Not all martial arts movie fans appreciate every Jackie Chan film that comes along to exploit the name and the franchise. More often than not, his films are all-too-obvious exploitation attempts to make hay -- of the green variety -- out of the charm and humorous style of the star in spite of very formulaic contrivances standing in for story lines. Too many films of the genre are little more than simplistic packages for the gamer action fan. "The Forbidden Kingdom" is better than that, and everyone involved is better for it. There's actually much to be applauded here.

Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) (accent the 2nd syllable) is so much a fan of Kung Fu fare that he has dreams about it. His many trips to a Chinatown pawnshop (in Boston) to get the latest bootleg DVDs has developed into a trusting relationship with the owner (aged Jackie Chan) who recognizes that this boy's character is greatly different from that of his usual clientele.

So, when Jason notices a room with many ancient artifacts, and pays particular attention to a long carved staff, the old proprietor shares with him the legend that it was once the stick weapon of the Monkey King (bearded Jet Li), an immortal whose invincibility with it was overcome by the greater power of the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) whose magic entombed him in stone. Only the return of this very relic to the possession of its owner would release the Monkey King for another try at defeating the evil Warlord.

Jason, not the strongest guy on the block, is accosted on his way home by a local gang of thugs. Their leader mocks and insults him and, when he learns of Jason's friendship with the shop owner, he's beaten into leading them into the pawnshop after hours to rob the Chinaman's supposed hoard of cash. A fight breaks out and Jason is sent hurtling through a window... and back in time to ancient China with the staff in hand. Is he the one chosen for its return?

As he's about to get throttled by the Warlord's troops, a drunken man appears whose apparent shakiness on his feet disappears in a kung fu ballet of taking down multiple enemies. This he does with grace and speed, humor and smiles. Who we have here is, again, Jackie Chan, in the older incarnation as Lu Yan, a pre-immortal whose power is directly dependent on alcohol which, for him, is an elixir that he must continually imbibe.

The martial arts wanderer laughs when he recognizes the obvious lightweight nature of the carrier of the staff, come to return it to its rightful owner. Once they reach an understanding about the critical importance of the mission, they embark on an intense course of training, now in the company of the alluring Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu) who appears as a spiritual aide to Lu Yan.

While in the forest alone, Jason is attacked by a white robed monk on a white steed. Jason is quickly relieved of his possession, the staff. Frantic, the trio chase through the forest and finally spot the white horse tethered outside an abandoned temple. Lu Yan enters alone and finds the thief at the altar. Lu Yan cajoles him, basically arousing the man to fight. His silence identifies him as the Silent Monk (Jet Li again), the devoted follower of the Monkey King.

What quickly follows is a key fight between Lu Yan and him, that exhausts the many variations on suspended action choreography (the stellar work by Woo-Ping Yuen who ingeniously devised it for "The Matrix.") and satisfying the promises contained in the casting of these two major action stars from Asia. Though neither is a definitive winner, Silent Monk is made to realize that, though his intention is the same as Jason's, he's not the appointed one. Only Jason can break Jade Warlord's curse. Stoically accepting this truth he wistfully says to Lu Yan," We can kill each other when it's over." And, now, the little band is four, roughly equivalent to 400 armed and armored soldiers. And, Jason has two trainers.

But, before they can reach the Forbidden Kingdom, entrance to which is through "a gate that is no gate," they must deal with the dreaded Li Bing Bing, the White-Haired Demoness (Ni Chang) who sees them as competitors for Warlord's favor in making her immortal. She's bad enough without that special gift.

Rob Minkoff, a director whose preceding work would not particularly recommend him for a fantasy saga about an ancient Asian legend -- unless you count animated fantasies like ("Stuart Little," "The Lion King" and "The Haunted Mansion"). At least the producers who chose this heavyweight in the human/animal kingdom thought so, and his Chinese actors seem to be in agreement about his sensitivity to the material (as quoted in the press notes). It was written for the screen by John Fusco ("Young Guns II," "Hidalgo") who aligned characters from Chinese mythology and adventure pulps for his epic amalgamation. His credit sheet will soon list "The Seven Samurai," (later in 2008).

Casting-wise, Angarano, who started out in "Almost Famous" and recently added "Snow Angels" to his resume, may be seen as an alternate Shia LaBeouf ("Disturbia") in the slot of sweet nerd who can't fail to excite the maternal gene in women, who will want to hug him and, through cinema magic and hard work, gain the respect of the male audience, which will hold him in admiration for making his ability in kung fu a transformation to behold.

What gives this chop-socky journey high marks is its conceptual consistency and adherence to the ambitions of the premise, elements that are so often substituted in lesser versions of the formula by empty exaggeration. This is a martial arts extravaganza that may not break out of the mold --it is, after all just a vehicle for action-- but it's true to itself and, therefore, uncommonly satisfying to its fans and followers.

                                      ~~  Jules Brenner