[TVB-A] Journey To The West - 西游记 [1996]

[Guest Kurosaki Ichigo]

 

Story

Being a devout Buddhist and knowing a bit about Chinese folklore and mythologies, I cannot help being agitated at the naive view of the producer. It was evident from tacky scripts that the scriptwriters were ignorant of the real Buddhist teaching. It was also fair to say that the whole series has lost sight of the original theme of being a holy quest of a monk and his disciples. The whole show has basically been reduced into a whimsical serial, although admittedly a well-done production on its own.

 

The basic story is about a young monk in the era of Tang Dynasty set foot westward to fetch Buddhism Cannons back to China to reestablish Buddhism fate. From help of Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yim), he gained three disciples and a white horse, which was originally a dragon prince. Together, they braved various dangers throughout the long journey that took over a decade.

 

This is really a religious tale favored with many fantasy ideologies, mixed with folklore and myths. The main four characters should show their developments in saintliness and their understandings of Buddha's words as they progressed in their journey (Please read on. This is really a review, not a brochure to convert your belief. * smile *).

 

The monk, in my opinion, should be an ordinary man with strong determination and benevolent character. Yet, he was without means of protection, hence the need of three disciples to help him go through all obstacles. All the way, he and the others would get tested and tempted numerous times in many ways, but he would remain steadfast and went on after subduing the cause of those desires. Demons represented human sins, and the monk had to learn to leave all the desire in order to attain the ultimate step in Buddhism world.

 

Cast

Kong Wah as the Tang monk

I think he was the best candidate among the actors in TVB at the time although I don't think he fit that well with the role's description. The monk is supposed to be youthful and rather fragile looking. He is supposed to have the fair skin and tempting look for all demons out there to eat him. Kong Wah looked a bit old and was not innocent enough. Remember that this monk grew up in the temple. He was ordained since young and very clever and enlightened in learning sutras but should be rather naive when dealing with worldly matters such as love. These qualities were not portrayed at all through Kong Wah. All I saw was one confused monk who seemed so superficial. He seemed so strong and sure of himself at times that I wondered why Guan Yim even bothered to send the monkey god to protect him, whereas he could just get out of any hardships by uttering sutras, and voila! yellow letters would come out around him and worked miracles.

 

Dicky Cheung as the monkey god

His 'yo' trademark seemed to be a pioneer for every artist to imitate him when he/she is in a similar role. I found his character lively and lovable although not exactly monkey-like. Admittedly, I'm impressed with his energetic acting although I think he was still far from showing a real monkey side. He was very active in the scenes where he was the focus character. However, he would remain still when the camera was not on him. He was a funny character for sure, but I sometimes wished that he would show a bit restlessness when he transformed himself. The best monkey god that I have seen so far was the one from Chinese production's JTTW. That was a true monkey there.

 

 

Wayne Lai as the pig demon

Despite his inadequate makeup, Wayne Lai was my most favorite character in this series. He had a great chemistry with Dicky Cheung. His personal stories were interesting, and his mishaps were rather entertaining due to his cute acting. There is nothing much to say about this character. He was sent to disrupt the journey and practically to distinguish the fine qualities of his fellow travelers opposite to all his weaknesses. He learned his lessons the hard way throughout the journey though, and his master was kind enough to forgive him every time

 

 

The third disciple and the horse:

** sigh ** It would have been better if they had foregone the white horse. The horse seemed to magically disappear at any 'convenient' time. The water demon was pathetically stupid although he was a bit smarter in this series than the sequel. Their characters were much neglected in contrast to the first two disciples.

Edited December 31, 2006 by Kurosaki Ichigo

[whooo 0]

great series, evn thou its different than the original version from china many many yrs ago.... its fun and entertainment for whole family

[Guest Beneficial]

This is by far the best Dicky series ever. I guess it's a good story line.

[thinkjustinleung 0]

Very good serie, i still remember i use to watch this serie almost everyday. I was obsessed with it. Good times.

[Guest babikakashi]

me too! I absolutely loved it. I was quite disappointed when I heard that suen ng hung wasn't going to be dicky in the second one, but in the end, it was ok. xD

 

They're so hilarious. I remember I'd go to school and talk about last night's show with my friends..xD one of the best cantonese dramas I've ever seen!!

[avaultz 0]

yea....

 

this is the bomb...

 

dicky shows always the best...

 

i spend hundred of bucks to buy the cd's... in msia btw... lol

 

the only i cant find is taiji prodigy..

[Guest karo-chan]

This series is one of the best. The ones that came afterwards, not so great. Nothing can compare to the original.

[end1ess1ov3 0]

i liked watching this series because it made me laugh and Dicky's acting in this was really good! He did a great job portaying the Monkey King! i thought the cast was really good! Wayne did a great job as the pig he and dicky was very funny! i thought that in this series Dicky Cheung did suit Rain Lau so much. i never seem to get tired of watching this! i thought this was way funnier and better than the second one.

Edited April 21, 2007 by end1ess1ov3

[iblocha 0]

I loved it when I was much younger! but now I prefer other series

[Skyfox 0]

I Loved this Series. Very good story and cast. Dicky's acting in this was really good.

[lilyumgrl 0]

OMG!! i love this movie, have been looking for it. I think this was the first and best monkey king!

[Guest jenv]

i have a question to ask: did benny replace dicky or dicky replace benny in this series?

[Guest jackieyu]

Yeah I love that series. I re-watched it a few times but jouney to the west II was eh...

 

 

i agree. i think dicky cheung did a better performance in part 1. they really made an awesome trio

[hotazn 8]

haven't seen this in a long time. Dicky did a great job being the monkey and he is funny too. the funniest is the pig, he always make me laugh. Out of all three, i think this one is the best because Dicky had the best acting in here out of the two he filmed.

Edited January 11, 2007 by ~Baby_Amy_1988~

[Guest RZR]

I think this was the only series which I re-watched 3 times. I just couldn't get tired of Wayne Lai and Dicky. They were always so funny and energetic. This put the sequel to shame ....

[Guest ahhchiu]

when i was little..i never got tired of this series...never in a milliion years i will cuz i still love it!

[AzNjTsE 0]

i saw this along time ago andd i read the book.

i really like this story. the second part of the series is really bad tho..

[drgnoftheoasis 0]

i love the way dicky cheung act in this show benny chan didnt play that good of a monkey king in part 2

[Guest cath]

this series is good, its always funny, and its better than the other journeys after it*

[Guest aznxmichael]

this is by far the best journey to the west series out of the other 3

[Guest Arnie]

this is the best series in terms of journey to the west series....is dicky's smallest actions makes this series so great and fun to watch...benny did a ok job but i prefer this series for sure

[Guest doraemon]

the first one is good for sure cause this is the last serie Dicky end his contract with TVB. The second this is seem too much hasteful and the story modify so much that make people think they put too much love in the movie.