ALARIS' REVIEWS

26th October 2008
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

When I heard that Hong Kong action legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li were to be paired for the first time in the US movie The Forbidden Kingdom, I expected a spectacular martial arts blockbuster, possibly with comical hijinks.

However, when word of mouth suggested The Forbidden Kingdom was, well, pretty bad, my expectations sank. I went in prepared for disappointment, and it was just as well.

The Forbidden Kingdom is an action fantasy film based on a similar classic premise to The Neverending Story. Awkward American teenager, Jason, is picked on at school, and finds his solace in martial arts movies. A fateful encounter with a mystical staff sends Jason into a fantasy world resembling ancient China , complete with evil sorceresses, pretty assassins, and Monkey Kings in need of rescue.

It should be a fun story, but the execution is clunky, with a plot that's both heavy handed and lacking in heroic direction. Jason comes across as unfortunately bland, and his hero's journey seems fairly stunted, without the emotional maturation we expect from stories like this.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li play Jason's two mentors, and really, we're watching the movie for them. The action is competent, although it's not Tsui Hark (wirework master of Hong Kong action - he makes you believe that Tekken moves are possible). The moments that shine are when Jackie Chan plays Jackie Chan. His likeable goofiness always translates well, and it's possibly one of the reasons he's found greater success in the US than talented contemporaries Chow Yun Fat or Jet Li (who've been saddled with awful films like The Replacement Killers and Cradle 2 the Grave respectively).

Jackie Chan revives his much loved drunken master style in some entertaining fight scenes, and Jet Li is permitted to show some of his adorability as the Silent Monk and the Monkey King.

Overall, the film lacks strong, charismatic characters, and has a stumbling plot that fails to deliver either breezy fun or dramatic punch. There are entertaining moments to be had if you're a Jackie Chan or Jet Li fan, but there are also far better offerings out there.

Verdict: Clunky, coming of age fantasy that falls short on drama and warmth.

If you like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, you might like bits of this.