I can't help that I really enjoyed this. It's not the kind of show that is going to appeal to critics or win awards.It's just silly and fun. I especially like that it doesn't take itself too seriously.
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bogus-bogus-one13 August 2020
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chou_chong29 April 2018Just watching with my kid on an Sunday morning. Don't take it seriously and it's like Hercules Zena reboot!
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tonymilneiphone24 February 2018Having grown up watching Monkey (or Monkey Magic as I call it) I have lots of fond memories running around singing the song as a child/ So when I saw this advertised I quickly went to abc iView and put up with the horrendous low quality and went to watch it.
At first I was disgusted with it. The series didn't match anything what I was expecting and all I could do was pick fault at all the differences. I kept thinking about how crappy it was and nothing like the original story line, where monkey hatched, but rather in this version he was imprisoned by other gods in a mountain.
Monkey isn't very monkey like, he doesn't have his playful / curious / cheeky personality, and whilst the actor isn't bad, the character doesn't embody what monkey is.
Sandy being a woman was a little different, and at first I didn't like it, but the actor does play the role well and she became one of the better parts of the TV series.
Pingsy... isn't very pigsy like, once again, I doubt this is the actors fault, as the character does really grow on you after a while and his acting is particularly good, but they miss out on all his vices (as they did with monkey) no womanising, greed...etc except in a very very mild downplayed way that would be easily missed if you didn't know to look for it.
Tripitaka was a good choice in actor and suits the role well, without her I doubt I would have liked the series as much as I ended up.
After getting through the first 3 episodes, which where honestly really bad, the story line improved and I found myself overlooking the differences and started to really enjoy it.
After watching episode 10, I was disappointed that it had ended, and wanted more episodes.
If you are from the generation who would watch Monkey after school every day like me, It will be really hard to get past the differences at the start, but if you do manage to get past the first 3 episodes I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Three last things,
1.) I wish I had not watched it on iveiw \ Australian free to air TV. The broadcasting quality is really bad. I would recommend people wait until its out on Netflix and available in at least 720p or higher, instead of that ever stupidly low resolution crap we Australians are given on free to air.
2.) The makers should have really come up with an iconic intro song, like the original.
3.) Being that it is a Chinese story, remade in japan in 79-80's and obviously with strong Asian theme's, It would have been nice to see a few more Australians / Kiwi's with Asian decent playing at least one of the leading roles.
Overall its really good if you can get past the first 3 episodes and realise it will never be the same show you loved as a child. It's an interesting interpretation and its good seeing Australian \ kiwi actors play roles very different to what you would usually see. -
jaybizman22 November 2020IF you are/were expecting Jet Li's Monkey King - then this is not for you.
On the other hand, if you might like to sit down with the kids and watch some good old PG Rated fun, then this modern twist on an old tale may be one for the family to watch together.
The usual Monkey King story is loosely followed with many of the usual characters and as has been mentioned here, this made in Australia series is very much akin to the old Hercules and Xena offerings of decades ago.
Put your brain on hold - kick back and let it flow. No deep thinking required. I'm giving this new Monkey 7/10. -
uncleclaw19 August 2020Pay no mind to the 'serious' detractors of a whimsical fantasy-based tale. This is a family-friendly and lighthearted take on the legend. The acting may not be big-screen caliber, but it's decent enough and I am happy to support new and budding talent. If you go into it knowing what it is, a fantasy-comedy-action show (and not an accurate account of history or serious portrayal of an ancient legend), you wont be disappointed. Great fun for the whole family.
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pcummins-9199629 January 2018After watching 3 episodes so far thanks to ABC iView "The New Legends of Monkey" pretty much confirms what I thought from the trailers - it would be more in the style of Hercules or Xena in that not so serious, campy sort of way that isn't afraid to poke fun at itself with the cliches.
Chai Hansen as the titular anti-hero plays Monkey as a confident, brash character, if not overly confident in his skills and powers. Luciane Buchanan as Tripitaka is simply making the most of a bad situation by being the priest you don't expect but the one you need - being the only one who seems to care about what's going on in general.
They are quickly joined by Emilie Cocquerel as Sandy, a fellow god who plays as a more ethereal spiritual style character and Josh Thomson as Pigsy who also has decided to throw his lot in with the good guys after a stroke of conscience. They're clearly going to be constantly menaced by demons who are keen to see them not recover the holy scriptures and save the day by balancing things out again.
I can't say the cast are whitewashed given there's enough different ethnicities to avoid any obvious over utilisation of any one ethnicity even among minor cast - the average US show would do a lot worse and to be honest I think it's making the most of ANZ actors/actresses that are available without getting too typecast with styles, mannerisms or accents (which can hold a good show back in some cases).
The first eps definitely feels like a pilot that probably could have done with a few scenes having reshoots after getting the groove in later eps, however it is clear from set pieces that care, effort and attention to detail have been involved to have a historical Chinese styling. The CG sticks out as being obviously CG but is usually relegated to wide scenery shots or where appropriate - surprisingly enough a lot of practical smoke effects are used. Music is all computer generated in a '80-ish synthesiser style but seems to fit in fine.
Bottom line - nowhere near as bad as naysayers were making it out to be. If you go in with hard expectations from the 1978 show you will probably be disappointed - this seems to be a recurring theme with shows and movies nowadays. If you keep an open mind and know it's not to be taken seriously at all you'll probably do just fine. -
dubwize29 January 2018Fails to deliver in any aspect of acting, script, casting, locations, production and costumes.
After the first season release of the Australian/New Zealand made classic Chinese Historical story: "New Legends of Monkey" I am left wondering if it was made by the "Home and Away" script writers and producers.
At times during the series I was left feeling like I was watching a Mighty Morphing Power Rangers reboot,
The acting is poor and often cringeworthy. The plots are thin and hollow. The comedy aspect is non existent. The action is about as believable as a Steven Segal fight scene. The casting is woeful and amateurish.
To compare this series to the Japanese Nippon TV classic, the recent Donnie Yen movie or even the Steven Chow interpretations of this story is a far stretch of the imagination. Badly scripted and badly acted. I doubt this series can get any worse than it is.
If people are expecting a similarity with the actual story of "The Monkey King" they will be sadly mistaken. This series butchers all the canon laws of the story and leaves the viewer with a bad taste. If Disney tried to remake Monkey in the 80's it would probably have been better than this.
Having said all that I do recognise the series is made targeted to a "new" teen audience, but I think they overdid it trying too hard and thereby destroying any comical or spiritual possibilities that could have evolved within the show.
Some episodes drag on with useless dialogue that inspires unplugging the TV forever.
This series feels like it was invented at a boardroom by Corporate clowns using a ratings formula and not by talented creative writers looking to add to the Monkey Story legacy. Sterile and unfunny at best. Not a good representation of Australian/Kiwi TV at all.
No mention in the entire first season of the Monkey king name "Sun WuKong" shows this series has all the relevance to the MONKEY story as an episode of CSi or neighbours, Poor at it's best times, watching this show is painful for those who know and love the immortal story of the Great Sage Equal of Heaven. I gave it a 2/10 just for effort, but that is being generous. -
I started watching the first episode, and thought it was pretty terrible. Hollywood type brash nonsense (even though it's Australian-made), cliches, takes itself too seriously, one-dimensional etc.. For some reason, I kept watching. It gets much better. It's funny and camp, slightly pantomime, and is knowingly so.
The characters also develop and become more real and sympathetic. They develop relationships with one another. I suppose this is partly actors growing into their roles and also the director/writers seeing nuances.
Some of the story lines are also quite interesting and it touches on some dark themes, as well as ideas of friendship and love. The last episode I actually found very moving, and also convincing based on how the characters had grown together up to that point.
Watch past the first two episodes. -
linzleetpe4 September 2020Before I began to watch it, I was in doubt because most of the time western productionS of Chinese or even Asian epics get really cheesy and derive too much from the originals. However, I watched it because my husband guaranteed it'd be fun to watch, and I got addicted. Yes they did change some factors like story lines and characters, but I quite like it by treating it as an independent story. I think overall it's got a well-written script and good cast, Kudos to the art team, most importantly, it's funny, a mixture of fantasy and comedy. Forget about the original, just watch it as a new show, you won't be disappointed.
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Rather than another long it's-good-no-it's-not (looking at the reviews), I just looked at the ages and the US and non-US groups.
People outside the US rated it lower. People under 18 rated it higher. I guess that means I live outside the US.
It is passable if you ignore the usual things: 1), people taking the time to make witty remarks instead of hurling a weapon, and thereby getting killed/mained or knocked out. 2), No one realizes she's a girl?!? How is that possible? 3), If one was blind, you'd swear everyone was born in the late 20th century (aka: the dialogue is, as is the case in most of these Gods-On-The-Run movies, inane). I liked the Big Guy with the trident, and the Blue-haired woman. The Monkey was a typical 15-year old adolescent, all blowhard and self-important. Tripicaca, or whatever her name was, was consistent. The Bad Guys were reasonably evil, but nothing special. Just lots of angry expressions (I suppose that passes for actual acting these days) and sneering. They, too, reminded me of 16-year old adolescents, the kind my mother and sister taught in high school and I heard endless stories about. So, that's maybe why it scored so well with the under-18 crowd. I dunno.
But, if you can get past that, well, it's got...something. I couldn't find that "something" that would make it memorable, so, count me out. One day, someone will ask if I've seen it, and I'm likely to say, "I don't think so, but frankly, I forget." HOWEVER, I am also, as someone very, very, very young (who gave it a 10, just out of spite for those who rated it a 6 or 7, (or a 3 or a 4) NOT because it was a great show (way to go, rate it out of spite!)), put it: I'm just an "old guy." Yup.
I used to think that made me more discerning, having watched a few thousand films since1950 until now (and learned something about what makes a film good), and that I THOUGHT that maybe, just maybe, it made me perceptive. But not according to this person. Instead, it just makes us geezers. I can live with that (71 and counting!). Hope he/she can say the same someday. In fact, I hope the kid who said that makes it to 60. I'd love to see his/her/they/them's take on films that come out in 2050! (Alas, I'm unlikely to be around!)
Enjoy it if you like it! It's a free world! Or don't. It's a free world. (well, less and less these days.) But if one is being completely honest, it's pretty drab. -
Just_My_Two_Bits27 May 2021There's no way this should be rated a 6.5, this is an excellent piece of comedic and adventurous fun. Easy 8 but I rounded up because people with poor tastes and/or attention spans keep dumbing down what passes for entertainment, and now we've ended up with 15 versions of CSI. This is not CSI people, if that's what you're looking for there's probably one on right now!
For the rest of us, keep these Monkey seasons coming please! -
opticuscro11 November 2020Um ... I have to admit it's interesting. The series has an already seen background and way of performance (atlantis 2013, king arthur, legend of seeker, etc.). Although the performance itself is not fully original, the story is definitely original and certainly one of the better depictions of the monkey king (in the teenage spirit if nothing else). The TV show is watchable and relatively entertaining, its not the top of the tops but it is watchable!
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Rastifan28 January 2018Making this short. Bad CGI, lousy acting, poor production and packed full of cliches. The characters are as believable as a honest man in congress. You have been warned.
If it had said comedy, it would be a bad one at best. I am surprised B series like this gets made in 2018. Feels like a trip back to the 80's when they got away with stuff like this. -
rovex3228 April 2018The bad reviews of this make me wonder if they saw the original, which was frankly laughable. That has become a cult classic, but its not because of its high quality.
OK this isnt top of the line TV, but its quite fun and definitely meant to be a bit comedic. Its modernized, but still set in the medieval past, it just has a more modern sensibility.
The CGI is fine, and the design is clearly looking to emulate the original Monkey. People say it looks bad or fake, but thats the point
If you aren't hung up on the original you might just like it. -
scifiactionfan22 February 2021Good memories of old times watching Xena. They should have a cameo by Lucy Lawless or Renee O'Connor (but I think she is in the US).
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Why make a version of a classic story when the first thing you are going to do is throw the source material in the woodchipper? The lore was muddled, the costumes dreadful (nylon fleecy fabric and on screen zippers), the jokes laboured, the fights even more laboured and Thunderbirds has a less wooden cast. It's hard to see where the money went, ANY money.
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I always trust imdb scores because they are mostly close to mine. Just not today. Solid 8 for me and even 9 if i am having a bad day but i give 10 to balance it.
Acting is pretty good. Side characters can be meh sometimes but main characters are in the mood and they are delivering it, main baddies are decent. Cgi sometimes really bad sometimes really good but overall it suits very well. Jokes are on point, not trying so hard.. Soundtracks works fine and they are cool.
When i was a kid i really liked Hercules and Xena so this is a gem for me.(never seen original monkey)
Don't judge on plot. Main characters will grow on you in 2-3 episodes.
Overall after a hard day if you want to sit back, relax and have some fun whitout thinking too much you are in the right place.
Thank you for this and good job. Go Australia , New Zealand! -
The writer think he's done a good job converting this Oriental Story to an American feminist and anti-hero version. Well as a Chinese who actually read the original masterpiece written by Chengen Wu, I feel that my brain was hit by the thunder a thousand times and my intelligence was smashed by a million running pigs. I really want to go into details and tell the writer why this re-editing doesn't make any sense and it is a big insult to Chengen Wu, but I don't want to waste my time with someone who clearly didn't even read the book. This TV show is a joke. Please stop making it.
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KpopSucks30 January 2018Ignore the naysayers review, this is great, I'm 44 years old and loved the original so take that with a dose of salt. This reboot is classic and fun, binged the first 3 episodes and hanging out for the rest of the season
Thanks to Films NSW and Netflix for making this -
intveldbrown5 May 2018Although a simple structure the acting really worked in this...
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gustavoalcarde1 May 2018Weak script, weak lore, superficial acting. Terrible special effects.
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I really enjoyed this series. Sure, it's not epic like Game of Thrones, but for me, not everything has to be epic all the time. Sometimes, a series can simply be entertaining, and that's what "The New Legend of Monkey" did to me: It entertained me, and that's good enough for me.
One of the few aspects I didn't like was the modern touch on some characters like Davari and Raxion. In an otherwise medievalish setting, something like this always pulls me out of the story, so I didn't enjoy their scenes very much.
Apart from that, there's really only good things I can say about this series. The weapons look sharp, the costumes look dirty, the make-up is adequate, the soundtrack adds to the atmosphere, the story is exciting, and the dialogues are great, often hillarious (in a non-ridiculous meaning).
Most of all, the castdelighted me! I heard people complaining about whitewashing because the legend of the Monkey King is a Chinese legend, and there are not only Chinese people on the show, but seriously: I've rarely seen such a diverse cast, can't you people be happy about this? I haven't looked all the actors up, but apart from "white" people, I've definitely seen Chinese, Thai, Polynesian, Maori, and some others I don't trust myself to define without accidently placing them in a wrong country. ;-)
Chai Hansen did a fantastic job to portray Monkey as a bigmouth with some hidden layers under his proud skin. Rachel House was as much a joy to watch as she is in every movie and series I've seen her in. Luciane Buchanan is a talented young woman I had never seen before, she portrayed Tripitaka very well. Josh Thomson portrayed Pigsy as a gentle giant with a heart as big as his shoulders, he was real dearie. My favorite performance of all came from Emilie Cocquerel, another actress I had never heard of before. Her performance reminded me so much of Alice in 'Once Upon a Time' season 7 that I had to make sure it's not actually her. I LOVE how she portrayed Sandy, and this scrubby goddess was by far my favorite character.
Conclusively, I think I can say that the exciting script, the clever dialogues and overall the great chemistry among the main cast is what made 'The New Legend of Monkey' such a joy to watch. I'm very much hoping for season 2 - 4 as the plot indicates! -
timothyjlynch28 April 2018I think the team did great and created a very enjoyable film, I was entertained These young and older actors should be very proud of themselves and the crew that helped in all aspects. Must say the Costumes were very well done. bravo to all...
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dancharles-362743 May 2018With so much money spent on set design and green screen special effects, the only thing I kept asking myself is "who in their right mind green-lit this script for production?" Complete trainwreck of a series. I watched several episodes and the corny dialogue and cheesy acting was worse than a horny housewife and the pizza delivery boy in a soft core flick.
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The dialogue is comparable in quality with the second trilogy of the Star Wars franchise.
The lighting is so artificial. The acting is bad. And the special effects out of place, too much sci fi for a magical story.
The overall atmosphere reminds me of the crappy TV shows of the 1980s.