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By turns daffy and dazzling, awkward and artful, "Journey to the West" takes an ancient tale and gives it contemporary flair.

In adapting one of the Four Great Classical Novels of 16th-century Chinese literature, co-directors Stephen Chow and Derek Kwok have crafted a rollicking fantasy—a crazy fable that ultimately reaffirms the power of faith. Their giant martial-arts set pieces are nothing short of extraordinary; lively and lovely, they're filled with both great intricacy and innovation.

These scenes, which can be both wildly slapsticky and minutely graceful, provide the film with a winning, driving energy. And then when they're over, the characters unfortunately have to talk.

"Journey to the West" follows a goofy but sincere Buddhist monk named Xuan Zang ( Zhang Wen ), a young demon hunter who must vanquish a series of foes en route to his ultimate showdown with the notorious, shape-shifting Monkey King ( Bo Huang ). When we first see him, in the film's lengthy, tour-de-force opening sequence, he's helping a bunch of frightened villagers take down a giant, hungry fish that's leaping from the water and wreaking havoc. The comedy has a Mel Brooks-like sensibility about it that's appealing; it's playful in a deadly-serious situation. (Chow also directed the pleasingly cartoonish " Shaolin Soccer " and " Kung Fu Hustle .") But the choreography is undeniable: a breathtaking series of near misses and tricky balancing acts.

Xuan's preferred, absurd method of attack, per his mentor, is to tame the beasts by singing lullabies to them from a book called "300 Nursery Rhymes." The sweetness and innocence within Zhang's performance feels very Keanu Reeves circa "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," complete with a mop of wild hair. This is actually a compliment.

The rival demon hunter he keeps running into, a catlike creature known as Miss Duan ( Qi Shu ), favors a more direct strategy: She takes them on through balletic physical battles with the help of a magical golden bracelet—"The Infinite Flying Ring"—which she can duplicate countless times. As she flings the circles through the air like lethal boomerangs, her targets explode in a burst of dust. It's an awesome sight to behold.

But then "Journey to the West" has an episodic structure that saps it of much of the momentum it gains during those thrilling set pieces. Xuan and Duan have one adventure, then another, than another. They meet one eccentric character, then another, then another. There's a tiger demon and a pig demon. There's a preening royal known as Prince Important (clearly a friend of President Business from " The Lego Movie ") and an elderly man known as the Almighty Foot, whose shriveled limb expands to an enormous size when the time comes for him to stomp on his enemies. (He might have the best catch phrase ever: "Today, you will die by my almighty foot!")

Along the way, Xuan and Duan trade some stilted and truly cringe-worthy dialogue—initially about their conflicting strategies, eventually about the half-hearted romance that develops between them. Out of nowhere, Duan finds herself falling hard for her unlikely companion and throwing herself at him in increasingly elaborate ways.

Maybe it's written that way on the page, but on the screen—especially in a film that benefits from such a strong and fearless female—the sudden need to have a man define her is a disheartening cliché. Also, some of the interactions between the male characters carry more than a whiff of homophobia which seems archaic. Again, maybe that's from the source material. But a film that clearly went out of its way to appeal to modern audiences perhaps could have gone just a tiny bit further.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

Journey to the West (2014)

Rated PG-13

110 minutes

Zhang Wen as Xuan Zang

Qi Shu as MIss Duan

Bo Huang as Monkey King

• Stephen Chow
• Derek Kwok Chi-Kin

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Film Review: ‘Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons’

By Richard Kuipers

Richard Kuipers

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Visuals are more dazzling than the storytelling in “ Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.” A qualified return to form for Hong Kong hitmaker Stephen Chow (“Kung Fu Hustle) after mushy sci-fier “CJ7,” this mostly entertaining action-fantasy-comedy about a demon hunter soars when pyrotechnics take centerstage, but is less successful when the focus switches to words. Nevertheless, “Journey” has gone bananas since its Feb. 7 domestic release and looks certain to crack the $200 million mark and overtake “ Lost in Thailand ” as the highest grossing Chinese movie. Commercial potential beyond Chinese-speaking auds appears limited. North American release details are pending.

The pic is the umpteenth movie inspired by Wu Cheng-en’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 .

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.

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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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

Duan invites herself on Xuanzang’s missions to challenge and change other demons — pig K.L. 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. While sequences such as Duan using her “Infinite Flying Rings” to disintegrate Hog’s minions at his restaurant-cum slaughterhouse are filled with razzle-dazzle CGI and exciting 3D effects, talk-based segs between showpieces too often lack the nimble scripting and heartwarming charm that distinguishes Chow’s best work, like 2001’s “Shaolin Soccer.”

The main problem is Duan’s wildly enthusiastic attempts to woo Xuanzang despite his avowed devotion to “a greater love” than what she’s offering. Pushing the opposites-attract notion a bit too far, Duan’s repeated declarations of passion for Xuanzang never ring true, and it remains a mystery why she finds him so irresistible. An early sequence showing Duan and her sexy comrade (Chrissie Chau) conspiring to activate Xuanzang’s libido produces chuckles, but variations on the theme prove far less mirthful.

Although Chow does not appear in the movie, his acting style and screen persona are writ large on the main cast. Shu is dynamite as the all-action Duan, Huang amuses as the eccentric Monkey King, and Taiwanese singer Show Lo scores big laughs as Prince Important, a narcissistic rival demon hunter with an entourage of soon-to-be-superannuated female sidekicks.

Where the helmer’s touch works least is the central role of Xuanzang. Mainland thesp Wen does nothing particularly wrong, but his perf as the nervous greenhorn feels Chow-lite, and his narrowly written character is less lovable than he ought to be. It doesn’t help that Wen sports a ghastly “finger-in-the-light-socket” hairdo more fit for a costume party than a serious young seeker of spiritual fulfillment.

The pic is beautifully designed and photographed in predominantly rich earthy tones by lenser Choi Sung-fai (“ Flying Swords of Dragon Gate”). The orchestral score by regular Chow collaborator Raymond Wong adds plenty of punch to action sequences, but is slightly overused in the dramatic passages. The rest of the technical work is first class. Things conclude with a set-up for a sequel.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Sai yau: hong mor pin

(Hong Kong-China)

Reviewed at Hoyts Tea Tree Plaza Cinemas, Adelaide, March 4, 2013. Running time: 110 MIN.

An Edko Films (in Hong Kong), Huayi Brothers Media (in China) release of a Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, Chinavision Media Group, Bingo Movie Development, Edko Films production. (International sales: Bingo, Hong Kong.) Produced by Wang Zhongjun, Stephen Chow, Ellen R. Eliasoph, Han Sanping, Dong Ping, Bill Kong. Executive Producer, Chow.

Directed by Stephen Chow. Associate director, Derek Kwok. Screenplay, Chow, Kwok, Huo Xin, Wang Yun, Fung Chih-chiang, Lu Zheng-yu, Lee Sheung-ching, Ivy Kong. Camera (color, widescreen, HD, 3D), Choi Sung-fai; editor, Chan Chi-wai; music, Raymond Wong; production designer, Bruce Yu; art director, Eric Lam; costume designer, Lee Pik-kwan; sound (Dolby Atmos), Zhu Yanfeng; visual effects supervisor, Ken Law; visual effects, Macrograph, Different Digital Design; action choreographer, Ku Huen-chiu; line producer, Ivy Kong; associate producer, Alice Chow; assistant directors, Leung Kwok-fai, Keith Chan Cheung-kei, Ng Ka-pui; second unit camera, Gao Hu.

With: Shu Qi, Wen Zhang, Huang Bo, Show Lo, Lee Sheung-ching, Chen Bing-qiang, Cheng Si-han, Xing Yu, Lu Zheng-yu, Chiu Chi-ling, Yang Di, Chrissie Chau, Ge Hang-yu, Fung Ming-hun, Yeung Lun.

(Mandarin dialogue)

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Journey to the west — conquering the demons: film review.

Stephen Chow is back in box-office storming form with this lucrative update of one of China's most beloved literary epics.

By Elizabeth Kerr

Elizabeth Kerr

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Combine rapidly increasing screen numbers, a voracious appetite for movies, a beloved literary legend and perhaps one of Hong Kong’s most popular actor-directors ever and you’ve got the recipe for a minor cinematic phenomenon. A lot would have to be dreadfully wrong for producer-writer-director Stephen Chow ’s entertaining comedy-fantasy Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons , to flop. And indeed, it has lived up to its potential, earning a massive $190 million in a few weeks in mainland China. Though the film was oddly beaten at home over the key Lunar New Year holiday weekend (by A Good Day to Die Hard of all things) this umpteenth iteration of the Chinese classic is likely to continue its successful streak beyond the Mainland and Hong Kong.

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JTTW is Chow’s first film in five years, the last being the fatuous and uncharacteristically schmaltzy CJ7 , and it boasts all the hallmarks of a Chow film: the slow development of running jokes and motifs, the wry asides, the everyman background characters that are often hilariously baffled or disbelieving on the viewer’s behalf, the tendency to allow scenes to run on organically. Though the film has more humanity and less of a sharp tongue than Chow has been noted for in the past, it’s undeniably his work (he doesn’t star in the film this time) and audiences and distributors receptive to surprise hits like King of Comedy and the groundbreaking Shaolin Soccer will want to get on the JTTW bandwagon.

The Bottom Line A welcome return to form by Hong Kong favorite Chow, even if it is without the director’s usual bite.

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The story kicks off with a stirring opening sequence involving a fake demon hunter, a fake water demon and a Taoist monk (the man that would be Tripitaka) Chen Xuanzang ( Wen Zhang ) dedicated to demon expulsion via love, kindness and a book of 300 nursery rhymes. Failing to get the job done and strung up for being a hoax, Xuanzang watches helplessly as the real water demon appears and wreaks havoc on a small village. The day is ultimately saved by real-deal Duan ( Shu Qi ) and her Infinity Flying Ring. Despondent at his failure, Xuanzang goes back to his master ( Cheng Sihan ) who tells him his lack of faith was the root of his demon banishing ineptitude. Cue the journey to betterment and wisdom.

Constructed in segments pivoting on encounters with the various demons Xuanzang meets — the opening fish demon, the Gao Family Inn and its Pig Demon proprietor ( Chen Bingqiang ), the closing Five Finger Mountain segment and a run-in with Sun Wukong, aka the Monkey King ( Huang Bo ) with short bridging bits — Journey to the West is more picaresque than pure narrative. But Chow and his army of writers manage to hold on to their themes and ideas through each set piece. The central conflict in the film grows from Xuanzang’s very Buddhist quest to honor the greater love for all things under the sun — demons included — and Duan’s more earthly quest for physical and romantic love. Her aggressive pursuit of him makes Xuanzang uneasy, and challenges his already fragile hold on his faith. The film has a dark undercurrent, entertaining and colorful as it is. Chow has no time for unwritten rules that say toddlers can’t die on screen; the Pig Demon’s lair is truly grotesque; and the Monkey King isn’t the impish charmer that has dominated popular culture. Laughs bump up against loss time and again, giving JTTW a more adult edge than may be expected.

STORY: Stephen Chow, China’s Huayi Brothers in Dispute Over ‘Journey to the West’ Profits

But Chow has a stellar cast that can soften the more gruesome elements without losing control of their purpose. Shu ( Three Times ) and Huang ( Crazy Stone ) are the standouts this time around, and help the bland Wen ( The Guillotines ) look stronger than he is. Huang is a proven comic performer but Shu surprises yet again with a nuanced turn that deftly balances the film’s emotional weight with its comic demands. The film’s 3D and CGI is adequate, and though it goes needlessly overboard in the closing segments, for the most part it avoids the effects-as-message trap. Journey to the West may not rank among Chow’s classics, but it’s a crowd-pleaser that also serves as a reminder of what the director can accomplish when he’s on his game.

Producers: Stephen Chow, Wang Zhonglei Director: Stephen Chow Cast: Wen Zhang, Shu Qi, Huang Bo, Show Luo, Cheng Sihan Screenwriters: Stephen Chow, Derek Kwok, Lola Huo, Wang Yun, Andew Fung, Lu Zhengyu, Ivy Kong, Lee Sheung-ching Executive producers: Wang Zhongjun, Dong Ping, Han Sanping, Ellen Eliasoph, Bill Kong Director of Photography: Johnny Choi Production Designer: Bruce Yu Music: Raymond Wong Costume Designer: Lee Pik-kwan Editor: Andy Chan

No rating, 109 minutes  

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Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)

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Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

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• New York Post Lou Lumenick The final product is very much Chow - with elaborately staged stunts, slapstick inspired by silent Hollywood, and a silliness that will appeal to kids (as well as some black humor that may take some explaining for younger audiences).
• AV Club Ignatiy Vishnevetsky Conquering The Demons feels like a Chow movie through and through; as in his other films, much of its charm rests in the intermingling of the very high-concept and the very lowbrow.
• RogerEbert.com Christy Lemire By turns daffy and dazzling, awkward and artful, "Journey to the West" takes an ancient tale and gives it contemporary flair.
• New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman Chow's movies are always as sweet as they are silly, a combination he once again balances - alongside cool effects - with typically deft irreverence.
• Slant Magazine Kenji Fujishima Stephen Chow's distinctive vision is evident in the seemingly boundless imagination of his scenarios, and in the film's sincere spiritual concerns and generosity toward misfits and outsiders.
• CinemaBlend Kristy Puchko There's a grandness to the action sequences, playful allusions to 'Jaws,' and a great feel for the spectacular. It's just a shame its story gets lost in translation.
• Variety Ronnie Scheib Another exquisite, snail-paced cinematic perambulation from Tsai Ming-liang and Lee Kang-sheng.
• Film Comment Magazine Grady Hendrix A kung fu comedy, a Chinese fairy story, a Buddhist action movie, a prequel to a mega-series that makes James Cameron's ambitions look puny, Chow's Journey to the West is everything that is good about China's mega-blockbuster inclinations.
• New Yorker Richard Brody Liang's ravishing conceptual film achieves a rare blend of sensuous delight and documentary specificity.
• New York Magazine/Vulture Bilge Ebiri Journey to the West works so well because Chow has a flair for grand comic-action set pieces, and his imagination seems to actually draw energy from these rapid-fire tonal shifts.
• New York Times Nicolas Rapold Mr. Chow has perhaps achieved more sustained and elaborate adventures, but he hits a sweet spot of comedy that never grows too self-aware or forgets the value of a good, clean demon whomping.
• Los Angeles Times Sheri Linden Stephen Chow's dazzling comic fantasy about a gentle Buddhist demon hunter.
• Village Voice Nick Schager The camera swoops and whooshes about but never generates any compelling energy - Chow's film proves endlessly manic but devoid of much mirth.
• Movie Mezzanine Jesse Knight For all the exaggerated facial expressions and flailing limbs, Chow keeps a high-wire balance with an intrinsic sense of pace that perishes all possibility of action fatigue.
• IGN Movies Matt Patches Director Stephen Chow's action fantasy film Journey to the West is a miss, but a wild, reverent, explosive miss.
• About.com Eric D. Snider Characteristically bug-eyed and silly, by turns creative, clever, and exhausting.
• Nerdist Witney Seibold Journey to the West is an episodic picaresque epic, moving from set piece to set piece without the traditional Western screenplay-101 contrivances, allowing for a more casual, freewheeling, adventurous tone.
• PopMatters Bill Gibron While we don't get to see him personally up there amongst the heroes and demons, (Chow's) stamp is all over Journey to the West. It's what makes this flight of fantasy so much escapist fun.
• TheDivaReview.com Diva Velez The cast is extremely funny and the movie will entertain viewers new to his work, but happy as I am to see anything from the multi-talented Stephen Chow, for this longtime fan, the movie feels a bit empty without his comedic onscreen presence.
• The Robot's Voice Luke Y. Thompson There's not an actor in this movie, from the leads down to the extras, who doesn't mug like crazy, and there's not a moment onscreen that isn't utterly ridiculous. That, however, was clearly the goal

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journey to the west (2013)

Journey to the west.

Demon hunter Chen Xuanzhang (Wen Zhang) believes that he can purify any demon through love. However, his belief is shaken when his attempt to defeat a demon fish ends in a family's death and a victory for violent demon hunter Duan (Shu Qi). After getting encouragement from his master, Xuanzhang soldiers on to hunting down a demonic hog with the help of Duan, who has fallen in love with Xuanzhang. Despite help from other demon hunters, the hog gets away. As a last resort, Xuanzhang and Duan turn to the help of Sun Wukong (Huang Bo), who has been imprisoned for five centuries for his crimes in heaven.

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Journey to the West TV Spot | EXCLUSIVE

Director Stephen Chow returns with this epic fantasy adventure about a young demon hunter, in theaters and VOD March 7.

New Journey to the West Trailer from Director Stephen Chow

This action-adventure centers on a demon hunter who heads west with four mystical creatures. Check out the new poster, In theaters this spring.

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We also have the new poster for this martial arts comedy-fantasy co-directed by Chi-kin Kwok.