I remember the first time I heard about this movie (it was an untitled project then) that Jet Li and Jackie Chan were supposed to be in the same movie. It was a moment in time that I had started thinking of what the story concepts would have been like to have these two icons appear in a single frame. The storyline of the movie is that a stick made of gold is kept with an old video shop owner who is waiting for the stick to be picked up by its rightful owner. It so happens that the young kid who is interested so much into kung fu movies is the one chosen to make journey and return it. Like all the other Chinese fantasy movies, Forbidden Kingdom also takes the same path.
Filled with magic, mischief and martial arts, this movie stands out from the others. Jackie Chan plays a drunken martial arts master and Jet Li plays Sun Wukong (Monkey King) both of whom accompany Jason in his journey. There is a scene in a temple when for the first time Li and Chan are shown on screen and they end up fighting for the staff. The movie shows that both have the same amount of power and stamina during the fight scene. Li possesses mystical powers like multiplying himself with just a strand of hair (genetic cloning? But this was instant) any ways he possessed more than just replicating (if you want to call that), powers like being able to command his stick to fight without him actually holding it. Even though the actor who plays Jason is the central character in the movie, his character is dull when Li and Chan appear on the screen, either during fight scenes or just talking to him. I guess that’s what we call on screen charisma.
Spoiler:
Movie opens with Jet Li fighting in the clouds (actually mountains very high up) with soldiers, next Jason is shown on screen dreaming that fight sequence. After the credits Jason goes and buys a few martial arts action movies from an old Chinese video shop owner. On his departure from the shop he gets into a fight which he looses, the victor finds out that he has been buying movies from the old Chinese man and takes him to the shop to pretend that he came to buy movies but his motive was to steal cash. During the robbery the victor (of the fight) shoots the shop owner and Jason runs away with the golden staff he saw earlier. They chase him to a roof top from where Jason falls off.
Jason awakes up in a village in China and he is again chased by some soldiers (Chinese army) where is saved by a drunken martial arts master (Jackie Chan). Who tells him that he is responsible to return the stick to the rightful owner and he is not going to help in its return. The stick is stolen from Jason by Jet Li, which initiates a fight between Chan and Li. Matters are solved, and they both start teaching Jason martial arts. Jason ends up in a dual after Chan is injured in an escape and he needs the potion that will give Chan eternal life. Li comes to Jason’s rescue just when he was about to be killed and the staff is returned. The Jet Li that accompanied Jason on his journey turns out to be a clone(?).
The monkey god is awoken from his 400 years sleep and all ends well, with Jason back in the right place, defeats the guy who bullied him in the starting of the movie.
Over all I would rate this movie 8/10 (I guess I m a fan of Li and Chan and I like their scenes).
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