Cue the Fangirl Squeee!

[liralen]

The plan was to go see Forbidden Kingdom.

And after our busy morning, it took a little coordination on our part to actually get to it.  But we managed to get out the door around 12:30, as both of us had had a bunch of stuff to do in the morning.

I did notice, on the way to Boulder, that all the trees that had been nothing but black branches on black trunks even last week, were all showing pale green, pink, or white. Blossoming and unfurling leaves into clouds of color in all directions. Spring and fall here are but a few weeks, winter and summer nearly all the other time. So I treasure the spring while I can see it.



John and I went off to Boulder and hit 8Islands restaurant, which does excellent Hawaiian style food. John got the Kaluha pork, smoky, rich, shredded and so tender, some lomi lomi salmon (salted raw salmon with salad... it's basically a cold salad with yummy salmon bits).  I got my traditional tonkatsu with curry, and added brown rice to be good and macaroni salad simply because I have to have macaroni salad on a Hawaiian lunch plate.  The tonkatsu was crisp and hot and perfect and slathered in the Japanese style curry that's nearly more like gravy than anything, and it made the rice very, very tasty.  The creaminess of the macaroni salad was a perfect compliment.  And I was very happy to get a Lilikoi fruit drink, passionfruit, and it was wonderfully tasty lunch.

We haven't been there for a while and I really needed the Asian food fix.

From there we headed into the new Boulder theater, a few minutes late, but they were still doing previews!  So, hoorah!  Didn't miss a thing.  And I was glad of it.  Just that opening shot made me go Ooooooo...

I loved it.  Unabashedly loved it.  And, okay, I can kind of see why lots of folks have said it's plot-light, but... I didn't give a damn.  *laughter*  I loved all the fighting aspects of it.  I loved how the styles fit the personalities, I loved the glee Li had when playing the Monkey King and the bounce.  I loved all the many aspects of Jackie Chan.  And I don't care if there were a few points where they looked a little slower, a little heavier, and a little less agile, they were still Jet Li and Jackie Chan and they were together and playing off each other in a way that just made my heart stop.  And I know some folks wish that they could have done this ten years ago; but ten years ago, neither of them were quite as good at acting or speaking English as they are now.  And even so, I suspect Jet Li was content to play the near-mute monk.

And, unexpectedly, I fell in love with Michael Angarano's character's *clueless* style at the start as a stark contrast to the guys I loved so well.  The first time he swung I nearly fell on the floor laughing and everyone else in the theater was like stone-cold quiet, maybe just being polite, but maybe not getting why I was dying with laughter.  It was so cool to have the contrast, to really understand how amazing these guys are compared to mere mortals.  There was one Great Fight.  A few funny fights, but one that just had me on the floor, two tigers.  You'll get it when you get to it. 

So love all around for that movie.  Goodness.  It may not be great; but wow, I loved it and I think I loved it because it was completely unabashed about how much it loved martial arts flicks, and unabashed about its love for the strengths and known qualities of its stars.  That was just wonderful. 

Comments

[rasetsunyo.livejournal.com]

It's the idea of Fushigi Yuugi-esque teenager falling into an exotic world!! that makes me hesitate, but JET LI + JACKIE CHAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER is very tempting. :9

Your lunch sounds superb. *stomach growls*

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*grin* The clueless kid was... well... clueless and mildly embarrassing, but everyone else's kung-fu was just so astonishing it was so cool. And it was funny having Jackie just shake his head over the sheer magnitude of the kid's cluelessness.

And, yes, Jet Li + Jackie Chan for the FIRST TIME EVER.. was very, very cool.

Mmmm... it was a wonderful lunch. *happy sigh*

[tearraws.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness, that description of your lunch makes my mouth water. How delicious.

As far as the movie - you don't go to a Kung Fu movie looking for a heavy plot. That usually gets in the way of the whole point of the movie: the fighting. I love a good story as much - probably more - than the next guy, but I also understand that it's not needed everywhere.

The bonus is that this movie was more than just the fighting. It was about the characters. And sometimes, you don't need a plot for character development, you just need the characters to play off each other. Whatever happens in the world around them is secondary to their sparking relationships. And that's the big reason why Forbidden Kingdom rises above other kung-fu flicks, along with everything else you said. It may have been plot-light, but it had excellent characters.

Even more so, one almost has to consider that the Monk and the Drunken Immortal were fighting in one other way. It's a little 'meta', but part of what made it so delightful is that even when they weren't physically fighting, they were both fighting for the same role in the movie.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, it was very, very character rich!! I'm so glad you pointed that out, as that really does explain my joy with the whole thing. Character-driven plot and actions.

*giggles* about the fighting for the same role... I like that! Especially when they were, literally, fighting, for a little while at least and gently at that, for exactly that. That was fun.

Thank you for giving me a bit more insight.

[tearraws.livejournal.com]

Oh, I just love talking about stories and storytelling. *^_^* Thank you for appreciating it.

Yeah, the "Two Tigers on the Same Mountain" scene was a perfect example of that. *^_^*

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Exactly!! *grin*

[beckyb.livejournal.com]

Hee! I finally saw it last night. This discussion was really fun to read since it brought back the highlights of the movie. At one point, I thought a fight scene was dragging on and then I remembered that this was the point. I did like Jason's growth but he never really lost his dorkiness. I think this is a good thing.

Jet Li's glee was fabulous. Very much a monkey.

I did think the Boston accents were the worst imitations I've heard in a really long time.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Hee. Yes! The Boston accents were the worst I've ever heard. *grin*

Though the Chinese accents were pretty good. *falls over giggling*

I'm glad you enjoyed the discussion, it was fun to write and think about. And I still love the movie. I'll probably have to buy it when it comes out.

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

<Makes note to see the movie>

[liralen.livejournal.com]

<beams>