Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

PG-13

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1 hr. 50 min.

Adventure

Comedy

Fantasy

List

94%

35 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A Buddhist disciple (Zhang Wen) battles demons by using a book of nursery rhymes to appeal to their inherent goodness.

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Critics Consensus

As sweet, silly, action-packed and ridiculous as director Steven Chow's best work, Journey to the West serves up dazzling action sequences while playing its disparate elements against each other with thrilling abandon.

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NahNip

amazing show. stephen chow is my favourite director, actor, porn star, fatherly figure and idol. no way xx has amazing taste in movies

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Eddie M

Classic Stephen Chow... pure entertainment and a great take on a classic Chinese tale. Constantly hilarious, full of action, a love story, dramatic, and sad at the same time. No character is safe or spared and a hell of a cinematic experience IMO. Just a great watch if you love Stephen Chow's work, especially Kung Fu Hustle which it reminds me a lot of... anyway, definitely pop it on one day if you haven't seen it!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/11/21

Full Review

dustin d

Journey to the West has the same beats as Stephen Chow's earlier film, Kung Fu Hustle, but isn't quite as funny or heartfelt. However, it is still plenty entertaining, and like his earlier films, is sustained with visual and emotional variety. The movie holds no punches. It contains some truly disturbing images and not even cute children are safe from the demons, assuring the viewer the stakes are real, even if the action is over-the-top and cartoony.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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wiley walt g

Awesome FUN! Great fantasy that keeps you laughing!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Affectionately made and well-paced, Journey To The West: Conquering the Demons never fails to entertain, delight and humor the audience, balancing comedy, action and romance in this attempt at a prequel to a beloved classic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I was intrigued by this movie, as it has stephen chows name to it. It didnt disappoint but it did miss the mark for me. Still I didnt mind it and it just adds to his repertoire

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Stephen Chow

Director

Chi-kin Kwok

Director

Shu Qi

Miss Duan

Zhang Wen

Xuan Zang

Bo Huang

Sun Wukong

Yu Xing

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Ronnie Scheib

Variety

Another exquisite, snail-paced cinematic perambulation from Tsai Ming-liang and Lee Kang-sheng.

May 14, 2014

Full Review

Grady Hendrix

Film Comment Magazine

A kung fu comedy, a Chinese fairy story, a Buddhist action movie, a prequel to a mega-series that makes James Cameron's ambitions look puny, Chow's Journey to the West is everything that is good about China's mega-blockbuster inclinations.

Apr 21, 2014

Full Review

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Liang's ravishing conceptual film achieves a rare blend of sensuous delight and documentary specificity.

Apr 14, 2014

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

...it’s quite good and — out of cultural context — winningly idiosyncratic...

Jan 24, 2023

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Mutates from touching, to funny, to downright violent in mere seconds.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Filled with comedy, but also boasting extensive action and unexpected moments of horror.

Rated: 8/10

Aug 14, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

A Buddhist disciple (Zhang Wen) battles demons by using a book of nursery rhymes to appeal to their inherent goodness.

Director: Stephen Chow, Chi-kin Kwok
Executive Producer: Stephen Chow, Ping Dong, Sanping Han, Ellen Eliasoph
Screenwriter: Stephen Chow, Chi-kin Kwok, Yun Wang, Xin Huo
Distributor: Magnet Releasing
Rating: PG-13 (Partial Nudity|Fantasy Violence|Bloody Images|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.7K

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