The Monkey King

西游记之大闹天空

Hong Kong/China, 2014, colour, 2.35:1, 3-D, 118 mins.

Director: Zheng Baorui 郑保瑞 [Soi Cheang].

Rating: 6/10.

The CGI outperforms the humans in an action-packed version of the pesky ape’s youth.

STORY

Mythical ancient China. A battle rages in the sky between the Demons, led by Bull Demon King (Guo Fucheng), and the forces of the Celestial Jade Emperor (Zhou Runfa). The latter wins. The Jade Emperor’s younger sister, Iron Fan (Chen Qiao’en), pleads for the life of the Bull Demon, whom she loves, so the Jade Emperor banishes the Bull Demon and his kind to Flaming Mountain. The ruined Celestial Palace is repaired by the magic crystals of the goddess Nvwa (Zhang Zilin), who also leaves behind a crystal egg embedded in Huaguo [Flower-Fruit] Mountain. From this is born a pesky chimp with both vice and virtue, and the goddess Guanyin (Chen Huilin) instructs an Immortal, Puti (Hai Yitian), to carefully raise him in the path of virtue. Puti takes the chimp away from the other monkeys to the mountain-top home of his clan, and names him Sun Wukong, aka the Monkey King (Zhen Zidan), instructing him in martial arts and shape-shifting, at which he proves excellent but undisciplined. Meanwhile, the Bull Demon learns it is now the ideal time for another assault on the Celestial Palace. He meets the guardian of the Southern Heavenly Gate, Yang Jian, aka Erlangshen (He Rundong), who tells him he will need help. Sun Wukong, who has appointed himself leader of all the monkeys on Huaguo Mountain, goes to the underwater kingdom of Ao Guang, dragon king of the Eastern Sea (Liu Hua), and demands some of his weapons for the monkeys to defend Water Curtain Cave. He also cheekily takes a magic purple suit of Ao Guang, plus the magic Ruyi Cudgel with which Ao Guang has pinned down the sea. As a result, the sea goes out of control, ruining the Dragon King’s kingdom; a giant tsunami also threatens Flaming Mountain. Fox girl Ruxue (Xia Zitong) and her animal companions are made homeless and she asks Monkey King for refuge on Huaguo Mountain. He recognises her from when he was still inside the goddess Nvwa’s crystal egg, and a romance develops between them. Meanwhile, the Dragon King has lodged a complaint against the Monkey King with the Celestial Palace and Yang Jian sends Nezha (Zheng Jiaxing), a prince, to arrest Monkey King. During their furious fight, Monkey King is rescued by Bull Demon who deliberately befriends him, hoping to make him an ally in his forthcoming assault on the Celestial Palace.

REVIEW

Two years after Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s classic Uproar in Heaven 大闹天空 (1964) was refurbished and converted into 3-D as The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven 大闹天空 (2012), along comes a live-action version of similar events from the 16th-century classic by Wu Cheng’en 吴承恩 – also in 3-D but with Zhen Zidan 甄子丹 [Donnie Yen] playing the pesky young ape. It’s a big step up for Macau-born director Zheng Baorui 郑保瑞 [Soi Cheang], who’s basically been associated with genre and action fare (Accident 意外, 2009; Motorway 车手, 2012), and the best that can be said is that he handles the technically demanding assignment in a professional way with no personal flourishes between all the green-screen work. There’s also little trace of any personal signature by the producer, A Gan 阿甘 – aka Liu Xiaoguang 刘晓光 [Kiefer Liu], one of China’s best-known farceurs and writer-director of spoofs like Big Movie 大电影之数百亿 (2006), Two Stupid Eggs 大电影2.0  两个傻瓜的荒唐事 (2007) and Don Quixote 魔侠传之唐吉可德 (2010).

With the help of some Mainland money and actors, The Monkey King 西游记之大闹天空 is basically a rerun of Uproar in Heaven but with a couple of major changes. First and foremost, the character of Bull Demon King – who doesn’t appear in the source novel, Journey to the West 西游记, until much later – is stitched into the narrative as a villain who hoodwinks Monkey King into attacking the Celestial Palace; second, the Celestial Jade Emperor is made into a more genial, sympathetic figure; and third, an army of East Asian VFX houses (chiefly South Korean) has been let loose on the material. Some 98% of the 2,400 shots feature CGI in some form or another, making the film not so much a true live-action movie, more a CG extravaganza in which the human cast struggles to keep its head above the effects.

Four years in the making, the film reportedly cost RMB500 million, of which half went on visual effects. In such a massive undertaking, the quality is understandably variable. The visual design, as in the dragon-based, floating Celestial Place, is often imaginative; but equally it’s also disappointing, as for the Demon Bull King’s umbrous lair in Flaming Mountain, which just looks like a few smouldering volcanoes. Visual effects for the numerous battles and for Monkey King’s pranks – both of which occupy most of the film – also range from the genuinely impressive (the Dragon Horses in the imperial stables, the Jade Emperor’s personal dragon) to not much better than a computer zapping game. The costume design is the same: Monkey King looks cool in his magic purple suit and Bull Demon in his warrior garb and horns, but Fox Girl’s ears look seriously out of place and her animal friends like actors in hand-me-down animal suits. In general, the monkeys on Flower-Fruit Mountain come off best, both in costuming and personality.

Despite the film’s variable technical side, on balance the visual design and effects do their job, creating an alternative universe and immersing the viewer in it. For a movie that mostly seems aimed at younger audiences – with no irony in the dialogue for adults to appreciate – they’re good enough for a pumped-up, 3-D extravaganza, especially considering the project’s massive scope.

Aside from focusing on the simian’s early years rather than his later adventures, the movie is a very different live-action production from the last Monkey movie, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 西游  降魔篇(2013) by Zhou Xingchi 周星驰 [Stephen Chow]. That found space for the actors (Shu Qi 舒淇, Wen Zhang 文章, Huang Bo 黄渤) between the CGI and was driven primarily by its characterisations and only second by its visual effects. In The Monkey King the former are almost always supporting players to the latter.

Zhen makes a fresh stab at the title role, playing up simian twitches and physical quirks, and neatly combining the character’s ingenuousness and headstrong qualities. Though now 50, he comes across as a youthful, agile performer – partly by being covered almost entirely in make-up and prosthetics – but the film isn’t a true showcase for his martial arts skills between all the distracting digital effects. Aaron Kwok 郭富城 is a blank space as the Bull Demon, staring into the middle distance rather than drawing a truly evil villain. It’s left to Zhou Runfa 周润发 [Chow Yun-fat] – not for the first time in a costume movie (Curse of the Golden Flower 满城尽带黄金甲, 2006; Confucius 孔子, 2009; The Assassins 铜雀台, 2012) – to dominate the dramatic going, here with his gently masterful Jade Emperor. It’s a role that he makes more of than the thin script – by four writers, including the late Situ Jinyuan 司徒锦源 [Szeto Kam-yuen] – actually allows, giving him precious few opportunities to develop it fully. Among the fleeting female parts – Hong Kong’s Chen Huilin 陈慧琳 [Kelly Chen] and Liang Yongqi 梁咏琪 [Gigi Leung], China’s Zhang Zilin 张梓琳, Taiwan’s Chen Qiao’en 陈乔恩 – the only one to make an impression is charming newcomer Xia Zitong 夏梓桐 (Youth Dreams 4B青年之4楼B座, 2013), as Monkey King’s putative love interest, a fox girl.

Uncommonly for a prestige Chinese movie, the score is by an American – veteran horror composer Christopher Young, who occasionally mimics Chinese tonalities but otherwise provides a rousing symphonic accompaniment. Young’s music has a sweep that fits the subject, as well as its various changing moods, though it doesn’t sound that different from someone like Hong Kong’s Jin Peida 金培达 [Peter Kam] on a good day.

For the record, the end titles run a giant 12½ minutes, which means that, taking into account the opening titles, the film itself runs only about 100 minutes – which, given its sensory assault, is long enough.

CREDITS

Presented by Filmko Entertainment (Beijing) (CN), Mandarin Films (HK), China Film (CN), Beijing Wen Hua Dong Run Investment (CN), J’Star Film (HK). Produced by Filmko Entertainment (HK), Shenzhen Golden Shores Films (CN).

Script: Huang Zihuan [Edmond Wong], Huo Xin, Sitou Jinyuan [Szeto Kam-yuen], Chen Dali. Photography: Yang Tao, Zhang Wenbao [Cheung Man-po]. Editing: Zhang Jiahui [Cheung Ka-fai], Tang Hua. Music: Christopher Young. Production design: Fu Dong. Art director: Yang Changzhi. Costume design: Zhang Shuping [William Chang], Xi Zhongwen [Yee Chung-man], Guo Pei, Li Bijun [Lee Pik-kwan]. Sound: Yin Jie. Action: Zhen Zidan [Donnie Yen]. On-set action direction: Yan Hua, Tanigaki Kenji, Tan Zhendu. Visual effects: Kevin Rafferty, Ding Libo (GS VFX, Dexter China, Dexter Digital, CJ Powercast, Digital Idea, Macrograph, Illumina). Visual effects consultation: David Ebner. 3-D design: Daniel L. Symmes, Keith Collea. Technical support: A Gan [Kiefer Liu], Chen Fei.

Cast: Zhen Zidan [Donnie Yen] (Sun Wukong/Monkey King), Zhou Runfa [Chow Yun-fat] (Celestial Jade Emperor), Guo Fucheng [Aaron Kwok] (Bull Demon King), He Rundong (Yang Jian/Erlangshen), Hai Yitian (Puti), Xia Zitong (Ruxue, fox girl), Chen Qiao’en (Iron Fan, princess, Jade Emperor’s younger sister), Chen Huilin [Kelly Chen] (Guanyin, goddess of mercy), Liang Yongqi [Gigi Leung] (Chang’e, goddess of the moon), Zhang Zilin (Nvwa, goddess), Zheng Jiaxing (Nezha, prince), Liu Hua (Ao Guang, dragon king of the Eastern Sea), Zhang Zhaohui [Eddie Cheung] (Li Jing), Luo Zhongqian (Puti’s disciple), Li Jing (green-haired monkey), Wang Yuanyuan (Caiyun, fairy), Liang Yu’en (Caixia, fairy), Cheng Ni (witch), Liu Shiliu, Cen Shitao (horsekeepers), Liu Yanni, Wang Xizhi, Qin Xiting, Shen Mingzi, Zhou Xinyu, Liu Mengna, Wang Xiaoyuan (Seven Fairies), Cui Wei, Yan Hua, Hu Qinglan, Huang Chen (Four Heavenly Kings), Fu Hai (twin-headed monster), Zhou Li (blood sucker), Wang Yachao (skeleton demon), Shi Yonghui (lavad demon), Zhang Aiqin (pointy-headed demon), Fan Kai (bear demon), Zhao Hongliang (giant), Luo Qiang, Yu Long, Ma Li (elderly monkeys), Mao Mao (red boy), Bei Bei (golden boy, fairies’ attendant), Li Chen (jade girl, fairies’ attendant), Luo Quiang (turtle minister), Han Xiao (deified dog).

Release: Hong Kong, 30 Jan 2014; China, 31 Jan 2014.

(Review originally publishd on Film Business Asia, 9 Apr 2014.)