“I thought it would suck too but it’s not bad!”

I didn’t think The Forbidden Kingdom was going to be any good but I was happily surprised; it’s pretty damn good.

Let me get this out of the way first, most everything in the movie are stock martial art movie main stays. The monk, the drunken old man, the traveler, the bad general and the beautiful angry girl and assassin are things that have been done before but what The Forbidden Kingdom is a very good updated homage to the martial art genre.

The plot of the film could have been flimsy but the way it’s done and the way information is presented gives it a fresh and epic feeling. Even though you know what to expect and how it’s going to play out, you still want to see it. Everything moves quickly and there is never a lull in entertainment; if there’s no action, there’s comedy and vice versa. The movie paces itself just like it’s fight scenes, fast and efficient.

What really helps the story though are the actors. Jackie Chan and Jet Li play to type and even though we’ve seen it before, they do it again with great results. Even more impressive are their scenes together, there is a palpable friendship and respect between them that comes out clearly in their film. It’s really great to see them together (their fight scene together is awesome, it pulls no punches and allows them both time to really show off). I wasn’t sure to expect of this movie when I first saw the stills but I think that this was a good choice for their first film together.  The setting and situations of the film are the perfect excuses for them and I don’t think any other kind of story would have done them justice.

The other actors are also equally impressive and the kung fu of  Yifei Liu and Michael Angarano are given just the right amount of screen time and are enjoyable. Colin Chou looks impressive and is equally menacing. Bingbing Li is fun to say and she’s also does a serviceable job and is the only character that I wish would have had more screen time.

What really gives the movie an epic feel though is the production value and costumes. Imperial guards and Colin Chou’s armor throughout the movie is impressive. I implore other editors and directors to watch this movie and see how good fight scenes are presented and done; the editing and effects enhance each fight and does not take away from it.

Overall, the movie is more than just the first on screen pairing of Jackie and Jet, it’s a thoughtful homage to the genre that made them famous.

If you’ve got nothing to do, I recommend you catch this one, it’s an hour and half of honest entertainment.

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