A couple weeks after The Forbidden Kingdom came to theaters in April 2008, I went to see it.
The movie opens with the Monkey King (Jet Li in a blondish wig with
impressive sideburns) standing upon a mountain peak that is just
above the cloud cover when numerous soldiers come to defeat him.
While the narrator tells us of the Monkey King, he defeats wave upon
wave of soldiers, often giggling maniacally as he does so. The role
was so unlike what I am used to seeing from Jet Li that I wasn't sure
it was him. The battle ends when Jason awakens.
Jason (Michael Angarano) is a teen from Boston whose walls are covered with posters for Hong Kong Kung Fu movies. He collects all things martial arts though he knows none himself. One of his best sources for Hong Kong stuff is a Chinese shop run by Old Hop (Jackie Chan as he might look when he's 80). Here he sees the staff of the Monkey King sitting on a shelf, the very staff he saw in his dream. Of course, events inevitably lead to Jason grabbing the staff and being propelled into ancient China.
In ancient China, he meets Lu Yan the Drunken Master (Jackie Chan), Golden Sparrow the Bard set on revenge (Yifei Liu), and the Silent Monk (Jet Li). This small band must fight the forces of the Jade Warlord in an attempt to revive the petrified Monkey King by returning his staff. Though often predictable, this is nonstop fun. Jet Li and Jackie Chan make a great combo and you wonder why it has taken so long for them to costar. They are particularly funny when they both try to teach Kung Fu to the hapless Jason. However, the best was when Jackie Chan made it rain.
Highly recommended.
Jason (Michael Angarano) is a teen from Boston whose walls are covered with posters for Hong Kong Kung Fu movies. He collects all things martial arts though he knows none himself. One of his best sources for Hong Kong stuff is a Chinese shop run by Old Hop (Jackie Chan as he might look when he's 80). Here he sees the staff of the Monkey King sitting on a shelf, the very staff he saw in his dream. Of course, events inevitably lead to Jason grabbing the staff and being propelled into ancient China.
In ancient China, he meets Lu Yan the Drunken Master (Jackie Chan), Golden Sparrow the Bard set on revenge (Yifei Liu), and the Silent Monk (Jet Li). This small band must fight the forces of the Jade Warlord in an attempt to revive the petrified Monkey King by returning his staff. Though often predictable, this is nonstop fun. Jet Li and Jackie Chan make a great combo and you wonder why it has taken so long for them to costar. They are particularly funny when they both try to teach Kung Fu to the hapless Jason. However, the best was when Jackie Chan made it rain.
Highly recommended.
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