The Monkey King 2 (2016)

When a travelling monk is stranded in a wasteland, The Monkey King must escort him across the land to retrieve sacred scriptures and protect him from an evil demon.

Director:

Soi Cheang (as Pou-Soi Cheang)

Writers:

Ping Ran, Ning Wen (as Elvis Man)

Stars:

Aaron Kwok, Li Gong, Shaofeng Feng

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Aaron Kwok	...	Sun Wukong / Monkey King
Li Gong	...	Baigujing / White-Boned Demon
Shaofeng Feng	...	Tang Seng (as William Feng)
Shenyang Xiao	...	Zhu Bajie (as Xiao Shen Yang)
Him Law	...	Sha Seng
Fei Xiang	...	Guowang / King (as Kris Phillips)
Kelly Chen	...	Guanyin
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Giselle Chia	...	Bat demon
John Ching	...	Chieftain
Chutian Liu	...	Bai Gu Jing, little girl
Miya Muqi	...	evil spirit Pig
Eddie Peng	...	Pharmacy dispenser
Ngawang Rinchen	...	Witch Doctor
Lu Wei	...	Evil spirit snake
Zimu Zhang	...	Treasurer daughter (as Zi Mu Zhang)

Storyline

When a travelling monk is stranded in a wasteland, The Monkey King must escort him across the land to retrieve sacred scriptures and protect him from an evil demon.

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Plot Keywords:

monkey king | monk | journey to the west | demon | buddhism | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Official Site

Country:

China Hong Kong

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

5 February 2016 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

The Monkey King 2

Filming Locations:

China

Box Office

Budget:

$68,005,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$709,982

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$194,058,503

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmko Films Production Limited, Filmko Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It took more than five hours for Aaron Kwok and Him Law to wear and take off their makeups, and most cast members suffered from the special effects makeup. Shaofeng Feng, who played Tangsanzang, was envied by other actors because his role took the least efforts to prepare. However, he fell from his horse in the beginning of film shooting. While doctors recommended that Feng rest for two months, he came back in two weeks.

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Connections

Followed by The Monkey King 3 (2018)

User Reviews

Fun fantasy adventure

I really enjoyed it, it was a fun action fantasy romp, and I love the various Journey to the West stories. I didn't see the first Monkey King, it had such poor reviews so I didn't bother. Anyway, Monkey King 2 completely feels like its' own entity, it is a different story from the book and the Monkey King origin story has been told many times before.

Aaron Kwok is a delight to watch. I can't say how he compared to Donnie Yen but he's so lovable. It's FUN, often funny. Gong Li is very hammy, and couldn't chew the scenery more, but it's within the tone of the film. It really is a riveting family adventure from start to finish

It contains the usual overabundance of CG which all these Chinese blockbusters have, but the quality isn't awful this time! Much better than some of the video-game level effects I've seen recently in others. There is a lot of practical wire-work amidst the wash of particle effects and glowy things. Most importantly, the charisma of the stars shines through it.

I saw this on a trip to China, I don't know if it received, or will receive a release in the West, but it should. It will probably turn up in the Netflix graveyard at some point. It's better than most cookie- cutter American fantasy blockbusters, with, of course due to the nature of the source text, much better lessons and values sitting underneath the action than 'yet another Hero's Journey story' as Hollywood pumps out again and again.