The Forbidden Kingdom

The full cup, the drunk, the bird and the hair strand

It is unlikely that anyone will go to a film starring Jackie Chan or Jet Li if they are not fond of martial arts movies. If you don’t belong to this group, I suggest you move away from “The Forbidden Kingdom” (USA, 2008). If you are a fan of the genre or these actors, who are the biggest expression of kung fu in movies, then you can come and enjoy it.

This is the first time that the two actors have worked together on a film and the viewers certainly expected something monumental. But, unfortunately, it is a Hollywood film and the two act more as supporting actors. Something like the show “The Green Hornet”, where Bruce Lee acted as the driver for the hero, but the audience paid more attention to him…

The story revolves around Jason (Michael Angarano), an introverted young man, recently arrived in Chicago, who spends his free hours watching kung fu movies and wandering around the city’s Chinatown. One day, Jason gets in trouble with a group of school bullies, taekwondo fighters. The group forces Jason to open the old Hop (Jackie Chan) antique shop, his only friend in the neighborhood. The old man ends up being shot and Jason runs away, taking a strange stick with him, at Hop’s request.

The stick is a magical artifact, and transports the boy to an ancient and mystical China, where witches and immortal beings coexist with humans, all dominated by the tyrannical Jade Warlord (Colin Chou). Lost in this strange land, Jason only knows that he has to return the baton to its rightful owner – that he doesn’t even know who he is.

Soon, Jason meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), an immortal fighter who depends on wine to survive and reveals that the baton is the key to free the powerful and mischievous Monkey King (Jet Li) , the only one who can defeat the Jade Warlord.

An unexpected help comes from the beautiful Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), whose parents were killed by men of the Jade Warlord, and who always refers to herself in the third person. The three set out for the tyrant’s fortress, where the Monkey King is imprisoned. On the way, another strange figure joins the group, the mysterious and taciturn Silent Monk (Jet Li). The confrontation between him and Lu Yan is one of the highlights of the film, in one of the best choreographed sequences in cinema.

Everyone is disappointed to learn that Jason, the prophesied savior of the Monkey King, knows nothing about kung fu, except what he had saw in the movies. Determined to turn him into a warrior, the two masters strive to teach what they know, although, as a Westerner, Jason finds it difficult to understand the philosophy that underpins the martial art.

In fact, one of the most curious – and little perceived – scenes in the film, is when Lu Yan tries to explain it through a metaphor, saying that the boy’s mind is full of preconceived ideas of kung-fu, and that he needs to forget them to learn it right. “The cup is too full, it needs to be emptied – he says”. And, the boy simply spills tea from his cup!

New dangers will arise, even before they reach the Jade Warlord’s fortress. The most dangerous is the witch Ni Chang (Bingbing Li), with an exotic look that remembers of the Storm of X-Men.

But, the great confrontation will be with the immortal Jade Warlord, who with his soldiers, will do everything so that the Monkey King do not be released from his prison. The final confrontation is huge, with several fights going on at the same time, including Jason, who, after an ultra dynamic course, became a kung fu master.

“The Forbidden Kingdom” is an uncompromising diversion, suitable for those who are used to the normal exaggerations of a martial art film, mixing the humor of Jackie Chan, a little more restrained here, with the seriousness of Jet Li, living a playful character , looking like they even changed the characters.

Get ready for the traditional “flights”, falls from huge heights, almost indestructible characters and many other pearls of the genre. And, stay tuned to the lines of the Chinese characters. There are some interesting things that stand out from the general bullshit. Good fun!