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Thread: The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 《齊天大聖孫悟空》

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    Default The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 《齊天大聖孫悟空》

    I was really looking forward to this when it was about to come out, with its high budget costumes and actors. However, I could'nt he but feel that the entire series was some sick joke

    The opening was very annoying since it started out totally at the beginning of the story and dragged on for about 5 episodes. Clearly it didn't need to be that long since everyone knows the storyline unless they have been living in a cave. I was also expecting this to be the journey back to China from India with the scriptures.

    I was absolutely horrified when the monk was introduced and started cracking jokes. It was totally inapropriate for the character. But after about 10 episodes I finally got used to it and did find the sarcasm a bit funny at times. Sammy Cheng as Kuan Yin was also laughable since I can't picture the real one with all that modern jewelry all over her. I thought the original one in the tvb version of Journey to the West 1 was better.

    I thinke there were only 3 people in the entire series that I commend. First is Dicky - got the monkey thing down to perfection. Jou Ying as Tai Sang Lou Kwan. And to my surprise - Anita Yuen who has improved a lot in her acting skills and manage to emanate a respectful presence throughout this comedy.

    It might have been good for a few laughs but near halfway through, I felt like shooting Twins as well as Jimmy Lin (his acting has remained wooden since when I first saw him).

    Totally a big disappointment. I feel that the quality of serials have been deteriorating for the past few years and I wish that some of these singers should stop pretending to be actors and stick with what they do best.
    Last edited by triumph2004; 12-07-11 at 11:13 PM.

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    U have to approach this series with a "relaxing, lie on the chair sipping orange juice" attitude to enjoy it. Dun take it too seriously hehe and you will like it.

    For me, that drama was the first time that made me realized who the Twins were. And I have to say Charlene never look better and cuter in that Ji Lan Fairy role hehe.

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    Senior Member Trinie's Avatar
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    I agree!! I hated this series even though I like some of the cast. That's why I always tell people to not always watch a series just for the cast. The plot, story and other elements are important as well.
    Respect other people's opinions and views. If we learn how to do that than all of these fights and arguments will not occur.

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    Senior Member Guo Xiang's Avatar
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    Jinny, I agree that you have to watch this series without expecting it to be serious while relaxing. If you are the type of person who isn't able to do it, don't watch such shows at all. I am one of those people but I've dragged it abit further before I stopped watching it. I'm toooo serious. LOL
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    I agreed, monkey king--quest for the sutra its a big disappointment to the tvb's Journey to the west I.

    It's not as enjoyable & entertaining as tvb's journey to the west I.

    There are something missing here that makes it draggy & so boring---the appropriate soundtrack & background music sound arrangements, the storyline, the narrator, the appropriate casts & good themesong.

    I think they should have cast back the actress who used to played as the goddess of mercy from tvb's journey to the west I in here instead of sammi cheng---she's obviously unsuitable for the role of goddess of mercy even though she's a friend of the leading actor who played-----monkey king in real life.

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    Default I know what you mean

    I did understand that I needed to have a sense of humor throughout this series and I managed to get used to it after a while and finish the entire thing.

    What I am most disappointed about is the weak plotline. Romance seemed to be a big focus of the story and I do like a romances but it seemed as if MK2 turned into the story of the love lives of the main cast.

    Also, I don't mind having a star-studded cast but some of them did not seem to fit their roles well.

    What got me the most was the repeated phrases Dicky says. It was kind of funny the first few times around but by the end of the show, it got to be like "could'nt they find another catch phrase?"

    I enjoyed the new perspective of MK2 and I did have a few good laughs here and there. The costumes and locations were also stunning but I guess I was expecting more from such a high budget production.

    Overall I think this would be good to watch with a friend to laugh together at but since I watched it by myself, so of the humor was lost. While it proved to be entertaining if you're bored, I still believe that Journey to the West I is a better production for all its low budgetness and I was hoping this one would prove to be better than the first.

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    Senior Member Trinie's Avatar
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    I agree with you Jinny! First of all, I have read parts of the novel and the novel is really good. The most accurate version would be the one from China with Lu Xiao Ling Tong. The one with Dicky was pretty good too. But this one was really bad... First of all, it completely disrespects the novel and is not faithful at all. Also, gods(especially Monkey King and Na Zha) are NOT supposed to be involved with love. I like love storys too, but not like how it is in this series.
    Respect other people's opinions and views. If we learn how to do that than all of these fights and arguments will not occur.

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    Senior Member convoy's Avatar
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    Well, it's by Wang Jing. What can you expect?

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    My local TV is airing this series now. Initially, I find this series amusing. But now I can't stand it. The main culprit are the Twins. I have never seen them act so badly before. Jimmy Lin's acting is also bad but still tolerable. But the 2 Twins totally ruined the series. The silly plot doesn't help either.

    I have to commend Dicky Cheung and Tien Niu though. They are great in this series. Awesome chemistry. The other veteran actors Simon Lui and Kenneth Tsang also not bad.

    Too bad that the Twins are in so many scenes. Their awful acting make Kristy Yang's acting look credible.

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    I'm starting to enjoy this series. The series started to get more entertaining after Monkey King meet the monk. I love their rapport. I hope this series will more become more and more enjoyable when I see more of it. One thing they could do is focus less on the romance. Monkey King with all his girlfriends is the most boring part of the series. The series become more interesting after the quest started, when they deal with other issues. The absent or minimum appearance of incompetant actors (Charlene, Jimmy, that guy who play the rival of Monkey King in heaven, Gillian etc) also help.
    Last edited by kidd; 07-15-05 at 04:19 AM.

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    Senior Member arachidonic's Avatar
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    The story has very much ran away from its original one. But, if you just enjoy laughing and don't care too much, its not bad I enjoyed it very much, especially when Dicky's reciting the cow poem with some kinda sound effect he made himself.. I tried it myself and now I can do it too Its a reason I like Dicky's series

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    What happened to Nezha? I miss a couple of earlier episodes. The last I saw him, he was locked up a 'wu lou' when trying to rescue Monkey King.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Trinie View Post
    I agree!! I hated this series even though I like some of the cast. That's why I always tell people to not always watch a series just for the cast. The plot, story and other elements are important as well.

    This almost always happen because some unethical film producers who want to make quick gold and silver just by putting in some known cute actors actress to easily lure some fans.

    But do a horrible production, putting in way too much cgi, while the fans just watching knowing well everything is not okay but at least they're watching their favorite actors actress.

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    I personally really liked this adaption. Maybe it is because I watched it when I was a child and it is more appropriate with it being so colorful and the story is not really 'complicated' for a child.
    I also watched Journey to the West 1, also with Dicky Cheung, and I found that one really interesting too.
    JTTW1 is I guess more true to the novel? (I haven't read it) but I remember being really disappointed with the lack of romance in it. Although there was some but not much compared to Quest of Sutra. But I still loved it. The reason why I loved QoS is because it was more light and fun. And I remember how to sing the songs in it! And of course I loved how there was romance in it.
    Oh and did I mention I love the songs from both adaptions! Too bad they are so hard to find nowadays!

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