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01.01.2006
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July 06, 2005
The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra
Permanent link ▫ ▫  
Local TV is showing this series prime time in Cantonese. I saw the beginning, then the next episode middle, some more towards the end. I wanted to watch it because TVB's JTTW is my most favourite TVB series ever. This is of course another version of the Monkey King story, from birth till the end I suppose. The only difference is except for Dicky Cheung who reprised his role as the Monkey King which revived his career and launched it into stratosphere, everybody else was changed. Even the budget got bigger as you have Jimmy Lin, the Twins, Eric Tsang, and a whole lot of famous faces.
I have read how bad this series was, and I have read how great it was. JTTW by TVB had both fans and haters, mostly for various reasons. But I loved JTTW because the story was perfect, the pacing was excellent (except for the first 2 episodes) and for the first time, the casting was simply perfect. It introduced me to Buddhism in such a fun ligthearted and yet proper way, I have no complaints whatsover. Dicky's Yo! statement stuck with me even to this day and the soundtrack was simply excellent.
So I wasn't very into this new version and after these few episodes and after reading Edmund Leong is the monk, to put it mildly, I kinda vomitted in a fake but serious way. Look, this series has zero credibility. I question why Dicky took this role. I suspect because he was still hurt that TVB refused to let him do the sequal, he loved the character and he wanted to make some more money. But why this way? The entire casting was not made because the actors were suitable for their respective roles but because of for the sake of them appearing. The entire storyline was changed and yet not quite and yet I find it all utterly demeaning to the original story and even the latest adaptation by TVB. I can't see why anybody could love this series. Even on its own, it's simply pure trash.
And so this is my short review. This series is pure trash, Dicky has yet to make a proper and good series after leaving TVB and getting big names in any role and gathering the biggest names in one series does not mean success; it means profit and it means business. Taiwanese series that gathers HK, China and Taiwanese actors in a series are often forgettable but very few are trashy to the point of pure nonsense. This series is one of those few.
Why on Earth Dicky wanted to reprise his role in this trash? Don't watch it! Don't waste your time in a production that even the producers don't bother making it decent, making it with love and care and respect. Look at the costumes you will know. Modern twist? More like not knowing what they were doing. Same story but different point of view? More like same story but don't know how to deal with it. Famous faces? More like reaping profits in the shortest of time without due regard to the word called casting decision. Love stories? I mean that is so against the very fundamentals of the Monkey King and the teachings in it. I don't care if the characters did not have a happy ending but the point it, pairings? And worst of all, Edmund Leong as the monk? The wise young monk full of wisdom enough to chastise the great powerful but uncontrollable Monkey King? That was the worst for me, the absolute worst. I realise now how great Kong Wah was in this role. Edmund Leong? Why not ask Nicholas Tse then? He's MORE famous, better looking and definitely a better actor.
Avoid this trash at all cost. Save your money, rent the TVB version or like most recommended, the China version. Or buy the books. But I would think the book was very disappointing but at least it was the way it was written. This series was simply an insult to my intelligence and the fact that it was ever made, is simply a true testament that greed exists and the viewers in the end are the suckers being sucked dry of our hard earned money to watch what I shall repeat, a trash.
Nothing but pure trash.
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15 COMMENTS
Have u actually read the book or not? I can't tell from what u have written. Here's your actual sentence:
"But I would think the book was very disappointing"
'would' indicate that u have not read the book but 'was' indicate that u have.
Me too it's a torture so I end up watching Astro series . Btw I am pleasantly surprise that Dreams of Colors is quite a enjoyable series something different where instead of the usual medical or cop drama this one focus on fashion . Should watch .
Also in [ Hard Fate ] the story is picking up now ! Funn you still watching this ?
I stopped at disc 4 (i rented i). Seeing it on tv again now made me hate even my remote control.
What happened to Dicky Cheung? All his stories nowaday is terrible and repetitive - it's always 'ME, ME, Me, ME and ME' till the end.
As for Edmond Leung, give him a chance. He hasn't even appear in the series yet.
Btw, sehseh, u might like to try 'City Of Glass aka Proud Of Twins'. It's another Dicky Cheung series but many times better than Monkey King because it actually has a decent storyline and the actors in there can actually act.
A word of caution: Do not compare it to the book. View it as a standalone original series.
And yes maybe Edmund Leong is great who knows eh? But I doubt it. I have seen his act but it has nothing to do with his acting. It is his face, his demeanour, his persona, his everything. I would never in a million years cast Edmund as an all knowing wise monk as in JTTW because let's face it, does he look the part to you?
The whole story of this new JTTW, which I have read in a review in SPCNET is like totally affront to the very basics of the book(s). I find it disgusting and I am glad many agreed with me. And Dicky looked more like a chubby monkey than he was in JTTW, the handsome golden monkey.
Sammie, I am still watching Hard Fate. In fact the story is becoming more serious and I quite enjoy it. But I still can't get over the fact that Flora, a 28 year old woman?? More so when she is acting like young, innocent and kinda naive. I find the other girl much better. But I must confess, it is Kevin Cheng that's the reason why I am still watching this series. I love him in here. His acting still sucks quite frankly, as I expected more from him but every frame of him is just pure beauty you know. Ahhh so handsome. Would you agree though that he is totally wrong for this role and that Gordon Lam would be perfect as Ka Ming? Anyway still getting used to the characters' names.
And I am truly enjoying Dreams of Colours. Myolie is wonderful and what's the actor's name? Cheng Kwan Ho? Anyway he is magnificent. And is that sulky girl the same girl from Hard Fate? Kenneth Ma still sucks though.
Glad u find Tse Kwan Ho magnificent. He's one of my favourite actors (near the top of the list). Love him ever since I first saw him act in Mad Phoenix. :)
He's actually a very experienced actor, but not very well-known among TV watchers because he mainly acts in theater. So, not much chance of seeing him act.
Btw, don't u think Bosco Wong resembles Tse Kwan Ho a lot?
When I first saw Bosco in Find The Light, I was immediate reminded Tse Kwan Ho. :)
So, 'Dream of Colors' is worth watching? I saw the preview of the series. It seems that the series will be a very frustrating one with lots of injustices. So, I didn't rent it even when TKH is in it. If everyone says it's good, I might give it a try.
Yes, Edmund Leung would certainly not be able to potray Tong Sam Zhong the way Kwong Wa potrayed him and I don't want him to. I welcome a different interpretation of the character. Initially, when I first heard that Edmund Leung plays the monk, my feelings of it is neutral. I don't like or dislike the idea. But when I see that side profile of his during the short segment before commercial (where they show some pictures of the characters), I become interested in seeing his take on the monk. He look genuinely kind and good-hearted in that picture. There's a niceness in that picture.
I use to be quite stubborn when it comes to adaptations. I require faithfulness in storyline and characterisation. But when I learn to watch a series as a standalone and not to expect the characters to act like in the book or previous version of the series, the series become a lot more enjoyable. That's the attitude I take when I'm watching Proud Of Twins.
But I'm still very stubborn when it comes to historical series. I still want the series to be at least 80% faithful to history. :)
hope u guys don't mind i write about Hard fate here since this topic is on the Monkey King
Funn, Kevin's potrayal have grown into me till I can't think of a better person for this role :)
On Dreams Of Colours like what kidd mention the actor who plays Nick Yau is Tse Kwan Ho ( he even got a Golden horse award for his role in Mad Phoenix or Nam Hoi Sap Sam Long ) . One of the things that make Colours so refreshing is the cast ( we don't have to see the same face over again & again )
Sulky girl , which one ? The girl who did not get her scholarship ? She's Sharon Chan and nope she's not the same girl from Hard Fate . The girl in Hard Fate ( assuming that you meant the girl who plays Damian's daughter ) is Nikki Chow .
The other actress is Rain Li ( the same girl in that Lofty Waters, Verdant Bow series with Raymond Lam ) .
Anyway Tse Kwan Ho and Myolie is enough to make me watch this series already :)
Anyway, call me biased but I also can't imagine anyone else taking up the role of Kar Ming other than Kevin Cheng =P. Believe me, his acting and character will grow onto u as the story goes. Think he looks great with Niki Chow. In fact, I've grown to like Niki cos she really comes upon me as the kind of optimistic, always smiling, always laughing kinda gal.
I used to mix up Niki Chow and Rain Lau. Now Sharon Chan pops up looking just like the both of them too. These new actresses seem like they come from the same mold or something.
I've never seen Rain Lau in other shows but I thought her acting in Dream of Colours was not-so-good. Pretty annoying in fact. Dunno issit the character or the acting...
Anyway, I like that serial too ^^. Myolie Wu has made the best out of her character, and of course, not to mention Tse Kwan Ho as well.
Yes Pearl I have seen that movie years and years ago and I liked his performance although the story was not very well told. His style of acting reminds me of Damien Lau. Very straightforward, nothing dramatic as in overacting dramatic. And yes, I myself am confused over the 3 girls! They all looked alike although Rain Li looked slightly more chubby and different. Acting wise, I don't know, too early to tell. Myolie was fantastic but her character is like textbook character, a dime a dozen in TVB world. Nothing different frankly.
Now Kevin Cheng is my reason for watching Hard Fate and having to tolerate Flora Chan's increasingly horrible acting. What's her name? Niki Chow? They look great together BUT as the series went along this girl's acting is not moving anywhere. Comedy or wise cracking type, she is great but serious drama, she is not showing much potential in that dept. In fact I find her acting weaker and weaker as I see more and more of her.
I suggested Gordon Lam because he fit the role perfectly. I am confident that is he was still around in TVB, he would have been Ka Meng. Of course Kevin cheng was cute but I must say this; even at his best (and I see this series as his best until the next one comes along) he is still only so-so in his acting. It's not like he can't act, he can but he doesn't seem to be trying hard you know. Maybe he is trying hard but I find his cheeky type of personality overshadowing everything else, especially in the drama dept. I know why he is cast; he gives me an impression that he is flamboyant as in cheeky you know, a quality that Gordon Lam exudes but not as handsome of course. The really only reason why I am still watching this series is because of Kevin and why I like Kevin is because his Ka Meng is a very nice character and mostly, and I will be the first probably to admit this; I love to LOOK at Kevin Cheng. I do not really pay much attention to his acting. Sometimes being good looking and being able to basically act could be an advantage. Fans of Kevin might disagree but that is always how I feel about Kevin and his acting and his career and more importantly, the connection between his career and his looks.
Which is why he is famous but he should have been more famous. I hope like Gallen Lo, he will find this one role that will be his breakthrough role and then his acting might suddenly improve as he has seen what he himself is capable of. And then he will be as famous and deservingly so like Gallen Lo, for example.
But not now. Like Felix WOng who was never a terrific actor, somehow he struck a chord with the audience, he has that extra something despite the lack of looks and above average acting capabilities. He could be a leading man.
Kevin...not yet. Not my idea of a leading man but I would love to see him in a role of a villain, something beyond just looking good, acting cute and being supportive or dumb. I doubt Yummy Yummy will enchance his credibility as an actor as those few minutes of preview showed an overly optimistic friends bonding type of series that is borderline corny. It will be a hit no doubt, and if not I will personally post a post every day to remind everybody of this series and find reasons to love it. But somehow...these days TVB series often tackle interesting topics or issues BUT never went beyond the normal scope. I would say not daring to and the actors suffer from either over exposure, lack of good script of poorly developed character. It will never help with wrong actor in the wrong role or good actor being shoved back in favour of prettier young or handsome people who has yet to prove their craft to be the lead or even can lead. I find that disappointing. I guess this is why more and more fans are turning to Korean series and everywhere else. The acting is still the same but at least different viewpoint.
On the other hand, I think Kevin did pretty well for his role. I can see improvement from his previous outing. He is not the best actor out there, but like Pearl, I can't see anyone else taking the role of Kar Ming. Kevin Cheng is Kar Ming.
On Edmund Leung. I was only able to catch little glimpses of his performance tonight because I only reach home at 9.30pm and was busy watching Malaysian Idol after that. But from the little glimpses I manage to catch, I have to say I like his Tong Sam Zhong. I'm going to continue watching this series to see how he fares later.
When I saw the first ep., I was horrified to see all these actors, who were there that weren't even suitable. Acting for most of them were painfully horrible to watch.
I was terribly dissapointed with this series. I managed to forced myself up to ep. 4 before calling it quits with tiny hopes that it will be better, though I knew for a fact it'll not be.
I really like the rapport between the Monkey King and Tong 3 Jong. Their relationship is like master/student + friends. I also found Edmund's version of Tong 3 Jong very likeable. He is wise in matters pertaining to Buddhist teachings, but naive in the ways of the world. I also like the glimmer of mischievousness that appears once in a while when he's interacting with the Monkey King. I won't compare him to Kwong Wa's version since my memory of that version is very vague (it's been 5 years since I watch the TVB version), but as a standalone, he's pretty good. I also has to mention that Edmond Leung looks very kind as the monk. But there's one thing that the monk really need to improve on. He need to be more stern. Currently, he kinda let his students walk all over him, especially the Pig.
The 2nd reason this series became more enjoyable is that there seems to be less silly stuff. It has not completely disappear but at least not as much as when they are in heaven, with daily fight matches and gods and goddesses fooling around.
The 3rd reason is the absent or minimal appearance of incompetant actors. The Twins and Jimmy Lin and some other actors that played the gods totally ruined the series with their bad acting. Now that Monkey King has gone for the quest, they appear less in the story. The guest stars are mostly competant actors.
I won't watch it to gain knowledge of Buddhist teaching. I can get those from reading books. I'll just watch it for entertainment sake.