Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself travelling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.
The Forbidden Kingdom is most notable for pairing Jackie Chan and Jet Li on screen together for the first time, which gives it a genuine novelty boost. However, the plot is a fairly generic 'fish out of water' time-travel hero's journey with a bland American protagonist as the audience surrogate. The acting from Chan and Li is charming and elevates the material, but the supporting cast and the teen lead are unremarkable. Cinematography is competent with some visually appealing wuxia sequences in ancient China, but nothing transcendent. The ending resolves predictably with little surprise, wrapping up the hero's journey in a by-the-numbers fashion. The film ultimately coasts on the novelty of its two iconic leads sharing the screen.