The Forbidden KingdomMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 57 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    A faithful and disarmingly earnest attempt to honor some venerable and popular Chinese cinematic traditions. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Unashamed about giving its audience a good time, and the high spirits go a long way toward counterbalancing the cliches. Read full review

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    The special effects are effective, though not terribly special. While director Minkoff pays homage to past masters of the genre, the past masters were better at this game than he. Read full review

  • 60
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    The wisecracking Chan and the stoic Li play off their on-screen images with good humor, and if they don't have the agility they once did, it's still a joy to watch them make the most of Yuen Woo-ping's impressive choreography. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    Will please its core audience but won't enthrall anyone over the age of 16. (Even that might be stretching the point.) Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    Feels a bit too much like six hours of movie packed into 113 minutes - imagine if New Line had made Peter Jackson cram the entirety of "Lord of the Rings" into one film. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety | Dennis Harvey

    On its own terms, it's a handsome albeit unexceptional juvenile adventure shot on some magnificent Chinese locations. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    There's nothing really wrong with all this in theory, but the overall doofiness of the execution is finally too much to overcome. The filmmakers come off like their protagonist, wide-eyed tourists in an exotic realm. If you've been looking for a martial arts film to take granny and the kids to, this might be the one, but a Jackie Chan-Jet Li collaboration deserves better than that. Read full review

  • 40
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    A movie that jumps between two worlds can be a powerful experience, as any fan of "The Wizard of Oz," "Back to the Future" or "The Terminator" can tell you. But this phoned-in epic is simply a celebration of the inauthentic. Read full review

  • 25
    Entertainment Weekly |

    This kingdom really should be forbidden. Read full review

View more reviews for The Forbidden Kingdom on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Mostly bloodless Chan/Li martial arts adventure.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that, despite its seemingly endless parade of bone-crunching kung-fu battles, this Jet Li/Jackie Chan martial arts action movie is actually pretty tame. Since there's more focus on the artistry of fighting than on its gory aftermath, there's very little blood (despite the presence of knives and swords). Plus, the basic story -- in helping others, a young man discovers his own strength and will -- is pretty warm and fuzzy. There's minimal swearing and basically no sexual content; Chan's character drinks, but it's presented as a weakness. One warning: Younger viewers may need to be warned not to try the kung-fu moves at home.
  • Families can talk about how the movie depicts martial arts battles vs. other fights. What's the difference between martial arts and "regular" fighting? What makes the former an actual "art"? What message is the movie sending by presenting the martial arts sequences beautifully and casting the present-day brawls in an ugly light? Are some forms of combat more acceptable than others? Families can also discuss Jason's choices in the movie. In the end, does he redeem himself?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Overall, the movie is a classic good vs. evil scenario, with good triumphing in the end. And the main character learns important things about himself through helping others. Still, Jason's choices do lead to an old man getting shot, Li Yan appears unable to get by without drinking, a young woman is hell-bent on revenge, and a warlord and his henchwoman will stop at nothing to get what they crave.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Fight scenes make up the bulk of the movie, but they're beautifully choreographed and largely bloodless. That said, there are plenty of disconcerting sounds, such as bones breaking and joints crunching. Swords and arrows are repeatedly brandished, and some characters perish. A group of thugs beats up Jason and shoots an elderly man -- an incident that's far more disturbing than the martial arts fights, which appear more like a ballet than a violent skirmish.
  • sex false0 Sex: A martial-arts fighter crashes through what appears to be a brothel, though the women are fully clothed; later, a villain ogles a woman as if she were an item he was considering purchasing.
  • language false0 Language: Fairly tame, though "s--t" is said a couple of times. Other words include "damn," "hell," "pissant" and "bitch."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not much of an issue, except for several mentions of Bruce Lee film titles.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: One adult character can only thrive when he drinks.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

3.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

… kind of like Baby's first kung fu. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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