Forbidden Kingdom

Jackie Chan and Jet Li are by far the two most well-known Chinese martial arts stars. There's been a lot of fan speculation about a joint production between the two, and it's finally arrived in the form of Forbidden Kingdom.

Plot-wise, it's an interesting spin on the traditional Monkey King stories. There is, of course, the obligatory white guy (from Boston, no less) to give American audiences someone to relate to. This is, of course, under the assumption that American audiences are not Asian, and that they would be unable to enjoy or recommend a movie that only have people of other races. Nevertheless, the actor they got is charming in a aw-shucks, doofus-y sort of way, so I'll let it slide.

The action itself is quite well-done, although a bit derivative. The film doesn't break new ground in its kung fu scene direction, although at its best it channels some of the best parts of Hong Kong action classics. Jackie Chan as a drunken master is always enjoyable, and Jet Li's sleeves of doom remind me perhaps too much of the bad guy monk's sleeves in Iron Monkey.

What's more troubling to me is the Hollywood formula of having every Asian woman who encounters a white guy magically become enthralled by him. Is it his hairiness? His assumably large penis? Who knows? Forbidden Kingdom is better than most in this regard, in that the two never have sex (it's PG), and that there's more the promise of a relationship as equals since she's a kick-ass martial artist rather than some teahouse girl. The trailer for Bangkok Dangerous, in which Nicholas Cage stars as Joe the Assassin, is a different story. He realizes the error of his ways through the glory that is the Asian Mystique, and of course she seems to instantaneously become enamored with him. Imagine that the roles are reversed and a Chinese assassin on a mission to Prague undergoes the same epiphany because of a Czech woman.