THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM

Director: Rob Minkoff

Stars: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Yifei Liu, Bingbing Li

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Wow - a colorful, action-packed martial arts film starring kung fu Jedi Knights Jackie Chan and Jet Li ... that also happens to be engaging, quite funny (though dangerously close to being "cutesy" at times) in parts, and even family friendly?

Yep, that's The Forbidden Kingdom - the first-ever pairing of martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li on screen. Michael Angarano stars Jason, a young American teen in a suburb of Boston whose obsession is kung fu movies. Jason makes frequent trips to Chinatown, to visit the pawn shop of Old Hop (Jackie Chan, in a ton of makeup), who keeps the teenager well-stocked in bootleg copies of nearly every chop-socky movie you can imagine. It's on one of these trips to Old Hop's store that Jason discovers the old man possesses a carved, very ornate and rare staff - one that Jason has never seen before in person, much less expected to see in the hands of an elderly man in Chinatown. When Jason is forced by local gangbangers to help them gain access to and rob Old Hop's store, Hop is injured and places the care of the staff into Jason's hands, telling him it is he (Jason) who is now in charge of getting it into the hands of its rightful owner. A chase on foot with the gang members leads to Jason's falling off a roof ...

And waking up in ancient China - in a dark, magic-filled world run by the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou; an actor yet to be given the credit due him for his talent) where only the corrupt prosper - even survive. Thrown out of his own time and place, Jason soon meets the constantly-drunk Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), who informs Jason that he must get the staff back to its owner - the Monkey King - before the Jade Warlord learns of its whereabouts and seeks the power of the staff himself.

A tall order, considering that the Monkey King - an immortal, like the Jade Warlord and even Lu Yan - was tricked in a battle with the Jade Warlord, centuries earlier, and forever imprisoned as a statue in the warlord's palace. Only the staff can bring the Monkey King back, to battle the Jade Warlord again in order to save the kingdom - and 21st-century American teenager Jason is the only one who can do it. With Lu Yan trying to teach him the basics of kung fu, so that he can fight (Jason may have been obsessed with the films, but he's no martial artist), Jason and Lu Yan - teaming up along the way with Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), a young, beautiful female warrior with her own score to settle with the Jade Warlord, and the Silent Monk (Jet Li), whose only mission in life seems to be to free the Monkey King himself - the quartet battle the desert, hostile forces, the White-Haired Witch Ni Chang (Bingbing Li) ... and even each other, all on a quest to free the Monkey King and save the world.

The look and feel of the film are first-rate - actually shot in China (even the Boston scenes), just as eye-candy the film is beautiful to watch and sets the mood for the story perfectly. The actions scenes and fight sequences are equally amazing to watch - the fight scene between Jet Li and Jackie Chan alone, when they first meet, worth the purchase price of the film alone (though the multi-layered fighting that ends the film is just brilliant; do NOT let yourself get interrupted for about the last 20 minutes of this film, at least, if watching it on DVD!). Jackie Chan is both charming and endearing in the role of Lu Yan - Jet Li stoic and all-business, yet just as touching, as the Silent Monk who only wants to free his master. The supporting cast rounds out things nicely, convincing and perfect ... and in fact, the only weak link in the chain is Michael Angarano himself; to me, at least, there were scenes when I had a really hard time buying into his performance.

But for a good, rousing, colorful, funny, and exciting time, you can't beat The Forbidden Kingdom. Sure, it's maybe too "kid-friendly" - Disney-esque, if you will (hardly surprising, as director Mikoff was also behind the camera for Disney's Haunted Mansion and The Lion King). But that doesn't negate the heartfelt performances, spectacular action sequences, or a story that just makes you feel good in the end. Very much worth buying over owning, and even the various behind-the-scenes treats on the DVD extras only add to the enjoyment of the film. Very nicely done. **** - Reel Awesome