The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)--2/5

Criteria for a good kung fu movie:

1) Exciting fight scenes

2) Lots of fight scenes

3) Other things (story, characters, setting, acting, etc.)

Number three is not that important. A kung fu movie's story only has to quickly move--plausibly or not--from fight to fight.

"The Forbidden Kingdom" wastes time developing a derivative story. Like "Doomsday," the inspiration is Xeroxed rather than referenced. At least "Doomsday" had some upper-class ripoffs (Cameron, Carpenter, Romero). "The Forbidden Kingdom" steals from forgotten and/or junky kids' movies. The nerdy kung-fu movie fan who learns to fight from the legends is a lift from "Sidekicks," which was already a shameless "The Karate Kid" rehash. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" is already the definitive time-travel-via-mystical-Chinese-artifact movie. The entire framing story is, for all intents and purposes, the same as that in "The Neverending Story." Ergo, "The Forgotten Kingdom" is a soon-to-be-forgotten, junky kids' movie.

("The Neverending Story" may not mesh here for some, and it is kind of forgotten, hence the "and/or.")

The main draw of "The Forbidden Kingdom" is the "once in a lifetime" meeting of "kung fu legends" (I'm sure this is how the press release of the movie breathlessly reads) Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Ho-hum. It could be that the meeting is ten years too late. It also could be the dullness of the whole affair.

Classic Jackie Chan movies are known for the impressive martial arts, death-tempting stunts, and intricate physical comedy, sometimes in a combination of all three. Presumably, Chan's age keeps him from attempting the intense stunts of his youth. Since he still fights with prowess, the opportunity still exists for decent fight scenes. With the exception of a few intoxicated Chan moves (echoing the canonical "Drunken Master" films), the fighting in "The Forbidden Kingdom" is all in the self-serious Jet Li style. It's also loaded with tiresome "wire fu." Quick and technically proficient, yes, but without memorable moves or character quirks of the best choreography.