The Four Monkeys: The Return of Sun Wukong

We’re reaching the bottom of the Journey to the West barrel. Is this the end of Journuary?

“Why do bananas grow on the rocks?”

There is a trope in storytelling that has the superpowered, well-established heroes lose their abilities and have to live as plebeian, mundane individuals who have to learn humility in one way or another. It’s a fine trope, and I’m never mad when I learn a movie will be about that. SunWukong is arguably one of the most superpowered beings in fiction, and if there’s anyone who could use a lesson in humility, it’s him. This concept seems like a good idea. Just a shame, then, that this movie is pretty awful.

After a fight with what we can only assume is Erlang Shen, the Stone Monkey (Chau Pak-ho) – never actually identified as Wukong – is left powerless on earth, with only a young woman (Wei Chai) to protect him. She uses a magical needle that transforms his head into a pig to trick Shen, and steals the Monkey’s golden hooped staff so he can do her bidding. She convinces the Monkey to help her steal a valuable object – a box containing a feather coat – from the gambling house owner and demon Ms Begonia (Zina Blahusova).

This is about as loose as a Journey to the West film can get. Outside of the use of Wukong and Erlang Shen, there’s practically nothing to connect the film to the story. Fans of public domain darlings like Sherlock Holmes are familiar with this treatment: a name, and some clothing are sometimes enough for a production to stick a property’s name on it. It doesn’t actually matter what happens, as long as someone has three eyes and there’s a a vaguely monkey-esque guy wears a headband, preferably with two giant pheasant feathers.

Because in this film, Wukong – or Stone Monkey – isn’t really Wukong. He’s depowered a lot of the time, which I bemoaned earlier, and he lacks any of his trademark mischief. He’s so not monkey-like that the movie has to make an effort to have him crouch down sometimes (once), or eat a bunch of a bananas. In fact, it might not actually be Sun Wukong: the Playstation 1-era cutscene of an introduction shows four monkeys, and the title references four monkeys, as well. Why this movie brings this up at all is baffling, and never actually gets into the details of what exactly is happening, who anyone really is and what their connection to the greater Journey canon is.

To call it a frustrating watch is being kind. But I will give it one credit where it is due: the story of the villagers is actually one that would be worth exploring elsewhere, in a better film. The villagers actually dislike Wukong, as some time ago a fight he had with a demon caused immense damage to their homes. It’s not a lot, but considering how righteous the characters from Journey typically are, and how lauded are their actions, it’s nice to see a darker side to the big epic battles. To see Wukong – and even the others – struggle with the aftermath of a huge demon fight would be something I’d love to see in a future film. A better one, for sure.

Overall, this is a mess of a movie. It’s a big(ish) budget Chinese Near Year sort of thing, with medicore special effects and a story that’s irrelevant because it features the great Sun Wukong. I’ve seen worse Journey films (though not by much) and honestly, unless you’re me and running out of films to talk about on Journuary, then I see no reason to even bother putting this on. Even to see the scene where a hundred Stone Monkeys all transform into one giant roast chicken.

Verdict: One strong storytelling idea does nothing to make this barely 90-minute slog feel refreshing.

Overall entertainment: 3/10
Violence: 3/10. One good fight scene with the casino guards.
Sex: 0/10
Tree demon: the fuck was that
Killing: Is not death? What does that mean
Big roast chicken: That’s how you beat the Giant Agent Smith final boss? God, this movie.

The Four Monkeys: The Return of Sun Wukong (2021)
Also known as: 混世四猴：神猴归来
Mandarin

Director: Li Weiji
Writer: Li Zherui

CAST

Chau Pak-ho – Stone Monkey
Chai Wei – Ba Hai-xing
Kingdom Yuen – Shaman
Zina Blahusova – Ms Begonia
Li Shuai – Wood Demon
Lu Chun Sheng – Villager
Du Hong Jun – Elder