| |
 |
|
|
Movies Forum Index » Movie Reviews Forum » Review: The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Page 1 of 1
|
| Author |
Message |
| Steve Rhodes |
 Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:08 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2008 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
The dirty little secret of film reviewing is that some films are much more
fun to review than others. It's all about quality.
Give me a wonderful film or a real stinker, -- I don't care which -- and it
becomes sheer joy writing about it. If the movie is terrific, there is no
end to the examples one can come up with to explain why it is so special.
Conversely, if a movie reeks, a critic can at least enjoy taking an ax to it
afterwards, since there will be no end to the points to criticize.
And then we come to movies like THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, which is neither fish
nor fowl. It's not an awful movie, but, although it has its moments, it is
not a particularly good one either. So, no matter how hard you try, it's
hard to get much passion into saying anything good or bad about it.
Billed as the inspired pairing of two martial arts legends, Jackie Chan and
Jet Li, the movie's central character is played by neither of these actors.
Instead it falls to Michael Angarano, a relatively unknown actor whose best
know part was a relatively minor character in a few episodes of last year's
"24" on television.
As Jason Tripitikas, Angarano is given a character straight out of THE
KARATE KID. Chan and Li, who each play a pair of characters, are seen most
as Lu Yan and The Silent Monk. These characters teach Jason how to fight.
Of course, this proves as painful as it is successful. Most of the story is
set in ancient China, where Jason is thrust as he goes off on a quest to
return a long-lost staff to its rightful owner.
Although the lush mountain settings are gorgeous, Peter Pau's cinematography
proves pretty pedestrian. The Jackie Chan comedy show is a bit more
effective, but most of his jokes feel like retreads.
There is one and only one part of the production that you will remember. Li
gives an absolutely inspired reading of the Monkey King, his other
character. A cinematic original, this infinitely charming character might
best be described as a Donkey Kong-type character as seen in The Wizard of
Oz. Every scene with the Monkey King in it is magical and mesmerizing.
It's too bad the movie wasn't just about the Monkey King. Now that would be
a film I would pay to see again and again.
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM runs too long at 1:53. It is rated PG-13 for
"sequences of martial arts action and some violence" and would be acceptable
for kids around 6 and up.
My son Jeffrey, age 19, loved the Monkey King character but not much else
about the movie, giving it just **. He thought the movie was such a dud
that it could have been better if they had made it more into a parody. He
said it was half serious and half comedy, but that neither part worked.
Jeffrey's girlfriend Yasmin, age 18, said that she kept falling asleep
during the movie but that, when it engaged her enough to stay awake, she
liked some of the action scenes and Chan's drunken comedy routine.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the
Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and
the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
***********************************************************************
Want reviews of new films via Email?
Just write Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com and put "subscribe" in the
subject line. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
|
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:50 pm
|
|
