THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
Directed by Rob Minkoff. Starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano. Opens Fri, Apr 18
3 1/2 Stars

Classic kung fu movies are predictable, there’s no denying it. Like a good country song (if there is such a thing), a good kung fu flick follows a tried and true recipe: a hero, a magical item or location, and a quest to get to said location, or to get back said item.

Based on the ancient Chinese legend of The Monkey King (the same one that inspired the popular Japanese cartoon Dragon Ball Z), The Forbidden Kingdom begins with a different kind of quest. When Jason (Michael Angarano), a young kung fu movie buff, digs through the DVD bargain bins at his favourite Chinatown pawnshop, a golden bo staff, unnoticed in any of his previous visits, catches his eye. The elderly shopowner tells him that it’s been there for as long as he can remember, waiting for its owner to claim it. As he heads home with his new movies, Jason runs into some thugs who decide to use him to rip off the pawnshop. When the robbery goes very bad, Jason (golden staff in hand) finds himself running for his life. And just when it seems our hero is a goner, he is magically transported to mythical ancient China. 

Once there, Jason is charged with an unbelievable task: to free the imprisoned Monkey King from the grasp of the evil Jade Warlord. His quest is joined by a gang of misfit warriors that includes the drunken kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), the mysterious Silent Monk (Jet Li), and the vengeful Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu). Jason soon learns that repeated viewings of Enter the Dragon won’t be enough to fulfill his destiny to save the kingdom. He’ll need to train and practice his kung fu techniques in order to live up to the prophecy. 

If this all seems a little goofy... well, it is, but The Forbidden Kingdom’s earnestness and good humour, coupled with some unbelievable fight sequences, more than make up for its way-out-there plot.

This being the first onscreen pairing of two martial arts legends, it’s great to see Li and Chan do what they do best: kick all kinds of ass. Sure, both stars are getting a little past their kem-po kick prime, and chopsocky connoisseurs will spot the odd body double (and sniff at the film’s concessions to Western audiences), but none of these shortcomings get in the way of the nonstop action. 

Shot on location in China (and not in front of a greenscreen, thank the Ancients!) with breathtaking fights choreographed by wire-fu master Yuen Woo-Ping and shot by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon cinematographer Peter Pau, The Forbidden Kingdom is a love letter to the genre. The presence of Rob Minkoff—the man behind the Stuart Little movies—behind the camera gives one pause, but his direction is as graceful as crane technique. Everyone clearly had a blast making The Forbidden Kingdom, and the film’s energy and spirit will have people working out kung fu physics the next time they’re in a long line at the registry office. Its kung fu is very strong!