The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms (2024)

The-Keepers-of-the-5-Kingdoms
 The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms (2024)

James Hong stars in the latest film of his career which dates back to the ‘50s: The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms. A few of the movies he has been a part of include Batman Soul of the Dragon, Big Trouble in Little China, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Kung Fu Panda. He is among the most prolific actors having been in over 450 films to date and not only is he an actor, he has also directed several movies including the most notable one, The Vineyard released in 1989. 

He worked as the actor of Patsy Lee’s grandfather who is played by Michelle Mao (Cosmetic Criminals, Metal Lords). In the movie, Chuck Lee is married to the protagonist’s grandfather, Patsy Lee. The only information we have about her biological family is that she is of parentage Chinese.

Now that Frank (Dante Basco, Sightings, Asian Persuasion) and Hank (Dave Sheridan, That’s a Wrap, How to Kill your Roommates and Get Away With It) drop the clumsy box fossil Kuang clad from Bai Ling (Exorcism at 60, 000 Feet The Haunted Studio)strongarm mannequins which are ivy alike, it is for two much to crude expect them be hand to foot efficient as a rat and a chicken just recently. 

They do not do much waiting as Patsy and her grandfather together with her best friend Squirrel (Anna Harr, Shadow Master the Dark Side of Opulent) *and* Crush Hopper (Matthew Sato, Imaginary, Doogie Kamealoha, MD) alongside the box got teleported to a different dimension. This dimension is none other than the one that Kuang is locked up in, you guessed it. They will need to figure out how to leave this dimension with the box before the evil sorceress and her minions reach Chen first and use the box to escape the dimension and cause havoc on Earth.

For a film that had a relatively low budget, it was definitely not expected to be this interesting. The concept of fighting off against vampire monks sounds fascinating, and so does sending the kids off to rescue the five kingdoms. A dragon here and there gives it a whole new perspective, and then there is also Trader Joe, in a lizard suit. A children’s film that centers around the idea of becoming a hero, sounds quite stereotypical. However, Ace Underhill and Zach Ward managed to take a leap, adding their unique elements which include the catchy and mesmerizing voice of AO the Wise. Everything surrounding this film seems to be full of gripping details which overall didn’t leave off a dry expectation.

The low budget of the Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms does not impact the expected texture astonishingly. There are puppets, CGI, and performers in suits all working towards creating the fantasy world of the film. Along with Clara Gonzalez-Garza from Knifecorp & Beyond Paranormal, the team of practical effects did well. Of course, it is also true that the majority of VFX in this movie is ineffective, with some of the VFXs produced by Umar Shoaib (The Way Out, A Promise of Light) not being of high-quality standard. Still, it is better than the average standard which can be expected from an Asylum film. This is particularly odd since this time around the film’s VFX supervisor was Joseph J. Lawson who was a part of The Asylum in a number of films like Flight 666, Alien Siege, and 6 Headed Shark Attack.

Even though the effects are spot on, The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms could have shocked its story even more. In this case, Hank and Frank are just too much. Their silliness can be entertaining, but their focus on pratfalls and gross-out gags is over Board. The final episode is also rather exaggerated it is rather politically correct about the message and lessons conveyed, with an implication about too many moral tales. Perhaps the most disappointing thing is to see some of the artistic talents of Hong during almost the entire movie come from the mouth that talks in proverbs wrapped around cookies.

Yes, I am watching a children’s film as an adult and for this reason, some of the problems I have will most likely not be of any concern to the intended audiences of The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms. This seems strange and funny enough, there is plenty that works, and adults watching the film with children should at least be entertained for most of its 110 minutes. The children, however, should be equally happy with the last shot which hints at the sequel.

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