Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Forbidden Kingdom: Praying Mantis Vs. Tiger

Director: Rob Minkoff
Writer: John Fusco
Producers: Casey Silver

Starring: Jet Li as Monkey King/Silent Monk, Michael Angarano as Jason Tripitikis, Jackie Chan as Lu Yan/Old hop, Yifei Liu, as Golden Sparrow/Chinatown girl, Collin Chow as Jade Warlord and Morgan Benoit as Lupo(IMDb). Rated PG-13.

Jason was visiting is usual spot in South Boston for kung-fu flicks, and as he was looking at some movies, he noticed something in the back-room through the cracked door. After walking in the back-room, he picked up a staff, and as he marveled at it, Old hop told him, the staff awaited to be held by a specific person. As Jason traveled back from the store, he encountered Lupo, a bully who noticed the kung-fu videos Jason had, and from noticing this, Lupo and his gang forced Jason to take them to Old hop's store to rob it, and as the attempt was made, a struggle broke out resulting in Old Hop being shot while Jason ended up with the staff and ran, but only to have fallen from a roof-top, to end up traveling to a magical place where he met master Yen, who tells him he must return the staff to the Monkey King, who is the only one that can defeat the Jade Warlord.

Surprisingly this movie was very funny. The infusion of witty jokes and comical scenes made this movie much more enjoyable beyond the stunning martial arts choreography. I did not think Jet Li cold be so jocular, but he can be, and he did so convincingly in his performance as the Monkey King. The desert scene was hilarious.

The fight scene between Jackie Chang and Jeti Li was satisfactory, and balanced. Seemingly, the fight was choreographed with neither one gaining an advantage over the other. Over all, the fight scenes were not groundbreaking, but they were very entertaining, and gladly so, because it is very disappointing to go see a kung-fu flick with very little martial arts. The fighting was very clean, marked by a molecular amount of bloodshed which gave the impression the film was PG instead of PG-13. One final note regarding the fight scene between Li and Chan, I am glad it was a draw, as it would have broken my heart to see one of them defeated.

In conclusion, this movie was fun to watch, and it is safe for the kids as there is very little offensive language, and blood shed. This film did not introduce anything new or spectacular but it was enjoyable. According to Movies.com, the fans gave it a B+, critics gave it a B-, and I will give it a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.

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