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Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)POSTED BY JASON FETTERS, August 31, 2014 Share
Stephen Chow, the King of Hong Kong Comedy, and known to movie lovers from such hits as Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, is back with this strange tale of the supernatural. Based on the novel, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, Chow stars as Sanzang, a Demon Hunter, out to rid the word of those pesky creatures. He saves a baby from a gigantic demonic fish that would scare the crap out of the staff of River Monsters. Although his heart is in the right place, he lacks that little special something that would make him a great Demon Hunter as Sanzang is upstaged by the sexy and tough as nails, Duan. She wins over the villagers after conquering the fish and Sanzang returns to his Master in shame. So begins this humorous tale.
Sanzang is clearly no match for the strong Kung Fu skills of Duan, who is breathtaking to watch. She upstages him again, causing Sanzang to finally team up with her. Duan is hopelessly in love with Sanzang, who is the most clueless man on the Planet. He just doesn’t understand women at all. This leads to many jokes that adds to the overall charm. Will Sanzang ever understand?
Journey to the West is packed with Chow’s unique humor. It also contains some well-crafted CGI demons that explore the rich history of Chinese mythology. But don’t worry, the powerful demons are not just pitted against Sanzang and Duan alone. There are several Demon Hunters, some working solo and others in groups that are seeking fame and fortune from battling and defeating demons. It seems that only Sanzang is putting away demons to help people and save villages because it is the right thing to do.
When released in China, Journey to the West, was a Box Office hit and easily defeated the Hollywood blockbuster, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon.
So do yourself a favor and head over to Netflix and catch this delightful movie that is engaging, has great action sequences, and laugh out loud jokes.
Currently available for streaming and highly recommended.
Five out of Five Stars
"The Asian Aperture" is ©2014 by Jason Fetters. All contents of Crazed Fanboy are ©2014 by Nolan B. Canova and Terence Nuzum.
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