The Forbidden Kingdom

The Forbidden Kingdom (: Gong Fu Zhi Wang (Mandarin) or Gung Fu Ji Wong (Cantonese) and translated King of Kung Fu (English); Working title: The J & J Project) is a 2008 wuxia film written by John Fusco and directed by Rob Minkoff, starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Loosely based on the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, it is the first film to star Jackie Chan and Jet Li together. The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping. The film is distributed in the United States through Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company, and through The Huayi Brothers Film & Taihe Investment Company in China. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the US and Hong Kong on September 9, 2008 and the United Kingdom on November 17, 2008. Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus praises the fight scenes but says the film has too much filler. The Forbidden Kingdom grossed $128 million against a budget of $55 million. Plot South Boston teenager Jason Tripitikas is a fan of martial arts films. He dreams of a battle between Sun Wukong and celestial soldiers in the clouds. He visits a pawn shop in Chinatown to buy wuxia DVDs and discovers a golden staff. On his way home, Jason is harassed by some hooligans, whose leader Lupo attempts to use him to help them rob the shop-owner Hop, who is shot by Lupo. Hop tells Jason to deliver the staff to its rightful owner and Jason flees with it. He is cornered on the rooftop before being pulled off the roof by the staff.