【電影簡介】

大唐年間妖魔橫行，一小漁村因為飽受魚妖之害請來道士（馮勉恒 飾）除妖，年輕驅(qū)魔人陳玄奘（文章 飾）前來幫忙卻被誤認為騙子，幸虧職業(yè)賞金驅(qū)魔人段小姐（舒淇 飾）幫助玄奘制服了魚妖真身（李尚正 飾）。二人又在高家莊為制服豬妖豬剛鬣（陳炳強 飾） 而再次相遇，這次除妖沒有成功 ，但是段小姐卻對玄奘二見鐘情。玄奘求助師父，得知除妖的辦法是去找被壓在五指山下的孫悟空（黃渤 飾）幫忙，于是他準備前往五指山，途中又遇到段小姐和手下五煞，段小姐連蒙帶哄想與玄奘在一起卻屢次遭拒，在四妹（周秀娜 飾）調(diào)教下想變得更有女人味卻適得其反。二人決裂后玄奘獨自上路，與此同時降魔師（釋延能 飾）、天殘腳（張超理 飾）、空虛公子（羅志祥 飾）也一同前往除妖。經(jīng)過千辛萬苦玄奘終于找到孫悟空，段小姐又再次出現(xiàn)并交給玄奘一件重要的東西，豬妖終于被降服，但是更大的危機又出現(xiàn)在了玄奘面前，原來孫悟空與傳聞中不一樣，玄奘的除魔之路能否繼續(xù)？

【音頻文本】

One can't possibly watch "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" without comparing it to the 1995 movie "A Chinese Odyssey." Both are based on the classic Ming Dynasty novel "Journey to the West." "Conquering the Demons" is a much more vivid rendition of the story, but less attractive.

Although actor-turned-director Stephen Chow made his name playing so-called losers in comedy films, he is now assisted by perhaps the best computer-generate imagery technology available to Chinese directors. Withthe most horrifying computer-generated demons, he has created a fantasy film that is the most faithful to the original novel and certainly the most profitable of any "Journey to the West" movie so far.

Ming Dynasty novelist and poet Wu Cheng'en wrote a fictional story about a hellish world where people livein ignorance of Buddhist teachings,and cannibalistic demons lurk in every mountain and river. So during his quest for Buddhist scriptures, Xuanzang encounters many demons that test his faith. He manages to conquer three of them and turns them into helpful escorts. Stephen Chow reproduces Xuanzang's triumph over the three demons, but adds a romantic dimension to the monk's spiritual awakening.

So it was with "A Chinese Odyssey," only the lead character was one of the conquered three demons – the monkey king. The only difference was when the romance ended intragedy, the monkey king learned about destiny and responsibility, while Xuanzang learned about the power of faith and universal love.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons"is the first Stephen Chow movie without Chow in the cast. But this is not the reason for its difference in style. Actors Wen Zhang and Huang Bo are no less geniuses than Chow in inducing laughter, and their efforts make the film as hilarious as any other Chow comedy. However, the director must have put away some of his sarcastic ammo, because there is a noticeable absence of the irony that wasso commonplace in his previous works. This change has causeddiscontent among some of Chow's fans who pose as intelligent viewers.

Meanwhile, Chow's new production has also stirred the nerves of some sensitive viewers who claim the movieis too horrible to be a comedy. Since the film premiered on the first day of China's Spring Festival, manymoviegoers took their children to see it, hoping to share some hearty laughter with their families. But when the movie showed a child being devoured by a fish demon, they soon realized that maybe it wasn't such agood idea to have brought the kids. As a result, complaints were made both on Chow's indiscretion and the lack of a film-rating system.

Stephen Chow movies used to please simple-minded, compassionate and thoughtful viewers alike. But now, with the paw of irony well hidden and the weight of scare in full swing, the new film might generate as much in complaints as in box office earnings. On a scale from one to 10, I give it a 6.5.

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