journey to the west conquering the demons song

#Journey to the west conquering the demons song movie

Hog (Chen Bing-qiang) and Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King (Huang Bo), an especially tricky customer who’s served 500 years of solitary confinement in a remote cave on orders from Buddha himself. Watched by villagers as his technique restores the Water Demon to his previous human form as Sand Monk (Lee Sheung-ching), Xuanzang’s moment of glory is stolen by the sudden arrival of Duan (Shu Qi, “If You Are the One”), a feisty femme demon hunter with radically different ideas on creature control and a flair for showbiz that the nerdy Xuanzang lacks.ĭuan invites herself on Xuanzang’s missions to challenge and change other demons - pig K.L. His belief is that these beasties were once good-natured humans that suffered terrible injustice, and a lilting lullaby is all it takes to undo the damage. In one of several new ideas brought to the old tale by Chow, Kwok and six other credited writers, sensitive Xuanzang reads nursery rhymes to demons in the hope they will reject the dark side and join him as allies in the quest for spiritual enlightenment. Chow’s knack for mixing suspense and slapstick is impressively displayed as Xuanzang leaps about rickety walkways and see-sawing bridges resembling the board game “Mouse Trap” before rescuing a baby just inches from becoming the creature’s next meal.

The first spectacular sequence shows young demon hunter Xuanzang (Wen Zhang) arriving in a fishing village during a gory, “Jaws”-like attack by the fearsome Water Demon. With Derek Kwok (“Gallants”) credited as associate director, “Journey” follows a simple pattern of elaborate set-pieces followed by brief pauses for reflection and explanation, not all of which are entirely compelling or convincing.

#Journey to the west conquering the demons song movie

The pic is the umpteenth movie inspired by Wu Cheng-er’s classic 16th century novel “Journey to the West.” The source material about the arrival of Buddhism in China provided the basis for “A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora’s Box” and “A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella,” domestic hits starring Chow as the mischievous Monkey King.