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Despite starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom, a US-China co-production, ended up as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for kids’
- Hong Kong superstar Chan teamed up with Jet Li, Li Bingbing and Liu Yifei for the 2008 film, which was meant to unite Eastern and Western audiences
- Despite the heavyweight cast and crew, including fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, the film comes off as cashing in on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’s success
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Although it sounds like a cynical cash grab, the 2008 kung fu film The Forbidden Kingdom is far more ambitious than it appears. Not only does this China-US co-production unite Jackie Chan and Jet Li on screen for the first time, it also set out to unite Eastern and Western audiences.
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“When we make American films like Rush Hour, it only appeals to American audiences, but not Southeast Asian ones,” said Chan at the film’s Beijing press launch.
“Similarly, powerful Asian films like The Warlords are well received in the whole of Southeast Asia but can hardly be marketed overseas to Western audiences. I hope to make a film that can appeal to both Asian and Western tastes at the same time.”
On paper, The Forbidden Kingdom seems to fit the bill. Written by kung fu superfan John Fusco (Young Guns) and directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), both Americans, it’s based on the Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West, and features a wealth of Chinese talent.
Besides Chan and Li, the cinematography is by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s Oscar-winning Peter Pau Tak-hei, and the action choreographer is Hong Kong legend Yuen Woo-ping, who previously worked with Chan on 1978’s iconic Drunken Master. There’s also Li Bingbing as whip-wielding witch Ni Chang and Liu Yifei as drippy love interest Golden Sparrow.
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