A Chinese Odyssey (Parts 1 & 2)

Long before he directed Journey to the West, Stephen Chow starred in this version of the Monkey King’s story. The story is divided into two movies: “Pandora’s Box” and “Cinderlla.” I enjoyed the first part which felt like a lighthearted Chow film with fun characters, slapstick humor and a simple plot. But the second part is a confusing mess of time travel and body swapping. By the end, I literally had no idea what was going on. Chow’s The Monkey King is just a Cantonese attempt at recreating Jim Carrey’s annoying character from The Mask.