'The Forbidden Kingdom' action-packed, but average

The cinematic masters of martial arts, Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour”) and Jet Li (“The One“), have finally appeared in a film together. Both actors play dual roles, which surprisingly suits Chan better than Li, as one of Li’s roles is a gratingly annoying character. The film is made with a surreal air: fighters fly across the set, flowing white hair is used as a weapon, and mystical powers are used in battle. While Ang Lee has shown audiences that wire work action sequences can augment a martial arts story (in his kung fu masterpiece “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), in this film the intermittent hard-to-believe stunts actually detract from the internal reality of the story.

The fairy tale is told through the eyes of a modern teenager, who is a fan of martial arts films. He is the friend of an elderly shop owner in Chinatown, whom he visits often. The boy doesn’t know how to defend himself, which proves dangerous as he draws the attention of a gang of troublemakers. In the course of trying to protect himself, he is transported to ancient China by a mystical staff kept by the shop keeper. He finds people similarly plagued by bad men led by the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou, “The Matrix Revolutions”). The boy learns from a drunken wanderer, Lu Yan (Chan) that the staff is the key to releasing the imprisoned Monkey King, who alone is capable of destroying the Jade Warlord and freeing the land. Along the boy’s journey, he meets allies and enemies, like a revenge-seeking young woman and a monk warrior (Li) with his own mission.

The film appears to be aimed at a younger audience, as it has obvious similarities to “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Last Action Hero”: a young person transported to a fantastic world that can’t be real, where he meets people with extraordinary abilities, and ultimately must use his undeveloped talents to overcome a great evil and return home. Though the characters and cast have potential, they are often misused by the director, who has a problem keeping the story flowing or simple enough to understand. Using a filmmaker whose credits include “The Haunted Mansion” instead of any action movie experience may not have been a sound choice.

The primary reason people will see this film is to witness the fight sequence between Chan and Li. Here, the film does not disappoint, as the aging stars show they still have the moves to make great cinema. Li’s monk and Chan’s drunken warrior mirror characters both have played before; their comfort in these roles make them convincing. There is some occasional, well-situated humor, and some of the visuals are breathtaking, including a beautiful and unanticipated battle in an orchard of cherry blossoms. Ultimately, though, the two stars who revitalized the modern kung fu film deserved a better showcase for their skills than this uneven fantasy film.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence.