by Missy Thompson

STAFF WRITER

Kung fu movie fans have been salivating at the chance to see martial arts masters Jet Li and Jackie Chan together. That wait is finally over when they get to see them in the new film, "The Forbidden Kingdom." This collaboration has been long overdue, as both Li and Chan have worked to establish careers in the martial arts.

Watching them separately is a treat for kung fu fans, but seeing them in the same movie has people excited. Although I am not a big fan of these kinds of movies, I was very entertained by the fight scenes and watching Li and Chan on screen together.

Because the kung fu action sequences are so wonderful to watch, one might think that the rest of "The Forbidden Kingdom" would be just as good. However, the main plot line of an American teen being transported to China where he joins up with martial arts masters, including a lovely young woman, is dreadfully boring.

At one point, I wondered - because of my lack of kung fu knowledge - if these types of movies were supposed to be just action-filled or if the story line played a major role in the film. But I got the feeling from other fans of kung fu that this plot point really took away from the rest of the movie. Some may find a romantic story line in "The Forbidden Kingdom" to be a nice break from the martial arts, but I found it extremely distracting.

American director Rob Minkoff did not seem like he had much of a background in directing a Kung Fu movie. That might be because he previously directed movies such as, "The Lion King," "Stuart Little" and "The Haunted Mansion." To me, this doesn't really give him the correct credentials for directing a Kung Fu movie starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

In "The Forbidden Kingdom," kung fu movie connoisseur and South Boston teenager Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) has befriended an old Chinese man, Old Hop, who owns an eclectic shop. After a group of bullies tries to attack Jason and steal from the man, Jason is transported through a portal to China by clutching a magical staff.

Jason finds himself tagging along with Lu Yan (Chan), a drunk, who tells him about the Monkey King (Li) one of the best martial artists around. However, he was turned to stone after the Warlord (Collin Chou) took his staff. The Monkey King's legend lives on and it's up to Jason to return the staff. But, first they must travel to fight to free him and are joined by Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu) and the Silent Monk (also played by Li). During the journey, Jason is trained in basic martial arts to help fight the Warlord and Ni Chang (Binbing Li).

It was so interesting to watch Li and Chan together in "The Forbidden Kingdom" but the main problem was that this is an American-made movie. If this was a Chinese-made movie with subtitles I probably would have enjoyed it more. However, I understand that they are trying to market this toward a wider audience.

The storyline in this film was ridiculous and didn't help make the movie more entertaining. If Minkoff had stuck to the kung fu scenes, "The Forbidden Kingdom" would be worth seeing. This might be a worthwhile film if you are a huge fan of Chan and Li. Watching Li be able to goof around as the Monkey King is fun, as is just about everything they do. I would love to watch them together in another movie just so long as it doesn't have a plodding storyline.

missy@tooeletranscript.com

Grade: C+

Rated: PG-13

Time: 113 minutes

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