Cheesy Forbidden Kingdom is silly fun

Cheesy Forbidden Kingdom is silly fun

by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid - SGN A&E Writer The Forbidden Kingdom Opening April 18 Sit down and return to the late 70s and mid-80s, when poofy hair, those absolutely horrific clothes and music by Boy George and the later version of Jefferson Airplane (Jefferson Starship) were playing on the radio. And films like The Karate Kid, and anything with Van Damme or Chuck Norris were probably on the big screen. This is the mindset you need to have when you plunk yourself down for the two hours of fun and cheesiness that is The Forbidden Kingdom, the newest attempt by martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li to cross over and become as famous in America as they already are in China. I'm guessing that's why these two powerhouses teamed up for what isn't a great film, but is a fun film nevertheless. The plot's pretty much Karate Kid meets The Neverending Story, with just about every martial arts film ever made thrown in for good measure. Geeky kid Jason (who was much better in the haunting Snow Angels) is fascinated with chop socky martial arts DVDs and trolls through a dusty pawn shop in Boston's Chinatown district to find bootleg copies of classics. While making fun of him, old shopkeeper, Old Hop (Jackie Chan in heavy makeup) also tests the knowledge of this awkward fan, and we get the feeling Old Hop knows something we don't know. Fast forward - or it seemed that way while watching the film at the screening - to geeky kid getting thrashed by some young South Bostonians who force him into allowing them entrance to the pawn shop after hours, so they can rob the place. Things go bad, Old Hop is shot, and Jason is chased off a building, only he doesn't fall and become a grease spot on the pavement. No, he gets transported to a mythical kingdom where he must fulfil a prophecy to restore a magical staff to its rightful owner, The Monkey King (Jet Li, in equally heavy makeup). Then the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) will be defeated and all will return to bliss and tranquility. You get the picture: great action sequences, marvelous, jaw-dropping special effects, and costumes that made my jaw drop, all amid the beauty of the Chinese landscape (the film was filmed on location in China), but still pretty cheesy. Or, to put it better, when The Forbidden Kingdom is being the standard kick-ass martial arts/fantasy flick, it rocks. When it tries to re-invent The Karate Kid, it makes eyes roll and comes off as pretty silly. Still, even then, there are moments so funny, I found myself laughing like a five-year-old at Six Flags Over Texas and enjoying the hell out this film. So, if you go, don't take it too seriously, or go expecting anything near Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but expect Jackie Chan to show you why he's still one of the number-one box office draws in these films in China. Paired with Jet Li - no slacker himself - the two make even the more spoofable parts of Kingdom wonderful fun at the movies. Definitely worth the price of a ticket, so you can enjoy the special effects on a big screen, and you can have your jaw drop, too.