Review by Robert Bell
The idea of Jackie Chan and Jet Li sharing the screen for the first time will excite many
viewers. Known for an impressive roster of stunt work, audiences will surely expect a bevy of physics-defying choreographed fighting. With Forbidden Kingdom they won''t be disappointed. What may be somewhat of a let down to fans of this genre is the fact that this journey is less about the meeting of these screen legends, and more about the maturation of an American kid obsessed with kung-fu movies.
Forbidden Kingdom is a slightly crappier version of The Neverending Story, with bootleg kung-fu movies substituting for old books. Where Neverending featured genuine emotion, heartache and personal growth, Forbidden settles for scatological humour, repetitive action and oversimplifications. It is the kind of film that shows shirtless men squatting under waterfalls while demure Asian women play lutes in the foreground. Some will find such images amusing, while others will find them beautiful—either response pinpoints the key audience for this movie.
Jason (Michael Angarano) is a socially inept Boston teen obsessed with kung-fu movies. He buys bootleg versions in a Chinatown pawn shop owned by a man referred to as Old Hop (Jackie Chan). When local hoodlums decide to bully Jason into gaining them entry to the pawn shop after hours, a robbery goes wrong, leaving Old Hop shot in the chest, and Jason falling off of a building holding an enchanted staff.