Has anyone seen The Forbidden Kingdom trailers? I saw one on TV lately and it got me really excited, mostly 'cause I've been waiting for a Jet Li and Jackie Chan movie for a really long time. Anyway, the trailer shown on TV was really awesome. Lots of Jet and Jackie interactions, clips of really cool martial arts scenes, some chick with really long silver hair, etc. If only I had stopped there and waited for the movie...


THEN, I saw another trailer on YouTube, which made me almost not want to watch the movie. The premise of the movie is just so ridiculous and so Hollywood, and not even good Hollywood.

Some random white kid finds Sun Wukong's/Son Goku's staff in some closet (or something similar) and then is transported to ancient China, where he magically gets the fighting abilities to not only fight all the villains after him but also fight on equal grounds as Jet Li?!?!?! Let's not even mention the fact that this kid can lift the staff that is supposed to weigh more than 14,881 pounds.

Granted, I'm sure the director and producers meant for this to be one of those fantastical stories where the most average kid can become an epic hero. But I wanted to see Jet Li and Jackie Chan in top form, and they can't do that if they have to speak English. Their range is limited by that fact alone. And the fact that they're all speaking English in ancient China just ruins the ambiance.

Regardless, I'm sure people will go see the movie just to see Jet and Jackie fight each other. Many will bitch and moan about the story and the random white kid that ruined the movie. In that way, I feel sorry for Michael Angarano (the poor kid in the role) because he will probably either be ignored OR he will be beaten down by fans and critics. So really, all he can hope for is to do okay and not suck up the movie.