The Forbidden City

3 stars

As a long-time fan of martial arts films, I keep a list of the stars and filmmakers who show me something special so I can explore their past work and keep an eye out for any future releases. It’s one thing to watch everything that Jackie Chan or Donnie Yen do because you know they’ll deliver something entertaining. Adding Yuen Woo-Ping to that list, back when I saw Drunken Master for the first time (originally because it was a Jackie Chan movie), led me to seek out some great films, from Legend of a Fighter (1982) to Iron Monkey (1993) to this year’s excellent Blades of the Guardians. (Read the review here.) 

This week, after watching The Forbidden City (twice), I added Yaxi Liu to the list. Not only is she the centerpiece of some really exciting fight scenes, but she also has the chops to make the story’s dramatic moments throb. Unfortunately, there is a forced romance in the story that doesn’t give Yaxi a good enough chance to showcase the romantic side of her talents, primarily because of the total lack of chemistry between Yaxi and the film’s male lead, Enrico Borello.

The film, directed by Gabriele Mainetti (Freaks Out), follows a young woman, Mei (Yaxi), who goes undercover to look for her sister, who has been forced into prostitution in Rome by a Chinese gang. Mei arrives in Rome looking for her missing sister and, along the way, meets Marcello, who is desperate to find his father. Together, they will fight their way through the Chinese and Roman underworld to try to rescue their kidnapped family. When rescue stops being an option, the pair quickly turns to bloody revenge.

The idea of setting what is, in essence, a fight-centric Hong Kong action film in Rome may have looked good on paper, but in reality, it is quirky at best and, more often than not, clumsy. The language barrier comes into play too often. The way Mei uses technology to translate her anger is interesting when she first does it, but not enough is done with it. The culture clash that should be at the center of the story often feels like an afterthought. Still, if you let go of the story and concentrate on the action, The Forbidden City can be worth the journey.