The Forbidden Kingdom

The Forbidden Kingdom has the best visual effects of any movie I've this year so far. The other cool thing about the movie is that it stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Unfortunately, neither of them is the main character, and the story doesn't make any sense.

Pros : The visual effects are very impressive especially during the fights. They remind of other kung fu movies I've seen such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and fantasy epics such as the Lord of the Ring trilogy . Jakie Chan and Jet Li are the best actors in the movie, and show why they are two of the best martial arts experts in Hollywood. It's a shame that they haven't been in the same movie until now. It's also a shame that neither Chan or Li is the main character, and their in a movie with a really confusing plot.

Cons: The movie's protagonist is a teenager from Boston named Jason who steals a staff from a Chinese pawnshop, and somehow ends up in ancient China. There he meets a drunk man named Lu Yan who is played by Chan tells him the story of the Monkey King. During the battle with the Jade Warlord the Monkey King turned to stone, and his staff was magically transported to Boston 500 years in the future. Since Jason has the staff he must give it to the Monkey King.

On their journey to the Jade Warlord's palace Lu fights a monk played by Li. The monk stole the staff, and Lu wants it back. After the fight they decide to join forces and defeat the Jade Warlord's army, but first they have to teach Jason how to fight. Cue the training montage!

After a battle with the Jade Warlord's minions Lu is struck by an arrow. The only way he can be saved is by drinking the elixer of the immortals. I'm not going to tell you how the movie ends, but I can tell you that its very predictable.

Final Verdict: The Forbidden Kingdom had the potential to be a great movie. Unfortunately, the plot and main character keep it from being just that. It's a shame that Jackie Chan's and Jet Li's talents were wasted in this movie.


Scores (Out of 10) :

Story: 5.6
Acting: 5.0
Direction: 5.4
Visuals: 8.0

Final Score (Out of 10):
6.0

How the rating system works:
9-10.0=A
7-8.9= B
5-6.9= C
3-4.9= D
0-2.9= F

This year so far (Scores out of 10):
10,000 B.C. 8.0
21 5.1