BOTTOM
LINE:
This is a very well
executed and visually impressive kung-fu fantasy, delivering the
great martial arts team-up of Jackie Chan and Jet Li on screen for
the first time. It’s only let down by a weak opening and conclusion
that are unfortunately necessary to get its “Never Ending
Story” style premise off the ground.
THE
GOOD: I did not
have any expectations walking in to this film and I found myself
pleasantly surprised. This Asian kung fu fantasy that on a visual
level looks more expensive than what it is, entertains throughout
with a solid story, entertaining characters, spectacular visuals
and of course, some brilliantly choreographed kung fu, made all
the more better by the fact that we get to see both Jackie Chan
and Jet Li fight together for the first time in a film. There’s
a simple story at its heart; Jason (Michael Angarano) stumbles in
to the Forbidden Kingdom after procuring a golden staff from a pawn
shop in Chinatown which sends him in to a fantastical world of monkey
kings, immortals and kung fu fighters. He is rescued by drunk immortal
Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) after a fight with the soldiers of the Jade
Warlord (Collin Chou). Lu Yan tells Jason that the Golden Staff
he carries belongs to the Monkey King (Jet Li), who did battle with
the Jade Warlord but was tricked in to giving up his staff and was
imprisoned forever in a statue. If the staff is returned to the
statue, the Monkey King will be freed. Along with orphaned warrior
Golden Sparrow (Liu Yi Fen) and Silent Monk (also played by Jet
Li), Jason and Lu Yan trek across the Forbidden Kingdom to return
the staff to the statue of the Monkey King. This story provides
some big set-piece kung fu sequences, but perhaps the best one involves
the first fight between Chan and Li which is as entertaining as
you would expect as you see these two martial arts masters traverse
elegantly across the screen in their myriad of fight moves. Aside
from the kung fu, this film boasts some spectacular visuals that
have a fantastical, comic-book quality to them, not just with the
landscapes but with the characters as well with examples being the
Monkey King and the white haired witch Ni Chang (Li Bingbing) who
are brilliantly rendered on screen, both by the actors portraying
them and in the make-up and wardrobe departments. The characters
are well rounded. The funniest character belongs to Jackie Chan;
his drunken immortal is both lethal and highly amusing all at the
same time. Jet Li is also great in his dual role, and surprisingly
provides a mischievous quality to the Monkey King. Liu Yi Fen offers
a strong female presence in her role as Golden Sparrow, as does
Ni Chang as the white witch. Collin Chou is great as the Jade Warlord.
Even Jason, who initially appears to be an annoying nerd comes across
very well. Overall, this is a solidly entertaining film that will
take you away from reality for a couple of hours and enthral you
with some impressive kung fu and fantasy.
