Combines outrageously entertaining fight scenes with just enough of an ancient Chinese legend to keep us hooked
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04/20/08
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
64
%
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Reviews Counted:123
Fresh:79
Rotten:44
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: This hotly-anticipated pairing of martial arts legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li features dazzling fight scenes but is weighed down by too much filler.
Theatrical Release:09-07-2008
Synopsis: East meets West and kung-fu legends collide as Jackie Chan and Jet Li square off in the fists-a-flying, family-friendly FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. Based on the classical Chinese novel JOURNEY TO THE WEST,... [More]
Reviews for The Forbidden Kingdom
Thank God Jackie Chan is still doing this. He brings back his drunken style, which even in a milder form is awesome.
08/07/07
Chan plays a drunk again and Li is a gay Hindu monkey king. See "Zombie Strippers" instead.
04/16/08
One of the more entertaining movies we’ve seen in recent months.
04/21/08
All the martial arts movies have become clichés. This film is worse than stupid. Enough!
04/27/08
I don't care how tough and talented Jet Li and Jackie Chan are they lost me at Monkey King.
04/17/08
It's simply tedious, butt-kicking, cliche-ridden, chop-schlocky action.
04/21/08
The worst part of the martial-arts epic The Forbidden Kingdom [is] a moment near the halfway mark when there arrives a gag that involves Chan getting a face full of urine. This kingdom really should be forbidden.
04/17/08
If you're an adolescent boy and kung fu flicks are your bag, this convoluted one is probably watchable.
04/19/08
You know you're in a fantasy movie when the central character has to traverse time in search of the 'Monkey King.' If only you were in a good movie.
04/17/08
Pairing Jackie Chan and Jet Li would seem like a slam dunk, but this big-budget martial arts drama, which borrows liberally from The Wizard of Oz, is something of a disappointment.
04/18/08
A slapdash but amiable crossbreed of The Karate Kid and The Wizard of Oz, The Forbidden Kingdom functions as a martial arts cinema primer for American youth.
04/20/08
It might take a Zen master to explain exactly what audience this is aimed at.
04/18/08
I'm totally in the target audience for this film, having long been a fan of both actors as well as the genre itself. But the fact is that this thing just didn't work for me, and I'm completely frustrated by that.
04/24/08
It's difficult to resist, especially if you're a 12-year-old boy whose parents won't let you rent Once Upon a Time in China or the Kill Bill movies.
04/18/08
Forbidden Kingdom is a faithful and disarmingly earnest attempt to honor some venerable and popular Chinese cinematic traditions.
04/18/08
Top CriticSilly and satisfying, The Forbidden Kingdom is a juggernaut of beloved movie tropes complete with pumping-up montage of knuckle pushups.
04/17/08
Yeah, it's a dopey kid's movie, but -- significant detail -- one that feels like it was actually written for kids ... Also, whenever things threaten to get too schlocky, this amazing villainess with a magic bullwhip shows up.
05/15/08
If this sounds like a knockoff of a million supernatural kung fu costumers ... well, it is. But the important thing is that it's a very good knockoff. Not only do [the filmmakers] clearly love the movies they're plundering, but they've done their homework
04/16/08
The Forbidden Kingdom’s high-flying exhilaration strikes the right note for the first onscreen pairing of action-movie legends Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
04/16/08
Latest News for The Forbidden Kingdom
September 09, 2008:
Kung fu fever and fluff mix it up with hordes of floating knights in shining armor with bad attitude, and just a little heavy on the dressing, courtesy of the costume department. 
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April 20, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Chan and Li Rule Box Office Kingdom
Audiences were fired up for the first-ever showdown between martial arts legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li as their new fantasy actioner The Forbidden Kingdom opened at number one... More...
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