Not recommended under 13, PG to 15 due to frequent action violence and some coarse language
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not recommended for children under thirteen due to frequent stylised action violence, including occasional blood and gore, and some coarse language |
Children over the age of 13 | Parental guidance recommended for children over the age of thirteen. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Forbidden Kingdom |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Martial arts violence and infrequent coarse language |
Length: | 104 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) is a teenager with a great passion for Kung Fu films, which he buys from a dusty old shop in Chinatown run by an old Chinese man called Old Hop (Jackie Chan). Old Hop has an antique Chinese fighting staff, which, he tells Jason, has been in the shop for more than a hundred years, and will one day be claimed and returned to its rightful owner.
While walking home after visiting Hop’s shop, Jason is set upon by a group of local bullies. The leader of the bullies Lupo (Morgan Benoit) forces Jason to deceive Old Hop so the gang can get inside Old Hop’s shop to rob it. During the robbery Old Hop is shot in the chest and, while lying on the floor, gives Jason the staff, telling him that it is he who must return the staff to its rightful owner. Jason is pursued by Lupo and his gang but, through the magic of the staff, finds himself being pulled away from the gang. He is hurled off a rooftop, but before he hits the ground the film blacks out.
When Jason wakes up he finds that he has been transported back in time to a small village in China where he is befriended by a wine soaked beggar named Lu Yan (also played by Jackie Chan). Through narration and imagery Lu Yan tells Jason the story of the Monkey King, an immortal who was deceived and turned to stone by the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou), an evil immortal who has caused much death and destruction. For the Monkey King to be set free his magical staff must be returned to him by the Seeker. Lu Yan then tells Jason that he is the Seeker who must return the staff to The Monkey King. To free the Monkey King, Jason must outrun a witch and the Jade Warlord’s henchmen, cross a desert and find the Jade Warlord’s palace at the top of “Five Elements Mountain”. Jason sets off with Lu Yan and they are joined by Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu) a girl seeking vengeance against the Jade Warlord, and a mysterious silent monk.
During their journey the Jade Warlord’s witch Ni Chang (Bingbing Li) confronts Jason and his friends. Although the group manages to escape, Lu Yan is shot in the back by a magical arrow. Jason believes that the only way to save Lu Yan’s life is for him to go to the Jade Warlord and offer him the Monkey King’s staff in exchange for the Elixir of Life. Jason makes it to the Jade Warlord’s palace, but instead of receiving the Elixir of Life, he is challenged to a “fight to the death” by the witch Ni Chang. When it appears that Jason has lost, Golden Sparrow, the Silent Monk and a host of Kung Fu monks arrive and do battle.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Kung Fu and Chinese folklore
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
Most of the violence depicted through Forbidden Kingdom is heavily stylised action violence with minimal blood and gore. At other times the violence is intimidating and realistic. Examples include:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
Apart from the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are no images or scenes of concern in this movie.
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Apart from the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are no images or scenes of concern in this movie.
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Apart from the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are no images or scenes of concern in this movie.
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
None
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Forbidden Kingdom is an action, adventure fantasy film that features the martial arts skills of the film’s two major stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Fans of Chan and Li will not be disappointed with their performance, and all of the film’s cast members perform well.
The main messages from this movie are that:
Kung Fu is a way of life and thinking that can be applied to every aspect of life.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
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Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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ABN: 16 005 214 531