Spaghetti Western Meets Martial Arts

In “The Forbidden Kingdom,” martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li come together for the first time onscreen in this latest offering from animator-turned-director, Rob Minkoff. In this mythical tale, an American teen obsessed with Hong Kong cinema travels back in time to ancient China on a quest to free an imprisoned king with the help of three martial arts warriors. The film is a visual feast for adolescent fans of martial arts and modern video games no doubt, but for older audiences, “Kingdom” will at times seem inspired by everything from “The Wizard of Oz” to Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West.” The film begins with an inventive opening title sequence where classic martial arts film posters are interwoven with the film’s credits. We then find Michael Angarano as JASON a young Boston teen rummaging through a Chinatown pawnshop run by it’s ancient caretaker, Old Hop. In what is an obvious set-up of an “Oz“-like wrap-around story soon becomes a moment reminiscent of the first few minutes of 1984’s “Gremlins.” During a street fight with local thugs, Jason is somehow transported back in time to ancient China. He soon hooks up with drunken warrior Lu Yan played with great charm by the now 54 year-old Jackie Chan. Chan’s character seems very much inspired by Jason Robards’ Cheyenne, the coffee drinking gunslinger in Leone’s 1968 “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Only Chan’s Lu Yan has an addiction to wine rather than java this time around. As Lu Yan and Jason travel they meet up with Golden Sparrow, a Pipa (Chinese guitar) playing warrior who fills in for Charles Bronson’s Harmonica from the aforementioned “Once Upon a Time in the West.” By the time they are joined by Jet Li’s Silent Monk character, the “Oz”-inspired journey begins. The warriors then set out to find the castle of the Jade Warlord (think Henry Fonda’s assassin gang leader Frank again inspired by “Once Upon a Time in the West”) in hopes of freeing the imprisoned Monkey-King also played by Li. If all of this sounds too much to handle in one film, it is; but thanks to the charm of most of it’s performers their journey is somewhat entertaining if not tolerable most of the time. Chan’s self-proclaimed admiration for Buster Keaton is on display here, as he easily handles the lighter moments as well as he does his martial arts skills. His English is the best of all the Asian actors onscreen, where as others have trouble delivering understandable dialogue. My suspicions of the Sergio Leone inspired spaghetti western aspects to the story were confirmed when even the musical score at times reflected the distant electric guitar motif made famous by Ennio Morricone in 68’s “Once Upon a Time in The West.” Maybe my affection for that classic 60s western shows my age a bit too much, for I’m sure to the younger audiences the comparisons to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “The Karate Kid” are more evident. But when preparing this review I soon discovered that the film’s screenwriter, John Fusco’s next project is a remake of the classic 1954 Japanese film, “The Seven Samurai.” How fitting! That film of course would later be re-made in 1960 as “The Magnificent Seven.” I guess all things mythical and adventurous stem from a few select ideas used time and time again. Whether it’s a journey to far off lands or warriors joining forces in noble quests, every generation seems to find something original about these time honored tales. But as in the case of “The Forbidden Kingdom”, the result is muddled at best.

Jackie Chan Movies

Jet Li Movies

Sergio Leone Movies