Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Okay, so FORBIDDEN KINGDOM… Jet Li and Jackie Chan together finally and it’s in a Hollywood kid’s film. Sure, it’s not the dream team-up, but I can’t help but sheepishly admit to liking the flick. It’s NEVERENDING STORY for the Chop Sockey genre. Literally. And I mean that. Rob Minkoff pretty much films the entire book store moment from NEVERENDING STORY, but instead of Bastian we have Michael Angarano and instead of a book store we have a Chinatown shop filled with bootleg Asian DVDs and imports. The shop is run by an old man, who I was quite happy to realize was Jackie Chan in old age make-up. This character, I think, was the most interesting character in the movie and I loved seeing Chan play an old man… so, of course he’s in the film for about 4 minutes this way. Angarano plays a bullied kid who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema. He has martial arts movie posters up all over his room and watches vintage kung fu movies 24/7. He ends up being bullied into organizing a theft at the old man’s shop and ends up with an antique staff that might be magical. After a chase, he takes a spill off of a roof (staff in hand) and just as he hits the concrete he seems to be transported to Ancient China. He's the reluctant hero set upon a journey where he has to deliver the one ring... I mean, the magical staff to its rightful owner. He gets help from an at first disinterested immortal (Chan), a young woman seeking revenge and a monk (Li). I recently talked with Moriarty about this movie in an AIM/iChat conversation and told him that I believe the film will be a gateway movie for many children. He disagreed, but I really do think this will be a great many children’s first exposure to the worlds, fantasy and film-language of Asian cinema. You have everything from the basic 36 CHAMBERS OF SHAOLIN set-up (weak kid turned martial arts master) and you also have a good look at the fantasy world of Hong Kong cinema. The Monkey God plays a big role in the film, but so does the Animal Style martial arts, but it’s all kid friendly. Which is why it’s not an easy recommend for many people. Jackie Chan does play a drunken fist fighter, which was a good nod to his early work and he does have a really great fight with Jet Li, but beyond that I think the flick won’t play to those well-versed in martial arts films or those that can’t enjoy it on a basic little boy or girl level. Fear not, though, moms and dads. There is entertainment to be had with the film, so it shouldn’t be torture to sit through with the little one. And for the dads who harbor a secret yellow fever, this is one of the first films of an absolutely gorgeous new Chinese actress named Yifei Liu. The action’s fast and fun, the acting’s nothing to get excited about, but aside from some horrible delivery from Jet Li it’s nothing to get upset about either. Chan really does seem to be having a lot of fun and that rubs off. So there you have it. I don’t know what else I’d have to say about this flick. It’s one that I like in a guilty pleasure sort of way. There are moments that are really strong and there are moments that are really weak. It’s a flawed movie, but I think it’ll be one that’ll be looked back on by today’s youngsters with a good deal of nostalgia and one that I hope will open up many of them to some amazing Hong Kong classics. -Quint quint@aintitcool.com
