This weekend's release of The Forbidden Kingdom, starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, features the first teaming of the two Asian action heroes. (My review is here.) Jackie is older and got established first as a comic martial arts master before making a string of modern-day thrillers and adventures. Jet came along later and became known as an ultra-serious, ultra-deadly lethal weapon. Their relative merits have been debated endlessly, and The Forbidden Kingdom finally gives fans a chance to see them go man to man -- first against each other, and then against the bad guys.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. Who's your favorite Asian action hero? (For the purposes of this poll, we'll stick to the living, so that's why Bruce Lee is not included.) Do you prefer Jackie's humor and larger than life thrill-seeking stunts? Or do you favor Jet's solemn precision and frequently death-dealing fighting?
Or ... have you always been a secret backer of Donnie Yen? (He had his own square-off against Jackie Chan in Shanghai Knights.) Sammo Hung? (The former Martial Law TV star is still active in Hong Kong.) Michelle Yeoh? (Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) Or the younger generation represented by Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Protector), Collin Chou (Jade Warlord in The Forgotten Kingdom), and Wu Jing (Invislble Target, Kill Zone)? Sound off in the comments to tell us your faves and let us know about anyone else we haven't mentioned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-19-2008 @ 9:07PM
Technodawg said...
No Chow Yun-Fat = Fail
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4-19-2008 @ 11:06PM
Wayne said...
Ditto.
4-19-2008 @ 9:34PM
MCW said...
I don't like Jackie Chan anymore because of what I read in an interview he made about Rush Hour 3 or 4, or whatever they're up to now. He said something to the effect of knowing that the movie is stupid, and that he is only doing it for the money at this point, because he sends the money back to whatever foreign country he's from. He said he could care less if they do more of those crappy movies (Which, if you're stuck with a crack addict like Chris Tucker, makes sense in a way). So, I could care less to watch any more of Jackie Chan's movies.
As far as Jet Li's movies go, I haven't seen enough of them to really care either way, but I know that he said he was retiring from action movies, and he didn't. So that was an obvious publicity stunt (Jay Z anyone?), and I don't care for obvious publicity stunts.
So in your poll, I had no choice but to pick Michelle Yeoh, because that's the only person in it that anyone has ever heard of besides Chan or Li.
Yes, I hold grudges, and no I do not forgive ;) We don't need any more Seann William Scott/Jet Li movies.
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4-19-2008 @ 11:12PM
Mr. R said...
Isn't that cool though? We get all this bullshit interviews with actors all the time, who always say the same thing. This movie is the best, everyone gets along well, we had so much fun. Then you watch it and you realize how full of it they are. Maybe Chan was just being honest about it, I kind of like it.
4-19-2008 @ 11:22PM
Gilbert Davis said...
No Stephen Chow? (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle). No Gordon Liu? (Kill Bill) I find your lack of knowledge on the subject matter....Disturbing.
Just got back from the Forbidden Kingdom and I was greatly impressed. A great movie, well put together, lots of action, a tight story, great special effects, great acting, impressive fights, and great fun. Jet Li and Jackie Chan worked well together and the rest of the cast was top notch. The fight between Jackie Chan and Jet Li when they met was as awesome as you'd expect it to be. Jet Li, Jackie Chan and the rest of the Chinese cast spoke their parts in english for the most part and even with that you could tell that they had put a great deal of effort into doing it right. With Jet Li playing the Monkey King and the Monk, with Jackie Chan playing the old Pawn Shop owner and the drunken 'immortal' kung fu expert you could see that every bit of the show was thought out, well written and well acted. Just great. And the movie theater I went to was full up and the show received applause at the end. Not often do I hear a movie get applause.
So if you like action movies, kung fu movies, action buddy movies, Jet Li movies, Jackie Chan movies, fantasy movies, or action/humor movies - then this is the movie to see this weekend. Personally I'll be going to see it again before buying the Blu-ray in six months.
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4-22-2008 @ 2:57AM
Matthew said...
Stephen Chow is 400x the talent anyone on the poll has. I voted for Jet, but if Stephen was on the list I would have voted for him without a doubt. Kung Fu Hustle 2 is coming, and it's going to be great!
4-20-2008 @ 1:17AM
Chris said...
I went with Jet Li because I enjoy his movie work (he isn't the best actor, but he does the job) and he is a real martial artist. It's not that I have something against Hong Kong Opera, but I just dig the real deal. And honestly, I would put the fights in Fist of Legend against any movie, including Bruce Lee's.
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4-20-2008 @ 9:48AM
John R said...
You had to put Tony Jaa in there, huh? I was going to choose Jet, then I saw Tony and almost picked him ("The Protector" was great). Then I reflected on Jet and Jackie's body of work, "Fist of Legend" is just all sorts of bad ass.
Jet is the man.
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4-20-2008 @ 1:51PM
Morteza said...
What's up with that photo? Mr. Li looks like he's about to get a two-fingered rectal exam from Mr. Chan.
I think Cinematical is trying to subconsciously affect the poll results.
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4-20-2008 @ 9:14PM
Peter Martin said...
I was thinking about modern martial arts action heroes, which is why Chow Yun-Fat isn't listed. I should have been more specific in my description.
Yes, Stephen Chow could have been included, though I think his comedy overshadows his martial arts much more than, say, Chan. Good pick, though.
Have you seen the movies Gordon Liu has made since Kill Bill?
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4-21-2008 @ 11:40AM
Nova said...
Um, chow yun fat is known for hard boiled and The Killer. Those are his classics. Yes he was in crouching tiger hidden dragon, but that is not his all time great.
Tony Jaa is just straight nasty. You have to realize that his movies have been made on no budget and basically no concern for the health of the stunt men. People really get hurt making those movies and get paid nothing for it. You gotta give him and the stunt men respect for that. The brutality of it is great.
Fist of Legend is the best martial arts movie ever. Jet Li wins hands down just from that movie.
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4-21-2008 @ 11:40AM
Nova said...
Gordon Liu is Master Killer. That is basically one of essential old school martial arts movies to watch. He was one of the greatest from the shaw brothers days.
He was in Kill Bill as a homage to his shaw brothers movies, which Kill Bill recycled. He was in both kill bill 1 and 2 as a result. Taratino grew up watching those shaw brothers movies.
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4-21-2008 @ 12:14PM
Ryan Arndt said...
Other: Zhang Ziyi
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4-22-2008 @ 1:02PM
Karn Eggie said...
BRUCE MOTHER FUCKING LEE!
other than that we need more actors in the vein as Panom Yeerum, less acting MORE martial arts and floating over trees IS NOT martial arts or acting ...
jet li never ruins his clothes when fighting, jackie chan HAD a good career before he came over to the USA.
more ass kicking Gordon Liu (36 chambers) get big, this is not a genre that ha sseen its fair share of stars, we need somethin SPECTACULAR.
after crouching tiger hidden dragon, we took a turn for the worse, mind you im not saying the films in that lane are bad im just saying they are fantasy NOT martial arts action films. so its sad to see so many subsequent films loose that air of reality that left you feeling like you could do some of the amazing things shown, which helped to engross you in a holistically poor attempt at cinema.
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