forbidden kingdom

the asian culture has come a long way. watching this on screen, you feel a sense of pride. in fact, this is a landmark in chinese cinematography, if this comment is but a little exaggerated. while asians have been doomed to play kung fu masters, monks, the scheming martial art slime-ball in many modern day american movies, forbidden kingdom is all these, but embraced in an asian context, in our culture of olden times. for once, it is an american movie that is led by the chinese.

i shall risk dragging my point a little too long, but if you catch this film, watching the clouds and mountains in a hollywood blockbuster is surreal. you remember hong kong movies you watched as a kid, and you really feel like, this is it.

the plot however, is much to be desired. cheesy? definitely. over-done? oh my God, yes. 

generally it is a vehicle to show of the pairs' (jet li and jackie chan) martial art skills. unprovoked attacks and unnecessary dueling are one too many. but still, there is comedy, some done perfectly, some very cringe-worthy. but if you think about it, the usually no nonsense imdb.com gave this flick a sky high rating of 7.8. i think it's because we grew up watching the hong kong versions, and seen too many of this genre. but for hollywood and the rest of the world, this is a breath of fresh air, and they like it.

jackie chan and jet li are both legends in chinese cinemas. together for the first time, they are likable and you just want to root for them. jackie manages english that is actually not too bad. but jet li murders his dialogue. but it's okay really.

doesn't matter i'm not exceptionally jumping about this one. watch it, just because it is jackie chan and jet li. also watch it because you really will, feel proud to see how far hong kong cinema has come.