Forbidden Kingdom-What Do You Think?

[Arnwyn]

Just saw it. Tremendously enjoyable. Sure, there were flaws - it was too American in its cinematography (too many short cuts and close-ups) instead of Hong Kong (long, wide shots, extended takes and scenes), but I'll still take what I can get when it comes to martial arts and wuxia.

I had a great time overall.

 

[Shayuri]

I wanted to like it...I liked most of the action sequences...

But in between, I found it was plodding at best, and far more often actually painful. The time travel / Karate Kid plot was embarrassing to watch, and was made even worse by it being so Anglo-centric. And the cop-out ending infuriated me beyond belief.

That said...

...the fights and special effects were fun. And Jet Li made a surprisingly good Monkey King, for the five minutes or so he actually got to play that part.

Nothing really new from Jackie, but hey...no one goes to a movie to see him do something new. We go because we love watching him do what he always does...so I can't complain about that.

 

[Dog Moon]

Keep in mind, too, that this movie was significantly changed during writing/development. It started as a very eastern story -- the legend of the Monkey King and the journey to rescue him. Then the studio worried about accessability for American audiences and changed the storyline significantly, with time-travelling teens and new characters.

Wait, wait, wait. They added that crap in because they thought we would like it better? Gah! That was the only thing I DIDN'T like about the movie. Bah.

 

[Amellia]

Just saw it. Tremendously enjoyable. Sure, there were flaws - it was too American in its cinematography (too many short cuts and close-ups) instead of Hong Kong (long, wide shots, extended takes and scenes), but I'll still take what I can get when it comes to martial arts and wuxia.

I had a great time overall.

I thought it was a relatively good compromise between eastern and western cinematography styles, a good blending. (Think anime + american cartoons = Avatar, that sort of thing.) Anyway, I agree with you, I thought it was highly enjoyable. The fight scenes were fun, I found the kid pretty cute, and the Monkey King stuff was just aces.