The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
THE SCOOP
Director: Rob Minkoff
Cast: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano
Plot: A discovery made by a kung fu obsessed
American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band
of martial arts warriors in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King.
Genre: Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Awards: -
Runtime: 104min
Rating: PG for sequences of martial arts
action and some violence.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
The Forbidden Kingdom is
one of the worst films of 2008. From the highs of The Lion King, director Rob
Minkoff unexpectedly plummets down to the lows of this Jackie Chan-Jet Li
collaboration. The Forbidden Kingdom provides answers to the
burning question - what is wrong with Jackie and Jet in the Hollywood setup
all these years?
As a matter of fact, they're responsible for churning out
mediocre pictures year after year since they broke into Hollywood in the early
2000s (The Tuxedo, Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 the Grave, Around the World in 80
Days etc).
The Forbidden Kingdom boasts
Oscar-winning cinematographer Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and
fight choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping (The Matrix). It's also the first time two of Asia's
leading exponents of martial arts lay fists on each other in a motion picture. Sadly, although most of the fight sequences are executed excellently, they lack
the creativity and inspiration that were once Yuen's hallmarks.
With a flimsy storyline
and an outrageously bad script, The Forbidden Kingdom is bound to incur the
wrath of critics. Using the legend of the Monkey King as a template, the plot
is carved out in a manner that is as predictable as yesterday's weather - an
insult to viewers' intelligence, really.
The CGI is overused too, especially
during the final fifteen minutes when a large-scale battle is fought in a
gigantic hall of a palace. I understand this is a part-fantasy, part
action-adventure movie, but the fantastical elements are too overly emphasized
that they become a sorry sight instead.
The Forbidden Kingdom would
have achieved far better results if it was filmed totally in Mandarin. It's
obvious that both Jackie and Jet are not fluent in spoken English, so why
exploit their flaws then? And I don't see what’s so tough training an American
in Mandarin rather than having the whole of ancient China speak
English.
Where's the authenticity of it all? Please skip this even if the
temptation of watching Jackie and Jet trade punches is too much to resist. The Forbidden Kingdom is
truly a shameful piece of cinema.
GRADE: F (4/10 or 1.5 stars)
OST:
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