Sunday, March 28, 2010

the forbidden kingdom, traveling into a legend

i suppose it'd be the dream of any fan of kung fu movies to find themselves IN one. that's what happens to one kid who's a big fan of such movies as "the bride with white hair" (which i have seen). but, what you really need to know about this movie is it has jackie chan and jet li.

so, anyway, our normal american teenager (who has no kung fu as jackie chan's drunken character sadly points out) has to return the monkey king's magic staff before he can get back to his day-to-day life with his mom in boston. fortunately, his traveling companions have kung fu for days and they endeavor to teach him.

there is also a cute girl (who has good kung fu as well) on this journey. she is an oprhan named golden sparrow. she has a real grudge against the jade warlord who is the one they'll have to go through in order to return the monkey king's magic staff. golden sparrow has a nice jade hair ornament especially for stabbing the jade warlord. it has a sparrow right on it, just so he can look and ponder as his long life ebbs away. golden sparrow also provides music for the journey as she has an ornate lute (i guess?) that belonged to her mother.

the jade warlord hasn't failed to notice that there's someone wandering about with an overly ornate golden staff. he also has noted that this person doesn't seem to be local and is trying to pass weird green paper as payment for his drunk friend's bar bills. the jade warlord sends some folks out. well, he sends one person out. she just has an entourage.

so, our lady nemesis was raised by wolves. these weren't your normal wolves because she really is quite well groomed. she has long white hair she can use as a weapon. she has a whip. and she has a magic bow. i suppose her main drawback is that she's a bit grouchy. particularly toward men.

jackie chan and jet li have a very extended fight sequence that is very interesting. jackie chan commented at the time that it was very easy to do a fight scene with jet li since, for the past 10 years, he's been doing fight scenes with people who ... well, we all know.. he's been doing fight scenes with chris tucker. lol

hilariously, he has a similar scene with our teen protagonist. only he actually picks him up and throws him at the opposition at one point. otherwise, he pushes him to and fro... the kid is fine with this because he knows good and well HE can't fight. also, jackie chan's character is drunk 100% of the time, so there's no use in complaining.

this movie starts a little slow, but if you like kung fu movies, you will really like it. another interesting thing, it's a very pretty movie. :)

8 comments:

Allen the Duck Guy said...

I love Jet Li and Jackie Chan and yet I have yet to see this movie. It sounds great, especially with Chan reprising the drunken role that made him famous!
If Jet Li spoke clearer English, he'd be a massive superstar probably in consideration for an Oscar. He is actually a brilliant actor. Even in the silly kung fu roles like The One and Unleashed, he brings a lot of gravitasse and finesse to the parts. In Once Upon a Time in China he is absolutely stunning. Proof that an action star can act. Alas, though, Hollywood is soaked through and through with racism and intellectual bigotry, so they'd never consider a Asian with an accent or- heaven forbid!- an action movie as worthy. Not when they could heap praise on this year's pedophile priest, noble retard, or dying gay guy! 9.9

shampoo said...

it's a good movie and i imagine there are other martial arts stars in it... i just didn't look up the cast. but, i'm sure you'd like it.

Allen the Duck Guy said...

I'm watching it right now. It's great so far.
"That's strike. Torrow I teach you block." LOL!
Also, Golden Sparrow is freaking gorgeous! But then, all the girls in martial arts films are gorgeous (Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, even Cynthia Rothrock). I guess kicking ass makes you hot.
Golden Sparrow would make a cool bard in D&D. lol

Allen the Duck Guy said...

The actress who plays Golden Sparrow is named Liu Yifei. She's also a model and singer. I love the way she talks.

Allen the Duck Guy said...

Oh and her instrument is a pipa, a Chinese lute.

shampoo said...

wow, thanks for all the info on golden sparrow. she is a cool character ... I didn't even think of the d&d angle. haha

Allen the Duck Guy said...

Well, I like bards and you don't see many cool ones. :)
It was a very fun movie. Thanks for recommending it.

shampoo said...

no problem. :)

i guess anyone can see these movies were all on my showtime free preview. haha but, i haven't felt like researching much and it's a break from emo-ness.