Sai yau gei: Yut gwong bou haap

There is no doubt in my mind that Stephen Chow is a true master of mixing surreal comedy, romance and drama in most of his films that he has written and directed. But hold on, he didn't write or direct this film that was made way back in the mid 90s! But it sure feels like a Chow directed film. In fact, Jeffrey Lau wrote and directed and this is my first introduction to his films. It seems to me that Stephen Chow may have learnt much from Lau when directing his later movies and indeed style of comedy. Its just so similar but even the deserved global success of Chow's Kung Fu Hustler and Shaolin Soccer can't topple Lau's crowning achievement of this glorious comedy fantasy epic.

But you do have to attune yourself to their style of comedy. At times the comedy is rather Naked Gun style but the BIG difference is that with a Naked Gun/Airplane style movie you are never emotionally involved with the character's journey/fates. This is a real epic Chinese fantasy adventure chock full of side splitting comedy, drama, time travel, love triangles, deceit, tragedy and old school wire-work martial arts. Not many movies can boast such a varied concoction and even fewer can pull it off in such a knockout cocktail. Close comparisons for me are Zu Warriors and A Chinese Ghost Story.

The story actually moves at a breakneck speed despite the fact it is drawn out into a 2 part epic saga. Chow is at his very best in his dead pan (Buster Keatonesque) comic timing and furthermore gives an emotional underlining subtext in his performance much akin to the great Charlie Chaplin classics.

The comedy is inventively laugh out loud but always rooted to the storyline and never stooping low for a cheap laugh. The storyline is set firmly in the Chineses mythological realm of gods and demons and apparently extracting a chapter from a famous Chinese story called Journey to the West, putting its own spin on things.

Its not a flawless movie though, and one cannot expect it to be with such an ambitious premise and so much elements thrown in. While the first part of this epic is the more comedic, the second part begins with a somewhat convoluted progression of the storyline and becomes quite confusing with too many women involved in a long multiple women juggling segment. It is my only gripe, however.

I personally would also have loved to see more of the arrogant, fun and cool Monkey King persona but I can understand that more of him may not have served the story pacing well. Pity though, as the Monkey King is a really fun character here than I've seen elsewhere including the fun Monkey Magic television series.

My review covers both parts of this film as a whole. So in a nutshell, this is a vastly entertaining, side-splittingly funny, fast moving, emotionally driven Chinese fantasy epic. And I will now be seeking to watch more Jeffery Lau films as well as Stephen Chow's early movies.

First off let me say that I watched this movie not under the best circumstances. I downloaded it from Piratebay and was watching it on my Media Player when I realized within the first 2 minutes that the subs were awful. There were many English typos and because of that it seemed to be a poor translation. HOWEVER the acting was so good and the scenes so good that even with rudimentary dialog (that is to say basic translations) it still made me laugh quite a lot and I can't remember when was the last time I enjoyed a movie THIS MUCH! It's been SO long! This must be one of my favorite movies. Top 10 at least. Maybe even top 3 if I dare say so- but the problem with saying so and with saying it is absolutely one of my favorites (and it is) is that I am not sure many others will understand why it is one of my favorites or will even care to understand. It is one of my favorite movies for a number of reasons. Let me tell you why.

1) It kept me in suspense. I am familiar with Goku the monkey king and how he was mischievous and had to pay penance for his sins and play a good guy for a while to gain freedom or whatever. That is as far as my knowledge of Goku the monkey king goes, oh and I know he is supposed to have a circlet and lance and was reminded of that later. Big deal, right? Wrong. This movie told me a story I have never been told before and kept me wildly guessing and entertained throughout! It is like a fairy tale. A very good fairy tale to movie translation. A very good play of sorts. What I enjoy about it the most is that I went into it not knowing what to expect. I thought it was about Buddhism? hello? but instead it was about....Well. It's hard to put into words. Read my first sentences about what I knew of the story of the monkey king. That much in this movie is still true. However there are many things I did not know that this movie tells and because my life is so boring and most things predictable (that is to say most movies, video games have predictable plot lines) this was a movie with nice twists and turns that got me to be interested in story-telling and cinema again. And boy did it get me interested again in a big way! I am in awe with how good the writer(s) must have been- the original writers that is to say who came out with the skeleton of this story because there is some wild stuff in here.

2) This movie is surprisingly funny. Actually I had another 2 and 3 in mind as to why this movie is one of my favorites but forget them both. Oh yeah! It reminds me of the wild and wacky stuff I used to watch as a kid in it's creativity! Namely the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. If you're a 90's kid like me and grew up on that show you may actually love this. It's similar because there is martial arts and funny bad guys and action scenes in this. Also the special effects are old school with make-ups and costumes, none of that CGI stuff. I can appreciate the old ways because it doesn't really detract from the story or acting here and that is what's strong.

I suppose people may give this a 7 or 8 instead of a 10, maybe even worse, but I am not too concerned about that. I know why others may not like this (because it's too foreign, or they are too busy to appreciate it's intricacies, or they don't find it funny, whatever the reason someone may not like this, maybe they have heard the story differently and have a preconceived idea of how it should be, who knows, but I had fun watching this and that is why I watch movies to begin with. To have fun. To forget life for a bit. Watch it if you want to be entertained and are not scared of Chinese films as an American or if you can laugh at silly faces, voices, and remarks.

I remembered watching this movie many years ago and knew that it would be an instant classic. It wasn't so much of the slapstick humor that made Stephen Chow famous but the depth of the story line that rarely exists in HK productions.

Using an important part of the classic story, "Journey to the West", the director attempted to retell the story of how the Monkey god (Sun Wu Kong) was tamed and willingly escorted the Longevity Monk on a journey to India (West) to receive the sacred buddhist scriptures. In the original text, Monkey was captured by the great lord Buddha and entraped under the "5 Fingers Mountain" (Hand of Buddha) for 500 years where he was tamed and then saved by the Longevity Monk.

In the movie adaption, he was appointed the protector of the Longevity Monk but strayed from the path of holiness when he fell in love with a demoness and tried to sell out his master (the demons believed by eating his flesh, they would gain immortality). Monkey was eventually captured and was to be destroyed when his master intervened, begging for his disciple's mercy and sacrificing himself to save his disciple. The Goddess of Mercy then decided to send the Monkey 500 years forward in time to live a life of sufferings as a mortal before passing judgement.

The story comes in 2 parts and has to be watched together to be fully understood (the 1st part had quite a cliffhanger going on). While great performances were to be expected from every cast involved, Stephen Chow stood out as the Monkey God. As a mortal he attempted to resist his fate and change his future, as an immortal he tried to forget his mortal longings and focus on his mission. Stephen Chow's portrayal of the struggle and growth of the character was simply excellent.

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box is a fantasy martial arts extravaganza like A Chinese Ghost story. Just to give you an idea what to expect. The main character is Stephen Chow. He plays The Monkey King and Joker. Joker is The Monkey King reincarnated who doesn't know of his past life. It is through these roles where Stephen Chow shows his versatility as an actor. If you have seen some of his movies than you know what to expect. He always tries to combine humour, martial arts and drama. Maybe for some the humor will be a bit over the top. But Stephen Chow's humour is very visual and will appeal to many viewers. A few scenes made me laugh so hard I almost choked. I even dare to say that some scenes in this film outclass Kung Fu Hustle when it comes to comedy. And that one was hilarious. I liked how during these scenes the actors maintain straight faces and are very serious about what they are doing. You know like they did in the Naked Gun film series. To me that makes all of it even funnier. Another thing I liked that the comedy does not come at the expense of action. Of which you will have plenty of. Most of the martial arts is done with wire works though and in combination with fighting demons this is done beautifully. The special effects may look a bit cheesy compared to CGI to some, but are very enjoyable because most of the effects are used creatively. I personally prefer effects done this way since it shows that sometimes all you need is a little imagination to create movie magic. And Pandora's Box certainly is magical. In fact it's a fairytale you can enjoy over and over again.

This is the first of a two part movie series adapted from the classic Chinese novel,Journey To The West.I would consider this as the more comedic one,while the second is more action-packed,with a little sense of art-house in it(if you watch the two together it forms a perfect balance).In this movie,Stephen Chow's character had not yet transformed into the all invincible Monkey King,hence not much action here.It was also extremely loosely based on the novel,so fans of the book might not really like this.The comedy level in this movie is so extreme...you can't even stop laughing for a minute,so if necessary,watch it bit by bit to catch some breath.Watch this solely for the humor,and you'll see a masterpiece.Sing-yeh's best film of the nineties.

Rate:****