The Forbidden Kingdom

I just finished watching the Forbidden Kingdom. It's that Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie from earlier in the year.

It's about a slightly nerdy guy from south Boston, who loves old Kung Fu movies, etc. Through a series of events he ends up being transported to classical China, where he discovers it was prophesied that he would bring the legendary staff of the Monkey King (which he found in a Boston pawn shop), free the Monkey King from his stone prison, and end the reign of the evil Jade Warlord. Along the way he meets friends, learns Kung Fu, begins to fall in love, and eventually succeeds in his mission and returns to his world with the confidence and maturity he was looking for.

So yeah, it was exactly as corny and goofy as that description makes it sound. It had better than average production values and acting for that kind of movie, but the story was totally par-for-the-course average. It's silly. Life doesn't work that way. Sure there are challenges, but you don't get to face them with a sword or a staff. There's really no time to learn to live from your center, to be still, to become more than whatever you are at the moment. You just have to get through one day at a time, right? Do the best you can.

I know the story was silly. I also know that I enjoyed it so much because I'd give anything to have it happen to me...