Alas their attempt to escape is thwarted by an invisible, magical net around Womanland, though it's not difficult to guess that the key to penetrating the spell is none other than true love itself. But perhaps more crucially, Xuanzang and his companions - Wukong, the pig demon Bajie (Xiao Shenyang), and the blue-skinned sand demon Wujing (Him Lo) - have to first escape execution directed by the kingdom's Empress Dowager-like Madam Perceptor (Gigi Leung), who is adamant that men are the worst poison to their kind. Stumbling upon a kingdom populated only by women after an encounter with an unfriendly River God (revealed later on to be a vengeful god played by Lin Chi-ling), Xuanzang falls in love with its Queen (Zhao Liying), thereby presenting him with an apparent conundrum whether to forsake his religious calling to love all mankind. Whereas most, if not all, 'Monkey King' films have played on the dynamic between Wukong and his master Xuanzang, Cheang and his writer Wen Ning have placed the focus this time on Xuanzang (Feng Shaofeng) alone. Not surprisingly, Kwok has agreed to reprise his role in this third chapter, although this time round he's been reduced to no more than a supporting act. The first chapter, which boasted a spirited turn by Donnie Yen as the titular Wukong who defied Chow Yun Fat's Jade Emperor, was nonetheless a huge disappointment because of its stilted storytelling and laughable CGI but the sequel, which saw Aaron Kwok take over the golden staff (pun intended) with a more low-key but also more nuanced performance, was a marked improvement that benefited generously from Gong Li's devilish turn as the White Bone Demon. THE MONKEY KING FULL MOVIE HD SERIESThough Stephen Chow's 'Journey to the West' series has been the more buzzed-about one in the last few years, director Soi Cheang has been studiously building up his own 'Monkey King' franchise.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |