The Monkey King (2014)

So much average

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

My wife and I watched the first 30-35min of the movie before giving up, so I can't comment on the last ~80min. But the first quarter was consistent, so I can only assume the rest was much the same.It felt like a movie created by a very new director with such a passion for CGI that s/he decided the whole thing should be about that. Therefore minimal plot, minimal acting, minimal character development, minimal kung fu. The acting being especially laughable. I think in the first quarter, with about 10min of character time, Chow Yunfat (Zhou Runfa) said about three lines and gave 1-2min of slow, exaggerated facial expression. The rest was his semi-animated body flying around the screen, in a battle with the antagonist, in an uncontrolled burst of CGI.To make things worse, the CGI itself is nothing special. It would be impressive in a computer game, but is too unrealistic for this kind of big budget movie - it comes of as cheesy. And just to really emphasise the cheesiness, many of the characters are wearing stage/theatre style costumes, reminiscent of early versions of movies like the Wizard of OZ. Costumes that nowadays feel like an lighthearted educational TV show for children.Male, female, Chinese, Australian, neither of us found anything of value within the first 15min. We love some of the main actors and gave it the benefit of the doubt, watching for another ~20min, and sadly had to give up.Fingers crossed, The Monkey King 2 (2016) will have a lot less animation to make room for some genuine acting and character development.

Loudly heralded by flattering headlines and a record-setting budget (and box office in China, supposedly), The Monkey King crashes onto our screens and torrent servers in all its kitsch glory. Will the verdict be kind? Of course not.First, let's get back to basics: the legend of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is a cornerstone of Chinese folklore and literature, and deservedly so. It is one of the great written human myths, and a large part of its appeal is universal, which would make it an ideal flagship project for a transnational production effort. You could adapt only select bits and end up with a great crowd-pleaser, as was done to hilarious results by Stephen Chow's A Chinese Odyssey. The present effort aims to tell us the whole thing + prequel-style expansion in the form of a trilogy of 3D blockbusters. Ye shall be judged by the expectations ye set! Though the budget sets a record for China, the quality of the result in terms of effects (be they digital or makeup) is woefully sub-par, and the art direction is a mess, making this a frequently incoherent eyesore.Then, let's look at the talent involved: Chow Yun-Fat and Donnie Yen's charisma and comic sense (respectively) eclipse anything else thrown up on screen, and might have gobbled up most of the budget. Yen gets away with it, wisely playing it both ways and seemingly the only person involved who knows this is all a big joke. Another contributor who barely gets mention in the comments section is Christopher Young, who's marvelous score annihilates anything composed that year and is worth discovering on its own.It's worth pausing the sarcasm and shedding a regretful tear, for this whole enterprise could have amounted to something more tasteful - an animated feature could have been stupendous! - yet behold: the worst kind of fiasco, one that escapes financial disaster and thus runs the risk of spawning a whole host of similar horrors. But the real Monkey King is stronger than all that, and since filmmakers can't stay clear of his gravitational pull for long, one can hope in a few years time someone will do him justice.Avoid this garbage and read the source, preferably while listening to this film's unbelievably great score.

I really enjoyed this movie despite its obvious shortcomings. It it a good live-action remake of the 1965 animated feature of the same name (well worth checking out if you're a fan of art films). Donnie Yen does OK as the lead but western fans of his previous films may be left confused and/or disappointed a long time before the 120 mins of 'Fantasy Action' ends - It really helped that I was already familiar with the story as a lot happens in that time. I wonder how the second part will compare with the excellent Journey To The West: Conquering the Demons (2013) as the story from that follows this one - that's not a spoiler is it?

When reviewing The Monkey King, most reviewers forget the purpose of the movie: G RATED entertainment meant for ALL AGES. Teeners will abuse the CGi lame bits, film enthusiasts will lament to the point of misguided critique as to the lack of depth building and plot complexities as portrayed by the original books and film purists will pick every personal gripe until the bones appear.... However at the end of the day as a family movie for all ages old and young it is a definite winner.As a absolute devoted fan since the 70's of the NipponTV incarnation of this tale, it was absolutely fun to watch with my kids and parents as the Director intended, to introduce and showcase a very popular traditional Chinese story to a larger demographic western audience with a modern feel and fun easy to digest storyline. (Thus the use of some headline artists in the main roles)The obvious details of the screenplay to book adaption aside, Donny Yen really brings SUN WUKONG to animated life much as he re-birthed IP MAN for modern audiences.A truly memorable performance by Chow Yun Fat and supporting casts makes it a benchmark movie amongst the last few recent "MONKEY" re-envisaged movies of recent years.Maybe not a movie for the full on Chinese mythology traditionalist but certainly one NOT TO MISS for the dedicated devotee of the MONKEY story sub genre.