Review: Monk Comes Down the Mountain

Wang Baoqiang plays He Anxia, who was dropped off as a baby his parents at a Taoist monk temple. Eventually cast out to fend for himself as an adult, he comes across various masters who each teach him something, including a monk-turned-herbalist (Fan Wei), who has a shifty brother (Vanness Wu) who is having an affair with the herbalist’s wife. Other mentors include a martial artist turned Peking Opera star (Chang Chen), and humble Taoist priest Zhou Xiyu (Aaron Kwok). Meanwhile, Danny Chan’s Zhao Xinchuan turns up essentially to introduce the film’s main villain, his mentor Peng Qianwu (Yuen Wah), who is also feuding with Zhou Xiyu. Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie has a small role as a young upstart.

Man I was rooting for this 2015 wuxia flick from Chen Kaige (the well-received “Farewell My Concubine”). It was going so well, too. A Jackie Chan-esque blend of action, fantasy, and comedy but with a much more charismatic, likeable and less annoying lead actor/character in infectious Wang Baoqiang’s Anxia. Then it starts to get too serious, far too muddled, and not only does Anxia get lost in the shuffle, he seems to lose his smile. So did I, the film had lost me.

Let’s talk about the first half-hour or so, though. We begin with an enjoyable, if comedic Wire-Fu action sequence, stunningly photographed by Geoffrey Simpson (Who has shot two works that are the very bane of my existence, “Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey” and the snooty Aussie titty flick gone begging “Sleeping Beauty”). Wang Baoqiang’s Anxia is early on, a twit but a very sweet-natured one. I mean, this guy’s only a monk because his parents dropped him off at the temple as a baby. Brilliant stuff. He may not be subtle (at times he’s so giggly he seems high), but Wang Baoqiang is nonetheless very, very likeable and never quite as slapstick-y with the facial expressions as Jackie Chan where it feels forced. He’s certainly an incredible comedic acrobat in the Chan mould, but does the cute innocent thing a lot better than Chan ever could. Meanwhile, the character of the herbalist (Fan Wei) and ex-monk’s bizarrely haired, completely shonky younger brother (Vanness Wu) is hilariously weird and a little fey. Seriously, he has a haircut that makes him look like a cross between a member of Jedward and a troll doll. Wire-Fu films aren’t for everyone, but there’s an excellent, rain-set fight scene on what looks like a basketball court between the quite formidable Yuen Wah (terrific as main villain Peng Qianwu) and priestly Zhou (Aaron Kwok). It’s a stunner and thankfully since this isn’t a Wong Kar-Wai film, the rain doesn’t get in the way (nor the director) of the action, merely enhancing it. The unfortunate thing is that it’s once these two characters are introduced that the film starts to slip, and our dorky hero loses his prominence. Also not helping things is that most of these characters and actors who keep being introduced, aren’t always interesting. Aaron Kwok, for instance is particularly tedious and takes up way too much screen time. Much more interesting is the Peking Opera actor played by Chang Chen, who is especially good in fight scenes. Otherwise, this should be called “Monk Comes Down the Mountain (And Watches a Bunch of Stuff Happen Around Him)”. Calling it unfocused would be charitable.

A gorgeous-looking wuxia flick that starts off light and fun, but eventually seems to lose its focus and with it, its sense of fun. Fizzling out before the half-way point, there’s a good film here but Chen Kaige for some reason avoids achieving it. The screenplay is by the director and Ting Zhang (The rock-solid “Hua Mulan”).

Rating: C+