The Forbidden Kingdom Reviews

The Forbidden Kingdom Reviews Overview

The Forbidden Kingdom Good Reviews

  • New York Magazine: The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "Once past the clunky prologue, the film is great fun, with a good balance between computer effects and athleticism."
  • ComingSoon.net (7.5/10): The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "...an incredibly entertaining and satisfying action flick well worth the wait to finally see these two martial arts masters work together."
  • Cinema Blend (4.5/5): The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "Because of the way it uses it's stars, The Forbidden Kingdom delivers on every level, both as an fun, fantasy film and as a the long awaited, team-up tribute to the genre's two greatest stars."
  • The Baltimore Sun (B+): Forbidden Kingdom Casts Magical Spell  WARNING: Pop-ups
    • "Chan and Li are a delight: Performers of consummate skill and opposing temperaments, they both complement and compliment each other with every chop, kick or feint."
  • TV Guide (3/4): The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "Chan is terrific in a familiar role...and Li is right at home in the role of the warrior monk, though less so as the Monkey King; cheeky humor isn't his forte. But to see the two of them on screen together, even past their primes, is a delight."

The Forbidden Kingdom Neutral Reviews

  • Variety: The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • " While Chan and Li bring their accumulated charisma to the table, the pic won't be remembered as more than a paycheck highlight for either of them."
  • The Hollywood Reporter: The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "Li as the Zen master and Chan as his more comical sidekick build on their familiar personas and demonstrate the chops that their fans appreciate."
  • The Austin Chronicle (3/5): The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "Pairing these two martial arts legends in a story that is essentially one long homage to the great Shaw Brothers films of yore allows The Forbidden Kingdom plenty of leeway for comic moments (courtesy, as always, of Chan) and some seriously kickass fight scenes (choreographed by Kill Bill's Yuen Woo-Ping)."
  • The Arizona Republic (3.5/5): The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "The action scenes have verve, the cast is charismatic and the scenery is spectacular. But the end product feels like old-fashioned kiddie-matinee fare, just on a grander scale."

The Forbidden Kingdom Bad Reviews

  • WashingtonPost.com: The Forbidden Kingdom Review  WARNING: Pop-ups
    • "Chan manages to endear himself in the worst of movies, which is precisely what he does here. But why watch? The kung fu includes master fighter Jet Li as a warlord, but it's wan and disappointing, all choreography and no real damage."
  • The A.V. Club: The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "At best, The Forbidden Kingdom counts as an amiable time-waster for kids, but much more should be expected from the momentous union of two kung-fu titans."
  • Slant (2/4): The Forbidden Kingdom Review
    • "Chan and Li's maiden onscreen battle is appropriately titanic, but their long-awaited collaboration can't possibly be dubbed a success when it also, to its everlasting shame, features a scene in which one of them pees in the other's face."