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The Monkey King

2014 2h 2m Fantasy Adventure Action List
Tomatometer 2 Reviews 26% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
After a goddess sacrifices herself to save the mortal world, the mischievous monkey king comes into being from one of her crystals.
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The Monkey King

Critics Reviews

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Maggie Lee Variety Soi Cheang infuses a simplistic, action-driven narrative with inexhaustible energy, but one expects greater stylistic flair and substance from the veteran helmer behind "Motorway" and "Dog Bites Dog." Feb 1, 2014 Full Review Simon Foster sbs.com.au [A] massive sense of spectacle overwhelms a somewhat simplistic take on the mystical tale of Simian spirit Sun Wukong, but what an impressive display it proves to be in the hands of director Soi Cheang. Feb 6, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Não é de todo ruim, mas longe de ser bom, fica apenas a imaginar como conseguiram 4 filmes dessa franquia, mas como tenho ranço com comédias, provavelmente a minha antipática influencia na avaliação, gostei da fotografia, dos gráficos bem coloridos e vibrantes, os efeitos simples porem eficientes, meiguinho, só... Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Get ready to have your eyes assaulted with CGI of the weirdest kind. It is not like anything you've ever watched. Fun movie but Wukong was so irritating its almost unwatchable. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Riddled with lousy special effects, poor pacing and above all, boring, The Monkey King is an expensive but rather poorly made adaptation of Journey To The West, and a waste of time for everybody involved, including the audience. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Western audiences likely will not appreciate this film on a couple of potential areas. the first being the cartoony, and somewhat poor CGI. The second might be the story. I take both hand in hand a bit. The story is stepped in Asian myth based on the 16th century novel Journey to the West which it follows pretty faithfully. Since westerners were not steeped in this lore some may not appreciate it. This is for those who love Asian culture such as myself or those looking for something a bit different. As far as the quality of the CG, I just went with it as an aesthetic choice. I know you have to really stretch that, but if you realize the fantastical nature of the inherent story it isn't so hard. I really enjoyed the film though. I would recommend it. It had two sequels and the second is a little less fantastical and possibly more palatable for Westerners. it is a better fit in my humble opinion, as of this review I haven't seen the third one, but the first Monkey King should be seen! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/06/19 Full Review Audience Member What is white fox demon doing there and what a disappointing CGI and I expected so much from donnie yen and I was quite sad with his performance as wukong. It's too superficial and he just doesn't have the wukong in him. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member What a mess. What an unholy mess. The CGI is typical of Chinese cinema (i.e. horrendous). Donnie Yen's acting got on my ever-lovin' nerves. I don't know if it was his actual voice or if he was dubbed in the version I watched but that squeal was like nails on a chalkboard. I'm a Peter Ho fan and he's about the only thing I could stand in this movie. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Monkey King

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis After a goddess sacrifices herself to save the mortal world, the mischievous monkey king comes into being from one of her crystals.
Director
Pou-Soi Cheang
Screenwriter
Tai-lee Chan, Kam-Yuen Szeto, Edmond Wong
Production Co
Filmko Entertainment Limited, China Film Group, Mandarin Films
Genre
Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 16, 2016
Runtime
2h 2m
Sound Mix
Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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