What do you get when you
mix "The Wizard of Oz," "The Karate Kid," "Rush Hour" and
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?" You get a hodgepodge titled
"The Forbidden Kingdom," which will please its core audience
but won't enthrall anyone over the age of 16. (Even that might
be stretching the point.)
Young males adore martial arts movies with plenty of
well-choreographed mayhem. To ensure the involvement of that
key demographic, the film provides a teenage American hero,
Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), magically transported from
his south Boston neighborhood to ancient China, where he gets
to study kung fu under the guidance of two masters of Asian
cinema, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The first-ever teaming of Chan
and Li is a shrewd commercial ploy, and the movie looks poised
for strong opening-weekend business. But the weak script will
keep it from enduring for long.
In the opening scene, after visiting an elderly Chinese
pawnbroker (Chan), Jason is pummeled by a neighborhood bully
and wakes up in China, where he is thrust into the middle of a
battle to rescue an old wizard, the Monkey King (Li). He finds
himself in the possession of a magical staff (much like
Dorothy's ruby slippers) sought by heroes and villains alike.
Friends (including younger incarnations of Chan and Li)
materialize to aid him in his journey, but he also is pursued
by a wicked white-haired witch (Li Bing Bing) on his way to the
Emerald City -- er, the golden fortress, where an evil warlord
keeps the Monkey King imprisoned in stone.
John Fusco's dialogue is often laughable, encumbered by
spiritual mumbo jumbo ("You have come far through the gate of
no gate") or incongruous contemporary slang of the "Dude,
what's happening?" variety. But few people go to martial arts
movies to savor the elegant language, and as an action
extravaganza, the film delivers. Cinematographer Peter Pau and
choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen honed their skills on "Crouching
Tiger" and many other Asian and American movies. "Kingdom" was
filmed in China and benefits from lush costume and set design.
Li as the Zen master and Chan as his more comical sidekick
build on their familiar personas and demonstrate the chops that
their fans appreciate. Angarano, who recently appeared in the
very different "Snow Angels," is rapidly establishing himself
as one of the most promising young American actors. The rest of
the performers meet the demands of their roles, which are not
exactly arduous. Under Rob Minkoff's direction, everything
unfolds predictably, which is why the film ultimately becomes
tedious. The fight scenes (including Jason's climactic battle
with the bullies back in south Boston) are fun, but the filler
in between is deadlier than one of Li's lethal kicks.
Cast:
Old Hop/Lu Yan: Jackie Chan
The Monkey King/The Silent Monk: Jet Li
Jason Tripitikas: Michael Angarano
Golden Sparrow: Liu Yifei
Jade Warlord: Collin Chou
Ni Chang: Li Bing Bing
Jade Emperor: Wang De Shun
Lupo: Morgan Benoit
Director: Rob Minkoff; Screenwriter: John Fusco; Producer:
Casey Silver; Executive producers: Ryan Kavanaugh, Woo-Ping
Yuen, Wang Zhongjun, Jon Feltheimer, Raffaella De Laurentiis;
Director of photography: Peter Pau; Production designer: Bill
Brzeski; Music: David Buckley; Co-producer: Scott Fischer;
Co-executive producers: Willie Chan, Solon So, Steve Chasman,
Jason C. Lin, David U. Lee; Costume designer: Shirley Chan;
Editor: Eric Strand.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
In Theaters 
