The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
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A modern-day American teenager is transported back to ancient China after discovering a magical staff.
The story
In South Boston, martial arts fan Jason Tripitikas discovers a golden staff in a Chinatown pawn shop. After being harassed by hooligans, he is pulled off a rooftop by the staff and transported to ancient China. There, he meets the inebriated scholar Lu Yan, who tells him the legend of the Monkey King and the magical Ruyi Jingu Bang. Jason joins Lu Yan, a young woman named Golden Sparrow, and a Silent Monk on a quest to return the staff to its rightful owner while evading the minions of the evil Jade Warlord.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jason Tripitikas, a martial arts fan from South Boston, finds a golden staff in a Chinatown pawn shop. After a confrontation with a gang leader named Lupo, Jason is pulled into ancient China by the staff. He meets Lu Yan, a traveling scholar who claims to be an immortal, and learns of the Monkey King's rivalry with the Jade Warlord Erlang Shen. They are joined by Golden Sparrow, whose family was killed by the Warlord, and the Silent Monk. The group travels to Five Elements Mountain, where Lu Yan and the Silent Monk teach Jason kung fu. They encounter the White-Haired Witch Ni Chang, who seeks the staff for the elixir of immortality. After Ni Chang mortally wounds Lu Yan, Jason travels alone to the Warlord's palace. He must duel Ni Chang for the elixir. In a final battle, the Silent Monk fights the Warlord while Sparrow fights Ni Chang. Jason secures the elixir for Lu Yan, who recovers. The Silent Monk is revealed as a clone and passes the staff to Jason, who frees the Monkey King. Sparrow is killed, and Jason defeats the Warlord, who falls into a lava pit. The Jade Emperor grants Jason a wish to return home. Jason returns to the present, defeats Lupo, and continues his kung fu training.
- Original title
- Gong Fu Zhi Wang (Mandarin) or Gung Fu Ji Wong (Cantonese)
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States; China
- Original languages
- English; Mandarin; Cantonese
- Directors
- Rob Minkoff
- Writers
- John Fusco · writer; Jet Li · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jackie Chan · Lu Yan / Old Hop; Jet Li · Sun Wukong / Silent Monk; Michael Angarano · Jason Tripitikas; Liu Yifei · Golden Sparrow / Chinatown Girl; Li Bingbing · Ni Chang the White-Haired Witch; Collin Chou · Erlang Shen the Jade Warlord; Wang Deshun · Jade Emperor; Morgan Benoit · Lupo the punk leader
- Genres
- fantasy; wuxia; action; adventure
- Themes
- Hero's Journey; Destiny; Martial Arts Mastery
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Fantasy; Adventure
- Premise and plot tags
- Time Travel; Mythology; Wuxia
- Source material / true-story basis
- Journey to the West
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $128 million against a budget of $55 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 63% · review count: 131; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6/10; Metacritic · score: 57 · scale: 100 · review count: 26
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Awards · Best International Film · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was the first co-production helmed by an American director to make a primarily English-language wuxia genre film set in ancient China for a global audience.; The character Jason Tripitikas' surname was derived from the wandering monk, Tripitaka, from Journey to the West.; The Golden Sparrow character was inspired by Cheng Pei-pei's character Golden Swallow from the Shaw Brothers film Come Drink with Me.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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