Shawn's Forbidden Kingdom Review

2008 Movie #89 - Forbidden Kingdom

This is another one of those movies I just never watched when it came out, even though it played at my theatre for something like 4 weeks. Just chalk it up to lack of interest really. I've finally gotten around to it and just like the other movies I'm catching up, I really don't plan on saying a whole lot about it. In fact, I really don't have that much to say about it anyway, so it kind of works out.

I don't think there's anyone out there who didn't want to see a movie where Jet Li and Jackie Chan are together. They could be friends, enemies, whatever, it would just be a kick ass. The only people who didnt' want that team up to happen are racists, so it doesn't really matter about them. So it was pretty exciting to hear that movie was actually going to happen. We didn't know who would be the star, whether they would be in the movie an equal amount, are they teaming up, facing off, etc. I think a lot of people were surprised when they watched the movie to find out that it wasn't really any of that. In reality the star of the movie is a boring teenage boy. ....really?

So you actually get both Jet Li and Jackie Chan in a movie together, and you choose to tell a pretty uninteresting story that centers on a generic Boston teenager who loves martial arts? Come on now who the fuck made that decision? Don't get me wrong there's some good fight scenes in this movie, including one between Jackie and Jet, but the story that holds them all together just isn't interesting.

The opening 5 minutes of the movie is so ridiculous you almost wonder if you're watching the wrong movie. I thought I might be watching a new straight to DVD Karate Kid sequel or something. Things eventually pick up once Jackie is introduced but the whole movie never quite takes off like it should. Although it does have a really hot chick with lethal white whip hair, which gives the movie at least one extra point.

I don't really have much more to say than that. The movie has its moments here and there but overall feels like kind of a missed oppurtunity. This could have been fucking epic but instead it's just average.

** 1/2 /5