Sunday 17 February 2013

Stephen Chow's Journey to the West - Conquering the Demons

What? Another Journey to the West movie? This is easily one of the most adapted story both for the TV and the big screen. No matter how many iterations, this is a must see because it's a Stephen Chow production! I was hoping that he would be in the movie despite knowing otherwise. I went in to the cinema with mixed expectations and cursing the way the cinema is making money by showing this digitally (hence higher ticket price).

The movie started off quite well and Stephen Chow's style of comedy was most welcome. There was no doubt that he was behind this movie... According to the end credits, he wrote and directed this one!

The movie was about this innocent but earnest demon hunter trying to help humanity, first encountering a big demon fish, subsequently a demon pig and all these lead to the final encounter with the ever powerful demon monkey (I'm totally disappointed with this one! Way out of my expectation of the great Monkey God!). Armed with impressive CGI, this movie was entertaining. The acting was above average despite not knowing any of the actors (probably very famous Chinese actors, I do not know) safe for the leading lady, veteran actress Shu Qi. Do note that the ending felt like kind of rushed, though. By all means, folks, go for this movie!

Looking for a comedy? 4/5
Looking to see Stephen Chow in the movie, even for a cameo? 0/5
Looking for an entertaining show? 4/5
CGI? 3/5
Overall 4/5.

No comments: