April 19, 2008
Forbidden Kingdom
A Fantasy-Fu flick for the action crowd!
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Yifei Liu, Collin Chou
Rating: 7.5/10
Directed By: Rob Minkoff
Runtime: 113 minutes
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Yifei Liu, Collin Chou
Rating: 7.5/10
Directed By: Rob Minkoff
Runtime: 113 minutes
The first American kung-fu film in quite some time not to totally suck, Forbidden Kingdom promises the most anticipated matchup in modern film. The 80s demanded Stallone and Schwarzenegger, the 90s Van Dam and Seagal, the 2000s Freddy and Jason. With the exception of the 2000s, which happened with excellent results, neither of the dream action team-ups ever occurred. The closest thing to that type of testosterone overload was Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone together in Tango and Cash in 1989. Now arguably two of the most popular action stars in the world today, Jackie Chan and Jet Li would do battle in a rousing action-adventure made for the whole family. Wait, what? Yes, sadly PG-13, would Forbidden Kingdom live up to the insane anticipation of action lovers everywhere? Kind of.Nathan Hamilton. Sandwich Dan. Ninja Mike. Doctor Rockzo. Names that live in Austin infamy. Just the kind of dudes needed to assist in this film-going experience, especially in case of a Medallion (2003) repeat. Which the movie led us to believe was the case right off the bat by announcing the director and the writer were Americans... and not just any Americans, my friends. The writer, John Fusco, is known for marvelous martial arts thrillers such as Thunderheart (1992) and Hidalgo (2004) whilst the director, Rob Minkoff, lends his kung-fu cred with directing credits on Stuart Little (1999) and the Haunted Mansion (2003). We all looked at each other and almost left until the executive producer and fight choreographer's name hit the screen. If I have to tell you who Yuen Woo-Ping is you haven't watched any good movies (Drunken Master 2) or bad ones (Matrix) in the last ten years. This calmed us down and made us hope once again for entertainment and, may I state, Yuen Woo-Ping doesn't disappoint.
The fight scenes are excellent from the word go. The genre is Fantasy-Fu, characterized by leaping around, throwing fireballs and force punches and generally wrecking shit up and the cast responds with gusto. Jackie's fight in the inn combines the various animal styles with Jackie's trademark prop-fu while Jet Li as the Monkey King battling the Jade Warlord (a very Donnie Yen Collin Chou - and that's a good thing) is at once visually spectacular as well as a departure for Jet, who capers and jibs he has rarely shown in his previous works. The meat of the event, however, is the eight minutes of Jackie Chan versus Jet Li that you knew was gonna go down and this is where Yuen Woo-ping shows his most imagination. Both Li and Chan are old hands and the clash of styles is fluid and compelling. Yuen Woo-Ping plays to both of their strengths; Jet is more traditional in his attacks and serious, Jackie is as prop heavy and drunken style as you remember. It is the one solid chunk of the film you are absolutely glued to the screen.A few things prevent a higher score. The first is the inclusion of Michael Angarano. Minkoff and the studio labor under the impression that a movie of this type can only appeal to an American audience with and American kid in the lead and it is simply not true. The kid is terrible, evoking Shia LeBoeuf which is what you don't want in any film, let alone an epic of this type. You could have removed him from the film altogether and still had a rousing, easy-to-follow tale. Hey, here's an idea: cast a Chinese kid. This ties into the plot, as it were. Regardless of the tale this was based on, the story is a mash-up of the fantasy quest adventure alá The Great Yokai War (2005) combined with the traditional 70s plot of kid knows no kung-fu, kid learns, kid triumphs over evil at the end... except the kid is an American choad from the future who finds a stick that transports him to the Three Kingdoms in order to save the Monkey King from being stone. Yeah, an American kid is right for that role. This gives the film a "been there, seen it" feel you shouldn't have from a film like this and shows American studios have got to fuck with ideas and concepts to the detriment of entertainment. The aforementioned Takashi Miike vehicle, The Great Yokai War featured a ten year old child protagonist who delivers a sword up a spirit-filled mountain and I totally bought it. The Forbidden Kingdom kid? Forget him altogether. The discussion we had after the movie produced one single gripe I have been hounded to drive in and that's the American kid came close to ruining this otherwise decent fantasy thriller and Hollywood needs to smarten up and allow a genre film to remain in genre.
The dangerous group I assembled still feel Forbidden Kingdom is worth the money to see it in the theater, especially since Jackie Chan and Jet Li are the main attraction and both are worth your hard earned dollars, as is the stellar action work of Yuen Woo-Ping. Yifei Liu and Bingbing Li are fresh new faces and both have the potential to step in to roles Ziyi Zhang most recently filled. The recycled plot, the American idea of the kung-fu film and the terrible, terrible notion to have a white dude "carry" the audience will definitely piss you off, yet not enough to stop enjoying the Forbidden Kingdom... just enough to make you wish it had been better.