THE MONKEY KING; HAVOC IN HEAVEN'S PALACE (2014)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical*                                                                                                                                               I've seen my fair share of "Monkey King" adaptations up to now, but this 2014 MONKEY, as I'll call it henceforth, is the first one that has made me actively curious to read the 16th-century novel on which it's based. I imagine director Soi Cheang and his scriptwriters might have interpolated some myth-material not present in JOURNEY TO THE WEST, just to make this expensive FX-project score with 21st-century audiences. But if so, they did a fine job of expanding on the first third of the source work, which I think usually gets the fewest adaptations.                                                                                           

As in many archaic mythologies, the epoch previous to the birth of mortal man is determined by a struggle between the beneficent and self-controlling gods and the destructive and emotional demons. Led by the Bull Demon King (Aaron Kwok), the demons assail the Palace of Heaven to gain supremacy. The ruler of the gods, Jade Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat), defeats the Demon King and his forces, and considers wiping them all out. A merciful goddess named Nuwa declares that even demons' lives are valuable, and she sacrifices herself to make a barrier of mystic crystals that will keep the demons from invading Heaven again. Jade Emperor is thus satisfied to simply banish the evil beings and go back to doing the involved metaphysical exercises beloved by the gods. Demon King accepts his banishment but plans to watch for his next opportunity. (I emphasize again that I don't think humanity has come into being as it has in the novel's second part: all we see are gods, demons, fairies, and animal-people.)                                                                                    

 One of the crystals falls to Earth, and inside this makeshift womb lies the fetus that will become Sun Wukong (Donnie Yen). A young fox-spirit, Ruxie, encounters the crystal but does not actually communicate with the infant. I don't know why this immaculate conception happens to be a humanoid monkey, but in any case, the next time we see Wukong, he's mingling with a tribe of similar monkey-people, though Wukong has far greater magical abilities than any of them. A teacher named Subhuti-- possibly a heaven-immortal rather than the historical figure with the same name-- seeks out Wukong and offers to train him so that he can realize his great potential and take his place with the gods. Wukong accepts the training, though he's cocky and egotistical-- which might indicate some common lineage with the demons, in case Wukong's conception wasn't all that immaculate. At the same time, however, the Demon King lays new plans to overcome the magic that restricts him from entering Heaven. One possible weak link is the Jade Emperor's nephew Erlang, who envies his uncle for his throne. However, Wukong will prove even more useful to the demon-lord because of the heroic monkey's tremendous ego.                                   

 As a result of Wukong's rash actions, he unleashes a destructive tsunami on the lower world. The Demon King, knowing that the minions of heaven will haul Wukong into their domain for judgment, so the evildoer appears to Wukong and makes a pretense of friendship. Wukong defies the constables of the gods but still shows up to knock on Heaven's door, where he's able to enter, presumably because he's part-god. His teacher Subhuti enters the heavenly halls as well to convince Jade Emperor that the arrogant simian simply needs discipline. The Emperor allows Wukong to train in Heaven and the hero masters new skills, but he still doesn't become mentally disciplined, as when he raids the Emperor's garden for a peach of immortality. Meanwhile, Demon King employs his pawn Erlang to bait Wukong, priming the conceited warrior for a major deception. In short, the demon-lord massacres Wukong's people and the fox-girl (who was also one of Bull Demon's agents) to convince Wukong that the immortals did the deed. Despite being deceived for a time, Wukong learns the truth and defeats Demon King in battle. However, for his past deeds he must spend 500 years in a prison devised by the merciful goddess Kwan Yin. After that, he will have to redeem himself by becoming a servant to a mortal Buddhist teacher-- which is where MONKEY KING 2 will pick up, chronicling some of the more familiar parts of the original saga.                   

 Donnie Yen, continuously acting with heavy makeup, does a fine job of portraying the hero, whose faults make him human despite the trouble he causes.  Kwok makes a good "thinking man's villain," though oddly he was switched to portraying Monkey in this film's two sequels, presumably because Yen opted out. Not too many of the other performers get show-stealing moments, but the script doles out a lot of good lines, serious and humorous, even for the stiffly noble deities. The costumes and CGI are excellent and fully drew me into this fantasy-realm, but the quality of the film's look proves secondary to the scripters' understanding of the original work's fundamental strength. As I currently see it, JOURNEY TO THE WEST was to many Asians what Milton's PARADISE LOST was to many European Christians: the former justified the ways of Buddha, and the need for discipline and compassion, to mortals who were often tempted by egoistic desires. It's a strength of the Cheang project that it captures that serious theme, and yet provides moments that are either funny or heartwarming without "talking down" to the audience.