Ben Meyers’ rating: 2.6|5.0
Starsìì
The Monkey King 2
is slightly better than its prequel, The
Monkey King; but it has a long way to go to make it even a 3-star movie.
It’s slow. The special effects are third class. Without knowledge of the Monkey
King myth, a cultural Chinese classic, the story is difficult to interpret so
that the viewer keeps asking, ‘Why is this important?’ Actor Aaron Kwong has
replaced Donnie Yen as the Monkey King in this sequel film. His interpretation
of the Monkey King character seems more serious than Donnie Yen’s
interpretation. Kwong accomplishes this change of character by reducing
Donnie’s open, care-free, laughing interpretation with a serious,
down-to-business persona that replaces the open laughter with chuckles. It is
highly recommended that viewers do cultural research on this myth or at least
read the movie’s full plot from Jimmy Wales’ Wikipedia pages before viewing
this film. Knowledge will enhance the entertainment value of the film.
Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia
Storyline
The
Monkey King (Aaron Kwok) keeps a Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang (Feng Shaofeng) safe
on a long journey plagued with demons.
Additional Thanks
Thank
you to Pou-Soi Cheang for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive
Producers Wong Hoifung and Kiefer Liu for making the film possible. Additional
characters/cast include: Sun Wukong (Aaron Kwok),
Baigujing/White-Boned Demon (Li Gong), Tang Seng (Shaofeng Feng), Zhu Bajie
(Xiao Shen-Yeng), Sha Seng (Chung Him Law), Guowang/King (Fei Xiang), and
Guanyin (Kelly Chen).
Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?
No.
If the viewer wants to finish this series, then this is it. There are better
films within this genre that provide more entertainment value: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Curse of the Golden Flower.
Video Critique Available Here:
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