Movie Information
Overall Rank: 7679
Average Rating: 2.5/4
# of Ratings: 108
Theatrical Release Date: 04/14/2008
Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: 09/09/2008
Language: English
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Rob Minkoff
Actors: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Morgan Benoit, Collin Chou, Yifei Liu, Michael Angarano
Plot: Jason Williams (Michael Angarano) finds a staff at an old antique store. The staff magically transports him back in time where he meets the drunken martial-arts master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), the Silent Monk (Jet Li) and the Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu Yi Fei). They help him train and bring the staff back to its rightful owner. -- Josh C
Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
Cavernstones - wrote on 03/28/2016
You shouldn't go into watching this film with the expectations of Flying Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Nor even the Legend of the Drunken Master, or Enter the Dragon. No. This is more akin to animated martial arts movie made live action. Some light hearted humor, great fight scenes, but an obvious plot. It's fun and quirky, and enjoyable for what it is. Jackie Chan and Jet Li star as they help a young Boston kid fulfill an ancient prophecy.
Rating of
3/4
Matthew Brady - wrote on 07/08/2014
It's a fun goofy action flick with bad-ass fight scenes.
Rating of
2.5/4
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/18/2011
Jason Williams (Michael Angarano) embarks in an adventure together with Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), the Silent Monk (Jet Li) and the Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu Yi Fei). I felt the middle portion of the picture was the best. It could have had a better story and antagonist. Great to see Jet Li and Jackie Chan in one movie, if only the script was good. The Forbidden Kingdom was okay, just felt it could have been improved in other facets of direction and screenplay.
Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
0.5/4
Gimmicky, Cliched, and Just Plain Stupid
JLFM - wrote on 02/18/2013
I have seen relatively few karate/kung-fu oriented films, so The Forbidden Kingdom, I knew, was going to be a bit different than what I was used to seeing in films. But if the average kung-fu film is anything like The Forbidden Kingdom, I will certainly be staying far away from the genre for a very long time.
In a cliche-ridden plot, as preposterous as it is formulaic, kung-fu nerd, Jason, finds a mysterious looking staff in a video store, that sends him back in time to ancient China where he meets Lu Yan, an immortal and intensely skilled kung-fu master who, along with a girl named Sparrow and The Silent Monk, go on a long journey to free the Monkey King.
Yup, you read that right; the Monkey King.
There are so many things that I disliked about this film and so many things it …
Rating of
3/4
"The Forbidden Kingdom" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/16/2012
An American kung fu movie geek is entrusted with an ancient staff which transports him to a magical world where the mystical kung fu characters of his movies are real. The Forbidden Kingdom is a throwback to the wish fulfilment fantasies of the 1980s, sharing a lot in common with the likes of The Karate Kid, Big Trouble In Little China and even Indiana Jones. Making the hero of the film an American will no doubt irritate many and he is certainly the least interesting character in the film, but he is for the most part a figure of fun in the same way as Jack Burton was in Big Trouble. Jet Li strikes up a great buddy partnership with Jackie Chan who revives his Drunken Master routine, and their face off is impressive as you'd expect. And having grown up on cheesy 70s TV show Monkey, I'd …
Rating of
3/4
Mindless Fun, Nothing More
Franz Patrick - wrote on 09/09/2008
Even though the story is cheesy and the script isn’t as sharp as it should have been, this was fun to watch because it has so much energy and there are so many exciting action sequences. I also liked the exotic locations, may they be CGI or not. The duel between Jackie Chan and Jet Li was nothing short of epic; I’m still surprised that they haven’t been in a kung fu film together until this one. As for Michael Angarano, I couldn’t take him seriously because, to me, he’ll always be Jack’s son in “Will & Grace.” (I also saw him in “The Brainiacs.com” on Disney Channel back in 2000.) Nonetheless, he wasn’t bad at all. Most of the time, he was just there either getting beat up or being teary-eyed. Thankfully, there were some girl-power here–one good, one evil. As much …
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