Given that both Jackie Chan and Jet Li are edging towards being just on the wrong side of being plausible as martial arts heroes, one suspects that their long-awaited double-act in The Forbidden Kingdom may be a first and last hurrah.
There is a lot of fun to be had in watching this serio-comic kung-fu extravaganza, and much of it is enjoyed by the two stars, while young Michael (Lords of Dogtown) Angarano occupies centre stage as a movie buff spirited through time to a land of my
th and magic.
Think Back to the Future crossed with The Last Samurai and suddenly it all makes sense. Angarano is Jason, the weedy nerd who is ordered to return a legendary weapon to its rightful owner. He is blasted from America to ancient China, runs into trouble straight away and is rescued by a drunken hero who might not be quite so alcohol-soaked after all.
The drunk, Lu Yan (Chan), becomes Jason's mentor and leads him through a fantasy landscape of heroes and anthracite-black villains. Their journey brings them into contact with the Silent Monk, an enigmatic good guy (Jet Li) with whom they join forces in their quest.
Packed with references to classic movies and TV series – fans will pick up on the nods to the '70s television show Monkey – it offers aficionados of action the chance to see Chan and Li go nose-to-nose in combat so fast it looks blurred. It is every fan's dream to be trained by a kung-fu hero; Angarano gets two for the price of one. He morphs from wimp to warrior with panache and is soon squaring up to an array of evildoers in a story as complex as it is frenetic.
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