Here’s a question. Why is it that Hollywood has so often not known what to do when they have two big stars in one picture? Anyone who remembers the disastrous pairing of Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell, or the even worse results of putting Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood in the same film knows exactly what I mean. In fact, the common wisdom in Tinsel Town is that such couplings can never work, and should never be tried.  Thank heaven the common wisdom can always be trumped by hard-working professionals

   I’m referring to the stars of this week’s film, "The Forbidden Kingdom," which would be the fantastic Jet Li, and everyone’s favorite martial artist, the legendary Jackie Chan. Does it sound like I’m a fan? You know what, I don’t care. They’re the tops at what they do and it shows in this film more than ever.
 
The story: In South Boston young Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), while hunting for bootleg kung fu videos in Chinatown suddenly finds himself part of an ancient prophesy. Without warning he is hurled back in time to ancient China where he finds he is expected to return the weapon of the Monkey King to its master. Helping him, the drunken Kung Fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), a near-silent monk (Jet Li), and a beautiful young musician (Liu Yifei). Standing in his way, the army of the immortal Jade Warlord, led by a powerful witch.   This is one of those match-ups that fans dream about, a film with two of their favorites, with a story which gives both of them plenty to do. A hard thing to do, especially when it involves Hollywood writers playing with non-Western themes. Still, as Jet Li told us when asked what he first thought of the script;

 "I was immediately impressed by the extensive knowledge of various ancient Chinese legends. Stories like the Monkey King, which ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ is based on, are completely unknown to most Western audiences. But the script got so many details right, and it created this great fusion of Eastern and Western sensibilities. It seemed like the perfect way to bring this character to an international audience."

 Pleasing Li was a good thing for the filmmakers for, as Jackie Chan added, "I have always hoped to make movies with some people whom I really admire, like Dustin Hoffman and Robert DiNiro, before I retire from this business. Jet Li is someone with whom I’ve wanted to work for more than ten years."   That with good reason, the two are simply magic on the screen together. Commenting on their chemistry as performers, Chan said;
 "It was seamless. With most people, you have to practice. But with Jet, I don’t know why, we both looked at each other and just said, ‘Let’s just do it, yeah.’ And we did it. The first two takes were so fast that everybody had to tell us to slow down or they’d have to use slow motion."

 According to Chan, most fight sequences require about ten to fifteen takes per segment, but his sequences with Li required only three to five. "All I did was tell Jet I’d do these few strokes and let him know my rhythm. He would pick up my rhythm and just react with his strokes. That kind of chemistry is rare."   What is even better is that this unique chemistry is in service of a film worth watching. Most Hong Kong kung fu epics fail to reach a wide audience in the West, not because of their production values, but because Chinese story-telling sensibilities do not translate well to non-Asian cultures. Director Rob Minkoff, however, seems to have little trouble with such tasks. As Li said of his co-worker;  "The miracle of Rob’s direction is that he was able to create a film with a Western point of view that can still be appreciated by Asians and the Chinese."

 And, as we run out of room, let me add that Jet Li isn’t wrong. I attending a screening of the film with fashion designer Grace Lo and legendary Chinese Boxing coach Wei Li. Both thoroughly enjoyed the film, as I did myself. And why not? The costuming, sets, soundtrack, the locations chosen, the cinematography, the wire work and other special effects, all of it is top-notch entertainment. And, on top of that, the film has Jet Li and Jackie Chan, both playing two roles and great in each.    And, for those worried about the violence level, as Jet Li told us, "Having made so many violent movies in my career to date, I thought it was about time I made a film that families with children will be able to enjoy together. This is the film that I made for my two girls."     I, for one, am sure glad he did.

 Our Final Word: 5 stars out of 5.

The Players: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Aragano, and Liu Yifei,

The Filmmakers
Directed by:
Screenplay by:
Released by Lionsgate