Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on April 27, 2008 at 00:42:52

In Reply to: RE: The Forbidden Kingdom posted by Jon L on April 26, 2008 at 18:44:24

>>> "As a long time Martial Arts movie fan, I have mixed feelings about this one. It was great to watch Jet Li and Jackie Chan work together with everybody on and off the screen kind of sharing the "secret handshake" of the all-knowing/have-done-it-all duo." <<<

Even my wife enjoyed this film (she isn't a big fan of the Hong Kong martial arts style, but she does like some of the cleverer, well choreographed martial arts films of both Chan and Li).

>>> "Too bad this pairing happened in a movie so typically Hollywood with all the uninteresting cliche's." <<<

Yes, cliches are present, but they were done very well; so well, in fact, that they were often not perceivable as such. The Forbidden Kingdom was intended as a kind of swan-song for both actors in respect to martial arts films & the cliches almost seemed symbolic, sort of a personal reflection of both actors upon their careers. Cliche or not, I found this one fun to watch. The Forbidden Kingdom is clever, entirely accessible for American audiences and well paced (personally, my favorite martial arts film since Jet Li's Kiss of The Dragon).

>>> "And why the heck does the cute Asian girl always get paired with the "diamond-in-the-rough" Caucasian guy? " <<<

I thought that the story was delightful; I personally liked the conclusion and the "diamond-in-the-rough" Caucasian kid's acting throughout. Note: I also liked the "cute Asian girl" being an obvious reincarnation of the injured heroine who risks all and dies trying to save the imprisoned Monkey God; the kid obviously developed a romantic attachment, so that final scene added an element of reward for achieving confidence and power over his dangerous real world adversaries.

AuPh