Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

I just finished 西游记之大闹天宫 and it’s sequel 西遊記之孫悟空三打白骨精! These are live action adaptations of the Chinese fables of Sun Wukong. I know it’s not for everyone but I love watching movies in their original language. Rarely are the dubbing voice actors of high caliber abilities and I feel it detracts from the feel of the film. Also Mandarin is such a beautiful language I would hate to miss out. 

西游记之大闹天宫 stars Donnie Yen as Sun Wukong and Chow Yun Fat as the Jade Emperor. I’m a huge fan of both actors, especially Yen for the Ip Man franchise and his involvement in Star Wars. These stories were originally rewritten as moral plays for children but I believe these films are accessible to open-minded adults. Each episodic scene is very epic. The first film is very fast paced and the climax is very exciting and a must see for any Kaiju Otakus out there. The second film takes off right from the ending of the first. It’s pacing is a little slower and they replaced the bigger named actors but they do fine and the last battle scene is worth waiting for! I can’t promote it enough! You must see it! Be warned though, even though it’s for kids primarily, the villainess and her hench-women in the second film are pretty scary and there is a couple scenes of a child getting hurt. It’s neither graphic nor explicit but it still may disturb young viewers.

I won’t crap on the effects. This was a hundred million dollar children’s film so if you don’t have the ability to suspend some disbelief get outta here! I’ve had it up to HERE with all your REALITY! If they had poured 100 million into one scene it would have been a phenomenal scene. But the whole film is big on effects so keep that in mind. It’s more than tolerable.

There’s a third installment in this particular franchise which I can’t wait to see but the films made about the character Sun Wukong are multitudinous and he shows up all throughout Chinese media and even American media that deals with Chinese culture. One of the most prolific I recall from my childhood is that of Big Bird Goes to China or whatever the hell it was called. I can’t remember. He’s a fun character and frankly I’d be interested to see all the adaptations. As for these two films, I can attest, they are high quality and worth the watch if you cherish a varied cultural experience.