The Forbidden Kingdom Review

I actually thought it was going to be more like Hero or Crouching Tiger, so we left the younger child (7) behind with friends, and took my older 15 yr old who's into martial arts and weapon training, along with her friend who's into anime.  Both girls were excited about seeing it, and when they saw it, they loved the whole movie. 

I liked it alot, cuz it wasn't like Crouching Tiger, and thought Hero was too "artsy" for me.  Although I'm a creative type and can appreciate great cinematography, I'm not fond of every  martial art movie, specifically when its too long, or too "preachy" or just not enough humor.  I like Jackie Chan's American made movies, and some of Jet Li's work.  Jet Li tends to  be very violent, remembering "Unleashed".  So I get cautious about taking the younger one to his movies.  But she enjoys watching Rush Hour, so she was a little disappointed not to see Jackie.  After seeing it now, I feel comfortable that if your kids like martial arts and Power Rangers, they're fine with the violence in this movie. 

It has a more of an anime tone to it, which is probably why the girls liked it so much. If was like a blend of mortal kombat, Inuyasha (check out the white haired witch), and teen comedy movie, typical of Jackie Chan's humor.  If you liked Kill Bill, you'll like this one - without the over-the-edge gore.  I wouldn't have imagined the star of "sky HIgh" being a martial artist (Michael Angarano) - or the main character in this movie, and was wondering about him.  At first glance, we thought it was Shia LeBouf (sp?).  But I found Michael to be pretty funny, and enjoyable to watch as his character developed.  I had just seen him in an older movie called "Last wish" about a dying boy, and although the topic was depressing, there was still humor to it, and he did the movie well, so I was open to seeing what he was going to do in this movie and wasn't disappointed.

The action wasn't disappointing at all - its throughout the movie, but not so dragged out that you get bored watching it. I really noticed how the movie makers were careful not to allow Jackie or Jet Li look better than the other.  They both equally shared the screen, showing the good and bad in each other.  In their main confrontation, they would match punch for punch, equal in their styles, and we loved watching the dramatic action between the two - not cheering for either, but just in awe of the whole scene.  Thus keeping both Jackie and Jet Li fans happy.

Remember to have fun watching the movie.  It's a fantasy.  Most of all, I hated the ending on Crouching Tiger, but thought the ending on this one was good and it was an "end" that didn't force you into a sequel, which is nice for a change.