The Forbidden Kingdom

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Year:	2008
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Rob Minkoff
Genre:	Martial arts daftness
Starring:	Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865556/
Tagline:	The path is unsafe. The place is unknown. The journey is unbelievable.
Favourite line:	Lu Yan: "Don't tell me you consider it sinful to drink." The Silent Monk: "It's sinful if you don't share."

Jet Li and Jackie Chan team up together for the first time in this epoch sprawling fantasy yarn, replete with evil overlords, magical staffs, and Monkey Kings.

Angarano plays Jason, a regular Joe who just happens to have a love of martial arts movies, and thus hangs around with this old dude who owns a store in Chinatown. He stocks martial arts movies, so Jason's happy.
Well, through a Maguffin of one dimensional proportions, he's transported back through time to The Forbidden Kingdom, and set the task of returning the magical staff found in the old guys shop to its rightful owner - The Monkey King. Problem is, the Monkey King has been encased in stone for all eternity as penalty for upsetting the Warlord, who rules the land for the next five hundred years whilst the true ruler is indulging in a five century spot of meditation!

Confused?
Don't be, the plot is paper thin, and entirely besides the point.
This is all about the fighting, and there's plenty of it:
Lots of close up, one to one stuff, as well as some excellent wire work, reminiscent of Crouching Tiger.
Li and Chan play off each other effectively, and there's a general feeling of warmth to proceedings, as the two elder statesman of modern martial arts movies look like they are really enjoying themselves.
So, nonsense, yes, but highly enjoyable nonsense all the same.