The Forbidden Kingdom 2008

The Forbidden Kingdom (Chinese: 功夫之王: 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 fantasy wuxia film written by John Fusco and directed by Rob Minkoff, starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Liu Yifei, Collin Chou, and Li Bingbing. Loosely based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, the plot revolves around Jason Tripitikas (Angarano), a modern-day American teenager who is transported back to ancient China after discovering Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang. He accompanies Lu Yan (Chan), Silent Monk (Li), and Golden Sparrow (Yifei) on their quest to return the staff to its rightful owner while trying to avoid the minions of the evil Jade Warlord (Chou) and the White-Haired Witch (Bingbing). The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping. The film is regarded as the first co-production helmed by an American director to make a primarily English-language wuxia genre film set in ancient China for a global audience.