PRINTTake Two: The Forbidden Kingdom
COURTESY OF LIONSGATE
In The Forbidden Kingdom, Jet Li (left) uses the far less skilled Michael Angarano as a punching bag while Jackie Chan holds Angarano down. Later, the three team up to fight some generic martial arts bad guys.
April 24, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
It’s been a long time coming.
Jackie Chan and Jet Li have dominated the martial arts genre for ages, and a collaboration between the two superstars has been much overdue. The Forbidden Kingdom technically fulfills this requirement, but kung-fu film buffs will be disheartened to learn that Chan and Li play second fiddle to relative newcomer Michael Angarano (Lords of Dogtown). Despite this missed opportunity, The Forbidden Kingdom delivers enough acrobatic fighting and comedic hijinks to make it worthwhile for casual action fans if not martial-arts enthusiasts.
Angarano stars as a kung-fu fanatic who finds a mystical staff at a pawnshop and is transported to ancient China to deliver it to its owner after local bullies knock him unconscious. This entails defeating the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) with the help of a drunk (Chan), a monk (Li) and a female musician (Liu Yifei), who are all well-versed in fighting.
The Wizard of Oz-esque plot manages to include almost every cliché imaginable, from Angarano’s need to train and gain self-confidence to Yifei’s desire for vengeance against the man who killed her family. There are also plenty of groan-inducing moments interspersed throughout the film. During one exchange, Yifei encounters the evil witch Ni Chang (Li Bing Bing) and says, “I will kill you, witch.” The villain promptly responds, “Not if I don’t kill you first, orphan b----.”
Despite these flaws, The Forbidden Kingdom is worth visiting for its cartoonish action and comedic situations. Yuen Wo Ping’s choreography doesn’t break any ground but allows Chan and Li to do what they do best, especially during an extended fight between the two.
When not fending off enemies, the main characters garner laughs with their awkward interactions; the most memorable of these is Chan and Li’s debate concerning which martial arts style is best, and they use Angarano’s body as their forum. Angarano proves to be a capable lead by effectively capturing his character’s naiveté and subsequent growth while never appearing too whiny.
Although it's not the hardcore throw-down martial arts flick fans no doubt were seeking, The Forbidden Kingdom packs enough primal thrills and silliness to make it worth catching. Chan and Li may be going through the motions, but what incredible motions they are.
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