best... Kung Fu.
The first fifteen minutes of TPK introduce the main character, Jason Tripitakas (played by Michael Angarano, who led last in "Sky High"), a wimpy loser who lives only for cheesy Kung Fu movies bought from a little old man in ChinaTown. On his way back from the shop, he's accosted by a bunch of bullies... and one thing leads to another... well... the old man gets shot, bullies chase him across the roof of the building next door, and he falls off the roof clutching a magical staff that takes him to the Forbidden Kingdom, centuries in the past.
Here, he learns from the "Drunken Immortal", Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) that the staff belongs to the Monkey King (Jet Li), who was tricked into letting it go before being turned into a Jade Statue by the Jade Warlord (Collin Chan) during a duel.
They are joined by the Orphaned Warrior (Crystal Liu) and the Silent Monk (Jet Li... again) in their quest to return the Monkey King's staff and to free him of his bondage at the castle on Five Elements Mountain. They are opposed and harried in this quest by the Jade Warlord's soldiers and the white-haired witch (Li Bingbing), and, in the end, come up against the Jade Warlord himself.
----
While Michael Angarano isn't a bad actor... the whole "American-kid-travels-to-a-fantastic-land-has-an-adventure-and-comes-back-a-hero" thing has been done to hell and back countless other times. The intro of the movie feels suitably Kung Fu... with the opening mood set by the awesome soundtrack music and a pretty decent fight scene featuring Jet Li as the Monkey King... but the scenes of modern America seem... forced. I haven't heard a Jersey accent that thick since the 70's... come on... in fact, the first fifteen minutes of the movie could have come straight out of a crappy 70's Kung Fu flick.
But once we're immersed in the world of the Forbidden Kingdom... such sins are forgotten. Michael, as Jason, does a creditable job of being the wide-eyed tourist, and Jackie's performance is outstanding. Particularly noteworthy is the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Jet Li, which is electric. Their obligatory fight scene when Jet Li's Monk character is introduced is exceptional, and their banter throughout the film is memorable (if you can understand Jackie's english, that is...). The training scenes on their journey, as well as many of the fights are classic Kung Fu movie fare, also, and the final showdown with the Jade Warlord is a good one. I'm impressed with Angarano's work ethic... learning enough rudimentary Kung Fu to get through the movie must have been awfully hard. He's a more convincing fighter than Ralph Macchio, but I still can't stop comparing him to Shia LeBeouf... who's possibly a better and more versatile actor... and who may have not been completely overshadowed in the presence of the two martial arts legends.
What's not convincing is the budding romance between "Jason" and "Sparrow"... it's a little forced, a little cheesy, and a little too predictable.
The production design is lush, beautiful and well-thought out. The sets, costumery and special effects are all breathtakingly wonderful, and capture the feeling of being in a classical Chinese play.
Unfortunately... this being an "American-kid-travels-to-a-fantastic-land-has-an-adventure-and-comes-back-a-hero" movie... (breathe... hurrrrrhhhhhh
) you know that eventually, he's going to go back home. And when he does, the results are utterly predictable, and cheesier than the ending of Karate Kid. But you've got to admit, it's about the only ending that makes sense.Definitely a recommend. 👍 It's not the best movie I've ever watched, but it's worth getting on DVD so you can watch Jackie and Jet together on screen. That alone is worth the price of admission. In fact, I'd actually watch it again, in the theater, given the chance.
