The Forbidden Kingdom

Jason (Michael Angarano) is a teenage kid obsessed with kung fu films and frequently visits Chinatown to buy bootleg kung fu films. Running afoul of the local teenage thug, Jason is forced to help them break into the store of an old man who knows Jason. After an obligatory set of circumstances occur, Jason ends up with an important looking staff and the mission of returning it to its master. A magically induced fall from a roof top allows our hero Jason to wake up in a mythical China called the Middle Kingdom.

Jason soon discovers that the staff he carries is much sought after and quickly finds himself in trouble. The drunken master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) comes to his aid and tells the legendary story of the Monkey King and the Jade Warlord. Eventually Jason is joined in his quest to return the staff to the statue of the Monkey King by a vengeful woman called the Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu Yi Fei) and a taciturn monk (Jet Li). The three train Jason in kung fu and battle scores of warriors on their quest.

Shakespeare it isn't. But honestly a martial arts film doesn't need to have a great story. It just needs a moderately coherent one. And it gets bonus points if said story isn't seemingly an elaborate analogy for the glory that is modern day China (Hero comes to mind. No, it doesn't need a great story, it just needs enough to keep you from wanting to open your veins while waiting for the next choreographed martial arts sequence. Thankfully The Forbidden Kingdom has just that.

Jet Li and Jackie Chan are both enjoyable to watch and both of their talents are made good use of here. Chan is more often associated with clever uses of props as if drunk or a fool while Li tends to represent a more graceful side. Both are a lot of fun to watch. And when the two themselves spar against one another, the result had me grinning. Jet Li's silent monk is typical of his no nonsense act that he has perfected in so many movies but he also gets to play the Monkey King and in that capacity he gets to play a more lively character that showed Li has a range far wider than I would have reckoned.

The plot kept me entertained enough. The fighting was all I really came to see and the director did something a lot of directors find hard to do. He kept the camera still. Its amazing what that can do for you. It allows you to actually see what you came to see, a bunch of guys (and gals) kicking the high holy crap out of each other. So if you are in for a complete piece of popcorn fluff where you can be highly entertained by martial arts and mildly entertained by a story then I say go see this one.