The Forbidden Kingdom : Review
The question is that this first pairing of marital arts masters
Jackie Chan and Jet Li worth the long wait? Answer is probably yes,but
only when their fists of fury are flying. And, thankfully, that
happens quite frequently.
How refreshing that Chan's gone public in dismissing John Fusco's
script to this fantasy epic as unimpressive. He's right. But what
difference does it make when all we want to see is Chan and Li kicking
butt? And The Forbidden Kingdom offers plenty of opportunities for
them to do just that. So what whimsy excuse has Fusco and director Rob
Minkoff come up with to unite Chan and Li? Well, they have essentially
fused the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West--which features
the mythical hero Monkey King--with A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court. Only this time, Mark Twain's "curious stranger"
happens to be a wimpy kid (Michael Angarano) who's whisked back in
time to ancient China with the aid of the magical staff belonging to
the Monkey King (Li). For no other reason than to pander to American
audiences, Jason's charged with the task of freeing a trapped-in-stone
Monkey King from the grasp of the powerful Jade Warlord (Collin Chou).
Jason may possess a Quentin Tarantino-esque knowledge of kung fu
movies, but he's no Bruce Lee. Enter Lu Yan (Chan) and the Silent Monk
(Li, again), two mighty warriors who not only join Jason's quest to
defeat the Jade Warlord but also make like Mr. Miyagi to train him in
the way of the martial arts.
Chan rehashes his Drunken Master shtick, so there's much humor to be
found in his wine-guzzling immortal's efforts to vanquish his foes
while fighting under the influence. And, as usual, Chan makes
inventive use of the props that he gets in his hands. He even shows
off his aerobatic moves while caked in old-geezer makeup as the owner
of the store where Jason finds the staff. As the Monkey King and the
Silent Monk, Li throws more punches than he utters lines of dialogue.
Li, though, has twice as much fun as Chan with his two different
roles. The Silent Monk lives up to his name, but when the action
starts, the wushu-trained Li comes across as stronger, swifter and
nimbler than the older Chan. Looking very much like Curious George
with his pulled-back hair and lengthy sideburns, Jet Li reveals a
charming playfulness as the giggling Monkey King that we've not seen
in his Hollywood-produced bloodbaths. Angarano, though, is bland and
boring. He's Shia LaBeouf without the personality, depth or comic
timing. Yifei Liu, as the vengeful Golden Sparrow, proves to be as
much a lethal weapon as her male counterparts. Decked out like Halle
Berry in X-Men, Li Bingbing is delightfully malicious as Golden
Sparrow's nemesis Ni Chang. She also exudes more menace than the oily
Chou.
So it remains unsettled as to who would emerge victorious if Jackie
Chan and Jet Li duked it out for bragging rights (my money's on Li
because his characters possess a killer instinct that Chan's nice guys
lack). But director Rob Minkoff--responsible for The Lion King and
Stuart Little--knows what's important when it comes to The Forbidden
Kingdom . It's all about the big brawls, baby. With the invaluable
assistance of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon marital arts
choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen, Minkoff ensures that Chan and Li are
always busy doing what they do best. He doesn't reign in Chan and
Li--whose easy rapport is evident from the beginning--or cut short the
furiously executed skirmishes that boast everything from stick
fighting to wire fu. Then again, that only appropriate considering The
Forbidden Kingdom sets itself up from its funky opening credits as a
homage to Hong Kong action cinema. Still, The Forbidden Kingdom does
grind to a halt whenever Chan and Li take a breather. The story's
tired and predictable, the dialogue's grating, and the comedy's
forced--though it's quite amusing and cathartic to watch Chan and Li
knock around the ineffectual Jason. For all its flaws, though, The
Forbidden Kingdom offers the priceless spectacle of Chan and Li kung
fu fighting. And those cats really are as fast as lightning.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
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Jackie Chan and Jet Li worth the long wait? Answer is probably yes,but
only when their fists of fury are flying. And, thankfully, that
happens quite frequently.
How refreshing that Chan's gone public in dismissing John Fusco's
script to this fantasy epic as unimpressive. He's right. But what
difference does it make when all we want to see is Chan and Li kicking
butt? And The Forbidden Kingdom offers plenty of opportunities for
them to do just that. So what whimsy excuse has Fusco and director Rob
Minkoff come up with to unite Chan and Li? Well, they have essentially
fused the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West--which features
the mythical hero Monkey King--with A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court. Only this time, Mark Twain's "curious stranger"
happens to be a wimpy kid (Michael Angarano) who's whisked back in
time to ancient China with the aid of the magical staff belonging to
the Monkey King (Li). For no other reason than to pander to American
audiences, Jason's charged with the task of freeing a trapped-in-stone
Monkey King from the grasp of the powerful Jade Warlord (Collin Chou).
Jason may possess a Quentin Tarantino-esque knowledge of kung fu
movies, but he's no Bruce Lee. Enter Lu Yan (Chan) and the Silent Monk
(Li, again), two mighty warriors who not only join Jason's quest to
defeat the Jade Warlord but also make like Mr. Miyagi to train him in
the way of the martial arts.
Chan rehashes his Drunken Master shtick, so there's much humor to be
found in his wine-guzzling immortal's efforts to vanquish his foes
while fighting under the influence. And, as usual, Chan makes
inventive use of the props that he gets in his hands. He even shows
off his aerobatic moves while caked in old-geezer makeup as the owner
of the store where Jason finds the staff. As the Monkey King and the
Silent Monk, Li throws more punches than he utters lines of dialogue.
Li, though, has twice as much fun as Chan with his two different
roles. The Silent Monk lives up to his name, but when the action
starts, the wushu-trained Li comes across as stronger, swifter and
nimbler than the older Chan. Looking very much like Curious George
with his pulled-back hair and lengthy sideburns, Jet Li reveals a
charming playfulness as the giggling Monkey King that we've not seen
in his Hollywood-produced bloodbaths. Angarano, though, is bland and
boring. He's Shia LaBeouf without the personality, depth or comic
timing. Yifei Liu, as the vengeful Golden Sparrow, proves to be as
much a lethal weapon as her male counterparts. Decked out like Halle
Berry in X-Men, Li Bingbing is delightfully malicious as Golden
Sparrow's nemesis Ni Chang. She also exudes more menace than the oily
Chou.
So it remains unsettled as to who would emerge victorious if Jackie
Chan and Jet Li duked it out for bragging rights (my money's on Li
because his characters possess a killer instinct that Chan's nice guys
lack). But director Rob Minkoff--responsible for The Lion King and
Stuart Little--knows what's important when it comes to The Forbidden
Kingdom . It's all about the big brawls, baby. With the invaluable
assistance of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon marital arts
choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen, Minkoff ensures that Chan and Li are
always busy doing what they do best. He doesn't reign in Chan and
Li--whose easy rapport is evident from the beginning--or cut short the
furiously executed skirmishes that boast everything from stick
fighting to wire fu. Then again, that only appropriate considering The
Forbidden Kingdom sets itself up from its funky opening credits as a
homage to Hong Kong action cinema. Still, The Forbidden Kingdom does
grind to a halt whenever Chan and Li take a breather. The story's
tired and predictable, the dialogue's grating, and the comedy's
forced--though it's quite amusing and cathartic to watch Chan and Li
knock around the ineffectual Jason. For all its flaws, though, The
Forbidden Kingdom offers the priceless spectacle of Chan and Li kung
fu fighting. And those cats really are as fast as lightning.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "freelance film journalists combine(FFJC)" group.
To post to this group, send email to filmjournalists@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to filmjournalists-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/filmjournalists?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
4 attachments — Download all attachments View all images
pix1.jpg
64K View Download
pix2.jpg
58K View Download
pix3.jpg
59K View Download
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