Leofwine_draca
THE MONKEY KING: HAVOC IN HEAVEN'S PALACE is the latest outing for the classic hero of Chinese literature, and I'm ashamed to say that it's by far the worst ever adaptation I've seen. It also happens to be one of the worst Chinese films I've watched. What we have here is a sprawling CGI mess of endless stupid action sequences full of lamentable CGI effects and terrible choreography. Donnie Yen frankly embarrasses himself in the lead role, going way over the top with the physical tics and comedy, while others like Chow Yun-Fat and Aaron Kwok are merely wasted. The CGI is so bad that I've seen early-morning children's CGI animation with better effects, and the story is non-existent. Warning: it rarely gets any worse than this!
heath-jeffrey
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.
dcarsonhagy
"The Monkey King" is like nothing I had ever seen. The movie is based on the Asian legend of Sun Wukong, born from stone. He studied under a Taoist master and learned 72 transformation spells. He had enormous strength and it was told he could travel 102,000 miles in one jump! The hairs on his body possessed magical properties capable of being transformed into clones of the Monkey King himself. He was a trickster, and had an ongoing war with the deities in the Heavens. The makeup, use of green screens, "wire-fu," and a cast of thousands paints one of the most magical stories ever brought to the screen. Donnie Chen is utterly magical in his portrayal of one of the most enduring and beloved Chinese characters. The art direction and cinematography are exceptional. Now, here is a little "warning" for would-be viewers. If you are thinking you will be getting a non-stop over-the-top battle laden blood-soaked movie, you had better think again. The version I watched was PG and I felt directed more toward a young audience than an adult one. Although there is some violence, there is no blood. Also, I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the original version, which is in Mandarin (with English subtitles). I will tell you one thing, you'd better brush up on your Evelyn Woods' speed reading courses, because the subtitles do not stay on the screen for very long! Also, the movie starts a little slow but if you will give it a chance, I think you'll find yourself thoroughly entertained.One of the best movies of 2016 and highly recommended. This would be great entertainment for a children's sleep-over or family viewing.
Steve Johnson
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.
AD
