Movie Review The Monkey King (2023)
The Monkey King , 2023
Directed by Anthony Stacci.
Jimmy O. Young, Bowen Young, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Joe Coy, Ron Yuan, Hong Li, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Chichino, Jody With Long, James C and BDWong.
SUMMARY :
Inspired by an epic Chinese tale turned into an action comedy, Monkey and his magic wand battle demons, dragons, gods and the worst enemy, the monkey's ego.
This play was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike. Without the hard work of the writers and the actors currently on vacation, The Monkey King would not exist.
That shouldn't detract from the animation style, which is aesthetically pleasing, colorful and sometimes colorful, but it takes 10 minutes of Anthony Stuckey's The Monkey King to not only feel ordinary, but to (dis)love a character. (due to Jimmy O. Young's voice error) The PlayStation 1 game mascot was a rejected seller.
Born from a magical stone and abandoned as a child by another primate to live on his own because he was too reckless and rebellious, the Monkey King learned to fight and eventually acquired a super-powered staff that would likely serve as his weapon. . feed enemies, skip dangerous levels, avoid death. He's an obnoxious, selfish, and arrogant wannabe hero who simultaneously strives to become immortal and joins an elite group of omnipotent beings called to realize that he's not the center of the universe. healthy and productive. in the face of resistance from different layers of society. Again, it's like taking memorable video game characters like Spyro the Dragon or Ratchet and stripping away their heroic, redeeming qualities.
None of this helps screenwriters Steve Benczyk, Ron J. Friedman and Rita Xiao (in the Chinese mystical tradition) don't care about plot or characterization other than the above. Monkey King quickly devolves into a series of boring fight scenes against mid-level demons, as he has a chance to become immortal after killing 100 people. A person who should be likable quickly becomes unpleasant.
Meanwhile, a sea dragon (voiced by Bowen Young, who also delivers a memorable performance of the haunting score) wants to reclaim the scepter and bring a deadly storm to the world. He also recruits his young daughter, Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), posing as an assistant who helps the Monkey King by manipulating his way, taking the wood and bringing it back to save his land and crops.
After several battles, Lin realizes that the monkey warrior is not a bad person, but suffers from loneliness and neglect, and tries her best to befriend him, but is confused. Pulled out a few times, looked down and called out a tiny pebble. leaves no trace in the world. However, The Monkey King is so boring and lacks character development that viewers will be begging Lin to stop and complain every time she tries to do the right thing and support him. The number of opportunities it provided soon became incredible.
It's also worth noting that the lack of real character development is likely due to the fast-paced, kid-friendly humor that quickly becomes boring. However, The Monkey King has a confusing ending that undermines its attempts at emotional reward and doesn't even deliver the right message. The heavy metal soundtrack and gorgeous visuals are stunning, but otherwise Monkey King is monkey mud.
Waterproofing Mythical Rating - Movie: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Koeder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Association. He is also the editor of Blinking Myth Reviews. Follow me on Twitter or Letterboxd or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com.
