The Forbidden City is the kickass Italian kung-fu movie you didn't know you needed
An ambitious and entertaining ode to multi-culturalism, kung fu movies, and Italian crime dramas
The Italian kung fu drama The Forbidden City is a stellar addition in the growing collection of action movies starring stunt performers, combining the many skills of Liu Yaxi (Liu Yifei’s stunt double in the live-action Mulan) with a compelling backdrop of Italian organized crime family drama. After a March 2025 theatrical release in Italy and appearance at Fantastic Fest 2025, the movie is finally available to watch broadly in the United States via digital rental or purchase.
The Forbidden City follows a young Chinese martial artist named Mei (Liu) who has come to Rome to look for her missing sister, Yun. During her search, she connects with Marcello (Enrico Borello), an overworked and extremely tired chef whose father is also missing. When it turns out their two missing loved ones were connected, they band together to get to the bottom of the mystery, with Mei kicking a lot of ass along the way.
The premise is a great showcase for Liu’s many talents. Buoyed by strong action design from stunt coordinators Trayan Milenov-Troy (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The Last Duel, Strike Back) and Emiliano Novelli (a veteran Italian stunt coordinator with nearly 500 credits to his name), Liu is able to showcase her tremendous martial arts skills and athleticism.
The fight scenes are highly technical, and the framing of the action from director Gabriele Mainetti accentuates the choreography, with lots of wide angle shots that take advantage of Liu’s physicality and skill. Mainetti makes sure to pepper in tight shots for impact so that it doesn’t become too one-note, creating a dynamism in the action sequences that is bolstered by fun use of the locations and the props found within them: In an early fight in a kitchen, Mei uses hot food, a wok, a slab of raw meat, a cheese grater, a bundle of raw noodles, and many more implements to take down her opponent. I love a fight scene that employs all aspects of its setting, and The Forbidden City absolutely delivers on that.
Liu’s only previous acting credit was a supporting role in the 2024 Chinese action comedy Second Life. I haven’t seen that movie yet (although I’ve heard it’s quite fun), but in The Forbidden City she successfully evokes the “determined, unstoppable force” action hero archetype as Mei. She’s extremely stoic, does not care to explain herself or her actions to anyone, and does not know how to quit. A few times the facade breaks as she starts to get to know Marcello better – there’s a charming scene where they go on a quick moped tour of Rome together, or one where he cooks her Chinese food and his success surprises them both.
Marcello has his own family drama going on, holding up the family restaurant and his mom’s sanity after his dad’s sudden disappearance. Borello plays Marcello as world-weary beyond his years and exhausted by everything he’s had to deal with. After a rocky start to their friendship, that bitterness helps make the connection between Marcello and Mei all the more sweet, especially because they don’t speak a shared language.
That language barrier is a constant presence, but one that Marcello and Mei are able to overcome through their shared goals and an undeniable attraction to each other. The Forbidden City is as much an ode to multiculturalism as it is to the kung fu and crime movies it is inspired by. The Chinese-Italian team-up at the heart of the movie is bolstered by Mainetti’s depiction of Rome as a melting pot. We see vendors and goods from all around the world in a bustling street market, where Marcello seems to be friendly with all the street vendors – always a sign of good character. It’s a strong contrast to antagonist Annibale (Marco Giallini), a swagged-out loan shark and familial figure to Marcello and his mother. Annibale is a very believable racist gangster type who loves his family and thinks that makes up for all the horrid stuff he says and does.
Annibale has a counterpart in Wang (Chunyu Shanshan), who runs a Chinese restaurant called The Forbidden City, which is also a front for a brothel and massage parlor. Like Annibale, Wang is cruel and calculating towards anyone he perceives as being in his way, but cares deeply for his family. One of my favorite emotional beats in the movie is Wang’s repeated promotion of his estranged son Maggio’s (played by real Chinese-Italian rapper Maggio) Italian rap music – handing out CDs, putting up posters, and blasting the music in the restaurant as he raps along. The whole premise of The Forbidden City is interested in this sort of culture melding, and the movie’s music is another key element, combining Italian and Chinese music to create an evocative soundtrack.
Director Mainetti is a fascinating filmmaker whose first two features both followed societal outcasts with super powers (They Call Me Jeeg and Freaks Out). While Mei’s powers aren’t as literally super as in those other two movies, it’s not a big stretch to find a connection here – she is an incredibly skilled fighter who uses those abilities to take on many, many opponents and fight for her loved ones, all while being in a country where she does not speak the language or know anybody.
The Way of the Dragon is my favorite Bruce Lee movie, so I think I was always going to be in the bag for a movie so clearly inspired by it – another “East-meets-West martial arts/restaurant crime drama set in Rome, with a key scene at the Coliseum.” The Forbidden City winks at the comparison, with a quick scene where one of Annibale’s gangsters sees a picture of Bruce Lee and Wang at the restaurant and wonders if he ate there. “He died 50 years ago,” Annibale snaps back. “You think he came to eat here?” And it’s not hard to think of Lee as Liu punches and kicks her way through her opponents, occasionally mimicking Lee’s signature screams and cries while delivering blows.
The Forbidden City is a satisfying action drama that convincingly combines its seemingly disparate influences into an ambitious, charming, kickass, romantic, and funny package. It drags a bit in the back third, but I ultimately didn’t mind – it’s a delightful time at the movies, and a strong showcase for its stunt performer-turned-action lead star.
