film journey to west

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening This Week
• Top Box Office
• Coming Soon to Theaters
• Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 83% Speak No Evil Link to Speak No Evil
• 77% Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Link to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• 96% Rebel Ridge Link to Rebel Ridge

New TV Tonight

• 89% The Penguin: Season 1
• 89% High Potential: Season 1
• 83% American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez: Season 1
• 40% Frasier: Season 2
• 17% Emmys: Season 76
• -- Agatha All Along: Season 1
• -- Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story: Season 2
• -- Twilight of the Gods: Season 1
• 100% Tulsa King: Season 2
• -- A Very Royal Scandal: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 63% The Perfect Couple: Season 1
• 99% Shōgun: Season 1
• 98% Hacks: Season 3
• 74% Kaos: Season 1
• 67% The Old Man: Season 2
• 85% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2
• 100% Slow Horses: Season 4
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

• 95% Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist: Season 1 Link to Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

47 Best Italian Horror Movies of All Time

30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

The Fight Night Cast on Trolling Each Other on Set

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

• Trending on RT
• Hispanic Heritage Month
• Spanish-Language Movies
• Re-Release Calendar

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Where to watch.

Watch Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons with a subscription on Prime Video, rent on Fandango at Home, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Apple TV.

What to Know

As sweet, silly, action-packed and ridiculous as director Steven Chow's best work, Journey to the West serves up dazzling action sequences while playing its disparate elements against each other with thrilling abandon.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Stephen Chow

Chi-kin Kwok

Fist of the North Star

More Like This

Related movie news.

Film Review: ‘Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons’

By Richard Kuipers

Richard Kuipers

• ‘Invisible Nation’ Review: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen Fights For Her Country’s Survival in Vanessa Hope’s Compelling Documentary 8 months ago
• ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Review: The Kaiju Superstar Delivers Everything You Could Want From a Monster Movie 10 months ago
• ‘Furies’ Review: A Furious Tale of Female Revenge Set in a Hell-on-Earth Vision of Ho Chi Minh City 1 year ago

Visuals are more dazzling than the storytelling in “ Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.” A qualified return to form for Hong Kong hitmaker Stephen Chow (“Kung Fu Hustle) after mushy sci-fier “CJ7,” this mostly entertaining action-fantasy-comedy about a demon hunter soars when pyrotechnics take centerstage, but is less successful when the focus switches to words. Nevertheless, “Journey” has gone bananas since its Feb. 7 domestic release and looks certain to crack the $200 million mark and overtake “ Lost in Thailand ” as the highest grossing Chinese movie. Commercial potential beyond Chinese-speaking auds appears limited. North American release details are pending.

The pic is the umpteenth movie inspired by Wu Cheng-en’s classic 16th century novel “Journey to the West.” The source material about the arrival of Buddhism in China provided the basis for “A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora’s Box” and “A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella,” domestic hits starring Chow as the mischievous Monkey King .

Related Stories

‘Star Wars Outlaws’: Disney Tests Gamers’ Appetite for Hollywood IP

'Twilight' Animated Series 'Midnight Sun' Lands at Netflix

With Derek Kwok (“Gallants”) credited as associate director, “Journey” follows a simple pattern of elaborate set-pieces followed by brief pauses for reflection and explanation, not all of which are entirely compelling or convincing.

Popular on Variety

The first spectacular sequence shows young demon hunter Xuanzang (Wen Zhang) arriving in a fishing village during a gory, “Jaws”-like attack by the fearsome Water Demon. Chow’s knack for mixing suspense and slapstick is impressively displayed as Xuanzang leaps about rickety walkways and see-sawing bridges resembling the board game “Mouse Trap” before rescuing a baby just inches from becoming the creature’s next meal.

In one of several new ideas brought to the old tale by Chow, Kwok and six other credited writers, sensitive Xuanzang reads nursery rhymes to demons in the hope they will reject the dark side and join him as allies in the quest for spiritual enlightenment. His belief is that these beasties were once good-natured humans that suffered terrible injustice, and a lilting lullaby is all it takes to undo the damage. Watched by villagers as his technique restores the Water Demon to his previous human form as Sand Monk (Lee Sheung-ching), Xuanzang’s moment of glory is stolen by the sudden arrival of Duan ( Shu Qi , “If You Are the One”), a feisty femme demon hunter with radically different ideas on creature control and a flair for showbiz that the nerdy Xuanzang lacks.

Duan invites herself on Xuanzang’s missions to challenge and change other demons — pig K.L. Hog (Chen Bing-qiang) and Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King (Huang Bo), an especially tricky customer who’s served 500 years of solitary confinement in a remote cave on orders from Buddha himself. While sequences such as Duan using her “Infinite Flying Rings” to disintegrate Hog’s minions at his restaurant-cum slaughterhouse are filled with razzle-dazzle CGI and exciting 3D effects, talk-based segs between showpieces too often lack the nimble scripting and heartwarming charm that distinguishes Chow’s best work, like 2001’s “Shaolin Soccer.”

The main problem is Duan’s wildly enthusiastic attempts to woo Xuanzang despite his avowed devotion to “a greater love” than what she’s offering. Pushing the opposites-attract notion a bit too far, Duan’s repeated declarations of passion for Xuanzang never ring true, and it remains a mystery why she finds him so irresistible. An early sequence showing Duan and her sexy comrade (Chrissie Chau) conspiring to activate Xuanzang’s libido produces chuckles, but variations on the theme prove far less mirthful.

Although Chow does not appear in the movie, his acting style and screen persona are writ large on the main cast. Shu is dynamite as the all-action Duan, Huang amuses as the eccentric Monkey King, and Taiwanese singer Show Lo scores big laughs as Prince Important, a narcissistic rival demon hunter with an entourage of soon-to-be-superannuated female sidekicks.

Where the helmer’s touch works least is the central role of Xuanzang. Mainland thesp Wen does nothing particularly wrong, but his perf as the nervous greenhorn feels Chow-lite, and his narrowly written character is less lovable than he ought to be. It doesn’t help that Wen sports a ghastly “finger-in-the-light-socket” hairdo more fit for a costume party than a serious young seeker of spiritual fulfillment.

The pic is beautifully designed and photographed in predominantly rich earthy tones by lenser Choi Sung-fai (“ Flying Swords of Dragon Gate”). The orchestral score by regular Chow collaborator Raymond Wong adds plenty of punch to action sequences, but is slightly overused in the dramatic passages. The rest of the technical work is first class. Things conclude with a set-up for a sequel.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Sai yau: hong mor pin

(Hong Kong-China)

Reviewed at Hoyts Tea Tree Plaza Cinemas, Adelaide, March 4, 2013. Running time: 110 MIN.

An Edko Films (in Hong Kong), Huayi Brothers Media (in China) release of a Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, Chinavision Media Group, Bingo Movie Development, Edko Films production. (International sales: Bingo, Hong Kong.) Produced by Wang Zhongjun, Stephen Chow, Ellen R. Eliasoph, Han Sanping, Dong Ping, Bill Kong. Executive Producer, Chow.

Directed by Stephen Chow. Associate director, Derek Kwok. Screenplay, Chow, Kwok, Huo Xin, Wang Yun, Fung Chih-chiang, Lu Zheng-yu, Lee Sheung-ching, Ivy Kong. Camera (color, widescreen, HD, 3D), Choi Sung-fai; editor, Chan Chi-wai; music, Raymond Wong; production designer, Bruce Yu; art director, Eric Lam; costume designer, Lee Pik-kwan; sound (Dolby Atmos), Zhu Yanfeng; visual effects supervisor, Ken Law; visual effects, Macrograph, Different Digital Design; action choreographer, Ku Huen-chiu; line producer, Ivy Kong; associate producer, Alice Chow; assistant directors, Leung Kwok-fai, Keith Chan Cheung-kei, Ng Ka-pui; second unit camera, Gao Hu.

With: Shu Qi, Wen Zhang, Huang Bo, Show Lo, Lee Sheung-ching, Chen Bing-qiang, Cheng Si-han, Xing Yu, Lu Zheng-yu, Chiu Chi-ling, Yang Di, Chrissie Chau, Ge Hang-yu, Fung Ming-hun, Yeung Lun.

(Mandarin dialogue)

More from Variety

‘The Perfect Couple’ Ending Explained: How the Netflix Series Changed the Book’s Killer Finale

The Postwar Streaming Market: A Special Report

‘Rings of Power’ Director Charlotte Brändström Explains Sauron’s Origins in Season 2 Premiere, Why Celebrimbor Is Like Oppenheimer and Directing 200 Orcs (EXCLUSIVE)

Two Docs Bring Scott Peterson and the Murder of Laci Peterson Back Into the Spotlight. Which Is More Truthful?

Netflix vs. YouTube: The Post-Streaming Wars Era’s Archrivalry

‘Evil’ Creators Robert and Michelle King on Bringing the Show to a ‘Satisfying’ Conclusion, Whether Timothy Is Actually the Antichrist and Leland’s Fate

More from our brands, mrbeast faces lawsuit over alleged sexual harassment, unpaid wages on ‘beast games’ reality show.

A Famed Travel Writer Lists His Remote Island Retreat in Maine for $1.3 Million

Coach Prime Hype Peters Out as Colorado’s TV Ratings Crater

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

High Potential Boss Unpacks the Show’s Central Mystery, Teases ‘Slow Burn’ Romance and More — Grade It!

journey to the west (2013)

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Demon hunter Chen Xuanzhang (Wen Zhang) believes that he can purify any demon through love. However, his belief is shaken when his attempt to defeat a demon fish ends in a family's death and a victory for violent demon hunter Duan (Shu Qi). After getting encouragement from his master, Xuanzhang soldiers on to hunting down a demonic hog with the help of Duan, who has fallen in love with Xuanzhang. Despite help from other demon hunters, the hog gets away. As a last resort, Xuanzhang and Duan turn to the help of Sun Wukong (Huang Bo), who has been imprisoned for five centuries for his crimes in heaven.

Columbia Pictures Takes The Monk

Kaige Chen directed this Chinese martial arts film starring Wang Baoqiang, Lin Chi-ling and Fan Wei. It is currently shooting in Xianghe, China.

Journey to the West TV Spot | EXCLUSIVE

Director Stephen Chow returns with this epic fantasy adventure about a young demon hunter, in theaters and VOD March 7.

New Journey to the West Trailer from Director Stephen Chow

This action-adventure centers on a demon hunter who heads west with four mystical creatures. Check out the new poster, In theaters this spring.

Journey to the West Trailer from Kung Fu Hustle Director Stephen Chow

We also have the new poster for this martial arts comedy-fantasy co-directed by Chi-kin Kwok.

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back

The Chinese film industry doesn’t produce stars so much as legends. Jackie Chan , Bruce Lee, Chow Yun-Fat , Gong Li , Sammo Hung —they may once have been ordinary mortals hailing from Taiwan, Hong-Kong and elsewhere, but when they started appearing in and creating blockbusters, they left our atmosphere, riding on the raw power of otherworldly charisma and imagination that most of us could only dream of possessing. When these titans come together, it’s always an event. So when Vietnamese-born director Tsui Hark finally teamed up with Stephen Chow , the mad cinematic scientist who gave the world live-action “Looney Tunes” like “ Shaolin Soccer ” and “Kung-Fu Hustle,” it was bound to be an event. Their collaboration, “Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back,” is a fittingly gargantuan affair, huge enough to fit the ambitions of both auteurs. Chow, the director and writer of series curtain raiser “Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons,” wrote and produced this sequel and ceded the director’s chair to Tsui, the man who’s been sweetly infecting the daydreams of Chinese audiences for 40 years. The result is both a madcap success on its own bizarre terms and an informative distillation of each auteur’s sensibility.

When last we left monk Tang ( Kris Wu ), he had chosen to team up with three vanquished demons to do something productive with his grief over the death of his secret beloved Miss Duan ( Shu Qi ). It’s been a while since they joined forces and the dynamic between Tang the Monkey King (Kenny Lin), Pigsy the horny hog demon (Yang Yiwei), and Sandy the fish demon ( Mengke Bateer ) has grown strained. The Monkey King has little but contempt for his captor/master, and, when we join them, they’re attempting to raise a little money by putting on a sideshow at a carnival (the ADR and the elaborate set bring Fellini to mind). Monkey resents being used as an attraction and deliberately sabotages the performance, but his displays of inhuman strength still dazzle the circus crowd enough that Tang and his crew are allowed to continue unharmed on their way west.

Tang’s mission in life is to tame demons and come closer to a Buddhist ideal, and his three traveling companions are ultimately his way to enlightenment. He has to learn how to best take care of and manage these rampaging monsters of id and misaligned humors. Monkey’s disrespect for Tang is just one more way for the monk to come to terms with his personal failures, but it takes him a while to figure out that the Buddha doesn’t just hand out burdens idly. The four wayward souls encounter several challenges (including a house full of spider women, a petulant king and a tricky minister’s temptations) that serve as lessons in cooperation, selflessness and trust.

From an opening dream sequence that references “The Three Worlds of Gulliver,” it’s clear how well Chow and Tsui understand each other. Chow’s more fluid storytelling is occasionally missed in “Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back,” but Tsui, who directs like Bill Bruford plays drums, takes stylistic leaps that not even Chow would have dared. The world is a playground and a canvas upon which to finger paint for Tsui. His demons rampage through one gorgeously colorful digital tableau after another, passing otherworldly skies, dizzying parades of set design, and gorgeously icky special effects every few seconds. It’s all escalation all the time, finishing with three mountainous false Buddhas rising from the sea to combat the Monkey King, transformed into a rock monster. Tsui rightly sees nothing as an obstacle to his creativity, and the film feels appropriately monumental and boundless. It’s also very funny to see Tsui taking to the deliberately cartoony sensibility of Chow’s writing, as when characters pummel and kick each other so fast their hands turn into digital clouds, or when arms stretch like rubber bands during combat. Chow integrated this with more sly humor and emotion in the first “Journey To The West,” but Tsui’s clamorous direction makes these flourishes feel like magic tricks, emerging from nowhere and vanishing just as quickly.

What “Journey To The West: Demons Strike Back” misses and can’t make up for is a woman’s touch. Shu Qi makes a few welcome appearances in dreams and flashbacks, but they last seconds at most. Tsui doesn’t give Yao Chen as The Minister nor Jelly Lin as Felicity, Tang’s fleeting love interest, enough time on screen for their personalities to develop beyond “agreeably crazy” and “beautiful, sad and submissive.” Shu Qi’s forceful and charming Miss Duan rose above the ludicrous dictates of the character, namely that she found Tang so desirable as a mate that she’d fake murders and kidnappings to be near him. Chen and Lin can’t do much with their characters and Tsui doesn’t leave his camera on them for more than a few seconds per cut, which cuts down on the opportunities to do the kind of ingratiating work Shu did in the first film. Chow lingers longer on his performers as a general rule. Tsui has skies and monsters to conjure; he doesn’t have time for development that isn’t broad and easy to follow. Which may explain why those three female performances, undercut as they are, are the most appealing in the film. The rest of the cast is caught up flailing for the sake of physical comedy bits that are destined to fail, as Chow’s humor is mostly stymied by Tsui’s heavier presence behind the camera. This isn’t an issue when there are demons on screen, as he’s one of the greatest conductors of on-screen chaos alive (just look at his previous feature, “ The Taking of Tiger Mountain ,” a non-stop delight, if you don’t have time to track down his whole joyous oeuvre). The repeated attempts to tell Chow’s jokes (like the repeated duplicated motion spell from the first movie) in incongruous grammar result in many a joyless pratfall.

Nitpicking aside, moviegoers owe it to themselves to check this movie out. It’s got more imagination in one nimble limb than a “Fast & Furious” sequel or a “ Star Wars ” prequel can lay claim to in their whole battered chassis. When the score kicks in and the combatants take to the heavens to wage inventive battle, “Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back” truly soars. It’s a worthy fusion of two of the film world’s most brilliant stars.

Scout Tafoya

Scout Tafoya is a critic and filmmaker who writes for and edits the arts blog Apocalypse Now and directs both feature length and short films.

• Lin Gengxin as Sun Wukong
• Yao Chen as Guanyin
• Mengke Bateer as Sha Wujing
• Kris Wu as Tang Seng
• Si-Cheun Lee
• Stephen Chow

Leave a comment

Now playing.

Transformers One

American Crime Story: Aaron Hernandez

Speak No Evil (2024)

Saturday Night

The Killer’s Game

Girls Will Be Girls

The 4:30 Movie

Sweetheart Deal

Latest articles.

TIFF 2024: Table of Contents

TIFF 2024: Village Keeper, 40 Acres, Flow

TIFF 2024: The Shadow Strays, Friendship, The Shrouds

TIFF 2024: Babygirl, All We Imagine as Light, Queer

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Adaptations of Journey to the West

1. The Cave of the Silken Web

2. Princess Iron Fan

3. The Adventures of Sun Wukong

4. Havoc in Heaven

5. The Monkey King and Fruit of Immortality

6. The Monkey King Conquers the Demon

7. Alakazam the Great

8. The Monkey Goes West

9. Princess Iron Fan

10. The Cave of the Silken Web

11. The Land of Many Perfumes

12. Battles with Red Boy

13. The Fantastic Magic Baby

14. Hou wang da zhan tian bing tian jiang

15. Doraemon: Nobita's Version of Saiyuki

16. New Pilgrims to the West

17. Monkey War

18. A Chinese Odyssey: Part One - Pandora's Box

19. A Chinese Odyssey: Part 2 - Cinderella

20. A Chinese Odyssey: Part Three

21. Heavenly Legend

22. A Chinese Tall Story

23. Fire Ball

24. Monkey Magic

25. monkey king vs. er lang shen, more to explore, recently viewed.

• NOW PLAYING
• MONSTERS & NIGHTMARES
• WARRIORS & GANGSTERS

• BUY BLU-RAY™
• SPECIAL FEATURES
• BUY TICKETS

WATCH ON DEMAND

"ONE OF HONG KONG’S MOST POPULAR ACTOR-DIRECTORS EVER… STEPHEN CHOW IS BACK IN BOX-OFFICE STORMING FORM" - The Hollywood Reporter

"A BONAFIDE MASTERPIECE" - The Wrap

"SPECTACULAR" - Variety

"Some of the most outrageous visual effects yet seen in the cinema." - SHOCKYA.COM

"Stephen (Chow) is able to make us feel like giddy children again." - WEGOTTHISCOVERED.COM

"(Stephen) Chow at his weirdest and most entertaining." - AVCLUB.COM

"Hilarious and oddly reverent." - FILMJOURNAL.COM

"Alluring" - NY Post

"Delightful blend of fantasy, action, comedy and romance." - NY Post

"Dazzling" - LA Times

"Jaw-dropping visual inventiveness" - LA Times

"The film finds the sweet spot between spoofy and sincere, rollicking and dark." - LA Times

"Might Be Stephen Chow’s Craziest Movie Yet." - Vulture

"It’s a pageant of eye-popping strangeness." - Vulture

"Rarely is it that a CGI-heavy spectacle such as this could be called both entertaining and inspiring in the same breath, but such is the unexpectedly special magic of Journey to the West." - Slant

"A must watch for any fans of Chinese kung fu films and Stephen Chow." - NERD REACTOR

ABOUT THE FILM

In a world plagued by demons who cause great human suffering, young demon hunter Xuan Zang risks his all to conquer a water demon, a pig demon and the demon of all demons, Sun Wukong. Adhering to his firm belief in giving of one’s self for the greater cause, he embraces the demons as his disciples. However, in order to atone for their own sins and save the common people, the four of them must embark on a journey to the West that’s full of challenges.

CAST & CREW

Connect and share.

PHOTO GALLERY

Movies you may also like.

Journey to the West (2014)

Original title: 西遊.

Journey to the West is not available for streaming.

Let us notify you when you can watch it.

Watch similar movies on Apple TV+ for free

7 Days Free

Then $9.99 / month

Something wrong? Let us know!

Journey to the West streaming: where to watch online?

We try to add new providers constantly but we couldn't find an offer for "Journey to the West" online. Please come back again soon to check if there's something new.

In 2014, Tsai Ming-Liang was invited to make a film for the MarseilleFID, Marseille International Film Festival. Since he was not familiar with Marseille, he decided to make a film as tourist, capturing the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine in the late summer of that year. He also invited famous French actor, Denis Lavant, to appear alongside Lee Kang-Sheng playing Xuanzang. "Journey to the West" was invited to be the opening short film at the Berlin International Film Festival the same year.

Videos: Trailers, Teasers, Featurettes

Popular movies coming soon

Upcoming Drama movies

Similar Movies you can watch for free

More popular Movies directed by Tsai Ming-liang

Other popular Movies starring Lee Kang-sheng