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A
CHINESE TALL STORY
AKA:
A Journey West
Year:
2005 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Over
the years, audiences around the world have been lucky enough
to experience the magical adventures from the 'Journey To The West' novel
bought to life through the use of film, television and stage musicals.
However, this widespread success has meant that the story has now reached a point where it has become so
well known that it is often difficult for any filmmaker to
create fresh material based around the subject. Of course, that
is until Jeff Lau conjured up 'A Chinese Tall Story' which
takes all of the familiar elements, mixes them up in a psychedelic
haze and spits them out in a whole new manner.
The
Tang monk Tripitaka (Tse) and his three disciples - Monkey
King, Pigsy and the Sand monk - have travelled the length of
the globe in search of the scriptures that are rumoured to
bring peace to the world. Their long journey leads them
to Shache City which is rumoured to house the scriptures but
before they can get their hands on them they are attacked by
the "Root of all evil" and the three disciples are
taken prisoner. For his safety, Tripitaka is thrown far
away by the Monkey King and he finds himself in the land
of the lizard imps. Here he meets Meiyan (Choi), who is
not exactly gifted in the looks department but she falls
instantly in love with Tripitaka and promises to accompany him
on his journey to save his friends. As the two set out,
they must face numerous perils if they are to find the
resources required to fight back against the evil forces but
the most difficult challenge they will face is one that
manifests itself in the form of true love.
Looking
at the sheer outrageousness of 'A Chinese Tall Story', it's
probably fair to say that fans of the original source material
may be somewhat disappointed. Lau's new take on the
proceedings is routed in a far more up-to-date and almost epic 'Lord
Of The Rings' style with computer generated effects employed
heavily throughout and an emphasis on the wacky and visually
stunning rather than sticking to the old school methods.
This approach, despite a few bugbears here and there, does
actually work and the film is probably better taken if you
ignore it's influence entirely and sit back to enjoy the
ride. Successfully combining an extremely heartfelt love
story with dazzling backdrops and exciting battles, Lau
keeps the film moving at a rip roaring pace with so many ideas
thrown in that it's certain to appeal to at least one of your
senses!
On
the acting side of things, Nicholas Tse is an actor who
I consider very competent in that stereotypical "young
yet naive" role and the character of Tripitaka
(an ironically fitting name for such a "trippy"
film) is not too
far removed from that. He encompasses his innocence well
and the exploration of his feelings of love are certainly
demonstrated successfully enough to allow the audience to
empathise with him throughout. Opposite him as the leading lady
is Charlene Choi, an actress who has failed to impress me thus
far
but this film really did show me a whole new side to her.
Gone is the childish and often irritating Spice Girl type
persona that she regularly inhabits as one half of Twins and it is
replaced by a very mature performance that is believable,
sweet and fun throughout.
When
it comes to the action in 'A Chinese Tall Story', it pretty much
maintains the degree of insanity that is prevalent throughout
the movie. Forget kung fu, this film is about huge flying
bug-men, magical weaponry and flaming fireball spells, all of
which are created utilising very competent CG effects that are
far more believable than previous efforts from Hong Kong such
as 'Storm
Riders' and 'A Man Called
Hero'. It is worth
mentioning though that there is a distinct lack of martial
arts employed throughout the film which is a shame considering
Yuen Kwai was involved but I would imagine that Lau
wanted to keep the film as more of an adventure rather than
your stereotypical "chop socky". This is
probably a wise decision as not only does it seem to keep the
film more focused on the story but it also allows it to appeal
to a more widespread audience.
As
for the film's downfalls, one of the main aspects that I found
somewhat disappointing was the film's interpretation of what
is essentially a retelling of the "ugly duckling"
tale. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have any
specific complaints with the way the story is told as it is a
very genuine love story but it's the
disappointing fact that it goes down the route of the
typically acceptable Hollywood style of evolution. By this
(and don't panic, I won't give away any crucial plot points
here) I mean that the film still feels compelled to have our
ugly heroine go from being beaten with an ugly stick to the
picture perfect Charlene Choi. Of course I understand
that the audience want to see her live happily ever after and
part of the resolution to her problem lies within a change to
her looks but considering the film's message seems to be that
we fall for people as they appear on the inside rather than
looks, it's
strange that they still choose to have her become pretty
(although I do accept there is a nice twist on the end).
My
only other real problem with 'A Chinese Tall Story' lies with
some of the comedic timing employed throughout the film.
On the whole, the over the top and often insane comedy is
employed successfully (that is of course if you are used to
Asian humour) but during some of the battles it does border on
Looney Toon-esque. I understand that this is a film
aimed at an audience of all ages but on occasion I felt it
would have been nice to see how our heroes fared in a serious
battle rather than relying on a crazy magical fly swatter
(just one example) to dispatch with the villains.
'A
Chinese Tall Story' is definitely not the definitive
adaptation of 'Journey To The West' (Lau's 'A Chinese Odyssey'
series still holds that mantle for me) but it is an
excellently constructed side story that utilises the same
characters. Lau's modern interpretation is an extremely
wild one that is often mind blowing in its visuals but in truth,
its the heart warming love story that prevails and makes the
film a very entertaining one.
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