I have, frankly, been dreading this film. Forbidden Kingdom is the new film co-starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan which, you would think, would be enough to get folk around here all whipped into a tizzy. It is, after all, the first time the two martial arts legends have ever appeared on screen together. So why the dread? It's a Hollywood-ized family friendly adaptation of the Journey Into the West saga as helmed by the director of Stuart Little and starring a white kid in the lead role. Because what most epic Chinese legends need, apparently, is more white kids.
Well. Shooting has wrapped and the first footage has appeared on YouTube. And while there's no dialog and no continuity so it's possible to hide all sorts of problems, this stuff looks great. Like, really great. Zowie.
I too share your doubts on this film, Todd. Jet himself even say to keep our expectation low for the martial arts scene which really bum me out when I heard this.
I was surprised when I saw this footage, it actually looks like a HK production. Sure the footage is helped by Tan Dun's Hero score and the lack of any story elements leaves us with nothing to chew on. The only real problems I had were the inclusion of some white dude as a co-lead and the small bit of dialogue at the end. I knew it would be in english but it'll be hard for me to reconcile the decidedly eastern styles of the film with english dialogue.
And is it just me or will Jackie be channeling a bit of the old Drunken Master?
Who is the fight coreographer on this thing? It looked pretty decent. Too bad it's shot in english, would be sweet had they shot it in chinese as well.
And, yeah, Jackie drunken boxes in this.
The Visualist i had the same thought, it has a HK feel to it and having a white dude in it is obviously to please investors.
Fingers crossed for this one. The trailer looked decent enough, though not as spectacular as the "big hollywood budget" led me to believe. Zhang Yimou's movies look more expensive. I should also say I'm also looking forward to it because of Liu Yifei. She's a cutie and might get some good exposure through this movie, like a Maggie Q or Zhang Ziyi.
SKY HIGH wasn't bad considering I assumed it was just going to be an American knock-off of VOLCANO HIGH, and it turned out to have a pleasingly different take on similar material.
Generally speaking white kids, like SKY HIGH, are not bad. I was a white kid once, and I'm not such a bad white guy even now. I find the whole stink over there being a white kid in FORBIDDEN KINGDOM nearly as offensive as other people apparently find the presence of a white kid in FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. It's an American movie, made theoretically for American audiences, and like it or not America is chock full of white kids. As long as it's not done poorly, I have about as much of a problem with it as I do with white kids reading JOURNEY TO THE WEST, and I don't have a problem with that in the slightest. If this movie leads more white kids to read JOURNEY TO THE WEST - that's a good thing, right? Or are white kids simply not cool enough to get down with the Monkey King?
I understand what you're saying, Rhythm-X, and I agree. I was a white kid, too, and I think you can star in any type of film you like, regardless of race. I mean, look at Jason Statham in THE TRANSPORTER. Corey Yuen is a great director, and he essentially made an American-produced/financed Hong Kong film with a white guy. And Statham kicked some serious ass.
I wasn't speaking out against white kids in general. I was referring specifically to the actor who has the lead in SKY HIGH. I personally didn't think he handled his leading role in said film very well. So, yes, it makes me nervous that he has the lead in this, a film with Jet and Jackie to which I am most certainly looking forward. But I will indeed watch the movie with an open mind and an open heart.
So all you former white kids, represent!