Jackie Chan Movie:

		List Price: $39.99		Label: Lions Gate Salesrank: 2910 Released: September 9, 2008
		Our Price: $6.12
		Used Price: $6.11
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Individually, they've starred in the most adrenaline-pumping martial-arts adventures ever. Together for the first time, Jet Li and Jackie Chan join forces to create the greates epic of them all- THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. As ancient Chinese warriors, they must train and mentor a 21st century kung-fu fanatic who's been summoned to fight a centuries-old battle and free the imprisoned Monkey King. If you're a fighting fan, the wait is over. The team is ready. The Kingdom has arrived.

Description of The Forbidden Kingdom (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]:
Getting martial-arts superstars Jet Li and Jackie Chan together in the same action film is like a fantasy come true, even if The Forbidden Kingdom is more of a children's movie than an instant kung-fu classic. Yes, Li and Chan square off in a lengthy, acrobatic fight scene that is a lot of fun, though it can't be what such a scene might have been even a decade ago: careful editing now compensates for the 54-year-old Chan's slower moves and reflexes. Still, Chan doesn't disappoint as Lu Yan, a drunken immortal in ancient China who mentors a modern-day American kid, Jason (Michael Angarano), the latter having slipped into the past while in possession of a magical staff that belongs to the imprisoned Monkey King (Li). In order to get back to his own time and help an old friend (also Chan) wounded by thugs, Jason accompanies Lu Yan and a lovely warrior, Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), on a journey to return the staff. Along the way, a (mostly) silent monk (Li, again), who has spent his life in search of the staff, joins their mission. He helps Lu Yan train Jason in fighting and adding more muscle to the party as it comes under siege from a violent witch (Li Bing Bing) and pathological warlord (Collin Chou). Screenwriter John Fusco (Hidalgo) and director Rob Minkoff (The Haunted Mansion) have made a slightly chintzy, Western version of a Chinese swords-and-sorcery tale. The gravity-defying, flying-through-the-air-while-fighting choreography looks pretty choppy and graceless compared to, say, the martial arts films of Zhang Yimou. But The Forbidden Kingdom is really aimed at kids, not aficionados of epic fight movies. On that score, the movie aims to please and does so for the right audience. -- Tom Keogh

Beyond The Forbidden Kingdom on DVD

The Forbidden Kingdom Soundtrack

Stills from The Forbidden Kingdom (click for larger image)

The Forbidden Kingdom (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Overall, a great martial art movie!
2009-12-29 - A lot of low rating reviews are too picky. They pick out a single thing in the movie and say the whole movie is bad. I was surprised by a well rounded fantasy story mixed in with Chinese folk-tale. You simply can not compare it to the Chinese movies. Those tend to be darker with complex relationship and usually the fighting and killing are ruthless with body parts getting ripped apart. Maybe that is why reviewers are saying this is more family friendly. Overall, the story was well thought out. The kung fu fighting scenes were intense and top quality. All actors did very well in portraying their characters. I never watched it because I heard bad reviews from critics when the movie came out. Finally saw it. And I was thoroughly entertained. In terms of showing it to kids, there are still some spots of violence that are not for kids. I probably would limit this movie for kids at least 14 years old. One more thing. The bonus features are fantastic. I have the single disc version and it has quite a long list of bonus features. Make sure you watch all the bonus features!

Forbidden Kingdom
2009-12-28 - Lots of action and it makes you laugh as well. I would recommend seeing this one. It is very entertaining and lots of fun to watch.

Kung fu for kids - think "Neverending Story" meets "Drunken Master" and "The Bride with the White Hair"
2009-12-06 - A kid who's into martial arts movies becomes the unlikely protagonist of an epic struggle between good and evil in ancient China. When the aging owner of his favorite pawn shop is shot by local toughs, he entrusts Jason with returning an ancient staff to its rightful owner. It turns out Jason can't do that without passing into another world, where the ruthless ambition of the Jade Warlord threatens to overthrow a peaceful empire. When he gets there he's way out of his league, and finds help only in the guise of a drunken warrior (Jackie Chan) and a pacifist priest (Jet Li), and of course, a beautiful young woman of his own age on a revenge quest. It's the classic tale of a reluctant hero, entering into a fantasy world and discovering in himself the confidence and skills needed to face up to his problems in the real world. It's a westernized version, for kids, of the classic wuxia film, with larger than life heroes fighting in ways that defy gravity and the other basic laws physics, but look pretty impressive. It's a nice introduction to the martial arts film for young people, and I found it surprisingly enjoyable. Consider it the next step for kids who like martial arts and action films but who are a bit too old for Kung Fu Panda. It's an intriguing update, for this generation, of eighties films like The Neverending Story.

Forbidden Kingdom
2009-11-14 - Good, funny movie! Excellent video and sound, as well as special features. A great movie to add to anyone's collection.

Hideously Bad
2009-10-30 - I am a fan of HK cinema and wuxia films, but this movie made me want to tear my eyeballs out. And ram pencils through my eardrums. The acting, dialogue, and plot of the movie are hideously bad, and I would be tempted to say that any of the positive reviews on here must be astroturfers for the movie studios, except I am open to the notion that some people could actually enjoy this movie. After all, someone has to watch all of those hideous reality TV shows, right?

I'm trying to search for anything positive to say about the movie... even the lauded team-up between Jackie Chan and Jet Li didn't pan out in the movie. There were so many things they could have done, but all the opportunities were wasted, such as when JC and JL were arguing over how to best train the clueless white guy - that could have been a great scene! But it wasn't.

And if the idiot white guy was such a big fan of martial arts movies, why didn't he understand he'd have to go through a tough training montage sequence like everyone else? The guy is a hate-able moron.

The cute Chinese girl utters her dialogue like she's a wooden robot.

And yeah, that about covers it.