The Forbidden Kingdom

Gambei and greetings! It's certainly been awhile since I reviewed a movie, and apologies for keeping those who read this blog waiting! I did watch a kung fu movie called The Iceman, but it was so bad I didn't want anyone to suffer as much as I did. So, I watched another one, The Forbidden Kingdom. It's more of a westerny movie, but it has kung fu, so let's take on the Jade Empire together and review!

The FORBIDDEN KINGDOM:

Despite the title, this movie has no forbidden kingdoms in it. Or, I didn't notice any. Anyways, let's check out the plot.

The Plot:

Long ago, the Monkey King (legendary figure that supposedly came up with Monkey Style) disobeyed the Jade Empire and angered the Jade Warlord. The Jade Warlord (played by Collin Chou) spars the Monkey King (Jet Li) but turns him into a statue. Before the M.K. is 100% statue, he sends his magical staff away in hopes of a hero to return it to him. In the present, Jason Tripitikas (Micheal Angarano) finds the staff and is sent back to return it to it's owner. Joined by a drunk, a monk, and a girl (sounds like a set up to a bad joke) they set off on a journey to free the Monkey King. Will this band of misfits succeed or will the Jade Emperor continue his reign of terror?

The Good:
Some of the fight scenes are pretty decent.  Jet Li vs. Jackie Chan was all people could talk about before the movie even came out and that was pretty awesome. Chan and Li had never been in a movie together, so this was a pretty big deal. The overlying story is pretty decent, and some of the roles were well filled. The diversity of kung fu styles was also pretty interesting. For example, there's drunken fist, praying mantis, monkey, even a few Bruce Lee blips. It's also interesting to see a westerner's point of view on the Monkey King and how the story is told.

The Bad:
Plot holes. So many plot holes. How does a jade hair pin kill an immortal? Why doesn't the Jade Emperor come back from his 500 year meditation to put an end to the tyranny of the Jade Warlord? Why does Golden Sparrow speak in 3rd person? There are too many questions asked and not enough answers. Most of the story is told like how an adult would tell a child a bedtime story (fun fact: this was a bedtime story). It's one thing to tell it to a kid, but it's another thing to tell an audience and not answer every question that's asked. There are some parts in the movie that seem pointless and redundant. Jason spends alot of time sitting around campfires flirting with Sparrow, or Jet Li and Jackie Chan are doing things to amuse the audience. It feels like there's no sense of urgency to return the staff to the Monkey King at all. I have a feeling if that our heroes sat around long enough, the Jade Emperor would return and set things right. But seriously, 500 years? Obviously, the dude wasn't meant to rule. Giving power to your oh so obviously evil lackey is just bad leadership. Let's talk about Jason for a bit. He's a flat character. He's supposed to learn about kung fu and whatnot, but doesn't seem that he learns anything. And then there's the mystical sayings, like "A student who honors his teacher honors himself." or "Master and student walk the path together until their paths go separate ways." Look, I understand that there's supposed to wisdom in these sayings, but the movie uses them way to much.

Conclusion:
The Forbidden Kingdom is pretty decent movie. There's some decent fight scenes, and the story's not too bad. Jason is a flat character and there should have been some sort of urgency during the plot. Sparrow speaking in 3rd person gets annoying, while Li and Chan keep the movie funny and light hearted. The diversity of different styles of Kung fu is always a good thing. Just watching this movie once will impress and hopefully open doors to more kung fu movies for the beginner. Side note: Don't watch Iceman. It's bad.

3.75 wasted cups of tea out of 5.