"The Forbidden Kingdom" Preview & Trailer

“The Forbidden Kingdom” hits theaters on April 18, 2008. The Lionsgate movie marks the first time Jackie Chan and Jet Li will appear in a movie together.

It’s about an American teenager Jason (Michael Angarano) who’s obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and Kung Fu classics. When he finds an antique Chinese staff in a pawn shop — the legendary weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King — Jason unexpectedly finds himself transported back to ancient China.

There, he meets the drunken Kung Fu master, Lu Yan (Jackie Chan); an enigmatic and skillful Silent Monk (Jet Li); and a vengeance-bent Kung Fu beauty, Golden Sparrow, who lead him on his quest to return the staff to its rightful owner, the Monkey King – imprisoned in stone by the evil Jade Warlord for 500 years.

More after the jump, including a trailer!

I can’t say I’ve ever been hot for martial arts movies (excepting Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which is in a league by itself), but this one looks pretty good with lots of action. Michael Angarano has a ton of film and TV credits, including the role of Will Stronghold in 2005’s “Sky High” and Scott Wallace in Season 6 of “24″. 

Photo: Jet Li, Jackie Chan, The Forbidden Kingdom, Lionsgate, 2008