“Do not forget to breathe”
- The Silent Monk
I have to admit now that I harboured no little amount of perturbation when I saw the movie posters with Jackie Chan’s name obviously topbilling that of Jet Li’s. It was not a good omen.
Ten minutes into the film, I breathed deeply and breathed well. For I knew that Forbidden Kingdom was intended to end the mother of all debates as to who is the kung fu master. And his name is not Jackie Chan.
Jet Li plays the Monkey King - a little uncouth immortal who has vastly entertained the Jade Emperor. The role establishes Jet Li as king, as the immortal hero, and although he is the quintessential elegant kung fu master, he could do a mean parody of the funny man and leave us no less amused as the Jade Emperor.
And then I almost forgot to breathe. Enter the Silent Monk. This is vintage Jet Li – economical of movements; swift, powerful fists; vast energy unleashed in one graceful stroke; here one second, gone in the next; light as a feather on his toes; unwavering in his sense of mission; intensely focused; unruffled even when faced with the most adverse conditions; and he keeps himself amidst all these in a state of utmost serenity.
Jacky Chan plays the Drunken Immortal, who as we see, is far from immortal. One shot from the arrow of Ni-Chang of the Long White Tresses and he would have crossed to the land of the beyond had it not been for the efforts of his friends. The Drunken Immortal needs his prop, his elixir, for him to maintain his powers. The true immortal stays free from the shackles of earthly wants or desires. Such is the Silent Monk who can remain steadily quiet and his center intact in the midst of an endless desert.
The last fight is crucial. While the Drunken Immortal is in a state of transition from coma to drunken stupor, it is the Silent Monk, a mere wisp of a mortal with a mission, who dares to do battle with the immortal Jade Warlord. This is the same heavenly general who has reduced Golden Sparrow to orphanhood at a tender young age; to have raised beheaded minions in pikes for his fiefdom to see and to quake; and to have caused the Monkey King to be cast in stone for ages until The Seeker finds him.
The Silent Monk suddenly sees the Golden Staff about to fall into the fiery cauldron. In one clean sweep, he has the Staff in his hand. He has accomplished his mission. The Monkey King is freed.
The Silent Monk slowly dies and reverts into a golden hair. Then we see that the Silent Monk and the Monkey King is one. And Jet Li is truly the One.
- The Silent Monk
I have to admit now that I harboured no little amount of perturbation when I saw the movie posters with Jackie Chan’s name obviously topbilling that of Jet Li’s. It was not a good omen.
Ten minutes into the film, I breathed deeply and breathed well. For I knew that Forbidden Kingdom was intended to end the mother of all debates as to who is the kung fu master. And his name is not Jackie Chan.
Jet Li plays the Monkey King - a little uncouth immortal who has vastly entertained the Jade Emperor. The role establishes Jet Li as king, as the immortal hero, and although he is the quintessential elegant kung fu master, he could do a mean parody of the funny man and leave us no less amused as the Jade Emperor.
And then I almost forgot to breathe. Enter the Silent Monk. This is vintage Jet Li – economical of movements; swift, powerful fists; vast energy unleashed in one graceful stroke; here one second, gone in the next; light as a feather on his toes; unwavering in his sense of mission; intensely focused; unruffled even when faced with the most adverse conditions; and he keeps himself amidst all these in a state of utmost serenity.
Jacky Chan plays the Drunken Immortal, who as we see, is far from immortal. One shot from the arrow of Ni-Chang of the Long White Tresses and he would have crossed to the land of the beyond had it not been for the efforts of his friends. The Drunken Immortal needs his prop, his elixir, for him to maintain his powers. The true immortal stays free from the shackles of earthly wants or desires. Such is the Silent Monk who can remain steadily quiet and his center intact in the midst of an endless desert.
The last fight is crucial. While the Drunken Immortal is in a state of transition from coma to drunken stupor, it is the Silent Monk, a mere wisp of a mortal with a mission, who dares to do battle with the immortal Jade Warlord. This is the same heavenly general who has reduced Golden Sparrow to orphanhood at a tender young age; to have raised beheaded minions in pikes for his fiefdom to see and to quake; and to have caused the Monkey King to be cast in stone for ages until The Seeker finds him.
The Silent Monk suddenly sees the Golden Staff about to fall into the fiery cauldron. In one clean sweep, he has the Staff in his hand. He has accomplished his mission. The Monkey King is freed.
The Silent Monk slowly dies and reverts into a golden hair. Then we see that the Silent Monk and the Monkey King is one. And Jet Li is truly the One.
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