Fantastical, magical, exciting and everything you want in a Kung Fu movie. Jackie Chan is wonderful and Jet Li shows a different side as the Monkey King.

My husband and I just saw this movie on a whim and were beyond pleasantly surprised. You get Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Woo Ping Yuen together and you are guaranteed amazing martial arts, but this movie also fulfulled all the rules of a great fairy tale. Though its not the same genre as Pan's Labyrinth, it had a similar feel in the bluring between real life and fantasy. Jason, the main character, fulfills the arc of a classic hero from the call to action in the "real" world, thru his training montages in kung fu, to the amazing climax of the movie. The visuals and filmography were stunning. The textures and details of all the sets, costumes and props were reminiscant of the care and love put into the Lord of the Rings trillogy. Clearly the money spent on the film was ALL on the screen. All in all, we could not stop smiling the entire time we watched the movie and we left feeling "KICK ***" and in a terrific mood. SEE IT! and when it comes out on DVD... BUY IT!

A light-hearted entertaining (funny-in-parts) martial-arts fantasy along the vein of 'The Karate Kid'. This movie is NOT a re-telling of the Buddhist/Taoist myth 'The Journey To The West' (note: monk Tripitaka) although some elements were liberally appropriated by writer John Fusco in this bland tale with bad editing. 'The Forbidden Kingdom' is filled with exhilarating fight sequences (non of which are of epic proportions) and showcased the favored combat-styles of both Jet Li and Jackie Chan respectively - choreographed by Wo-Ping Yuen(Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and other action-flicks since his 'Matrix' fame). This movie will appeal more to Westerners than Easterners. The first-time HISTORIC pairing of Jet Li and Jackie Chan deserved MUCH MORE than what this movie showcased. NOT director Rob Minkoff's best effort. 'Stormriders', 'The East is Red', 'Legend of Zu', etc. would appeal more to the discerning Eastern tastes. Overall grade: C

The Forbidden Kingdom is one of those movies that has likeable good guys and bad guys that you like to hate. Jackie Chan and Jet Li make a great collaberation. And though the rest of the cast is relatively unknown, they put on a good performance. The movie starts out with a Boston teen named Jason that finds a mysterious staff that transports him to ancient China. Agreeing to return the staff to the Monkey King ,who was trapped in stone, Jason must fight his way past the evil emperor's army, as well as journey across the vast landscape. The movie contains plenty of exciting action scenes that don't feel too dragged out. The ending was a little longer then it could have been, but The Forbidden Kingdom = Martial Arts Fun.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li in the same movie for the first time is interesting in itself. The fantasy fighting is often good, although the evil immortal hurling bad "chi" at his opponents did seem like something from X-men. The widely different characters and references to a range of forms of kung fu gave variety, with a good bit of humor thrown in at the staff seeker's (really, staff bearer's) expense. The evil but beautiful witch and the very pretty love interest, Sparrow, will catch the eyes and attention of the male audience.