Plot
A story centered on Tang Sanzang, a Buddhist trying to protect a village from three demons, his emerging feelings for Miss Duan, the demon hunter who helps him repeatedly, and Sanzang's transformative encounter with the Monkey King.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 6.8/10 (3,100 voted)
Critic's Score: /100
Director: Stephen Chow
Stars: Zhang Wen, Qi Shu, Bo Huang
Storyline
A story centered on Tang Sanzang, a Buddhist trying to protect a village from three demons, his emerging feelings for Miss Duan, the demon hunter who helps him repeatedly, and Sanzang's transformative encounter with the Monkey King.
Writers: Stephen Chow, Chi-kin Kwok
Cast: Qi Shu -
Miss Duan
Zhang Wen -
Xuan Zang
Bo Huang -
Monkey King
Show Luo -
Prince Important
Shing-Cheung Lee -
Sand Monk
Bingqiang Chen -
KL Hog
Sihan Cheng -
Master Nameless
Yu Xing -
Fist of the North Star
Zhengyu Lu -
Killer Yi
Chi Ling Chiu -
Killer Er
Di Yang -
Killer San
Chrissie Chow -
Killer Si
Hangyu Ge -
Killer Wu /
Short Monkey King
Min Hun Fung -
Taoist Priest
Lun Yeung -
Mayor
Fortunately, the movie packs Stephen Chow's comedic style, or I would
call it contains his soul. There's Chow's usual style of comedy,
action, love story, and some meaning behind life. Well, what more is
needed in a blockbuster movie? Unfortunately, nothing is perfect. I
went into the cinema without any expectation, and I didn't read any
reviews so I could enjoy the whole movie as if I was the first to do
so. I understand that Chow directed this movie, and even demonstrated
to retain the "feel" of his usual style. Still, I find the first 15
minutes of the movie to be a little dry in terms of humor. As the
protagonist enters the scene it was a bit difficult for me to laugh.
However, as the story unfolds, and as the mainstream humor pours in,
laughter floods the cinema wave after another. To add, the
protagonist's wacky hair style, does resemble Chow in some ways.
The CGI is of top quality, I can see the movie spending a lot of money
on CGI. Many of the scenes contain a lot of visual detail and
picturesque grounds. The music is familiar and lovely, I shall not
reveal too much.
Show Luo's appearance in this movie was like his usual funny-self in
his TV entertainment news. I would appreciate it more if he would have
neglected his usual style and adopted a new one. It's not a bad thing,
but it's not a good thing too, it lies somewhere on the neutral side. I
guess on the good side, his fans will love to see him.
Trying my best not to disclose too much. This movie is a prequel to his
previous 2 part movie, "A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box, and
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella." The essence of this movie is
how it somehow relates to "A Chinese Odyssey" in terms of how life is,
in its cycle. The feelings the protagonist experienced in this movie is
similar to what his disciple experienced in "A Chinese Odyssey". The
good news for those who haven't seen "A Chinese Odyssey", is that you
can watch this movie on its own.
Lastly, there are some tear-jerking scenes. My eyes welled up at some
parts, but I stayed a man. I would give this a 9.5 out of 10 because of
its imperfection, but the scores only allow whole numbers. So.... enjoy
the movie.
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