Keep it simple. That could have been the motto the writers used when penning this fantasy adventure. It’s an approach that works in spectacular fashion in combination with the visuals and fight sequences in The Forbidden Kingdom. 

Teenager Jason (Michael Angarano) is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung fu classics. After stumbling upon an antique Chinese staff in a pawn shop, he comes to find out it is the weapon of legendary Chinese warrior, the Monkey King (Jet Li). With the magical staff in hand, Jason finds himself transported back to ancient China.

There, he meets the drunken kung fu master, Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) who sets him on a quest to free the Monkey King from his 500-year prison-term of stone and bring down the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). Enroute to fulfilling his destiny, Jason crosses paths with a powerful Silent Monk (Jet Li) and vengeance-bent beauty, Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu Yi Fei), who help him in his quest while attempting to outmaneuver scores of Jade Warriors and a deadly white haired woman, Ni Chang (Li Bing Bing), who is searching for the staff.

The beautiful thing about this movie is that it doesn’t try to be something it’s not. The story is simple and straightforward. The scenery is beautiful. The costume design is superb (if you can ignore Jackie Chan’s dreadlocked wig). The action sequences are just amazing… and with the skill of Chan and Li operating under choreographer extraordinaire Woo-ping it had better be!

Is there anyone who can play a drunken master better than Jackie Chan? I seriously doubt it. From the moment he was on screen I was transfixed just like I was in his Drunken Master films. Sure he was funny in the Rush Hour series, and those were fine for what they are, but it’s his physical acting and skill that can still capture the imagination.

Much of that can also be said about Li. The focus on him, as a silent monk, is what he does best and that is his technical skill in kung fu. Gone is all the baggage of a complicated story line. He is simply who he is and it is magnificent.

The only things that really brought this down a couple of notches are the American kid and the unnecessary video game influences during the fight scenes. While the video game aspect is a bit much, the film clearly doesn’t hide it as the kid tosses game names out left and right. While the kid was only slightly annoying there really wasn’t anything endearing about him, so as the central character, he comes up a bit lame.

When going to see this, keep in mind it is a completely FANTASY/FAIRY-TALE STYLE STORY. If you go in expecting realistic fights on a massive scale… well, you’ll get the mass part of it. If you go looking for a fun, brightly colored adventure with plenty of incredible martial arts action, then you’re in for a treat.