Review of The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) by Justin H — 29 Apr 2010

So, after hearing all the flak that "Avatar" has been getting about essentially being "Dances with Wolves" in space, I've begun to notice the same sort of pattern in a lot of other movies that have come out in recent years. It's always some lone white man (who usually starts out as an inept, and frankly annoying idiot), who's the Only Hope (TM) for some other group of people, who couldn't possibly be expected to save themselves. And frankly, now that I've noticed it, this plot device has really become a rather negative thing. In "Avatar" it was aliens, in "Dragon Wars," it was a white guy who somehow inherited the responsibility for an ancient Korean prophecy, and here it's a white teen obsessed with kung fu movies, who gets sucked back in time (don't ask), to save ancient China from the "Jade Warlord." And here, it feels particularly unwelcome, because "The Forbidden Kingdom" -should- be about two great martial artists going toe to toe, and not focusing on some irritating nobody who's bullshitting his way through with wires and stunt doubles.

Now in this case (SPOILER!) you could argue that the plot was all in his head, so of course he'd be the star of his own adventure. But that brings up even more questions, because it implies that you can learn martial arts from a concussion.(/SPOILER).

But terrible plot aside, the fight scenes at least are entertaining, if a bit too heavy on the wire fu at times, and the absolutely horrid CGI at others. If you can get past the whole "Dances with Kung Fu" aspect of it all, you'll probably be entertained, at least in parts. But overall, the film just felt too..."Hollywood." Like how Hollywood -thinks- a martial arts movie should be, rather than an authentic-feeling kung fu flick. (Hence the occidental "star.") But I can definitely say that this is by no means the worst movie that either Jackie Chan or Jet Li has ever done, so if you want to see these two face off (eventually), then give it a shot.