Review of The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) by Thomas B — 13 Jan 2015

(58%).

In 2012 "Man with the iron fists" hit cinema screens, and then really quickly afterwards it hit the inside of a DVD case where it has, from now until the end of time, been totally forgotten about. Most copies lie as abandoned trade-ins gathering dust inside bargain bins in second-hand shops covered in "reduced 25p" stickers. Forbidden kingdom on the other hand is a little different. This pays homage to old kung fu movies such as the Shaw brothers movies, Bruce Lee, and to a certain extent old Jackie Chan movies. But the writing here wasn't partly done by Eli Roth, so the plot makes at least some sort of sense and can be followed without ever wanting to stick a kabab skewer through your own hand to distract from the sheer awfulness. There are actual characters that have at least some substance, and it runs along at a fair old rate. The plot here is more or less a cross between "The never ending story" with action scenes very similar to those that take place in "Mortal Kombat", only much less violent. The action is maybe a bit too CGI heavy at times, but Jackie Chan and Jet Li do have a decent fight with each other, which is well worth a look for their many fans. This overall is a quality product, with good production values, and clearly a large budget backing it up every step. And even though it won't ever become a classic must-watch, it is still worth a look.