Forbidden Kingdom, The (Blu-ray)

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"The Forbidden Kingdom" is a lightweight entry in the fantasy martial-arts genre, clearly made for a wide, general audience rather than exclusively for die-hard kung fu fans. Think of it as a kung fu fairy tale almost anyone can appreciate. The filmmakers keep the action stylized, theatrical, and non-bloody; the characters appealing; the plot romanticized; and the costumes, scenery, CGI, matte shots, set designs, and special effects imposing. The movie is a feast for the eyes and ears, one that should appeal to all ages. It appealed to me, in any case.

Video:
Lionsgate went full throttle to make this Blu-ray transfer a visual treat. They reproduce the 2.40:1 ratio widescreen picture on a dual-layer BD50 using an MPEG4/AVC codec. The filmmakers used both conventional and digital cameras to shoot the picture, with generally excellent results. The colors come across brilliantly, realistically vivid, particularly the rich greens, reds, and golds. There is usually a touch of natural film grain to give the image texture, there's good definition and detail, and there are only occasional traces of softness, possibly in the digital portions. Although the black levels are strong, they are not overpowering, the overall picture a tad dark but pleasantly so. The movie is so colorful and so radiant, it seems tailor-made for high definition.

Audio:
The Lionsgate engineers offer up the audio in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, and like the video, it's often stunning. The clarity is outstanding, the bass roars and rumbles, and the surrounds envelop one in room-filling sound. You'll find the side and/or rear speakers providing an inventive assortment of noises, yet none of it is gratuitous or distracting. Whether it's the sounds of nature or the sounds of combat, you'll find the surrounds adding to your delight in the film.

Extras:
Disc one contains the extras, and disc two contains a standard-definition digital copy of the movie for Mac's and PC's. So, for the extras on disc one we first get "Bonus View," a picture-in-picture affair (for Profile 1.1 or higher players) that places a screen insert over about a quarter of the picture wherein the filmmakers comment on the action and take you behind the scenes as the movie plays in the background. Next, we get an audio commentary with director Rob Minkoff and screenwriter John Fusco, who provide even more information on the filmmaking. Fusco, for instance, refers to the movie as a "bedtime fable." Hard to disagree. After that is a series of short featurettes: "Storyboard and Previsualization," a little over six minutes with commentary by Rob Minkoff; "The Kung Fu Dream Team," over ten minutes on Li and Chan; "Dangerous Beauty," almost six minutes on the two lead actresses; "Discovering China," eight minutes on the Chinese location shooting; "Filming in Chinawood," about eight minutes on working at the largest movie studio in Asia; and "Monkey King and the Eight Immortals," nine minutes on Chinese mythology and the art of kung fu. Then we get an eight-minute blooper reel with some cute goof-ups and six deleted scenes with commentary by the director and writer.

If your player is Profile 2.0 capable, a BD-Live feature called "MoLog" enables you to do various things like animate text and graphics, things I did not access. The extras conclude with sixteen scene selections; previews of other Lionsgate films at start-up and in the Main Menu; English as the only spoken language; English and Spanish subtitles; English captions for the hearing impaired; and pop-up menus.

Parting Thoughts:
Although "The Forbidden Kingdom" breaks no new ground in the martial-arts fantasy genre, it is a good Hero's Journey, Coming-of-Age story. And it does pair Jet Li and Jackie Chan in their first big-screen film together. Plus, the movie features a good supporting cast, breathtaking scenery, and imaginative, if somewhat redundant, action sequences. In high-definition Blu-ray picture and sound, it is a pleasure all the way around.

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