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Collin Chou as the Jade War Lord

All of this is packaged fairly entertainingly. There is humor throughout the film, from the mocking laughter of the Monkey King himself to Lu Yan's occasional quips, and the action sequences are a marvel to behold, expertly combining physical stunts with computerized effects. The opening credits, which play over a series of images from old kung-fu posters, also feature a jazzy retro score by David Buckley that sets just the right tone for a film that has, in a sense, been years in the making.

The sad thing is, at some point you know that the traditional Chinese story in the traditional Chinese setting will have to fade away, so that the movie can get back to that grim back alley where Jason last saw the bullies, and where Jason will no doubt turn out to be far more empowered than he was when he left. (Think of how the kids dodge, and then fight, the bullies in C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair.) For a North American audience, this may bring the story back to familiar territory, but for fans of Chan and Li, the movie will already be over, even though the credits aren't running yet.

Talk About It

1. Lu Yan tells Jason, "How can you fill your cup when it is already full?" How have you needed to "empty your cup" in order to learn what someone—God, your pastor, a family member—was teaching you? How do you know when to "empty" the cup and when to leave it "full"?
2. Lu Yan asks whether a person with no personal attachments ever really lives. What is a Christian approach to personal attachments? How are we "attached" to each other by our faith, our common humanity, or our attachment to God? Is there ever a time when attachments are bad? If so, when?
3. Jason tells Lu Yan, "I'll never forget you," to which Lu Yan replies, "I guess that's what being immortal truly means." How is memory linked to immortality? (Think of how the thief asked Jesus to "remember" him in his Kingdom.) How is living on in the memories of others an inadequate form of immortality?
4. When one of the villains learns about Jason, she says, "Isn't that like the Monkey King, sending a boy to do a man's job?" What other examples can you think of, of proud people who were brought low by the humble or small in stature?

The Family Corner

The Forbidden Kingdom is rated PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence, mostly of a bloodless sort. A few bad words are also spoken; an old man teases an adolescent kung-fu fan with a reference to masturbation ("crouching tiger, spanking monkey") that may fly over the younger audience members' heads; and in one scene a man urinates on another while he prays for rain. One of the heroes also drinks a lot of wine and does his fighting "drunken" style. Because the bulk of the film is set in Asia, it also assumes a sort of Buddhist religious worldview, though the religious bits are far less significant than the Chinese mythic elements

Photos © Copyright Lionsgate

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