Journey to the West

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons marks the very first Stephen Chow directed movie without him acting in it. So, what can I properly expect from this movie? The idea of a Stephen Chow movie is always exciting. However, I was concerned that it might be the start of an new era in which Stephen Chow will only direct movies and not act in them anymore. For that, I was both excited and scared to see this film. But finally, I decided there probably wasn't anything to expect and just walked in without expectations.

Fortunately, that ended up being the best way to seeing this movie. I ended up being really surprised and taken away by it.

It's clear that Stephen Chow's passions are now set into directing. He has improved a lot as a director; his films have become more cinematic experiences. There's less reliance on comedic dialogue, more emphasis on telling a story with stronger imagery, and has an improved sense of setup and payoff. He's much more interested in storytelling mechanics and more invested in where he can take an audience emotionally besides just laughs. With the way he structures some of his story, there's a symbiotic relationship between comedy and tragedy that he's very interested in exploring.

Wen Zhang delivers that exact balance between tragedy and comedy in his performance as Xuanzang. He is a charismatic leading man and he shoulders the film with both its funny and heartbreaking moments. When he was playing for humor, I laughed. When he was crying, I found it moving. I am buying him at every moment and he was playing me like a squeeze toy. The story gives a genuine pathos as he becomes the Xuanzang we know from the story.

Shu Qi is very affable in this role and it's nice to see her play a character with more cartoonish sensibilities. I especially liked her psychotic expressions when she was killing off demons. And yes, I can see how hard it is to reject Shu Qi if she threw herself at you like she did in this movie.

Huang Bo is a fun Monkey King and makes a very engaging antagonist. This version of Monkey King is richly complex. It's an interesting take on the character because it highlights a key point about Sun Wukong that's often glossed over: He never had a choice to join Xuanzang on his journey to the west. The Monkey King goes only because he is tamed by the magical torture crown that's he is forced to wear on his head. In this interpretation, he's not completely good or evil. Huang Bo does not play it too over-the-top by enhancing the animalistic sensibilities. Instead, what really stuck with me was how he convincingly played the desperate pain of being trapped under a mountain for five centuries.

The film's gags are executed with much discipline. The gags are zany but not random. They are all building character and moving the story forward each step of the way to it's final conclusion. It's masterful how Chow is able to use comedic moments to build towards moments of sadness and loss.

The thought of no more Stephen Chow roles anymore aches me a bit but his presence is felt here. He has delivered a well-made film. Fortunately the film is done well enough to help me get over my aching and accept him now as only a film director. I look forward to seeing him continually improve as a storyteller and to the next installment in this series.

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Fortunately, the movie packs Stephen Chow's comedic style, or I would call it contains his soul. There's Chow's usual style of comedy, action, love story, and some meaning behind life. Well, what more is needed in a blockbuster movie? Unfortunately, nothing is perfect. I went into the cinema without any expectation, and I didn't read any reviews so I could enjoy the whole movie as if I was the first to do so. I understand that Chow directed this movie, and even demonstrated to retain the "feel" of his usual style. Still, I find the first 15 minutes of the movie to be a little dry in terms of humor. As the protagonist enters the scene it was a bit difficult for me to laugh. However, as the story unfolds, and as the mainstream humor pours in, laughter floods the cinema wave after another. To add, the protagonist's wacky hair style, does resemble Chow in some ways.

The CGI is of top quality, I can see the movie spending a lot of money on CGI. Many of the scenes contain a lot of visual detail and picturesque grounds. The music is familiar and lovely, I shall not reveal too much.

Show Luo's appearance in this movie was like his usual funny-self in his TV entertainment news. I would appreciate it more if he would have neglected his usual style and adopted a new one. It's not a bad thing, but it's not a good thing too, it lies somewhere on the neutral side. I guess on the good side, his fans will love to see him.

Trying my best not to disclose too much. This movie is a prequel to his previous 2 part movie, "A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box, and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella." The essence of this movie is how it somehow relates to "A Chinese Odyssey" in terms of how life is, in its cycle. The feelings the protagonist experienced in this movie is similar to what his disciple experienced in "A Chinese Odyssey". The good news for those who haven't seen "A Chinese Odyssey", is that you can watch this movie on its own.

Lastly, there are some tear-jerking scenes. My eyes welled up at some parts, but I stayed a man. I would give this a 9.5 out of 10 because of its imperfection, but the scores only allow whole numbers. So.... enjoy the movie.

Editing the review after having rewatched the film (in addition to having watched parts 1 and 2).

First, it's important to say that I don't consider it necessary to watch the previous ones to appreciate this masterpiece (but I recommend it if you're interested in the story as a whole).

The leap in quality of script, acting, special effects and message is huge compared to its predecessors and even today (August 2024), the experience is very pleasant and has not been harmed by the "aging" of the film.

This film, unlike the previous ones, finally inserts Buddhist elements into the story in a more precise and non-parodial way, which in my opinion was a great benefit.

Drawing a comparison, it is very common in film production for the protagonist to be driven by hatred and desire for revenge and all the elements in the film justify such conduct.

In this film, on the contrary, the protagonist is driven by the desire to help all beings, including demons. Oh! This practically sounds like heresy to many of us, doesn't it?

Furthermore, the film shows that the greatest power has nothing to do with physical strength or superhuman powers, while delivering great fight scenes and great special effects (taking into account the natural aging of an 11-year-old film).

More than ever, I highly recommend this film to any human being who seeks to be better and to free themselves from suffering and the causes of suffering.

The funniest man in the cinematic world (Stephen Chow Sing Chi) stays behind the camera (unfortunately) as writer and director for this epic and hilarious retread of his amazing films; A Chinese Odyssey 1 & 2.

That said, and as a fan of Zhang Wen (which has grown more so after seeing this), the film is a solid Chi film that is worthy of a place in any fans collection!

With dark humour akin to that of 'From Beijing With Love' and others, the comedy elements are fast and clever, matched by the tense moments of horror that sometimes even left me (a fan of HK cinema for over 30 years), with my mouth open.

But it was awesome!!

Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons is a hit. Its also great to see Shu Qi in an ass kicking hilarious role which I think suits her much better than the serious dramas. Lets hope there will be a few sequels spawning from this, and all being well, a return in front of the camera for the incredible Chow Sing Chi!!

I enjoyed this thoroughly. It is well acted, scripted and the costuming is great. All the settings were visually engaging and the action scenes were well thought out and wonderful to watch. I love movies that are vibrant, giving the viewer a reason to keep watching the screen.

Check this out it was amazing.