'The Forbidden Kingdom'. Jet Li! Jackie Chan! And, Some Other Stuff.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li appearing in the same movie, for the first time? It likely wouldn't matter much what it actually was – that fact along would have to be enough of a draw for fans of martial arts. Thankfully, though, the film chosen to finally unite two of the best known martial arts performers currently working proved to be an enjoyable one, if not the instant classic that fans may have hoped for.

Borrowing heavily from the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West, The Forbidden Kingdom focuses on Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), a young martial arts enthusiast living in modern day America. One of Jason's few friends is the eccentric old owner of an antique store who keeps the young man stocked up on obscure martial arts films, and who happens to be in possession of a staff which may belong to the legendary Monkey King. Forced by local thugs to take part in the robbery of the store, Jason finds himself in possession of the staff, and promptly finds himself flung back in time to ancient China.

From her, Jason finds himself forced onto a quest to return the Monkey King's staff, and setting him free from his imprisonment at the hands of the Jade Warlord. Accompanying Jason on this quest are a mysterious young woman, Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), an eccentric wise-man who claims to be one of the Eight Immortals of Chinese myth (Jackie Chan), and a nameless monk (Jet Li).

Getting to what many potential viewers are likely to consider to be the most important point – long time fans of the work of Jackie Chan and Jet Li are likely to enjoy seeing the two veterans essentially return the roles that made them famous. Jackie Chan once more plays a master of the impressive, and incredibly unusual, style of Drunken Boxing while Jet Li once more plays a master of Shaolin Kung Fu (Since, of course, the styles on display in a martial arts film is what people really watch for). Also, the obligatory fight-scene between the two is everything a fan could have hoped for.

On the other hand, many fans may find themselves put off by the apparent need to inject a white American teen hero into a story about Chinese myth, in what would seem a deliberate attempt to broaden the appeal to a wider audience. Something which seems especially distracting when you consider that the original plan was apparently to focus the story on a modern Chinese-American teen rediscovering his roots. Regardless of your opinion on the character of Jason Tripitikas, though, it is the sections set in the modern world that form the weakest link in an overall enjoyable film – if only because they take screen time from the much more interesting quest to free the Monkey King. Not only are they an unnecessary distraction, but they are also irritating in their own right, focusing on Jason's dealing with a gang of generic teenage thugs. It seems likely that these scenes would have had the same negative impact on the overall film even if the original plan of a Chinese-American protagonist had gone ahead.

It would have been better, perhaps, to abandon the modern scenes entirely, and set the tale entirely in ancient China. Though, in saying that, I am also aware that I may simply be biased by my own familiarity with the subject matter. Just because I don't need the modern scenes as an entry-point into the tale doesn't mean that they don't serve their intended purpose admirably for other viewers. And, if the inclusion of a modern American teen protagonist is enough of a draw to get people to watch an interesting take on ancient Chinese myth and folklore, then I suppose there's no real harm in it.

So, an important question to end on, then - would the film be worth watching without the draw of Jackie Chan and Jet Li? The answer to that would be a 'yes', for my part. It's not a bad film, by any means. Though, its reception since initial release has already proven that there are far more fans referring to The Forbidden Kingdom as 'that movie with Jackie Chan and Jet Li' then there are referring to it as 'the loose adaptation of Journey to the West.'