The Forbidden Kingdom
A 2008 American-Chinese fantasy martial arts film featuring the first onscreen pairing of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, following an American youth's journey through ancient China to rescue the Monkey King.
The Forbidden Kingdom is a 2008 American-Chinese co-produced fantasy wuxia film directed by Rob Minkoff and written by John Fusco. Starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, it marks the first time these two Chinese martial arts superstars appeared on screen together. The plot follows Jason (played by Michael Angarano), a teenager from Boston obsessed with kung fu movies, who unexpectedly acquires a golden staff from a Chinatown pawnshop. He is transported to ancient China, where he journeys alongside Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), a master of Drunken Fist; a mysterious monk (Jet Li); the White-Haired Demoness (Li Bingbing); and Yanzi (Liu Yifei). Together, they travel to Five-Elements Mountain to return the golden staff and rescue Sun Wukong, who is being suppressed by the Jade Warrior (Zou Zhaolong). This film is the first English-language wuxia movie directed by an American, blending Chinese mythology with a Hollywood adventure formula. Yuan Bin served as the martial arts choreographer, and Peter Paull, Woody Allen's longtime cinematographer, handled the camera. It earned a global box office of 128 million dollars on a production budget of 55 million dollars, with a 63% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.