Jet Li, left, and Jackie Chan go to battle in “The Forbidden Kingdom.”

“The Forbidden Kingdom” is a genial tribute to Hong Kong martial-arts cinema with two of its greatest stars, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, getting to face off — sort of.

Directed by Rob Minkoff (the “Stuart Little” movies and “Lion King”) clearly has an enthusiasm for kung-fu movies, and it doesn’t take long before he’s referencing classics like Chan’s “Drunken Master” films.

“Kingdom” begins in modern-day Boston, where Jason (Michael Angarano), a teen obsessed with Hong Kong movies, tries to fight off a gang robbing an elderly Chinese shop owner (Chan).

After picking up a staff in the store to defend himself, the teen is suddenly transported to ancient China, where he meets a vagabond warrior, Lu Yan (also Chan), specializing in the “drunken fist” style of fighting.

Jason’s mission, Lu tells him, is to return the magical staff to the Monkey King (Li), who has been suspended in time by an evil warlord (Collin Chou).

He is also joined in the journey by a young woman named Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), who seeks to avenge the death of her parents, who were murdered by the warlord. Along the way, they encounter a monk (Li), who tries to steal the staff — this is where Li and Chan get to battle each other for the first time.

But no one watches a martial-arts film for its plot. And like most, “Kingdom’s” story line is overly convoluted, mostly in the service of its set action pieces.

While “Kingdom” has plenty of terrific high-flying wire work and CGI animation, which may seem ho-hum now, Li and Chan’s best stuff has always been elaborate choreographed pieces that require enormous skill and athleticism. (I suggest you go back and check out their films from the 1980s and ’90s.)

There’s a bit of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in what they do, as well as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. And while Li (now 45) and Chan (54) are no longer in their prime, they prove in “Kingdom” they still can dance with the best of them.

While “Kingdom” is aimed at the younger fantasy crowd and may not have much appeal for real fans of the genre, it does have some visually dazzling moments.

The battles were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, one of the masters of the art, and shot by Peter Pau (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”). Besides, it’s still a treat watching a couple of pros like Chan and Li having fun at what they do best — and that’s not delivering dialogue.