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A Chinese Tall Story

2005 1h 47m Fantasy Adventure List
Tomatometer 0 Reviews 42% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
While searching for Buddhist scriptures, a hapless monk (Nicholas Tse) encounters lizard people, a homely outcast (Charlene Choi) and a runaway princess (Fan Bingbing).

Audience Reviews

View All (52) audience reviews
Audience Member Director Jeff Lau, who brought us Chow Sing Chi's impressive Chinese Odyssey saga, and many, many other exciting action comedies, delivers an updated version of the aforementioned Monkey King tale. And yet again, strange as it may seem... it works. And I do want to focus on the word 'strange'. Anyone who isn't used to the weird and wonderful world of HK cinema will think that both their eyes and mind has just been raped after their first viewing of A Chinese Tall Story. And I don't mean that in a bad way! As much as I think this is possibly one of the strangest adaptations of the Monkey King, wait - this is the strangest adaptation of that very famous story - it is also one of the most entertaining, marred only just, by some OTT moments and Jeff Lau's usual fault of trying to cram too much into one show. But hey, you get over it. As a film maker, I do appreciate the amount of work that goes into a film, and this one deserves to be seen at least for what went into it. The handsome Nicholas Tse plays Prince Tripitaka, who has to rescue the Monkey King and his other friends after they get captured by an army of giant insects (no, really). Along the way, he meets a mixture of characters who all play a 'who's who' of those you'd recognise from the superb Dragon Ball Z series - including the criminally underused Yuen Wah as the Turtle King. Classic Shaw Brothers stars Gordon Lui and Kara Hui co-star in non-action roles, but all in all, there is plenty here to let that all pass. Check it out - I guarantee you'll not have seen anything like it... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member The graphic animation is undoubtedly eye-opening; the story & directing are big disaster however. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member It's a bit full of stupid, but when it cheerfully bills itself with a ludicrous title, you know there's no pretensions about much. If anything, I'll give it credit for really going into impossible tangents that probably shouldn't have been reached. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Not perfect, but as with everything from the Journey to West, infused with the side-effects of an opium overdose or the energy of an uncompromising, unbrindled imagination. So, if you like to go from legendary antics to ufo madness, go for it! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member know nothin much about chinese lit, but i found the movie kinna interesting, 'though. surprisingly funny yet cheesy parts were all over the place. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member I went watching this movie with practically no expectations as the CG seems overly done and it just seems like another movie mocking the original "Journey to the West". I do strongly agree it was CG overload. Too much and the chracters derived from the CG simply does not depicts the characters. For instance the "Evil Spirit Tree" figures looks just exactly like "Spawn" Basically, this movie is the modern version of the "Journey to the West", but the moral of the movie is really larger than life. I like how this movie was potrayed in a more humerous manner in the beginning and ended by a more in depth and emotional ending. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Chinese Tall Story

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis While searching for Buddhist scriptures, a hapless monk (Nicholas Tse) encounters lizard people, a homely outcast (Charlene Choi) and a runaway princess (Fan Bingbing).
Director
Jeffrey Lau
Producer
Albert Yeung, Yan Yiyun, Zhongjun Wang
Production Co
Xi'an Film Studio, China Film Co-Production Corporation, Huayi Brothers Media Group, Emperor Classic Films
Genre
Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language
Chinese
Runtime
1h 47m
Sound Mix
DTS, Dolby Digital