Monkey King 3

[Drunk Monk]

I’m loving this take on the classic. Same cast as MK2, this wastes no time on explanation (doesn’t even resolve the cliffhanger from 2). It just dives right in, literally. Crazy visuals, so colorful, surreal, funny, touching, a tale of unrequited love that actually got me. Even the goofy musical interlude worked for me. Laughed several times, got misty, and was captivated by the Buddhist metaphors. I used to dislike JttW for its undefined magical deus ex machinas - Why don’t they just use their magic and finish the quest. But that’s the whole point of the journey. It’s not about the sutras, just like it’s not about the grail. The older I get, the more it works for me. Not sure it would work for the uninitiated - some might but a lot will confuse and distract. It made me want to read JttW again. I hope Soi Chaeng keeps making these with the same cast. So many chapters to go...

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I watched MKII cold and still enjoyed it. I’ll watch III.

[Drunk Monk]

2 makes more sense because it’s the origin of the quartet (1 is the origin of Monkey with a more recognizable cast - Chow Yun Fat & Donnie Yen - but it’s a muddled mess). But if you’ve got 2 under your belt, that’ll help a lot.

I really wish I could’ve seen this in 3D. Definitely a big screen movie.

[cranefly]

Since we bailed on our northern trip at the last second, I decided to catch the noon showing in Cupertino today.  This is the last day for it.

There were two of us in the theater -- or five, if you count the three guys in the back row, who may not have been all that attentive.

DM pretty much covers it.  More of a love story than I expected, and it played all sorts of games with feminine and masculine roles.  A number of digitized animals, but it didn't bother me as much this time around.  Either I'm lowering my standards or they're getting better at it -- or maybe my suspension bridge of disbelief is dipping ever lower and it's not a bad thing.

The Monkey King is the character that carries the whole thing.  He's more serious here, with notable exceptions (he's a damned monkey, after all), and he has a clear sense of responsibility.  That's a nice development.  And while past episodes had a rather misogynistic feel, as women tended to be deceitful and evil and often the downfall of a good man, here there are lots of women, and they're all basically good.

Probably too much of a Buddhist slant to the proceedings for most Americans, but I like the direction this has started to lean -- westward, if you haven't read the book.

Yeah, okay.  I fall in that category.  It's right there on the bookshelf.  I just need to pull it down.

[Drunk Monk]

Watched this again on DVD with Stacy and Tara.  Both approved.  Stacy usually disdains fantasy CGI movies (except for Harry Potter) but was taken by the visuals and story.  Tara laughed a lot and slightly remembered the story from when I read it aloud to her.  She knows the characters well and got just as excited as I did with the final scene - the tease that the next film might be the Fiery Mountains.  That's one of the best stories in the book.  

MK3 didn't do that well in the theaters - comparable to how Solo performed actually - it still garnered a decent box office but it wasn't the blockbuster they hoped for and so was deemed a flop.  Not sure if MK4 will happen.  Stephen Chow is taking another shot at MK with his next project.  We'll see how that goes.  His previous stabs at MK have been messes - funny as Chow is wont to be, but messes.