Film Preview: The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Trailers (Due to age, may no longer be available)

Posters (Due to age, may no longer be available)

Poster Rating: B-

Review: It’s almost impossible to tell what the film’s about simply by looking at the poster. You wouldn’t even realize that it features a fish-out-of-water story. The colors are bland and the setting uninteresting.

Trailer Rating: C+; B

Review: It’s “A Connecticut Yankee in Jet Li’s Court”. Although Li said he was quitting the genre, he seems to be returning more frequently to martial arts films than I expected. The movie looks horribly unoriginal.

That “Connecticut Yankee” feeling is still there, but its supplanted by the glorious visuals that are so characteristic of the Japanese martial arts style of filmmaking. Unfortunately, Jackie Chan’s mere presence in the film and his poor delivery of English comic dialogue ruin an otherwise interesting trailer.

Oscar Prospects:

For martial arts fans, this will be a blessing, but the Academy doesn’t favor them. It could hold on for Art Direction or Costume Design nominations, but I can see that at the Guilds, not at the Oscars.