The Forbidden Kingdom

[floatingmoon]

I watched The Forbidden Kingdom today. It's pretty entertaining. It's worth to see both Jet Li and Jackie Chan fight together. And the Kung Fu (martial) is good, a 'reasonable' amount of special effect usage when fighting, and more real physical action.

[Luobot]

Bob Mondello clobbered the movie in an NPR review, calling it: “The Wizard of Oz in martial-arts drag.” Hmm ... sounds interesting.

[floatingmoon]

Jackie + Jet + *Collin Chou : their real martial choreography are great!!

I am not a "super" martial movie fans (I do like martial movie sometimes),

I am very impress of those fighting scenes in this movie.

*Collin Chou is 'Seraph' in Matrix.

[Shadowdh]

I watched this last night and really enjoyed it. It had humour, great acting and awesome martial arts. The story was interesting and entertaining, which is something I like in a movie, the big bonus was watching Jet Li and Jackie Chan acting together and seeming to have alot of fun. The fight scenes were great and very little use of wires were evident. Overall I thoroughly recommend it...

[skylee]

Is it this good? I thought about seeing it today but instead I went to see "Lady Chatterley" (not recommended), because I don't really like Jackie Chan (Jet Li on the other hand is very likeable imo) and I've read some negative review (like they have guns but they fight with their fists etc).

If you guys say it's good fun I might see it tomorrow. (Damn, have already bought a ticket to see The Savages tomorrow...)

[floatingmoon]

Shadowdh:

I watched this last night and really enjoyed it. It had humour, great acting and awesome martial arts. The story was interesting and entertaining, which is something I like in a movie, the big bonus was watching Jet Li and Jackie Chan acting together and seeming to have alot of fun. The fight scenes were great and very little use of wires were evident. Overall I thoroughly recommend it...

I agree. Both Jet and Jackie in the same movie is what motivates me to buy a ticket and step into the cinema. (I haven't went to see a movie for a long time, mostly dvd rentals) I think that's what interest people to watch the movie. Both seems playful behind the scene

I like some use of wires (not too much), coz it's an "ancient and fantasy setting" martial movie, a little bit of 輕功 make things really cool. (輕功 is what make people walk on air or grass or water, etc.)

Also, those natural real scenes are beautiful.

[Shadowdh]

Is it this good?

Skylee this is good... go with no expectations just enjoy the movie... The guns thing could be about the rough kids who have a gun (not guns) but the use (and non use) are not that far fetched given that the movie is about a kid who travels back in time... and manages to travel to another country while doing it, with a magic wooden stick... I feel a lot of the time reviews dont really reflect the movie, either written by someone who is looking for too much meaning or looking for something else which isnt there...

[floatingmoon]

The Forbidden Kingdom is a "martial fantasy adventure comedy" type of movie. I laughed my head off, that some* view and do valuation of this movie as a 'literature, art and over sophisticate' movie. 0_o ? Unrealistic expectations.

(*I don't mean anyone in this forum, I mean those comments in news paper, magazine, etc.)

I don't think anything are 'way off'. I found the writer kind of smart, the way he combine myths and time travel together.

[Lu]

I am so going to see this movie, just to see Jet Li and Jackie Chan fight. I don't care about storyline, or fighting with fists when they have guns (why would you put those two in a movie and then have them use guns, now that's pointless). I don't have any other expectations, and from what people just said here I think I won't be disappointed. Reviewers shouldn't try to read so much into films like this, they are missing the point.

[roddy]

Erm - well I saw the movie and I thought it was rubbish. Perhaps it's a generational thing - I kept thinking what a masterpiece of cinema the Karate Kid was compared to this. One genuine laugh* (the crude one), and no suspense or excitement at all as I didn't care about the characters. Should have gone straight to the video rental store, and the kids section at that.

*Excluding some fits of giggles at the end.

[Lu]

I just went to see it and enjoyed it all the way. Bad Hongkong movies have a special place in my heart, and this was possibly the best bad Hongkong movie ever. Actually it was a bad Hongkong movie on top of a bad Hollywood movie (I haven't seen more than five minutes of Karate Kid, but it must be something like this), and it was great fun.

The stupid white kid doesn't get in the way too much, so that's good. Actually they might as well have left him out altogether, no way this movie is going to work in the west, stupid white kid or not. The fights are great. Too bad Jet Li and Jackie Chan only get one fight against each other, and also too bad that Chan doesn't get to fight with chairs and other unlikely props, like he does so well.

But yeah, don't go for the story. But anyway who needs a story in a wushu movie, that can only get in the way.

Other characteristics of the bad HK movie are bad dubbing and bad subtitles. The dubbing was indeed bad, and I wonder where from, Chan speaks Cantonese but Li was a Beijingren last time I checked, and what else does the stupid white kid speak than Mandarin? The subtitles were really really bad, and what on earth was up with Jin Yanzi referring to herself in the third person all the time in the English titles.

Anyway I enjoyed it a lot, but in a way Li & Chan deserved a better movie.

[renzhe]

This was entertaining enough to watch the whole thing, but other than Jackie Chan and Jet Li scenes, this is totally derivative and forgettable.

It's not a kung-fu movie at all. It's a 100% fantasy movie, with a bit of kung-fu thrown in there.

You feel like you're watching Lord of the Rings in China, where a couple of elves know kung-fu. There are complete scenes stolen verbatim from LotR, including the Council of Elrond.

So it's OK, popcorn entertainment, like Stardust or Willow or something. If not for Jet Li and Jackie Chan (I grew up on these two!), I probably wouldn't have finished it.

Other characteristics of the bad HK movie are bad dubbing and bad subtitles. The dubbing was indeed bad, and I wonder where from, Chan speaks Cantonese but Li was a Beijingren last time I checked, and what else does the stupid white kid speak than Mandarin? The subtitles were really really bad, and what on earth was up with Jin Yanzi referring to herself in the third person all the time in the English titles.

All of the actors actually speak their lines in English, so the version you saw was dubbed from English to Mandarin.

(There are some scenes where the white witch, the jade warlord, and some others speak Mandarin in the English version, and they were recorded speaking Mandarin).

If you watch the English version, everything is original, no dubbing. Jet Li, Jackie Chan and the Golden Sparrow all speak English.

[op108]

It seems everybody on the Web says it's good. This makes me wanna see it. I've seen the trailer on YouTube. Jackie I-do-my-own-stunts Chan really looked aged. But I'm particularly interested in that evil white-haired bounty hunter played by Li BinBin. She looked really cool, especially when she used her hair as weapon, much like Lin QinXia's character in the White Devil series. So waiting for my assignments to be all done then I can get people to see it with me.

[floatingmoon]

yeah, many think that LiBingBing white hair weapon is cool. I am more into the martial arts and the usage of different weapons, they are state of art. And the really reason, I go to theater to see it, it's Jet and Jackie are both in the movie. Both! lol

hehe, anyway, hope you get your assignment done so,and getting a good grade. And enjoy the movie, I found that when you don't set out any expectation or ideas about the movie, and then you go watch, then you will enjoy it more, that apply to any movie, for me.

[ruida919]

it is a good movie

[self-taught-mba]

Clicked on this thought it was referring to China and its inaccessibility to foreigners who can't get visas. Oh I see it's the movie.

[Quest]

I saw it tonight. Silly movie, but entertaining enough, and I loved the Tang style settings and the two gorgeous girls. Liu Yifei's accent surprised me.

[Shadowdh]

This is just about to come out in the UK... a mate just asked if I wanted to see it... lol, I just said you want the dvd?? (but I will be going with him to see it again... on the big screen this time).

[crystak]

I watched it ages ago; must be 2 months or so. A friend got it for me, I have no idea where from.

I thought it was ok and the english version was good. I guess the dubbing from english to mandarin must have been a bit weird. One of the films I found the dubbing strange was "Gorgeous".. I don't like it not being able to hear the actor's actual voices.

[sweetcheri]

Ugh, it's so funny how when Jet Li and Jackie Chan are put together in a show, they completely block out the other actors, who are pretty good as well. XD I mostly watched this show for Li Bing Bing (李冰冰)~ always been a fan of her.