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The Forbidden Kingdom 8 out of 10 Posted: 06/24/08
Running time: 1:50 MPAA rating: PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence. Peruvian rating: Mayores de 14
Cast:
Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano, Yifei Liu, Bingbing Li,
Collin Chou. |
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The Forbidden Kingdom is the first movie in which two of the most well-known martial artists appear together – Jet Li and Jackie Chan. And although the film is not perfect in any way – mainly because it’s sometimes got too much filler and Li and Chan don’t fight against each other as often as many of their fans would have wanted to -, it’s a really entertaining flick that focuses more on the story and the character arc of the protagonist than on the action. That’s not to say there isn’t any action; actually, there are a lot of punches and hits and ass-kicking in The Forbidden Kingdom. I really didn’t know what to expect when I decided to see it – Chan and L fighting together? Against each other? Lots of special effects or a more traditional movie? – but when the end credits started rolling, I felt satisfied.
The film tells the story of Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), a high school boy who loves kung fu movies. His always goes to a pawn shop in Chinatown to look for his favorite movies on DVD. One day, though, he encounters a local gang that forces him to enter the pawn shop and rob its gentle owner with them. The old man is shot, and Jason finds himself in possession of a magical staff that sends him to a mystical land, an ancient China full of legendary beings.
But what is it with the staff? The moment Jason arrives he finds out it belongs to the Monkey King (Jet Li), who needs it back in order to revive and defeat the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou), who turned him into stone years before. The Warlord doesn't want Jason to deliver the staff, of course, so he sends his minions to look for Jason. The boy is helped by Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), a drunken martial artist who seems to be an expert at fighting, well, drunk. They are also joined by Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), who talks about herself in the third person, and the Silent Monk (Jet Li once again), who has dedicated his entire life to seeking the staff of the Monkey King.
At first, it didn’t seem to me that Rob Minkoff would be the ideal director for this kind of movie (his previous credits include The Lion King, Stuart Little 2 and the awful The Haunted Mansion), but his work has proved me wrong. He seems really adept at filming martial arts sequences, and his direction is very effective at hiding all the possible tricks he might have used for the action scenes. One must admit that Jet Li and Jackie Chan are both well passed their prime (Chan especially), but that movie makes sure we don’t realize this. If we didn’t know that Li has never shied away from using stunt doubles, or that Chan is starting to use them because of his age, we would think they did all their stunts for the film. Why? Because they look realistic, CGI is barely used for them and, most importantly, they’re exciting and cool-looking. When a sequence of this type manages to engage the viewer, he/she will always ignore the technical details and just “enjoy the ride”.
But The Forbidden Kingdom is not a common martial arts flick. It’s more of an epic, as it takes place in a romanticized version of China in which immortals walk on Earth and every martial artists seems capable of flying or, at least, gliding. (In a very Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon kind of style.) Choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (the aforementioned Ang Lee movie, The Matrix and its sequels, Kung Fu Hustle) makes sure every martial arts scene looks beautiful and is expertly choreographed, looking more dreamy than technical. Landscapes are beautiful, CGI is effective without being overused, and the film as a whole looks like big, bold dream (when it takes place in China, of course.) Even Peter Pau’s photography conveys this.
Performances are not what make a kung fu flick enjoyable, but are nevertheless really good. The filmmakers want to make us believe Michael Angarano is the protagonist of the film (we all know everybody watches the film because of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, not the American kid), and although his character arc is a little clichéd – boy is friendless, boy find magical land, but is trained, boys gains self-trust, boy triumphs and gets the girl (sort-of) -, Angarano makes sure we root for him. It’s not a break-through performance, but it works here. Li and Chan are superb as always – Chan always injecting his brand of humour to the movie and Li going along with the ride; he’s definitely less serious here than in all his previous pictures – and supporting performances by Yifei Liu and Collin Chou are good.
The Forbidden Kingdom works not because it provides with an amazingly original story, or because it contains believable, three-dimensional characters. The film works because it’s got tons of action and cool kung fu sequences, nice special effects, and a taste of what it could’ve been like if Jackie Chan and Jet Li had fought each other ten or so years ago, when they were in their prime. Even though they only have one fight against each other (after it they become friends and fight along each other), it is long and exciting enough to make the most eager fans fill with joy. The Forbidden Kingdom is a solid kung fu/fantasy/epic flick, and it surprised me that both an American director and screenwriter could create a compelling motion picture about China legends and folklore. The Chan/Li encounter? It’s just a nice little (or maybe not so little) extra.
©2008 Sebastián Zavala - GG site