The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

For a certain generation of martial arts fans, The Forbidden Kingdom represented something they had been waiting years to see: Jackie Chan and Jet Li sharing the screen for the first time. The film, released in 2008 as a co-production between Casey Silver Productions, China Film Co-Production, and Relativity Media, draws on the rich tradition of Chinese mythology and wuxia fantasy, weaving in elements of the classic tale of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, one of the most enduring figures in Chinese folklore. The story is framed around a young American teenager, a devoted fan of Hong Kong kung fu films, who stumbles upon an ancient relic in a Chinatown pawnshop and finds himself transported to a fantastical vision of ancient China. It is the kind of premise that sits somewhere between a love letter to martial arts cinema and a Western-friendly fantasy adventure, which, depending on your patience for that sort of thing, is either an asset or a problem.

The director is Rob Minkoff, best known for co-directing The Lion King (1994) and later helming Stuart Little (1999), films that sit firmly in the family-oriented, effects-driven end of the Hollywood spectrum. That background perhaps explains some of the tonal choices here. The screenplay was written by David Benioff, who would later find much greater fame as co-creator of Game of Thrones, though at this point in his career his credits were primarily in grittier territory. The film's American lead, Michael Angarano, carries the audience surrogate role, while Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing round out the principal cast alongside the two headline stars. For fans who have followed Jackie Chan's career across films like Rumble in the Bronx or the earlier Hand of Death, seeing him in a production of this scale and ambition is an interesting point of comparison, even if the tone here is considerably more whimsical. The film also invites comparison with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, another Chinese co-production that found a wide international audience by blending action with a more mythological, visually expansive style of storytelling, though the two films have quite different ideas about how seriously to take themselves.

The production is polished but unremarkable in the way that mid-budget Hollywood-adjacent co-productions of that era often were, with considerable resources poured into the period setting and wire-assisted fight sequences. The choreography was handled with the kind of expertise you would expect given the talent involved, and the film was clearly constructed to give both Chan and Li room to do what they do best. Whether that is enough to sustain a 104-minute running time is, naturally, another question.

The Forbidden Kingdom brings together two of martial arts cinema’s greatest legends (Jackie Chan and Jet Li) in one film, which on paper is a dream come true. And when they’re finally on screen together, trading blows and acrobatics in the final act, it does feel special. The fight choreography is crisp, the wire work flashy but fun, and seeing them share the screen, especially in their dual roles as both modern and mythical versions of themselves, is pure fan service done right. But here’s the thing: between those action scenes, the movie drags hard. David Benioff’s script leans way too heavily on fantasy tropes. A Chosen One, a magical staff, a journey to save a kingdom. The whimsical tone, inspired by classic wuxia and Chinese mythology, feels at odds with the grounded martial arts roots, and the CGI-heavy world-building often pulls you out of the moment. It’s not bad, just uneven. The performances from Chan and Li are solid (even when hampered by awkward dialogue), and the final battle is worth the wait. But for long stretches, it feels less like a kung fu epic and more like a middle-school fantasy novel with occasional greatness. Worth watching once for the historic team-up, but don’t expect magic beyond the fight scenes.

I think that more or less sums it up. The Chan and Li pairing is the reason to watch, and when the film leans into it, you get a genuine reminder of why both men built such extraordinary careers. It is just a shame the surrounding material is not quite up to the same standard. Films like Gorgeous show Chan at his most charming in a lighter register, but even that has a kind of coherence this one occasionally lacks. Still, for anyone with a soft spot for this corner of cinema, the team-up alone earns it a single viewing. Just maybe keep the remote handy.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2008  | Watched: 2025-09-15

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) on YouTube

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Related on Movies With Macca

More with Jackie Chan: Hand of Death (1976) · Rumble in the Bronx (1995) · Skiptrace (2016) · Gorgeous (1999)
More from China: Skiptrace (2016) · Men in Black: International (2019) · New Police Story (2004) · Police Story: Lockdown (2013)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)