The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Directed by

Rob Minkoff

Cast

Chen Xun Qi, Wu Jian Fei, Li Qian Qian

Genre

fantasy film, action film, martial arts film, time-travel film

Country

People's Republic of China, United States

Runtime

1h 44m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 1,939 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A modern American teenager is mysteriously sent back to ancient China. He teams up with a wise drunkard, a silent monk, and a young woman to return a magical staff to its rightful owner.

lightheartedadventurouswhimsicalfast-pacedaction-packedfantasticalnostalgicfun

What happens

The Forbidden Kingdom (Chinese: 功夫之王: Gong Fu Zhi Wang (Mandarin) or Gung Fu Ji Wong (Cantonese) and translated King of Kung Fu (English); Working title: The J & J Project) is a 2008 fantasy wuxia film written by John Fusco and directed by Rob Minkoff, starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Liu Yifei, Collin Chou, and Li Bingbing. Loosely based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, the plot revolves around Jason Tripitikas (Angarano), a modern-day American teenager who is transported back to ancient China after discovering Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang. He accompanies Lu Yan (Chan), Silent Monk (Li), and Golden Sparrow (Yifei) on their quest to return the staff to its rightful owner while trying to avoid the minions of the evil Jade Warlord (Chou) and the White-Haired Witch (Bingbing). The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping. The film is regarded as the first co-production helmed by an American director to make a primarily English-language wuxia genre film set in ancient China for a global audience. Heavily promoted as the first film starring both Chan and Li, it was distributed in the United States through Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company, and through The Huayi Brothers Film & Taihe Investment Company in China. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $128 million against a budget of $55 million. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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