Trying to take in the mind-boggling mess that is this film, one can only imagine the chaos that must have gone on behind the scenes, that in the span of four years, this sorry slop is the best director Cheang Pou-soi and his crew could come up with. The only thing “epic” about The Monkey King is the sheer levels of fail.
There’s no questioning the cultural and historical importance of Journey to the West, a novel that definitely deserves as epic a cinematic treatment as can be given. The Bull Demon King has his sights set on Wukong as the key to taking over the Jade Emperor’s realm Wukong going about wreaking havoc in the heavens. He forms a friendship/kinda-romance with a fox vixen (Xia) and trains under Master Puti (Hai Yitian), who christens the monkey “Sun Wukong”. A magical monkey (Yen) hatches from the egg, more inquisitive, bolder and mischievous than his fellow monkeys who call the Mountain home. In the aftermath of the fighting, the goddess Nüwa patches up the swathes of the sky that have been torn apart, resulting in the formation of a crystal egg on Flower Fruit Mountain. Perhaps it should have never been released.Ī catastrophic battle in the heavens is waged between the forces of the Bull Demon King (Kwok) and the Jade Emperor (Chow). Starring Donnie Yen in the title role, this take on The Monkey King has been in the works for four years, with its release date postponed several times.
The classical 16th Century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en has inspired countless works across various forms of media, its opening chapters forming the basis for this origin story film. It’s the Year of the Horse, but Sun Wukong will have none of it, barging into theatres two years before the Year of the Monkey.
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