Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015)

The Worst Film Ever

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

So I just finished watching this on Netflix and have to say I am greatly disappointed. After doing a little research I can see why, obviously the version available on Netflix is the worse possible version to watch as it is neither the original or the US version. It is in fact an American dubbed version where not only is the script terrible for the dubbing but the voice acting is equally as bad. It's frustrating because the animation itself is impressive but honestly if you were thinking of giving this film a go don't watch it on Netflix you would be better off watching the original with English subtitles.

First, I must say I only saw like 10 or 15 minutes of the movie, and it was already enough for me to know that I didn't want to see the rest, and that I should go to IMDb to rate this. Seeing as there were no bad reviews, I wanted to help out other people into not seeing this.Spoiler alert: Starts with monkey king being some kind of god or wannabe god fighting other gods to be accepted into heaven. Does not tell us his motivation for doing so.Even though he wins the fight against 3 other gods, Buddha, which is some kind of super evil god, decides to imprison monkey king under a mountain.Fast forward thousands of years: There's a group of humans going through a narrow path in the mountains. Doesn't tell us why. The path was obviously built by humans. A group of super strong monsters attack the humans. Doesn't tell us why. Also, how did the humans build a path in a monster ridden place? Wouldn't the humans bring warriors to protect them from monsters? When a baby in the group cries, all the monsters forget everything else and go for the baby. Doesn't tell us why. The mother of the baby jumps with the baby out of the mountain path into an abyss. In the next scene there's a baby coming down a river on top of a wooden crate. I think you skipped some important things here: How did the mother falling hundreds or thousands of meters/ miles get to rescue her baby? where did that box come from? At this point I thought: Well, I guess the movie makers are always going to treat the audience as if we're idiots, and I'm no idiot, so bye!

The "Monkey King: Hero is back" (2015)-- And On His Way HomeTECHNICALLY speaking, "Monkey King: Hero is back" (2015) is essentially "all there"-- meaning that you can sit back and let the 3D animation take you into the story, without issues like lip-syncing or frame-rates breaking the "flow". But the frequent use of jump-cuts, fades-to-black and other cost-saving techniques (e.g "indestructible" clothes) also makes it clear that this is blockbuster film-making on a shoestring budget-- though the director can be seen burning through his budget where it matters., e.g. a cameo of the first-ever 3D-animated (available in IMAX) Chinese dragon rendered with mane, scales and all.So even if the animation is not as detailed/fluid as the state-of-the-art Hollywood fare, you might still be able to enjoy how differently the developer of this film, October Animation Studio, chose to animate Chinese characters and landscapes.... Using old-school "motion capture"-- i.e. making animators study rehearsing actors like in "Only Yesterday" (1991)-- and manipulating space and perspective as deliberately as Chinese ink-paintings, this film accomplishes (in 3D, no less) the cinematic sweep and kinetic camera-work from kung-fu fantasy classics likes "Swordsman" (1990) and makes the likes of "Kung Fu Panda"(2008) look "cartoonish" by comparison.But pretty moving pictures aside, now that I've established that this film is perfectly "watchable", what's the real story here? Well, a little background would be helpful.N.B.(or BACKGROUND): More than 400 years ago, "Journey To The West" hit publishing houses in China (oldest existing print, 1592) and has never been out-of-print since-- but with all the spins-off and sequels that have been written/published throughout the centuries, not one of them has been a "true" successor worthy of re-reading or analysis.Then some 50 years ago, with the advent of film technology, the animated film "Uproar In Heaven" (1965) hit the cinemas and showed audiences all the fantastical action and imagery described in the first major action set-pieces of "Journey To the West", such as the classic "transformation duel/pursuit" between the 3-Eyed God and the Monkey King-- and for decades, sealed the on-screen character of the Monkey King as an irrepressible rogue with a child-like sense of wonder/humor.Then some 20 years ago, the 2-parter live-action film "A Chinese Odyssey" (1995) hit the cinemas and gave the Monkey King a "tragi-comical" love story as an alternate/added background to his journey to the west-- and so, like the young adult audiences it garnered, the Monkey King reached adulthood and began to see everything with a sense of loss and cynicism.Then, just over a week ago, the 3D-animated film "Monkey King: Hero is back" (2015) hit Chinese cinemas and saw the character of the Monkey King take the next step of his development in film-- taking on the joys and frustrations of parenthood, and daring/struggling to care again.... With a predictably simple story that is smart enough to "show, don't tell" (go on-- get your parents to "explain" why they love you...), this film is about the emotional journey of a few lost souls on their way home... under the guise of a comic-fantasy action-adventure.TD;DR (or REVIEW): At only 80+ minutes, the film throws in everything at breakneck speed-- so the current generation of film audiences (Chinese and international) should be able to enjoy it as mindless fun, IF they are not too concerned about "originality"... seeing as how, in their impressionable but uninformed minds, the Monkey King and Chinese dragons are based the likes of "Dragonball" (1989) **face-palm**.... "Journey To The West" was the progenitor of party-based "challenge of the week" serial storytelling-- complete with slapstick humor and witty banter-- and this film stays true to its roots and that time-honored formula, despite continuity and pacing issues (see first paragraph above).But for the previous 2 generations of Chinese film audiences with memories of "Uproar In Heaven" (1965) and "A Chinese Odyssey" (1995)-- who have all but given up ever seeing the "true" Monkey King again (much less in 3D)-- this film is like a long-lost dream coming true.... In short, it is almost incomprehensible if you don't know enough about the "Journey To The West" universe (e.g. the Monkey King's reputation for finding and beating up dragons), but jam-packed with brilliant homages, meaningful references and clever in-jokes for the aficionado.No wonder then, that it has become an internet and movie industry phenomenon in China as fans of the "Journey To The West" universe, or just Chinese animation generally, flooded social media and thanked the director for "bringing back my youth/childhood!" and "reminding me who I was!" In fact, the allegorical appeal of film (much like the novel) is so "spoiler-proof", that October Animation spoiled its story in a promotional music-video and STILL attracted repeated viewings in China-- possibly because the "tour-de-force" of escalating drama and action in the final act never gets old!P.S.: Bets are on (and vulture/venture capitalists are circling) now as to whether this film will be become the "Nausicaa of Valley of the Wind" (1984) for Chinese animation, and whether October Animation will become the Studio Ghibli of China. Hopefully for everyone who "laugh-teared" throughout the film, October Animation will be able to finance all the planned sequels to "Monkey King: Hero is back" (2015) without any more money trouble, or interference from the moneyed-interests of the Chinese film industry-- and, unlike "Nausicaa of Valley of the Wind" (1984), finish telling the story it wants to tell.P.P.S.: In contrast, one can see how/why the "Superman" (1978) movie has yet to see a "true" successor, whether its reboots/remakes tried aping it or veering off in a different direction-- e.g. "Superman Returns"(2006) introduced Superman's son but had nothing much/new to say about the characters or their relationships, while "Man of Steel"(2013) re-introduced Superman's father but had nothing much/new to say about the characters or their relationships either...

Never imagine in this summer, such a Chinese 3d anime could inspire so many people in China where big screen once is full of western heroes,now we have our own hero with such a splendid debut.Thanks to this movie's cast staff,with the awesome 3d effects and well-designed music and scenes full of Chinese traditional cultural elements we regain our belief in China's anime. The last time I was touched by Chinese's anime is the Lotus lantern,but it still fails to bring the glory of Chinese anime time(1964,Havoc in Heaven,1981,The Nine-Colored Deer),now with this movie,we can expect more .May monkey king lead us to the renaissance of china's anime