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The Forbidden Kingdom

King of Kungfu

I tried to search this movie by the name of The King of Kungfu which appears on the Chinese movie poster, but I got nothing. It turns out the movie’s English name is The Forbidden Kingdom. The movie is special because both Jackie Chan and Jet Lee are casted, and they have not collaborated together in same movie for quite some time. The movie loosely adapts on the story of Journey to the West, which is regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The movie finished filming on August 24, 2007 and will be released in the states on April 8, 2008. The plot of the movie goes like this:

The Forbidden Kingdom is about a New York teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and classic Kung Fu movies. Jason (Michael Angarano) is a boy who is always bullied at school. He is determined to learn kung fu to protect himself. One day in a Chinatown pawnshop, Jason makes an extraordinary discovery – a Chinese staff. It is the legendary Ru Yi Bang staff of the Chinese sage and warrior, Sun Wukong the Monkey King.

With the lost relic in hand, the mysterious power in the staff transports Jason back to ancient China. There he meets kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan). He is unkempt and looks like a beggar. Jason becomes his disciple. Later, he meets another kung fu master Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei) and the Silent Monk (Jet Li). The three of them go on to a journey after seeing the staff in Jason’s possession. There has been an ancient prophesy: Sun Wukong the Monkey King, who was jailed under the Five Fingers Mountain by Lord Buddha himself, will one day be freed by a “foreign youngster”, who will return the staff to him. After learning of the arrival of Jason, the Jade Emperor (Collin Chou) immediately sends out his three highly skilled guards led by the White Haired Demon (Li Bingbing) to kill the boy.

Being a person who read Journey to the West, I think this movie completely deviates from the original novel. So, I am a bit doubtful about this movie, even though both J are in the movie.

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