There is a nice continuous flow to the movie, where the alternation between comedy, action and romance is a good change of pace and makes for a great roller-coaster experience. They really managed to pull it off quite nicely, and these demons were quite interesting to look at, yet convincing enough to appear real. But also hats off to the special effects team. The costumes and sets were great and really added a lot to the movie. If you enjoyed "Kung Fu Soccer" or "Kung Fu Hustle", then you will also enjoy "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", no doubt about it.
Journey to the west conquering the demons song movie#
And the comedy throughout the movie was great. But it all comes together for an enjoyable end result, which is what matters. There is a good amount of action throughout the movie matched up with good choreographed fighting and wire stunts. And of course, also with the lovely Shu Qi in the movie it is not one to be missed. But with talents such as Stephen Chow behind the wheel, it just had to be experienced. I must admit that I was a little bit skeptic at first, given the synopsis and the legend to which the movie is based upon. As such, it is clearly above average, but the nagging feeling that a lot got lost in translation makes me rate it only so: above average.Ī great take on the classic Chinese legend, and director Stephen Chow does it with his usual finesse and sense of mixing up comedy with action. I also have to admit that I liked the movie, considering whether to keep it for later viewing or not. I have to admit that the movie makes me want to read some translation of Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels, so, if that was Chow's purpose, the film is a success. That being said, the film is very nicely done, combining drama and comedy in a way that is mostly foreign to western cinema, good acting and cool special effects.
I am sure much of the characters and word games that I suppose mean a lot to a Chinese person, to me are just wacky and incomprehensible. Unfortunately, much of the symbolism used in the film is lost on me, since I know nothing of Chinese mythology. The style of the movie immediately brings to memory Kung-Fu Hustle, also written and directed by Stephen Chow, but its target is a reinvention of the Journey to the West story.