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The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) |
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The feng shui for this one wasn’t really all that great from word one – bound to be a big release that at this juncture audiences in Asia see as generic, wannabe fare for Westerners, while viewers in the West consider it overly stereotypical and too late an arrival, almost a decade after the major mainstream success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And if it hasn’t occurred to you nearly eight years have passed since that classic came about – yep, we’re getting old!
But look beyond these obvious hurdles and Forbidden Kingdom is really an enjoyable movie if you try to overlook certain flaws. In fact, it’ll work best with exactly the kind of demographic its main protagonist belongs to – impressionable kids with a love of kung fu cinema and little or no actual experience with the issues and facts at hand.
Such is the existence of Jason Tripitikas, a hapless Southie geek who’s like the uncool version of Will Hunting, only he loves Hong Kong actioners, so he’s OK in our book. Done well by Michael Angarano, Tripitikas is a compromise character – yes, he’s white, but no, he’s not what moviegoers in Asia would identify as a typical American, so there’s less chance of a backlash. Yes, we notice these things. Just like we noticed the plot rehashes the old “putting order into chaos” theme so familiar from other wuxia pictures, only this time in a Western-crafted movie, and just in time for the Olympics.
At any rate, Tripitikas is a regular at a local store down by what appears to be Chinatown, where he frequents a Hop’s Pawn Shop, an emporium straight out of the Gremlins era. Now, we’ve never met anyone called Hop, but we have been the movie nerd exclaiming “Chinese - No English Subtitles” many, many, many times, so this wins major credits for authenticity.
After a big-time ruckus at Hop’s, Tripitikas sort of becomes a failed Neo and drops off a roof directly into a Shaw Brothers/King Hu et al version of “Ancient China”. There, all the essentials converge. He meets a drunken master in the form of Jackie Chan, who the reviewer now officially likes after watching him in this movie. It’s by far one of his better outings, and the more mature but lighthearted stuff he can be really good at when he’s not doing mindless comedy. Tripitikas then joins with gorgeous Golden Sparrow, an obvious allusion to Golden Swallow and Come Drink with Me. She’s done by youngster Liu Yifei, who although truly beautiful and talented, is trying too hard to be Zhang Ziyi. Rounding up the good guys, Jet Li plays warrior monk Lu Yan and Sun Wukong aka the Monkey King, and he, too, does well.
Most of the acting is pretty good, extending to the villains. Collin Chou does a hyperbolic evil warlord, and his right hand woman is no other than our Li Bingbing. She looks awesome as a twisted Bride with White Hair, but doesn’t quite get to the standards set by Her Wuxia Highness Brigitte Lin.
The story is replete with nods and tributes to numerous classics, and plays out like just the kind of illusion an excitable loner would cook up after getting hit on the head. In this regard, Forbidden Kingdom is surprisingly subtle and may be interpreted in several ways, something you don’t expect it to do.
What you do expect is a given number of pitfalls, such as a trite, overdone story form and a whole bunch of clichés. They’re all here. But does consciously falling into a trap constitute a mistake? Enough with the strategic thought.
Sure, you’ll wince quite often as this unfolds, especially when the bumbling Westerner gets made a fool of and Asian people around him insist on acting like characters out of a comic book. But it’s all supposed to be that way and is (hopefully at least…) in good fun. And please don’t be offended by the decidedly textbook title – it’s also a cliché within a story about clichés, so what can you do?
The dialog, while again rather expectable, isn’t half bad and does have its moments – even funny ones. And the fight choreography is pretty good, gladly not relying too heavily on CGI. Forbidden Kingdom is a good looking package, but to its credit avoids the ridiculously lush vistas. Instead, it’s got heaps of craggy Wudang-like mountains, and those we love.
To say this is a masterpiece would be too much propaganda even for old China hands like us. Maybe if you’re a first time martial arts viewer, Forbidden Kingdom may be breathtaking. Who knows. For the 99% who aren’t, it’s a pleasant, professionally made movie that, again -- hopefully -- doesn’t take itself too seriously. And it does have that Li vs. Chan matchup, which is a bonus.
6/10
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Lee Alon 5/6/2008 - top |
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