05-18-2023, 11:01 PM
Seen.
Ultimately I loved it. But I feel that you really need to know Journey to the West to fully appreciate it. All the nods to JttW were solid, but without that context, this might just be a confusing mess.
It’s very disneyfied. I was ok with it until the kiss. That didn’t happen in the graphic novel and didn’t need to happen here. Sorry for that spoiler.
I should mention that the fights are entertaining. It’s a lot of effects and wire work, but they pull off some decent action sequences.
Ronny Cheng was a decent Jigong. Michelle nails Guanyin. Daniel portrayed an older more mature Sun Wukong which I’m still resolving a bit. James, Stephanie and Brian have minor roles, but Brian is a good Pigsy. I didn’t like the sex change for Sandy (although that did happen in the book) - her crescent moon blades were cool but an odd nod. There’s a big article to decode all the mythic figures here - one that would be a fun write but I haven’t the time.
Ke surprised me again. He took a caricature character and then flipped it towards the end to deliver an extraordinarily genuine heartfelt scene, one that taps the very soul of this story.
Recommended for D00M sinophiles. I’m really curious to know if this works for non-Asians and those unfamiliar with JttW.
Ends with a cliffhanger, but if you don’t know Princess Iron Fan, it won’t tease s2 like it does of you do.
Ultimately I loved it. But I feel that you really need to know Journey to the West to fully appreciate it. All the nods to JttW were solid, but without that context, this might just be a confusing mess.
It’s very disneyfied. I was ok with it until the kiss. That didn’t happen in the graphic novel and didn’t need to happen here. Sorry for that spoiler.
I should mention that the fights are entertaining. It’s a lot of effects and wire work, but they pull off some decent action sequences.
Ronny Cheng was a decent Jigong. Michelle nails Guanyin. Daniel portrayed an older more mature Sun Wukong which I’m still resolving a bit. James, Stephanie and Brian have minor roles, but Brian is a good Pigsy. I didn’t like the sex change for Sandy (although that did happen in the book) - her crescent moon blades were cool but an odd nod. There’s a big article to decode all the mythic figures here - one that would be a fun write but I haven’t the time.
Ke surprised me again. He took a caricature character and then flipped it towards the end to deliver an extraordinarily genuine heartfelt scene, one that taps the very soul of this story.
Recommended for D00M sinophiles. I’m really curious to know if this works for non-Asians and those unfamiliar with JttW.
Ends with a cliffhanger, but if you don’t know Princess Iron Fan, it won’t tease s2 like it does of you do.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse