Plot Summary: A young Buddhist monk named Tang Sanzang embarks on a journey to battle demons using a non-violent approach. Along the way, he encounters a demon hunter named Duan who falls in love with him, as well as the legendary Monkey King and other future disciples. This imaginative prequel to the classic Journey to the West story shows how Tang assembled his famous companions.
Directors: Stephen Chow, Derek Kwok
Writers: Stephen Chow, Derek Kwok, Xin Huo, Yun Wang, Fung Chih Chiang, Lu Zheng Yu, Jiro Lee, Ivy Kong
Based on: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
Producers: Stephen Chow, Wang Zhonglei, Zhang Dajun, Ivy Kong
Cinematography: Sung Fai Choi
Music: Raymond Wong
Starring:
Shu Qi as Duan
Wen Zhang as Tang Sanzang
Huang Bo as Sun Wukong
Chen Bing Qiang as Zhu Bajie
Jiro Lee as Sha Wujing
Show Lo as Prince Important
Cheng Sihan as Master Nameless
Xing Yu as Fist of the North Star
***SPOILER ALERT***
Horror, Nostalgia, and a Dead Kid
I decided to blindly pick another movie by Stephen Chow, and this time it was his reinvention of the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West. I don't think any human being today has avoided coming into contact with something inspired by this story. Even the lost tribes in the Amazon must have seen something with a monkey or a pig holding a horticultural rake. I remember my first time stumbling upon it was with the 1993 MS-DOS game, West Adventure. I just revisited it on YouTube and it gave me the chills; the last time I saw it was around 30 years ago when I was probably 7 or 8. It's incredible how those characters look just as my memory holds them, like I played it yesterday. After that, of course, came Dragon Ball, so everyone in the western world has been touched by this 16th-century creation. It's crazy. Anyway, I started watching this movie and was like… wow, Stephen Chow also directs horror movies! That little girl was just eaten! It was a great, great scene with awesome music and special effects. The sea creature is a little dated, but the way she was pulled under by the monster is very well done.
Watch the clip below to see the villagers' desperate attempt to save the girl.
A Masterclass in Genre-Bending
No, this was not a horror movie. I've seen some criticism of Chow's work, saying his movies are a mess because he can't decide on a genre. Really? This guy is a master at mixing genres! It's no easy task, but he does it so well, and that's what makes me love this movie. I never know what to expect. This is proven in the scene where our heroes are supposedly captured by a gang of demon hunters who are about to brutally kill them, but it's all a scheme—part of a larger love setup. It's sooooooo silly, and I was not seeing that coming. At that point, you've already had great action, horror, comedy, romance, and adventure. I love how Tang Sanzang keeps playing hard to get. There are tons of laugh-out-loud moments for me in this film, and the cinematography is seriously good. Just watch the part where we are first introduced to Zhu Bajie, the famous pig who is now a demon. This character and his setting are amazingly creepy.
My favorite part of the movie is below, where we first meet the pig demon.
Absurd Battles and Spiritual Allegories
One thing I found strange about this 2013 movie was why it was so poorly dubbed sometimes, which slightly bothers me because it takes away the realism. So, I figured I had to ask AI, and if you're curious like me, here's the answer: it's the standard workflow. For decades, film sets in China rarely used sync sound. Modern productions are slowly shifting, but many blockbusters still rely on post-dubbing, especially with a multilingual cast or noisy outdoor scenes, or government-mandated clarity of Mandarin over regional dialects. Anyway, I also loved Huang Bo as the Monkey King; he is a very funny actor. The final battle is waaaay over the top, but it doesn't spoil the movie; it just adds to the absurd aspect of it all. Overall, I think this is a brilliant and creative play on the novel's characters and a reimagined prequel to Tang Sanzang's actual journey. I love it and absolutely recommend it to anyone with a good sense of humor. This movie also reignited my curiosity for the novel, and I really hope to read Anthony C. Yu's version someday. It's no easy task because the novel is as extensive as the Bible, which is a good comparison since it functions as a deep Buddhist spiritual allegory. And if you don't know already, I am myself a Theravada Buddhist. Thanks for reading and stay connected!
You can watch the clip where the Monkey King is finally released from his 500-year prison below.
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🎬 You Might Also Enjoy:
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Forbidden City Cop (1996)
Another Stephen Chow comedy where a royal bodyguard uses inventions and hidden talents to defeat supernatural villains
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The Host (2006)
Korean horror-comedy about a monster emerging from Seoul's Han River, with a similar genre-blending approach
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