Jackie Chan Once Warned Fans That a Movie He Did With Jet Li ‘Wasn’t That Great’
Actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li were two of some of the biggest action stars of the 90s and early 2000s. So when the opportunity came for Chan to work with Li, Chan seized the opportunity despite not liking the script. But after the film, Chan realized his initial instincts were right, and warned viewers that the film might not be as good as they thought it would.
Jackie Chan warned viewers that ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ wasn’t a great movie
The 2008 film The Forbidden Kingdom was a fantasy film co-starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It followed a teenager played by Michael Angarano who’s transported to ancient China where he must free a fairy tale warrior. If he doesn’t, he’ll be stuck in that timeline and won’t be able to return home.
Although Chan was aware that many anticipated this long-awaited collaboration between himself and Li, Chan wasn’t too impressed with the movie’s finished product. So much so, he felt obligated to warn fans about Kingdom’s quality.
“The movie I just shot with Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom, actually isn’t that great,” Chan once said as reported by the Xinhua News Agency (via China Daily).
He would later assert that the movie was primarily made for Americans and not Chinese audiences. Because of this, fans shouldn’t have expected too much.
“Chinese viewers may not like it. If I say it’s a good movie now, then many people will be filled with overly high expectations and be disappointed when they see the movie,” he added.
Jackie Chan and Jet Li tried to make a movie 20 years before ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’
For Chan, the film gave him the opportunity to work with his good friend and fellow action star Jet Li. But before Kingdom, Chan tried to make a movie with Li decades prior. However, plans fell through.
“We’ve known each other for more than 30 years, and 20 years ago we tried to work on a movie together,” Chan once told MTV News. “I called him, and we sat and talked, and he agreed, and I wrote the script and he agreed to the script. I told my company to do it, then somehow it [didn’t come together]. I said ‘Why?’ and they said, ‘Because they want to own the rights.’ ‘Who owns the rights?’ ‘Golden Harvest wants to own the rights.’ ‘China Star wants to own the rights.’ ‘Who owns the DVD rights?’ ‘Who owns the video rights?’ I said, ‘No! Who cares? Just make the movie!’”
Jacie Chan didn’t like the script for ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’
Chan would eventually get the opportunity to work with Li. And to many, seeing the two fight was a spectacle alone.
“The first day they fought each other is where they’re by themselves in the scene,” Angarano said. “It took two weeks to shoot that fight.”
Chan once described how spectators would crowd around film sets just to see him and Li duke it out.
“Everybody thought, ‘Wow!’ But for us, it was nothing,” Chan added. “To us, it was just another movie, an ordinary day, but when the day came, a million people showed up, surrounded [the set], and there were paparazzi trying to take photos. Every day, the paparazzi tried to get in to take photos. … They just wanted to see Jet maybe give me a punch.”
But for Chan, Li was one of the only reasons he decided to do the film. Initially, the Rush Hour actor didn’t take too kindly to the script.
“When they gave me the script, I thought it was nonsense,” Chan once said according to Today. “But they told me Jet was doing it so I said ‘yes.’ The other reason was the director. I loved The Lion King so I knew he’d make a great fantasy for the kids, and it is.”
