The Monkey King, 2023.
Directed by Anthony Stacchi.
Featuring the voice talents of Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie, and BD Wong.
SYNOPSIS:
Inspired by an epic Chinese tale, translated into an action-packed comedy, a Monkey and his magical fighting Stick battle demons, dragons, gods and the greatest adversary of all – Monkey’s ego.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, The Monkey King wouldn’t exist.
This isn’t meant to be a knock on the animation style, which is occasionally aesthetically pleasing, colorful, and varied, but it took maybe 10 minutes into Anthony Stacchi’s The Monkey King to not only feel generic but also like the character himself (not necessarily through the fault of voiceover work from Jimmy O. Yang) is a rejected PlayStation 1 platforming system seller mascot.
Born from a magical rock and banished as a youngling by the other primates to live alone for being too reckless and rebellious, Monkey King teaches himself how to fight and eventually comes into possession of a superpowered stick that would seemingly serve as the weapon of choice for fodder enemies while hopping around perilous levels, avoiding death. He is also an unlikable, self-centered, cocky wannabe hero on a quest to become immortal and join an elite group of all-powerful beings, meant to realize that he is not the center of the universe and that he is not healthily or productively dealing with rejection from various pockets of society. Again, it’s akin to taking memorable video game characters like Spyro the Dragon or Ratchet and ripping away their heroic and redeemable qualities.
None of this is helped by screenwriters Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Rita Hsiao (influenced by some admittedly intriguing mystical Chinese lore) didn’t bother coming up with a plot or characterization beyond what is written above. The Monkey King quickly becomes a series of uninspired fight scenes against unremarkable demons, as once he reaches 100 slain, there is a chance he might become immortal. The personality here that is meant to be endearing fastly becomes obnoxious.
Meanwhile, a sea dragon (amusingly voiced by Bowen Yang, who also performs a catchy villainous musical number) wants to reclaim that stick and bring forth to the world the deadly storm. He also enlists a young girl, Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), to pose as a helpful assistant to Monkey King, manipulating her way into retrieving the stick and giving it back in favor of saving her land and crops.
Across multiple battles, Lin, perceiving that the warrior monkey is not a bad person but hurting inside from loneliness and abandonment, tries her best to befriend him, only to repeatedly be squatted away, condescended to, and referred to as an insignificant pebble that will leave no trace on the world. Again, Monkey King is so annoying and without character development, that viewers will be begging Lin to turn on him and groan whenever she tries to do the supposed right thing and stand by his side. It quickly becomes comically unbelievable how many chances she gives him.
It’s also worth noting that the lack of any real character development might come from the decidedly child-focused pacing and sense of humor, which also instantly grows irritating. However, The Monkey King also contains a baffling ending that botches its attempt at an emotional payoff and doesn’t even send the right message. The heavy metal soundtrack and lovely visuals are pleasing, but otherwise, The Monkey King is monkey poop.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
