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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]
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.
An enjoyable big budget film with lots of fancy sets, special effects and great fight scenes.
Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for the first time in a martial arts film - the perfect formula for a winner!
Mostly bloodless Chan/Li martial arts adventure.
It's not an awful movie, but, although it has its moments, it is not a particularly good one either. [Still] every scene with the Monkey King in it is magical and mesmerizing.
...the movie has a sweetly affecting fairy-tale atmosphere...
'Blue eyeshadow went out in the 1280's!' Jet Li shouts at the Jade Warlord
Instead of hitting us with crouching tigers and hidden dragons, the kung fu action-adventure The Forbidden Kingdom features the monk versus the drunk. And it works.
It's simply tedious, butt-kicking, cliche-ridden, chop-schlocky action.
One of the more entertaining movies we’ve seen in recent months.
Good low-calorie fun.
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.
If you're an adolescent boy and kung fu flicks are your bag, this convoluted one is probably watchable.
Cliché title, fun movie... a premium wire-fu fantasy.
Bloodless, but just make sure your young 'uns are past the stage of copying all the moves they see.
All of this is packaged fairly entertainingly, and the action sequences are a marvel to behold, expertly combining physical stunts with computerized effects.
Every time I thought it was getting too serious for its own good, the film gives a wink and a nod to the audience to let them know that it still has a sense of humor.
... a martial-arts variation on a middling musical with knockout dance numbers. It'll be tons of fun on DVD, when we can fast-forward to the good stuff and skip the plodding plot.
Every time the focus switches to Michael Angarano channeling his inner Ralph Macchio, The Forbidden Kingdom reminds you that it's primarily an act of occidental tourism.
The characters know they're in a movie that references lots of other movies and they want to share with us how much fun those movies can be.
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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