Mei (Yaxi Liu, Second Life, stunt double on Mulan) has come to Rome in search of her missing older sister Yun (Haijin Ye). Mei grew up in the Chinese province of Fujian, during the time of the “One-Child Policy”, when it was illegal for families to have more than one child. So, much of her young life was spent in hiding, never allowed to leave the home. Instead, she trained in Kung Fu with her father, becoming a skilled fighter. Mei has come to a Chinese restaurant called The Forbidden City, which serves as a front for a large sex work operation. She believes that the proprietor, Mr. Wang (Shanshan Chunyu, The Butcher’s Blade), has her sister. But after smashing up the restaurant, looking for Mr. Wang, she is no closer to finding Yun. That is, until one of the madams tells her to find Alfredo.
Down the street is an Italian dining establishment, Alfredo’s Restaurant, and once again Mei goes in fists blazing, attacking chef Marcello (Enrico Borello, 40 Secondi), demanding Alfredo’s (Luca Zingaretti, Rose Island) location. However, something gets lost in translation as Mei doesn’t speak Italian, and Marcello doesn’t speak Mandarin. In either case, Marcello doesn’t know where his father is—he, too, is missing. Alfredo had run off with a Chinese lover and hasn’t been seen since. He abandoned his wife of 34 years Lorella (Sabrina Ferilli, The Great Beauty) and his son Marcello, leaving them with a restaurant in debt. The debt had been covered Alfredo’s lifelong best friend Annibale (Marco Giallini, Perfect Strangers), a local gangster. When Annibale sees that Marcello has been beat up by this Chinese woman, he assumes that she was sent by Mr. Wang, and so he heads to The Forbidden City to confront him. However, neither men know who Mei is.
Meanwhile, Mei continues to search for her missing sister and is determined to find her and get her revenge on those who took her. However, it soon looks like Yun and Alfredo’s disappearances may be connected, and Marcello must team up with this mysterious woman to fight side by side, as they seek truth and vengeance, while taking on some of the most ruthless members of the Roman criminal underworld.
The Forbidden City comes from acclaimed filmmaker Gabriele Mainetti (They Call Me Jeeg Robot, Freaks Out), combining exciting fight sequences with character-driven mystery and drama.
The action sequences in this film are amazing, with Mei often completely outnumbered, taking on a room full of enemies with her lightning quick kung fu skills. The chorography looks great and these sequences are exciting to watch. There’s a particularly amazing sequence early on when Mei is facing off against an army of bad guys in a kitchen, and using everything from a slab of meat to pans, a cheese grater, a cook top, knives, plates, fire, and hot oil as she takes them down one-by-one. These fight sequences are creatively shot, cutting to an overhead shots to capture the layout of the room, before switching back to put the viewer directly in the thick of the action. The filmmakers also do a nice job of mixing things up, so you are never quite sure how things are going to play out or what the outcome of these fights will be.
While the action is great, the film also has a lot of drama. Both Mei and Marcello are trying to find out what happened to their loved ones and get their vengeance. However, Mei takes this to John Wick like levels, and so it’s up to Marcello to try to keep her grounded and under control, and not let her emotions fully take over. There’s also this bond that starts to form between them due to this shared trauma—there are the elements of a romantic dramedy with these two characters.
Also dealing with trauma is Marcello’s mother Lorella, though hers often leans more on the humorous side. While she loved her husband, she is finally ready to move on, and starts getting rid of her husbands things, such as a box of 500 ties. She also has this connection with Annibale, who has been there for her and her son during this time. Annibale, who has had feelings for Lorella, debates whether or not he should finally admit it to her.
The writers have really fleshed out many of the characters, turning them into these rounded people rather than just one dimensional gangsters. Annibale is this complex guy. At times he seems like this fun family friend and almost surrogate father to Marcello, and we even see him singing in his apartment, but he is also this ruthless businessman with his hands in the criminal underworld, and many people who owe him money that he can control. Overall, I really enjoyed this character as there were several layers to him. Mr. Wang also has a few different sides to him. While he runs a criminal organization, and is a killer, he also is very proud of his son Maggio (Roberto He), who’s trying to get his Italian singing career going. We see him trying to promote his son’s new career.
I appreciate how the filmmakers have tried to expand this world, and add some humor and drama, and there are some unexpected twists and turns. However, the movie feels a bit longer than it needs to be clocking in at almost 140 minutes, and drags a bit at times, particularly during some long periods without any action. I think this could have been tightened up. because the action set pieces are excellent, and where this film easily excels.
Well Go has released The Forbidden City on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. We were sent the 4K release for review, which looks and sounds great. The picture looks nearly flawless, with an excellent level of detail, and rich beautiful colors. The two restaurants each have their own color palettes, with The Forbidden City taking on a more golden and red hues, while Alfredo’s takes on a more natural modern tone. There’s no dub option on this release. The audio track is a mix of Italian and Mandarin, depending on which characters are talking. While Mei speaks Mandarin, the majority of the other characters speak Italian, though Wang and his crew also speak Mandarin. The English subtitles are well written and provide solid dialogue for those of us who don’t speak either. The Atmos track has a full, immersive feel, especially during the the more action-packed fight sequences when every kick, smash, punch and stab can be heard.
The 4K release includes just a single barebones 4K disc, which does not contain any bonus material. The disc is packed in a standard 4K keepcase along with a carboard slipcover, but no digital copy code is included.
What’s Included:
Film: (2:18:22)
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4K UHD:
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: Italian and Mandarin Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD, Italian and Mandarin DTS-HDMA 5.1
- Subtitles: English, French
Extras:
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There is no bonus material included.
Final Thoughts:
The Forbidden City has some really exciting and amazing action sequences. It has an interesting story with some surprising twists and turns, and also blends in some character drama and humor. There are some moments where I missed the action as thing started to drag—I don’t think the movie needed to be almost 2.5 hours, but I still found it enjoyable. Well Go’s 4K release looks and sounds great, but doesn’t include any bonus material. The film is worth checking out for the action alone.
The Forbidden City 4K UHD
(as of June 1, 2026 21:13 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Forbidden City Blu-ray
(as of June 1, 2026 21:13 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Forbidden City DVD
(as of June 1, 2026 21:13 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Forbidden City
(as of June 1, 2026 21:13 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
