Spring Break
'The Forbidden Kingdom' works some movie magic
Typhani Yang
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Features
"Wow" is the only word that can describe "The Forbidden Kingdom." It's mystical and has beautiful scenery and it's nothing like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
It was very fascinating to see Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the same film because their fighting techniques are so different. Jet Li is always serious and Jackie Chan is always goofy. The fighting scene between the two men was probably the best 15 minutes of the film. It was really fun to see two great actors and martial arts legends come together. The best part about the film is the fight seemed very real - no fake flying.
The choreography for the fighting scene between Jet Li and Jackie Chan was beautiful. It was almost like a dance but with a lot of kicking. It was intense and it was hard to say who was going to win because they were both so good. They also used cool techniques with names like "drunken fist," "preying mantis" and "tiger fist."
There were also characters from old kung fu movies featured in the film, such as the "monkey king," who was played by Jet Li, and the "witch of the wolves," who was played by Chinese actor Bingbing Li. Of course, you'd have to watch old kung fu movies to know who these characters are but for those who have seen them, it's really amusing to see the characters come out again in this film.
The film is about a geeky kid named Jason, played by Michael Angarano ("Sky High"), who gets picked on by a bully. However, Jason is a fanatic of kung fu. He watches kung fu movies, has a room filled with posters of Bruce Lee and he even dreams about kung fu.
Jason often goes to a shop where he buys his kung fu movies. One day he discovers a staff in the backroom of the shop. It's the staff that he's been seeing in his dreams. The owner tells Jason the staff has been there for many years and that he is waiting for the rightful owner to pick it up.
Jason is given the staff after getting into some trouble and is transported into a different era of China. This is where he meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and The Silent Monk, also played by Jet Li.
There is a myth in China that there was once a monkey king who no one could defeat as long as he had his staff. However, he was tricked by the Jade Warlord and his staff was lost. The prophecy said that it would be returned by a man who would help save the people of China from the warlord's torment. The man happened to be Jason, who was actually just a boy.
It was funny when The Silent Monk first meets Jason and realizes he is the key to getting the staff back to the monkey king. The first thing he says is, "He's not even Chinese."
Michael Angarano was the perfect person for this role. He looked geeky, acted geeky but fought wonderfully. Even though he got beat up a lot by the witch, he still stood bravely and did some pretty cool moves himself. It was amusing to see a skinny white kid doing some kung fu.
The movie has mystical elements such as immortality, a magical kingdom in heaven, a monkey king and fighting with magic. Jet Li does a wonderful job at playing the monkey king. He had to use characteristics of a monkey in his role such as swinging on trees. You get to see a side of him that has never been seen before in his previous movies.
Jackie Chan looked ridiculous with long hair but he was as funny as ever. He had funny lines and did a good job of acting as a drunk. There were funny scenes of him trying to teach Jason some kung fu. It was kind of like "The Karate Kid" where the kid has to do all these chores in order to learn the real thing.
Toward the end, you could start predicting what was going to happen next. Nonetheless, the film was very entertaining with the action and humor. It even got applauses from the audience at the end.
Typhani Yang can be reached at tyang@statehornet.com
It was very fascinating to see Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the same film because their fighting techniques are so different. Jet Li is always serious and Jackie Chan is always goofy. The fighting scene between the two men was probably the best 15 minutes of the film. It was really fun to see two great actors and martial arts legends come together. The best part about the film is the fight seemed very real - no fake flying.
The choreography for the fighting scene between Jet Li and Jackie Chan was beautiful. It was almost like a dance but with a lot of kicking. It was intense and it was hard to say who was going to win because they were both so good. They also used cool techniques with names like "drunken fist," "preying mantis" and "tiger fist."
There were also characters from old kung fu movies featured in the film, such as the "monkey king," who was played by Jet Li, and the "witch of the wolves," who was played by Chinese actor Bingbing Li. Of course, you'd have to watch old kung fu movies to know who these characters are but for those who have seen them, it's really amusing to see the characters come out again in this film.
The film is about a geeky kid named Jason, played by Michael Angarano ("Sky High"), who gets picked on by a bully. However, Jason is a fanatic of kung fu. He watches kung fu movies, has a room filled with posters of Bruce Lee and he even dreams about kung fu.
Jason often goes to a shop where he buys his kung fu movies. One day he discovers a staff in the backroom of the shop. It's the staff that he's been seeing in his dreams. The owner tells Jason the staff has been there for many years and that he is waiting for the rightful owner to pick it up.
Jason is given the staff after getting into some trouble and is transported into a different era of China. This is where he meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and The Silent Monk, also played by Jet Li.
There is a myth in China that there was once a monkey king who no one could defeat as long as he had his staff. However, he was tricked by the Jade Warlord and his staff was lost. The prophecy said that it would be returned by a man who would help save the people of China from the warlord's torment. The man happened to be Jason, who was actually just a boy.
It was funny when The Silent Monk first meets Jason and realizes he is the key to getting the staff back to the monkey king. The first thing he says is, "He's not even Chinese."
Michael Angarano was the perfect person for this role. He looked geeky, acted geeky but fought wonderfully. Even though he got beat up a lot by the witch, he still stood bravely and did some pretty cool moves himself. It was amusing to see a skinny white kid doing some kung fu.
The movie has mystical elements such as immortality, a magical kingdom in heaven, a monkey king and fighting with magic. Jet Li does a wonderful job at playing the monkey king. He had to use characteristics of a monkey in his role such as swinging on trees. You get to see a side of him that has never been seen before in his previous movies.
Jackie Chan looked ridiculous with long hair but he was as funny as ever. He had funny lines and did a good job of acting as a drunk. There were funny scenes of him trying to teach Jason some kung fu. It was kind of like "The Karate Kid" where the kid has to do all these chores in order to learn the real thing.
Toward the end, you could start predicting what was going to happen next. Nonetheless, the film was very entertaining with the action and humor. It even got applauses from the audience at the end.
Typhani Yang can be reached at tyang@statehornet.com
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