Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Director: Rob Minkoff
Movie review
From Time Out London
The ’80s action fantasy may be long dead, but nobody told the folks behind ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’. Slavishly following rules laid down in such films as ‘The Karate Kid’, the film tells the story of softhearted Boston street punk and kung-fu fanatic Jason Tripitakas (Michael Angarano), who finds a magic staff and is transported to a mystical land populated by figures from Chinese mythology.Nostalgia aside, there’s not a lot to love in ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’. Director Rob ‘The Haunted Mansion’ Minkoff keeps things visually flat and uninspired. Angarano, an emotional vacuum as an actor, is a singularly unappealing lead. But this won’t make a jot of difference to the film’s target audience of pre-teens eager to catch the first on-screen pairing of legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li. And this, luckily, is the film’s one strength: their interaction is likeably goofy, and when the fists start flying it’s easy to forget the film’s flaws and enjoy the simple pugilistic pleasures of the Jet & Jackie show.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 1977, July 10 -16, 2008
User reviews of this film
-
- Honey..x said...
- Posted on Jul 23 2008 12:20 I loved this film. wa bout u..x
- Report as inappropriate
-
- usman khawaja said...
-
Posted on Jul 22 2008 09:03
forbidden to anyone over age 5
monkey circus in a monkey world with monkey king -one huge boring ball of magic,heaven ,gods and immortals with a kung fu take on lord of the rings with nothing ingenious or remotely intelligent ,thrown in is a white american teen to cater to all the racial target audience ,that the cast is all trained to wear the same expressionless expression is also right on target and suceeds eternally well in the land of opium -induced delusional delinquents .
the plot is as incomprehensible as the magical staff which looks like a walking stick bought from a car boot sale in brixton for 50 pence ,the same can be said for the cheap set design and the lousy action pieces too,be kind rewind all your kung fu dvds and watch them on your hd-sets ,
even the two leads look as bored as i felt and it explains why one of them is persistenly boozing while staging some clumsy and very noisy fights which are endleesly repetitive and will give you repititive strain injury,the scenery has been seen in every movie from painted veil to flying daggers and looked just as cliched as jet and jackie who look as jaded as the forbidden kindom itself ,a fable gone fantastically wrong with false premises and farcical attitudes ,even the frail women look fearsomely ugly in their forced make-up and false wigs -AVOID .
a cheap chinese charade - Report as inappropriate
-
- usman khawaja said...
-
Posted on Jul 19 2008 08:18
monkey circus in monkey world with monkey king -one huge boring ball of magic and immortals with a kung fu take on lord of the rings with nothing ingenious or remotely intelligent ,
even the two leads look as bored as i felt and it explains why one of them is persistenly boozing while staging some clumsy and very noisy fights which are endleesly repetitive and will give you repititive strain injury -AVOID .
a cheap chinese charade - Report as inappropriate
-
- CG said...
- Posted on Jul 18 2008 21:13 Not seen it yet but looks like a really good film anda good action movie. jackie chan is one of my favourite actors and he is in the movie. cant wait until i see this movie. lol
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Viix said...
- Posted on Jul 16 2008 11:42 sorry the rating for hancock keeps coming up on this page... soz again
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Viix said...
- Posted on Jul 16 2008 11:41 aw com on stop slating this movie...it was a slice of kidoligy...nothing more...po-faced smith all way through was great, considering he is a very good comedy actor. this movie must be seen for yourselves..its brill, superb unexpected twist...very enjoyable for all the family...laughed my flipping head off and shed a tear also...good job Will ;)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Viix said...
-
Posted on Jul 16 2008 11:27
Hanncock..
Must be one of his best yet..funny, sad..Smith straight faced all way thru pulls this off nicely, with a good unexpected twist in there, that works. watched this with my 10 year old son and we giggled like anything.. brilliant.. should be 5 stars..have no idea why its been slated as im a very good film buff - Report as inappropriate
-
- jonno said...
- Posted on Jul 15 2008 14:39 this film is wicked love it A MUST SEE!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- gaz said...
- Posted on Jul 14 2008 18:58 really good film very funny not boaring but storyline is abit simple **** 4 star
- Report as inappropriate
-
- redman said...
- Posted on Jul 08 2008 18:46 its is the best of the best. milroy u have to watch it
- Report as inappropriate
-
- redman said...
- Posted on Jul 08 2008 18:45 double the action ppl. its really gd. go and watch it.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Rob Minkoff
Cast: Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano full cast
Rated: 12A
Duration: 104 mins
UK Release: Jul 11 2008
US Release: Apr 18 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now