director of the millennium

Chinese classical legends are truly a treasure trove of IP.

Among this great treasure, the most maturely developed one is the IP of the Monkey King - Sun Wukong.

Although "Journey to the West" is one of the four most widely circulated classics, it is the 86 version of "Journey to the West" that truly made "Journey to the West" and the Monkey King an artistic image familiar to all Chinese people, and even all Chinese people.

It can be said that the 86 version of Journey to the West and the sequel to Journey to the West have influenced at least four generations of Chinese people!
Before this TV series appeared, although "Journey to the West" had already been widely circulated, and there was even a black-and-white movie on the same subject in the late 20s, it has always been just a very famous popular novel.

After all, in the 80s and s in China, televisions were not very popular. At least until the early s, only the middle class in a few cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou could afford a television in every household.

Filming TV series in that era was a very troublesome and difficult task.

In the 90s, after televisions became popular, the TV series "Journey to the West" was one of the few long TV series produced by China.

Therefore, relying on the televisions that entered every household, relying on this newest and most influential media equipment in China, the story of "Journey to the West" finally entered every Chinese family, and it became a screen image!

Its influence and popularity cannot be compared with "My Fair Princess", which later became equally popular all over the world and was rebroadcast every summer vacation.

At least as of 2018, "My Fair Princess" has basically become a memory of the older generation, and Qiong Yao-style love stories are no longer accepted and bought into by the new generation of young people, but "Journey to the West" is still a classic, and there are still various TV series, movies, and games adapted from "Journey to the West".

So, when Wu Yuan also wielded the hoe and dug into this huge treasure, a surprise occurred.

The combination of the sentiment of Liu Xiao Ling Tong reprising his role as the Monkey King and the excellent superhero movie itself has earned "The Monkey King" unprecedented acclaim!
Of course, the "unprecedented" here refers only to the field of similar commercial films, that is, various movies adapted from "Journey to the West".

I have no choice but to rely on my peers to support me.

It's not that Wu Yuan is so good, but among the dozens of movies of all sizes shot by domestic film companies on the theme of Journey to the West in the past decade or so, except for Stephen Chow's, none of them is good enough.

Whether it is "Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven", "Journey to the West: The Women Kingdom", "The Monkey King", "Journey to the West: The Three Strikes of the White Bone Demon" and other movies, the score on Douban did not reach more than 6 points. The best score is only 5.6, and the worst is even only 3.something.

It’s not that Douban is too harsh. The animated version of “The Monkey King: Hero is Back” has a Douban score of 9.4, and Stephen Chow’s “A Chinese Odyssey” also has a Douban score of 9.2.

In fact, the above-mentioned Journey to the West-themed movies are all quite good, whether in terms of investment, actor status, or the final special effects screen effects. The level of special effects is at least above the level of "Monster Hunt".

But these movies have not received high reviews because the "adaptations" of these movies are not successful.

Either it is too conservative, the story is similar to the original "Journey to the West", or it is not even as smooth as the original.

Or it's like "The Legend of Wukong" where the original novel is unrecognizable, the screenwriter always thinks he is more powerful than the original author, and insists on making random changes, and finally produces a pile of shit. Wu Yuan's "The Monkey King" can be regarded as a movie that took advantage of the situation.

Although this movie is based on the Journey to the West IP, the story itself has nothing to do with Journey to the West. It is a completely new story set in a modern context, but it also plays on the nostalgia of Liu Xiao Ling Tong, which is a way of taking advantage of the popularity without getting involved in the troubles of Journey to the West itself.

After all, "Journey to the West" is such a classic that no matter who adapts the various disasters in the story of "Journey to the West", it is likely that they will not be able to produce a work that is more colorful and has more highlights than the original.

Just look at a few successful precedents and you will know. Whether it is "A Chinese Odyssey" or "The Monkey King: Hero is Back", they are all telling their own stories under the guise of "Journey to the West".

The first two focus on the story before the four-member Journey to the West set out to obtain Buddhist scriptures, and completely reshape the characters of Sun Wukong, Tang Monk, and others. The stories have nothing to do with Journey to the West itself.

"The Return of the Great Sage" tells the story of what happened during the "transition time" when Sun Wukong was pressed under the Five Finger Mountain and had not yet met the adult Tang Monk. It is also a brand new creation, but the characters are borrowed.

And then these movies were all successful.

Even the Japanese comic "Dragon Ball" is the same, borrowing characters but telling completely new stories.

However, most of the movies that were actually filmed based on the story in "Journey to the West" have basically all failed.

In the past, people in the industry had some understanding of this situation, but they were still not sure.

But after the premiere of "The Monkey King", the responses from the guests and audience were very enthusiastic, as if they had watched a wonderful movie, and some of the invited industry insiders finally came to their senses.

A classic story like this that has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people cannot be successful no matter how it is remade. It is necessary to recreate a completely new story in order to be successful!
The good thing about "The Monkey King" is that this story is related to "Journey to the West", but not completely related!
Just like the protagonist of the story of “A Chinese Odyssey” is called Zhizunbao, the protagonist of “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons” is called Chen Xuanzang, and the protagonist of “The Return of the Great Sage” is called Jiang Liuer, the protagonist of “The Great Sage” is not called Sun Wukong, but an aspiring young man who grew up under the red flag - Sun Wu!
There is indeed a battle between the peerless hero Sun Wukong and the Dapeng demon king in the movie. The scene is exciting and thrilling, and the fighting scenes are wonderful, which made the audience applaud and shout that it is so exciting.

But the focus of the story has never been the majestic Monkey King, but the Sun Wu who inherited his legacy, an ordinary urban young man whose idol is Sun Wukong.

The audience watched him transform step by step from a modern young man who knew nothing to, after passing several inheritance tests, inheriting Sun Wukong's armor, crown, combat boots, and even the replica of the golden cudgel that Sun Wukong left on Earth, and became the new generation of Monkey King, defeating the villain Dapeng Demon King who had been putting too much pressure on them from the beginning!
At the end of the movie, when Sun Wukong, wearing a "Monkey King suit" and holding the golden cudgel vertically behind him, floated in the air and looked at the rising sun in the distance, all the audience gave warm applause. Wu Yuan also smiled and led all the main creators to stand up and bow. Everyone knew that a successful movie was born again.

Four days later.

On December 2018, 12, "The Monkey King" was released in more than 25 theaters across the country!

On the day of the release, the pre-sale and premiere box office revenue exceeded 4 million! (End of this chapter)