Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Forbidden Kingdom


"Forbidden Kingdom" is a great movie for 8-13 year old kids. I mean that in the same sense that the late 60's early 70's Tarzan films helped cultivate a sense of wonder in yours truly...
The things we know:
This is a Hollywood Film
Jackie Chan and Jet Li are the pull
The adolescent American boy is the viewer connection
Every die hard Fan Boy will be disappointed, as they haven't been 8-13 for at least a decade, and take this stuff way too seriously -- stick to your Tarantino filters guys!
This movie also has the guy who guarded the Oracle in Matrix 2, Collin Chou as the "sinister immortal tyrant".
There is terrific wire action throughout courtesy of Woo Ping Yuen, and even an explicit homage to the "Bride with White Hair".
My belated review of this does see the film as being accepted by the mainstream if not the critics, which I can only hope translates to more Kung Fu films making it in alongside the deluge of "Male Chick Flick" comedy-romances. It appears that acceptance is all about the subtitles, or lack thereof.
On a side note, it is great to see the foreign stars, in addition to being in top physical shape, learn English. It is a darn shame to read mean reviews by critics here in the United States making fun of Jackie Chan and Jet Li's accents. Nationalism is ugly wherever it rears its head, and the ugliness of English Only needs to go away.
During my time in the military I had a Dutch friend who translated German for me, which means he spoke Dutch, German and English, at least. The closest we get seems to be JFK calling himself a Berliner.

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