It’s a light-hearted fairytale. And like Mayren says in her review, it’s a great little story. In this period of stupid talking chipmunks and PG-13 horror movies, it’s refreshing to see a movie that just wants to be a fun little story. Just go into the movie knowing that fact.
What you get is a Chinese fairytale mixed with a bit of time travel and kung fu. Some people will hate the fish out of water storyline, but for me it worked. Michael Angarano is fair in the role of the young American kid lost in ancient China, and he has one great part at the end of the film. But, he doesn’t really stand out in most of the film. I guess his point is not to stand out, because people want to see two of Hong Kong’s greats interact.
And, interact they do. Probably one of the best scenes in the film involves the meeting and fighting between Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The fight scene is long but outstandingly preformed by these two. They have very different styles, so it’s fun just to watch them in that scene together. (BTW, without giving to much away Chan and Li each play two roles in the film…sort of.) Chan and Li seem to have a lot of fun working together and it shows on screen.
Yifei Liu is pretty, but a little restrained in her performance. Bingbing Li actually has a far more interesting role than Liu. And, this might be because Bingbing Li plays a villain. She carries a whip and uses her long white hair as a weapon. What’s cooler than that?
Rob Minkoff does an okay job as director, but you better believe that Chan, Li, and fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping had more to do with how the battles turned out. The sight of the rolling mountains and vast lands also helps you get the feeling you’re in ancient China.
Despite some loose ends and some shaky dialogue, the movie is still fun and shouldn’t be taken seriously. This is not Couching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this film. While not for everyone, you will have to see the fight between Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
Grade: B
Notes
~The opening credits are a great tribute to the old Kung fu movies.
~The score in the film is a little weak in some places. I think John Williams would have been a better choice.
~Jet Li is great as the Monkey King.
~There are a few twists in the movie that I found enjoyable.
~Li does something very disgusting to Chan in the movie…
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6 comments:
I can't wait to see this movie! Thanks for the review.
That last line has me curious now.
No problem, it was a fun little movie
lol, I couldn't believe what Li does and still confused why he'd do such a thing to Chan's character.
I believe the movie will seem much funnier to us if we
know more about the China and its people. On the other hand, it’s really a harmless outlets for the impulses repressed
in the hearts of about 13-year-old boys whose parents won’t let them rent Once Upon a Time in China or the Kill Bill movies.
Can you believe it! I’m watching The Forbidden kingdom on my iPodnow! I rushed into the cinema the day before yesterday, as if fighting for a ticket to "beat" Jet lee and Jackie Chan who rule the box office.
Luckily, I download the avi video of this movie, and ripg the funny and
exciting clips onto my ipod, to make sure I can enjoy it whenever I can on the go.
A fabulous DVD movies to iPod conversion tool helps me a lot.It's named PQ DVD to iPod Converter Suite. It’s a superb software, and allows me to set the start time and end time, producing the exact clip I want. Meanwhile, the speed is really as fast as you
can imagine.
btw. thanks for the mention.
Glad you found this movie to be enojoyable too.
Mayren: No problem, your review was probably the one that won me over to go out and watch this movie.
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