I must warn you that this review may hold some nostalgic bias.
After last year's Frankenstein's monster of a movie adaption ( Da Nao Tian Gong), 'Journey to the West' or 'The Monkey King' gets not the adaption we need, but the adaption we deserve.
Though Sun Wukong's heaven-slaying conquests and prideful persona are skimmed over, 'The hero is back' requires prior knowledge of the original tale in order to have that emotional punch to the stomach we all want. Those who are new to the story though, can still enjoy it just fine.
This is a nation's childhood re-imagined- the righteous monk (Tang Seng) is now an energetic young boy, while our hero is a lackluster ghost of his past self. The story delves into the toll of being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, as you know. Typically, this is a story of resurgence and finding oneself after having lost the way: a fun romp for children that resonates with adults too. Though rather clichéd, the story is a welcome departure from the traditional telling of Monkey King's adventures.
What wins loyalties however, are the characters rather than the mostly one-dimensional story. The casting of the child actor for the role of Jiang Liu'er ( I watched it in mandarin dub) is something to be applauded- it really bought out a charming innocence that never once became annoying. Liu'er is a delight.
The one that carries the movie is of course the Monkey King himself, who mainly went by his title, The Great Sage equal to Heaven. The voice acting is phenomenal here; with everything at a minimal, the Monkey King delivers his conflict to the audience brilliantly. Gone is the squeaky high-voice , gone is the corniness of line-delivering in previous incarnations, this Monkey King is genuine and ridiculously endearing through his relationship with the boy. When his voice breaks in high-stirring emotions, my heart breaks with it :)
Animation wise, this is the best animation that has come out of china so far, period. All of those people who accepted that eastern animation would forever be inferior to the west need to re-evaluate their life choices-like the Monkey King. This movie looks about not far from big blockbusters out of dreamworks. Unlike the mostly easy-going tone between conflicts, the fight scenes elevated the movie to a whole new level- expect well choreographed, quick-fire action and an intensity that keeps both adolescents and adults invested. Beware the tear-jerker scenes, they sneak up on you unexpectedly.
However, keep in mind that 'the hero is back' is first and foremost a children's fantasy story, and falls back on slap-stick humour most of the time; though in my screening it got quite a few good laughs too, just not me. Other than the two main leads, the secondary characters are a shambles.The villain did all the villainous things expected. It seems like Pigsy is purely here for cringe-worthy comic relief, though the kids seem to enjoy it. The pig is demoted here more than ever before. More glaringly is the fact that the third disciple Sandy ( Sha Wujing) is completely omitted, meanwhile, even the white horse-dragon has a happy cameo. But no matter I guess...
The resolution, though satisfying, was somewhat lacking compared to what was an equally rash, but spectacular, build up.
beware mild spoilers: The ending suffers from a deus ex machina feeling, though it made sense in terms of the Monkey King's emotional journey. The fight seemed to have ended just as audience blood pressures began to peak. In the end, removing the Monkey King's powers from the equation made perfect sense- all the fights would have lasted mere seconds had he had them from the get-go.
Spoiler spoilers:
The Monkey King's trauma would have been more impactful if he was imprisoned consciously, instead of being frozen in time as portrayed. It would have been nice to see him acknowledge that Jiang Liu'er was the one who freed him, but again, no matter. How much badassery can you shove into a single moment? This movie challenges this through the Monkey King's entrance in the last act, when the all-too-familiar theme song (from Stephen Chow's incarnation I believe) plays in the background.
End Spoilers:
Edit: Did you know the director Tian Xiao Peng also worked on the 1999 cartoon series of journey to the west? Clearly it shows.
All in all, this is the resuscitation of a literary classic and, for me at least, a childhood (and adulthood!) hero that I will gladly follow re-envisaged again, and again.
After last year's Frankenstein's monster of a movie adaption ( Da Nao Tian Gong), 'Journey to the West' or 'The Monkey King' gets not the adaption we need, but the adaption we deserve.
Though Sun Wukong's heaven-slaying conquests and prideful persona are skimmed over, 'The hero is back' requires prior knowledge of the original tale in order to have that emotional punch to the stomach we all want. Those who are new to the story though, can still enjoy it just fine.
This is a nation's childhood re-imagined- the righteous monk (Tang Seng) is now an energetic young boy, while our hero is a lackluster ghost of his past self. The story delves into the toll of being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, as you know. Typically, this is a story of resurgence and finding oneself after having lost the way: a fun romp for children that resonates with adults too. Though rather clichéd, the story is a welcome departure from the traditional telling of Monkey King's adventures.
What wins loyalties however, are the characters rather than the mostly one-dimensional story. The casting of the child actor for the role of Jiang Liu'er ( I watched it in mandarin dub) is something to be applauded- it really bought out a charming innocence that never once became annoying. Liu'er is a delight.
The one that carries the movie is of course the Monkey King himself, who mainly went by his title, The Great Sage equal to Heaven. The voice acting is phenomenal here; with everything at a minimal, the Monkey King delivers his conflict to the audience brilliantly. Gone is the squeaky high-voice , gone is the corniness of line-delivering in previous incarnations, this Monkey King is genuine and ridiculously endearing through his relationship with the boy. When his voice breaks in high-stirring emotions, my heart breaks with it :)
Animation wise, this is the best animation that has come out of china so far, period. All of those people who accepted that eastern animation would forever be inferior to the west need to re-evaluate their life choices-like the Monkey King. This movie looks about not far from big blockbusters out of dreamworks. Unlike the mostly easy-going tone between conflicts, the fight scenes elevated the movie to a whole new level- expect well choreographed, quick-fire action and an intensity that keeps both adolescents and adults invested. Beware the tear-jerker scenes, they sneak up on you unexpectedly.
However, keep in mind that 'the hero is back' is first and foremost a children's fantasy story, and falls back on slap-stick humour most of the time; though in my screening it got quite a few good laughs too, just not me. Other than the two main leads, the secondary characters are a shambles.The villain did all the villainous things expected. It seems like Pigsy is purely here for cringe-worthy comic relief, though the kids seem to enjoy it. The pig is demoted here more than ever before. More glaringly is the fact that the third disciple Sandy ( Sha Wujing) is completely omitted, meanwhile, even the white horse-dragon has a happy cameo. But no matter I guess...
The resolution, though satisfying, was somewhat lacking compared to what was an equally rash, but spectacular, build up.
beware mild spoilers: The ending suffers from a deus ex machina feeling, though it made sense in terms of the Monkey King's emotional journey. The fight seemed to have ended just as audience blood pressures began to peak. In the end, removing the Monkey King's powers from the equation made perfect sense- all the fights would have lasted mere seconds had he had them from the get-go.
Spoiler spoilers:
The Monkey King's trauma would have been more impactful if he was imprisoned consciously, instead of being frozen in time as portrayed. It would have been nice to see him acknowledge that Jiang Liu'er was the one who freed him, but again, no matter. How much badassery can you shove into a single moment? This movie challenges this through the Monkey King's entrance in the last act, when the all-too-familiar theme song (from Stephen Chow's incarnation I believe) plays in the background.
End Spoilers:
Edit: Did you know the director Tian Xiao Peng also worked on the 1999 cartoon series of journey to the west? Clearly it shows.
All in all, this is the resuscitation of a literary classic and, for me at least, a childhood (and adulthood!) hero that I will gladly follow re-envisaged again, and again.