Forbidden Kingdom: Could have been so good, but...

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this movie. Would it be Hero (awesome) or the Tuxedo (not quite so awesome) or somewhere in between?
I ended up being disappointed by the movie, but it wasn't because of the story (nothing wrong with it), the acting (not great, but it doesn't get in the way of the film) or the dialogue (cheesy at some points, but not terrible). It was the vehicle for telling the story. The whole Connecticut Yankee motif just ruined it for me. The movie would have been perfectly fine if they had kept it in one time period, rather than some skinny white kid being teleported back in time and learning all he needs to know about Kung Fu in the film's second act.
I'm not saying it would win any Oscars, but it would have been a far better movie.