I watched 2013’s Journey to the West movie with no foreknowledge, but the entire time, I kept thinking… this feels just like a Stephen Chow film. So I was pleasantly surprised when the end credits rolled, and it turned out that Chow was the director! After sitting through this sequel, it’s very clear how much of a difference a touch of Chow makes. The Demons Strike Back feels like a lower-budget, direct-to-DVD production in comparison, which makes even less sense when you realize that Chow still wrote and produced it. But he did step away from the director’s chair, an absence that hurts as much as the entire cast changing, as well.
Yep, nothing about this movie is the same. The new monk is not nearly as charming, and the new Monkey doesn’t feel at all mischievous or playful. He’s just a guy doing a dumb smirk through most of the film. The jokes are also pretty lame, the fights (particularly the final battle) are visually confusing, and the character progression is extremely forced. There was huge potential in the love-hate relationship between Tang and Monkey that was never delivered on, and Pigsy and Sandy often served no purpose or had nothing to do. Like so many other things here, they just felt like items on a checklist.
Reviewer
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