Xi You Ji: Sun Wukong san da Baigu Jing

The film itself is boring, the effects are good, the photography and costumes are fantastically beautiful and colorful, the script is even round, it has some pretty boring and childish comic strips, it looks cool, but it's very boring and boring...

Love the movie. Thought it was entertaining and my kids wanted to see it again. But we all agree Donnie Yen was a better choice for The Monkey King / Sun Wu Kong The Monkey King Havoc in Heaven's Palace was our first choice and favorite among the two so far. Havoc in Heaven's Palace seem to have more story structure and the kids liked the characters better and loved the historical fight scenes with Donnie Yen's Character. My wife seemed to like the most the musical score of the film and we purchased the soundtrack in which we listen to quite often.

My Kids also each wanted there own Blu-Ray in which I purchased for all three of them. With anything the first is always the better of the two but recommend both.

This is full length movie based on one of China's most famous legends, The Monkey King. It stars Aaron Kwok in the title role, tasked to escort a traveling monk, Tang Seng (Shaofeng Feng), to the west to fetch ancient Buddha scriptures while protecting him from the evil White-Bone Demon (Gong Li).

While the TV-series adaptation of the story has the Monkey King and his counterparts dealing a host of demons and monsters to protect the monk in each episode, this movie places emphasis on one demon, the White-Bone Demon, portrayed stunningly by Gong Li. She is a menacing force to be reckoned with, capable of spreading chaos and casualties to those dare to cross her - all the while maintaining her spellbinding beauty.

Kwok is excellent as the Monkey King, feisty and powerful in his own might. Xiao Shen-Yang did great as Zhu Bajie - a womanizer who provides much needed comic relief - and Chung Him Law gave an effective portrayal of Sha Seng - a character more on the sidelines but did a great battle with the skeleton monsters and showed the most concern for the master's well-being.

The movie was a little too high on the CGI in some parts, but it works well mostly, especially in the scenes involving the White Bone Demon as she floats around zapping her dark magic. The visual effects really captures the majesty of the kingdom and rich countryside, and the make-up and costumes brought the characters to life in very detail.

The plot was fast-paced from start to finish, full of suspense and adventure, and the dramatic elements of trust and second chances really make the film all the more interesting. An excellent adaptation of this epic journey!

Grade A

The plot is the same most probably with some modifications but the screenplay was different and all the new characters in this film make it slightly difficult for us to merge in with this film.

The visual presentation of the characters and the mischievous-ness they do are all watchable to a certain limit but we get bored after some time maybe it'd be good to watch for the kids and the twists & turns and the evil gameplay stuff was well made though we've seen them all in other films.

One of the visually appealing Chinese/foreign movies ever made

overall, it's a movie for kids and a must-watch for them.

I wasn't expecting a sequel after watching the disappointing first film that was 2 years behind the original scheduled release. Despite the plethora of well-known actors/actresses, it turned out to be a huge disappointment due to the deviation from the original story. Chow Yun Fat was the most miscast actor when he was chosen to play the Jade Emperor :(

I'm glad to say that this sequel is much better than the first movie in every aspect. The script focuses mainly on Sun Wukong and the Bone Demoness. The monk is left to look like a bumbling idiot. He looks and acts like the same role in the Stephen Chow's Journey to the West. Aaron Kwok's portrayal of Sun Wukong is much less flamboyant than Donnie Yen's portrayal - and for that, I am glad.

The special effects are very well done, which is a relief considering the disaster in the first movie. If I hadn't watched Iron Man or Harry Potter before, I would be even more impressed with some of the effects in the final battle scene.

Gong Li visual presence was, for me, the epitome of womanhood :)