It's pretty obvious that the makers of this French-Chinese co-production were really trying hard to make this movie appealing to major Hollywood studios, what with most of the dialogue being in English, the casting of David Bautista in a key role, and the hero being an American youth. However, no Hollywood studio was apparently willing to release the end results to American theaters, and it's pretty clear why. Quite often the enterprise doesn't have the "oomph" of a major Hollywood studio production; it's not seriously cheap-looking, but all the same it's missing something many times. I could have overlooked that fact had the movie compensated in other areas, but the movie falls short in some key areas. The whole "American kid transported to a fantasy land" angle has already been done to death, and this telling doesn't really have many new ideas to add some freshness. It's more humorous this time around, though quite frankly I found most of the humor to be juvenile and embarrassing. The main problem with the movie, however, is that its storytelling style is often not very clear. The script seems to be missing key explanations in several areas, and also the direction/editing in other places makes it hard to follow what is happening. Kids may be more forgiving towards this movie than their parents, but why subject them (and yourself) to this movie when there are plenty of superior family movies that will entertain both kids and adults?
Plot summary
Accepting a gift from his Chinese-American boss, American teen Jack Bronson gains a portal to Ancient China, where he teams up with a royal bodyguard to rescue a feisty martial-arts-trained princess from an evil foe and a forced marriage. The journey (much like the video games he plays) boosts his confidence in dealing with bullies.
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Keep this gate closed
Funny and entertaining - the best of this kind of movie yet
Thoroughly enjoyable, this action comedy has just the right blend of East and West. When Luc Besson is involved you know the story is going to be entertaining. The dialog is funny even laugh out loud funny and the story is well written and structured with a funny part in the mall and home then the Chinese adventure and then a proper conclusion back home. It avoids the silliness of some Jackie Chan movies and the repetitive martial arts of some other crossover movies. The characters all have good lines and action even the Arun the Cruel. The scenery is pretty with an on location heart of China feel.
Acting is above average for this kind of movie. The main protagonist Jack played by Uriah Shelton is quite likable as the bullied video game geek who gets involved in an adventure in China. Chinese actress Ni Ni is pretty and acts well in the comic parts. Her English diction is good. Taiwanese actor Mark Chao is a convincing warrior Zhao.
Well done - the best of this kind of English speaking Asian action comedy so far.
For Young People
Seemed like a kids film to me, so don't be too harsh on it. Bad things: some very artificial ADR, average casting, odd blend of language accents, lame bad guy jokes, average acting from the lead, which could have something to do will lazy actor direction. Great things: the concept, the music, the costumes and there would have been a good script in there somewhere.
Kids will love it. Not too much violence and very little blood seen. Has a gorgeous young lady that boys will want to fall in love with. Nice romantic escapism.