Jackie Chan and Jet Li haven’t lost a step with their martial arts abilities. Not surprisingly, their brawl is by far the highlight of the film.

Kung fu movies haven’t changed much in the past couple of decades or so. They typically use practical effects real actors instead of CGI characters.

Western kung fu movies like “The Matrix” trilogy go the other way, replacing full fights with CGI characters (the Smith fight in “The Matrix Reloaded”). However, the practical, traditional kung fu movies are the ones that actually make you go, “Whoa.”

Enter “The Forbidden Kingdom,” a more traditional kung fu movie that takes place in both today’s world and ancient China. After being bullied into breaking into an old Chinese pawn shop, kung fu-obsessed Jason (Michael Angarano) finds the Monkey King’s mystical staff and is transported back in time.

There he meets a monk (Jet Li), a drunk immortal (Jackie Chan), and an orphan (Liu Yifei) who curiously only speaks in the third person. Naturally, they then set off on a journey to free the imprisoned Monkey King from the Jade Emperor. Kung fu fighting ensues.

After getting past the distracting fact that the main hero looks like a bastard child of Dana Carvey and Shia LaBeouf, one can begin to enjoy the fairly straightforward plot. The fight sequences in the colorful exposition of the Monkey King’s capture are incredibly entertaining.

Chan and Li haven’t lost a step with their martial arts abilities. Not surprisingly, their brawl is by far the highlight of the film. It borrows little from other kung fu films and remains fresh throughout its enjoyably long duration.

Overall, however, the film borrows a lot. It consistently tips its hat to great kung fu films of the past, as if to say, “This one’s for you, Bruce Lee.” It also boasts Yuen Woo-ping, choreographer of “The Matrix” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” behind the fight sequences.

The very first scene has the Monkey King flying around mountain tops, kicking the snot out of people “Crouching Tiger”-style. In this instance, the whole thing seems more distracting than awe-inspiring, as it doesn’t really focus on any one fight in particular.

Then there’s also the ever-present and cliché confidence boosting and self-doubt lectures given to Jason from the two greats. This is groan-inducing enough, until the film gets to the three- or four-scene love story. I’ve seen puddles with more depth.

“The Forbidden Kingdom” is not a bad movie. In some regards, such as the cool fight sequences and the suave one-liners from Chan, it comes off as an above average film. In others, like the cliché Karate Kid-esque mentoring moments to Jason, it seems to be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

You really get what you pay for: a kung fu fantasy romp through ancient China. The good guys win and the main character finds himself. It’s precisely what you expect, not exactly refreshing, but not totally unwelcome, either.

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