Netflix’s The Monkey King is an animated coming-of-age film that struggles to find its footing. There are some engaging moments thanks to its interesting premise and colorful animation. But The Monkey King’s more mundane elements, namely its lackluster action and unlikable protagonist, result in a mostly forgettable experience.
Inspired by the Chinese novel Journey to the West, The Monkey King depicts the exploits of young primate Sun Wukong (Jimmy O. Yang). This powerful individual’s tale has been told in multiple media over the years, usually with the throughline of rebellious-trickster-turned-hero. This version of Sun Wukong differs. As an outcast that spent most of his formative years in isolation, he mostly embodies the immature nature of a prolonged adolescence. Instead of the clever yet mischievous scoundrel, The Monkey King presents a painfully naïve and irresponsible character.
The premise centers on Sun Wukong’s struggle to grow into the person he’s destined to be. In hopes of impressing the gods enough to gain immortality (and thus improve his social status), he sets out to prove his worth by defeating 100 demons. Unfortunately, a deep-seated resentment of his poor upbringing and overall lack of humility contaminates his heroic endeavors. What starts as a quest for acceptance turns into a desire to be worshiped. Any collateral damage accumulated during a battle is an afterthought. Essentially, it makes thematic sense for Sun Wukong’s selfish and reckless behavior to be off-putting. It also aligns with the classic treatment of this character. The problem is that this version of Wukong doesn’t have any redeeming qualities for viewers to latch on to.
This Sun Wukong comes off as annoying and entitled. He doesn’t have a heart of gold or some good in him that would make his behavior easier to tolerate, and much of the film’s 90-minute runtime is focused on his self-centered actions. And while it’s apparent that Yang is trying to muster up a bit of levity in his line delivery, the material just doesn’t do his efforts justice. Even the attempts at slapstick humor fail; the best comedic moment is a nod to executive producer Stephen Chow’s excellent Shaolin Soccer. (This isn’t Chow’s first time at the Journey to the West rodeo: He wrote and produced two live-action films inspired by the novel in the 2010s.) Yes, Sun Wukong’s behavior isn’t always meant to be endearing. That said, there is little in the way of humor or charm to counterbalance the more insufferable aspects of his character.
Jolie Hoang-Rappaport fares a bit better as Lin, Wukong’s young assistant. Acting as a Jiminy Cricket to his Pinocchio, her attempt at being a voice of reason is believable thanks to Rappaport’s convincing displays of emotion during the most harrowing of what The Monkey King has to throw at Sun Wukong and Lin. Bowen Yang’s The Dragon King, on the other hand, is a serviceable villain. While he isn’t as memorable as one would hope – his plan to unleash wanton destruction upon the Earth isn’t the only clichéd aspect of his character – Yang’s slick delivery and comedic timing infuses a bit of humor in an otherwise lukewarm antagonist.
The rest of the cast, as talented as they are, don’t really stand out. Jo Koy and Ron Yuan are certainly passable as The Dragon King’s minions Benbo and Babbo. The same can be said of Hoon Lee and Jodi Long’s portrayal of the Jade Emperor and Wangmu. They’re good but ultimately forgettable, a vibe shared by The Monkey King as a whole.
If it isn’t the breakneck pacing and uneven visual treatment, it’s lackluster action scenes that causes The Monkey King to waiver. Most of the story is on autopilot. This makes sense in the beginning as character motivations are being established, but the quick pace never relents as it zooms by the majority of Sun Wukong’s feats; out of the 100 slayed demons, viewers only really witness two bouts. Quiet moments of reflection are also robbed of their significance, quickly interrupted by the next action sequence or silly encounter.
There’s also the animation. Though the characters look decent thanks to a vibrant color palette, much of the world is rendered bare. There’s very little if any distinguishing details for a given environment outside of the film’s one random village. Even the hellish and heavenly realms the heroes travel to aren’t notable in their design; if it wasn’t for some basic thematic differences (hell is cloaked is perpetual darkness, for instance) and the idea that they house different entities, both settings would blend in with one another in terms of their significance. They're two more generic stops on Sun Wukong’s journey.
Most of this could be forgiven if The Monkey King had solid fight scenes. Most of the battles are finished moments after they’ve begun. The ones that last a bit longer are rather dull, with choreographed bouts that fail to capitalize on the energetic prowess of the beings waging war. What’s the point of showing Sun Wukong’s cloning ability if most of the duplicates are dispatched offscreen? Things fare worse when the gods get involved – their attacks, magical or otherwise, doing nothing to reinforce their famed status as all powerful beings. Like most everything else about The Monkey King, their larger-than-life presence proves to be unremarkable.
