Rating: 
Summary: Not as good
Review: If you live in the US all of your life, you might find this series exotic. For an Asian like me, The movie has a weak plot and slow on action and too much Drama, for a fantacy movie. The Monkey King and his techer are the only things that were quite ok because they are quite funny. For some reasons, the goddess speech's annoyed me so (I rather listen to Arnold or Jacky Chan). I think they choose the wrong leading man, Shouldn't he be doing a romance or a comedy. Can't really point my finger on the wrong things but I only can see this movie once, not like Merlin, Gulliver's Travell, Arabian night, the Odessey ot even the 10th Kingdom. How ever it is still a little bit better than Noah's ark or Alice and wonderland.(all because of the exotic Eastern story).
Rating: 
Summary: Offensive...
Review: is exactly how this movie is to be described. I would suggest that any Chinese/Asians living anywhere in the world to avoid this movie at all cost. "Journey to the West" is a very religious story about a Buddhist monk traveling to the West to obtain the true scriptures of Buddhism... along the way, he met diciples to protect him until he gets there. As someone has already pointed out, Quan Yin is a Buddhishiva of compassion. Buddhists don't have romantic affairs, eat meat, or drink alcohol. It's like showing a Jewish Rabbi eating pork on Friday night. It's disrespectful and sickening. I can't believe people make this kind of crap and take what is a masterpiece and trample all over it. Isn't anything sacred anymore?
Rating:
Summary: Offensive...
Review: is exactly how this movie is to be described. I would suggest that any Chinese/Asians living anywhere in the world to avoid this movie at all cost. "Journey to the West" is a very religious story about a Buddhist monk traveling to the West to obtain the true scriptures of Buddhism... along the way, he met diciples to protect him until he gets there. As someone has already pointed out, Quan Yin is a Buddhishiva of compassion. Buddhists don't have romantic affairs, eat meat, or drink alcohol. It's like showing a Jewish Rabbi eating pork on Friday night. It's disrespectful and sickening. I can't believe people make this kind of crap and take what is a masterpiece and trample all over it. Isn't anything sacred anymore?
Rating:
Summary: Offensive...
Review: is exactly how this movie is to be described. I would suggest that any Chinese/Asians living anywhere in the world to avoid this movie at all cost. "Journey to the West" is a very religious story about a Buddhist monk traveling to the West to obtain the true scriptures of Buddhism... along the way, he met diciples to protect him until he gets there. As someone has already pointed out, Quan Yin is a Buddhishiva of compassion. Buddhists don't have romantic affairs, eat meat, or drink alcohol. It's like showing a Jewish Rabbi eating pork on Friday night. It's disrespectful and sickening. I can't believe people make this kind of crap and take what is a masterpiece and trample all over it. Isn't anything sacred anymore?
Rating:
Summary: What a waste of time...
Review: Recently there has been a surge of interest in "fantasy" type films. With the huge success of "Lord of the Rings," I belive, people are exploring other movies, similar in nature. Well, if you're an adult and you're getting reacquainted with the fantasy genre, this is one to MISS. Ignore it. Keep on walking. Its really just for kids, at best. The story is predictable and it repeats itself, hour past hour. The special effects are good enough for Saturnday morning t.v. but that's about it. I suggest you look at "Arabian Nights" instead.
Rating:
Summary: What a waste of time...
Review: Recently there has been a surge of interest in "fantasy" type films. With the huge success of "Lord of the Rings," I belive, people are exploring other movies, similar in nature. Well, if you're an adult and you're getting reacquainted with the fantasy genre, this is one to MISS. Ignore it. Keep on walking. Its really just for kids, at best. The story is predictable and it repeats itself, hour past hour. The special effects are good enough for Saturnday morning t.v. but that's about it. I suggest you look at "Arabian Nights" instead.
Rating:
Summary: The Goddess of Mercy
Review: The Lost Empire / The Monkey King is a mini series that tells the story of Nicholas Orton (Thomas Gibson) who finds himself on a save-the-world mission. The plot itself is a bit difficult to follow - it is loosely inspired by 'Journey to the West'- the famous chinese epic. However in this version, it shows us what would happen if 'Journey to the West' had never existed. Demons are trying to destroy the book (for the simple reason of that's what evil demons do with their spare time) and the world is running backwards because of it, deleting all the things that 'Journey to the West' helped inspire (which includes buildings and clocks, strangely enough). So the Goddess of Mercy, Kwan Ying (Ling Bai) travels from her world to find the prophesied Scholar from Above - our own Nick Orton. He is 'above' because all of the mythological characters he later mets live in a copy of China in one of the (very, very, very large) unexcavated tombs, under the musuem. So with the help of Kwan Ying and the famous terracotta warriors that come to life, Nick finds himself inside the tomb/copy of mythological China, faced with the sacastic Monkey King (Russell Wong) who was been trapped inside a mountain by those same demons that are out to destroy 'Journey to the West'.
As you can see, the premise is quite confusing, so if you like to sit down and get a nice, logical plot, you might want to give this one a miss, as our heroes do a lot of wandering around and your not actually sure where they're going or why.
However, if you are a fan of other Hallmark fantasy mini-series (the Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Merlin, Arabian Nights, the 10th Kingdom, the Voyage of the Unicorn) then this is the movie for you. Like the others it boasts great special effects, great set-designs and Kwan Ying and her consort Whitesnake wear the most beautiful outfits I've seen. The lovely Ling Bai is perfectly cast as the Goddess of Mercy, and the scenes that take place in the home of the gods are wonderful. Nick and his reluctant teacher the Monkey King are good too, and get some good one-liners, and their allies Pigsy and Friar Sand should appeal to kids. The romance between Nick and Kwan Ying is nothing new, but still enjoyable to watch, and the carefully choreographed martial-art sequences are amazing.
If you are a Chinese-historian or a purist of any kind, I advise you to steer clear, as I'm sure Confucius wasn't an annoying, back-stabbing traiter as he is portrayed here, but everyone else should just sit down and enjoy the ride without being picky.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lost Empire no Longer Lost
Review: This DVD was extremely fun to watch especially if you are interested in Chinese culture. The special effects are great for a TV movie as well as the make-up and costumes. It also has some great acting from chinese actors that you don't get to see enough of in other movies.
Rating:
Summary: The Monkey King / Lost Empire
Review: This is a wonderful film for all ages. NBC did a great job producing this film as it looks and feels like a full length studio motion picture. The only problem I see is it had been adapted for an American audience so some of the original content had been changed. However, the music, costumes, sets, and special effects are first class. I recommend this popular Chinese children's fable to anyone who enjoys The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland. Best damned made for TV adventure in years!
Rating:
Summary: Impressive Mini Series
Review: This is a wonderful movie about an anchient chinese story. The Journey To The West is a book on a scholar that travels to a different world. The movie has great effects and the characters fill the standards of the book. If you love magic and adventure this movie is good. Also if you were interested in movies like: Merlin, 10th kingdom, and Arabian Nights this movie is just what your looking for.
|
