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The Forbidden Kingdom

The Forbidden Kingdom

Action · Adventure · Fantasy · 2008

An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself travelling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Movie details

The Forbidden Kingdom

“The battle for eternity is the fantasy of a lifetime.”

2008 Action · Adventure · Fantasy 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.5 / 10

112.7K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

63 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

57 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself travelling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Forbidden Kingdom?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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John Carter

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The Great Wall

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Jumper

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Jack the Giant Slayer

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Fantasy · 2013

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rob Minkoff

Written by

John Fusco

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Old Hop / Lu Yan

Jet Li

Jet Li

The Silent Monk / The Monkey King

Michael Angarano

Michael Angarano

Jason Tripitikas

Liu Yifei

Liu Yifei

Golden Sparrow / Chinatown Girl

Li Bingbing

Li Bingbing

Ni Chang a.k.a White-Haired Witch

Collin Chou

Collin Chou

Jade Warlord

Morgan Benoit

Morgan Benoit

Lupo

Court is in session

Put The Forbidden Kingdom on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.