The Monkey King Review Roundup

There have been many (and I mean MANY!!) adaptations of the character of the Monkey King, as well as, the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West he hails from, over the years. So naturally, Netflix and their billions decided to try their hand at it with the release of their very own animated film. But does The Monkey King do the legend justice? Or is this another forgettable copy cat? Here's the review roundup: 

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Roger Ebert (Brian Tallerico)
"Aggressively mediocre, Netflix’s “The Monkey King” takes no risks and offers too little humor, heart, or action to entertain all but the youngest in the family. Anyone in your clan old enough to read and not merely be enchanted by loud noises and flashing colors will likely get bored by this 96-minute movie that feels twice as long."

Read the full review here

IGN (Kenneth Seward Jr.)
'Netflix’s The Monkey King is an example of a potentially great film that’s undone by poor pacing, uneven animation, and a truly unlikable protagonist. Most of which could have been salvaged with enough comedic moments and/or some entertaining action sequences. Alas, there’s very little in the way of humor here and the fights are dull, if not entirely forgettable. And while the talented cast does their best to breathe life into their characters, their efforts ultimately fail to make The Monkey King better than the sum of its parts.'

Read the full review here

THE GUARDIAN (Leslie Felperin)
'The latest in a 10,000-mile-long line of adaptations of Journey to the West, the 16th-century Chinese novel attributed to Wu Cheng’en, bounces along energetically, and has some exceptionally fun frills around the edges, such as a flouncy vocal performance from Bowen Yang as spiteful, effete baddie the Dragon King, who gets to sing the film’s best musical number.'

Read the full review here

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (David Rooney)
'The animators pay due diligence to traditional representation of Chinese mythological characters while allowing themselves sufficient leeway to adapt them for audiences schooled on Pixar. The backgrounds often evoke elements of Chinese brush painting, from the lush jungles to the impoverished villages, the bureaucratic hellscape of the underworld to the pillowy cloud structures of Heaven. Some aspects of the cross-cultural mashup work better than others, but overall, this is a charming attempt to distill a centuries-old story into a quirky folktale that all children can enjoy.

​Read the full review here

SCREEN RANT (Alex Harrison)
'Critics have a history of sitting through underwhelming family fare and shrugging, noting that kids will probably be entertained by the whooshing colors. I am not inclined to grade on that curve, and Netflix's The Monkey King, a new movie based on the enduring character from Chinese literature, doesn't clear the bar. Visual creativity and humor are present in flashes, but whatever there is to recommend it is weighed down by a poor script that never finds the story's dramatic center. Once it loses its way, about 15 minutes into the runtime, it never really hooks us again.'

Read the full review here

CRITICAL FLICK (VIDEO REVIEW)

In the end, the film amassed a rather disappointing score of 61% from 30 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

A score that's not surprising honestly. The film never looked special in the early previews and in a world of so many excellent adaptations of Journey to the West, you got to be special just so you could stand out. 

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