Even though I'd watched the other two movies in this trilogy starring Aaron Kwok in the titular role, I had avoided this film due to disparaging reviews of it. I could not bear to watch a strong cast in cringetastic performances. Much to my surprise I enjoyed it. Was it a great movie? No. Was it an average CGI laden offering with a familiar story? You betcha. But that sums up a lot of movies in this genre. I usually set my expectations low and just sit back and enjoy the spectacle whenever possible.

I have no idea whether the story was true to the book, I simply go by whether the movie was entertaining as told on the screen. When a crystal used to rebuild the heavenly realm falls from the sky and creates a special monkey baby, both heavenly and demon realms take note. The young monkey is taken to train with one of the heavenly masters. After finishing training with his sifu Subhuti/Puti where he is given the name Sun Wukong, his master tells him he must leave to learn positive thoughts and attain enlightenment. As he begins his adventures as the Handsome Monkey King on Huagoa, gaining his cudgel and uniform, The Monkey King brought about the three signs that led to the Bull Demon King once again attacking the heavenly realm. Manipulated by the evil horned one, Sun Wukong aids him in bringing about the disaster.

Donnie Yen so seamlessly blended into the makeup and furry suit that I honestly forgot it was him playing the role most of the time. It must have been freeing to perform such a playful role since most of his movies require him to be cold, stoic, and/or angry. He and his stunt double along with his choreography made for agile, creative fights whether on the ground or flying. Chow Yun Fat as the Jade Emperor could play this regal role in his sleep but he did bring a gentleness to his heavenly ruler. Aaron Kwok as the Bull Demon King had less to do, in general being menacingly seductive or menacingly destructive. Peter Ho could be counted on to sneer on cue as the duplicitous heavenly gate guard. Joe Chen as Princess Iron Fan was called on to mostly look dewy-eyed as she tried to steer her man away from a disastrous end.

The music fit perfectly even if it was standard epic fantasy fare. The costumes were well done and what you would expect from the immortal realms. The CGI varied in terms of its quality, but coming out of Hong Kong at this time I was impressed. The underwater realm, especially the giant octopus wasn't very convincing, but I've seen far worse, I watched Big Octopus (2020). The colors and movement could overwhelm the story at times, however, we are talking about a magic monkey and horned evil dude taking on a dragon, so I just rolled with it.

This movie isn't for everyone. It could be campy, okay, was campy more often than not, but that's something I don't usually have a problem with. There was a fairly simple storyline, even if some of the periphery stories were give short shrift, with lots of martial arts action and bright shiny objects. Yen, Kwok, and Chow all did a more than adequate job of conveying their characters. Out of the three films this rated pretty evenly with the second in the trilogy for me. Even if I knew where the story was going from the beginning, having watched other Monkey King movies, it didn't take away from my enjoyment. The road getting there was adventurous and charming enough to keep my interest.


3/9/23