The Forbidden Kingdom
In theaters 4.18.08
sequences of martial arts action and some violence
Run Time: 113 min
Leslie's rating - 4 out of 5
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Review by Leslie Hurst for The Mungles on
Movies
Copyright 2008 Mungleshow Productions. All
rights reserved. Used by permission.
Who is your kung-fu hero? When I was a little kid,
admittedly it was the cartoon "Hong Kong Fooey."
Then I saw Enter the Dragon. As I grew up and
modern kung-fu movies became more popular, my
heroes became Jet Li and Jackie Chan. By now, you
can probably guess at the sheer, jaw-dropping
amazement of two of my heroes fighting it out in the
same movie. That makes Forbidden Kingdom a sort
of kung-fu heaven.
Forbidden Kingdom is about a young Boston native
who frequents a China Town pawnshop for the latest
kung-fu bootleg movies. When local bullies attack the
old Chinese shop owner, he entrusts Jason with a
bow staff said to belong to the legendary Monkey
King. The staff transports Jason to China and drops
him in the care of a drunken master named Lu Yan
(Jackie Chan). On their journey to return the fabled
staff to the Monkey King, they pick up a silent monk
(Jet Li) and an orphan girl to help them along the way.
Chased by a white haired witch, this unlikely team
journeys west to face the Jade Warlord and fulfill their
quest to free the Monkey King.
Anyone who saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or
House of Flying Daggers and was fascinated by the
gravity-defying running along treetops will love the fight
scenes. They are all spectacular whether they are
ground based, on mountaintops, or the tops of young
sakura trees. The scenes with the white haired witch
looked like live-action anime. Of course, the real jewel
of the movie is the fight between Jackie Chan and Jet
Li, which is enough to make a kung-fu fan boy weep
tears of joy. Watching their interaction is supremely
entertaining as they feed off each other for great
comedy when training Jason. Stunning visuals and
rich colors also make this movie a beautiful piece of
eye candy.
Forbidden Kingdom is rated PG-13 for sequences of
martial arts action and some violence. I would say it's
a fairly safe movie for a martial arts loving middle
school student. I will admonish that the sweet kung-fu
moves seen in this film should not be tried at home
as breaking a vase is equally as painful as breaking a
bone. I found this movie to be great fun. The kung-fu
geek girl in me came out in full force to soak up every
second of Jackie Chan and Jet Li together on one
screen. I wish I knew a little Chinese because there
is Chinese dialogue that is sometimes not subtitled,
but was funny enough for the gentleman next to me to
giggle. I give this film 4 out of 5 Monkey Kings.
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Leslie Hurst is a graduate from Dallas Baptist
University. She dreams of moving to London, working
for a record label, and one day owning a recording
studio. She's a sci-fi geek with a penchant for movie
trivia. Her favorite TV show is Doctor Who. She has
two beagles named Cocoa and Sugar. This karaoke
superstar has a music blog.
