Spring Arbor University Crusader

Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Illustrated by Amy Dodds

SF: Looking for an action-packed movie to warm you up for the string of summer blockbusters? Look no further than The Forbidden Kingdom, a family-friendly kung-fu epic that is rocking the box office this week.

KC: And what better way to fully enjoy a martial arts film than to follow it by eating Chinese food? Today we'll also be raving about Spring Arbor's own China Garden, which opened just last week!

SF: That's right, and just like a bowl of spicy Hunan Chicken, Kingdom packs a punch-maybe a couple thousand punches. This coming-of-age movie tells the story of Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), a young kung-fu fan whose accidental discovery of a mysterious staff sends him back in time to mythical ancient China. Once there, he must join with an oddball group of warriors to return the staff to the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned in stone by the evil Jade Warlord.

KC: While the premise sounds pretty hokey, the hype for this film has been through the roof, and with martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li acting together for the first time, it had a right to be! The idea of the two of them facing off really piqued the general public's interest last weekend.

SF: Too true. The scene where Chan and Li meet for the first time was hands-down the best part of the movie. Seeing these two men effortlessly take each other on was like picking between Pepper Steak and Sesame Chicken at China Garden-I couldn't decide who to root for!

KC: Unfortunately, we never get another chance to see Chan and Li duke it out and the rest of the movie is terribly humdrum. Most of the characters are cliché cardboard cut-outs -the power-hungry bad guy, the evil-but-beautiful witch and the vengeful, sword-wielding hottie. We predicted their fates way before the final battle sequence.

SF: Luckily predictability isn't a bad factor where food is concerned. We predicted that the food at China Garden would be good and we were right! We tried the garlic chicken, the chicken lo mein, the crab rangoons and General Tsao's chicken, all of which contained fresh ingredients and were portioned large enough that we couldn't eat everything in one sitting.

KC: In addition, when we bought off the lunch menu, we discovered that the reasonable prices also includes either an egg roll or a soda. Since China Garden is situated so close to SAU you can walk, the money you might spend driving in to Jackson to pick up a carton of Chinese food elsewhere could be more wisely spent on a pack of deliciously sweet crab rangoons.

SF: Or you could spend it on a ticket to The Forbidden Kingdom! While the plot and characters often leave much to be desired, the epic showdown between Jackie Chan and Jet Li-not to mention the sly way this film occasionally makes fun of the kung-fu culture-is worth the money, even if you just decide to rent it.

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