| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
A- |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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Not PERFECT, BUT IT'S HEART is in the RIGHT PLACE.
by HonestMan (movies profile)
Jul 16, 2008
22
of
26 people found this review helpful
Allright, so "The Forbidden Kingdom" isn't exactly a perfect movie, but god help it for tyring to accomplish what it does with style; and for its heart being in the right place.
Of course, the film has a brilliant marketing campaign, for if it weren't for the endless onslaught of its predecessors in the vein of Crouching Tiger, Hero and Iron Monkey; it has almost become a cliché to expect anything more or less from these hyprid/genre pictures.
What remains to be judged for us is the quality of the stories is the abundance of spectacle, charm of the characters and for the most part, Kingdom thankfully delivers on at least two of those necessary to pass for being a successful martial arts fantasy.
I feel it makes little sense to explain the story, just remember that its your familiar fish-out-of-water situation of a typical outcast, thrust into a larger than life situation. He will then come across a series of eccentric characters who will help him to achieve a task. This task will enable him to encounter new characters, unleash new abilites and to restore balance to the new magical land as well as the previous world of reality. In the end, we may learn something and feel good about ourselves, while enjoying the ride.
This is the set-up for Forbidden Kingdom and the film doesn't seem to let up on its task at hand. Its a story we've all seen, but the enjoyment you feel will depend on your suspension of disbelief, as well as your admiration for the actors and the genre.
I for one, went along for the ride. I found the story to be charming, if not a bit overtly silly. Despite having the potential charm for a romantic rendevous between the mysterious traveler boy and a beautiful warrior, and hosting some great martial arts action, the real hook of the movie will be the long awaited pairing of screen legends Chan and Li. And for the fans' money, the wait was well worth it. Jackie and Jet have an undeniable chemistry and rapore with one another on screen, and they do not allow their good humorous qualities to overshadow the story too much. Their physicality is one for the books, and is not soon forgotten. Its a joy to watch the two of them inhabit the same space.
Despite being relatively light in tone and rather fun, I felt a disconnect with the story and the characters during parts, but these are often necessary challenges which face any movie. Its extremely difficult to make a good fantasy picture, and almost impossible to make a great one. The Forbidden Kingdom is a welcome romp and escape, despite everything. And such things are welcome in an ever growing cynical age of cinema. I'll take Jackie Chan's good warmth and humor over your run-of-the-mill raunchy comedy anyday. Not that I'm harping on this week's Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
If that's not your cup-o-tea this week than by all means, see the former. Just remember that when you watch movies like "The Forbidden Kingdom" it would behoove you to simply sit back, relax and remember that we were once all children. Wide eyed, innocent and eager to engage in the almighty wooping crane attack, drunken monkey, bruce lee impersonations, to chase down school yard bullies as we carefully emerged from our fantastical apparitions, falling from the roof of a Chinese video Shop.
Then again, maybe that wasn't you after all. This is still a decent film. |
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