when i heard that jackie chan and jet li were going to do a movie together, i first thought that this movie will once and for all show any doubters that jackie chan indeed speaks better english than jet li. [although jet li's english has come a long way from romeo must die, when he could only muster lines such as 'two words, off duty' and 'hey brother, american football!' sadly, this development is far less entertaining.] this movie should also illustrate that jackie chan's acting and martial arts style translates better to movies, since most of his action scenes seem like they are without much technical aid while in jet li's recent movies it almost always appears like his fighting is enhanced either by wires or subpar cgi.though the idea of two of the most successful chinese actors doing a film together is applauded, the decision of having it be a period piece is a bit disappointing. a much more interesting premise would be some type of gritty good cop-bad cop type of movie along the lines of the departed [or the equally good foreign film on which it was based, infernal affairs], but with much more kicking and punching. one other thing that bothers me is jackie chan's long gray granny hair. it makes him look like a elderly rastafarian. at any rate, i do think having jackie chan and jet li on the same screen is enough to be entertaining, but the forbidden kingdom looks as though that is all it can offer in support of what most likely is a weak plot.
prognosis : 6/10
