Synopsis: A monk leaves his monastery and ventures out into the real world for the first time in his life, and ends up in an adventure with a kung-fu master who is guarding a special artifact. (123 Mins)

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Views: Chen Kaige's adaptation of Xu Hao Feng's acclaimed novel has become somewhat of a Marmite movie for viewers since its release, but for myself – I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. While the story of Monk Comes Down The Mountain starts like an old-school kung-fu classic, the film quickly becomes a bizarre blend of Pinocchio and Kung Fu Hustle, with shades of Yuen Woo Ping's True Legend and Johnnie To's Running On Karma laced throughout. Dare I say it, but there were even moments here that reminded me of The Matrix to some degree! For most people, this just doesn't work at all – and especially coming from a master film-maker such as Chen – but for me, I adore different and really enjoyed what was on offer. Packed with a wonderful array of characters, many of which displayed superhuman powers and abilities, Monk Comes Down The Mountain takes its viewers on a compelling journey before delivering a strong and positive message at the end. The superb Wang Bao Qiang stars as He An Xia, the young Shaolin monk who is sent out to experience the real world. On his journey, An Xia meets a collection of saints and sinners while learning the true meaning of Buddhism as well as who he really is. This was a fantastic role for Wang, allowing him to show a wide range of acting from a giddy and naïve young monk to a strong and mature man who has been pushed through a host of emotional events over the years from loss and betrayal, to love. An Xia's journey sees him find guidance from a variety of different masters and father-like figures, starting with street physician Tsui Daoning – an ex-monk who moved to the city to learn western medicine. It's here that He meets Tsui's beautiful wife, Yu Zhen, who happens to be having a love affair with the doctor's playboy brother, Daorong. From here, An Xia finds that life is a constant roller-coaster as it brings him lesson after lesson, and master after master – and often with harsh consequences...

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Tsui Daoning is played by the wonderful Fan Wei, a popular Chinese actor with almost 50 credits to his name including Cell Phone, A World Without Thieves, The Road, City Of Life & Death, Personal Tailor, and many more. His wife is played by the gorgeous Lin Chi Ling, a starlet who debuted in John Woo's Red Cliff 1 & 2 as Xiao Qiao, with Vanness Wu starring as his playboy brother Daorong – a man that sports a wild hair-do and is as camp as the day is long, but is quite happy to steal his brother's wife regardless of the consequences. While he made his feature film debut in 1988's Chopper & The Six Friends, Wu never really made an impact until Daniel Lee's martial arts drama Star Runner almost 15 years later. Since then he joined forces again with Lee for the fantastic Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon, Dragon Squad, and Dragon Blade alongside Jackie Chan, as well as starring in titles such as Kung Fu Fighter, Kung Fu Chefs, Ah-Choo, and Ip Man 4. As time passes, An Xia soon meets a powerful fighter by the name of Zhao, played by Danny Chan Kwok Kwan who shot to fame in Stephen Chow Sing Chi's Shaolin Soccer thanks to his Bruce Lee-like qualities. Although he had been around for a few years prior, Chan's career has since seen him star in films such as Kung Fu Hustle, Just Another Pandora's Box, Ip Man 3 & 4, Kung Fu League, and The Rookies alongside Hollywood starlet, Milla Jovovich. Here, Chan gets to face off against the legendary Yuen Wah who plays the wicked Peng Qian Wu – his very own teacher who refuses to let him take over the clan and leave his son behind. Yuen Wah, of course, needs no introduction and had starred in over 170 films by this stage of his career. With thanks to Chow Sing Chi once again, Wah saw a resurgence of his career after he was cast as the hilarious landlord in the superb Kung Fu Hustle – and had co-starred with Danny Chan in a number of films through to this. The gorgeous Aaron Kwok gets a wonderful role as Zhou Xiyu – a zen-like priest that brings the story together with his connection to the majority of people An Xia meets along the way. I really liked Kwok in this role. It reminded me somewhat of his role in The Barefooted Kid – albeit the continuation of a much more mature character in some ways. He is master to Boss Zha, a wild soldier he met on the battlefield many years before after saving his life, taming his wild side, and teaching him the ways of the martial arts. Boss Zha is played by the brilliant Chang Chen, an actor whose career rose to new heights when he starred in the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. From there, Chen went on to star in films such as Chinese Odyssey 2002, Blood Brothers, 2046, Red Cliff 1 & 2, The Grandmaster, Brotherhood Of Blades 1 & 2, and The Last Supper. Here, Chen continues to show off his martial skills as he goes up against a host of fighters – one of which is the great Tiger Chen of Triple Threat fame. And finally, the wonderful Jaycee Chan appears as Qizi, the son of Yuen Wah's leader of the Nine Dragon clan. His initial introduction is quite funny, as he offers to cook a meat dish for the young monk in return for information about the man who roughed up his father. But after one bite, both of them take such a reaction to the poisoned meat that brings on some hallucinations and leaves them with a face as big as a melon. I found it quite ironic that Jaycee played a character involved in passing off a drug to a new friend (as well as the hallucinogenic themed jokes) considering the actor himself was arrested for the possession of marijuana and left out of all publicity for this film upon its release – much to the disgrace of his father. Regardless, he does a great job as Qizi and brings some emotion to the role as well as some laughs with plenty of comic moments. The rest of the cast is filled out with many recognisable faces including the brilliant Lam Suet – one of Hong Kong's busiest actors who has over 260 credits to his name – and Wang Xue Qi who starred in films such as Warriors Of Heaven & Earth, Bodyguards & Assassins, Sacrifice, and Reign Of Assassins!

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While Monk Comes Down The Mountain may take two or three viewings to completely understand, there's no denying that Chen Kaige has done a wonderful job as the director. Apart from a beautiful score by George Acogny, Monk Comes Down The Mountain scores big points with some gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Geoffrey Simpson, an Australian cinematographer who captured the images of movies such as Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe, Shine, Center Stage, Under The Tuscan Sun, Cargo, and Chinese sci-fi flick, Shanghai Fortress, with Shu Qi. And while there are many naturally beautiful images on offer, there are equally as many enhanced by CGI – most of which work well, although some are noticeably rough around the edges. These are hardly off-putting mind you and reminded me of the CG work in Kung Fu Hustle, mainly coming about during moments of superhuman abilities to enhance fight scenes and moves – or tell a brief part of the tale through animation. While Kaige had a huge action team behind him here, the fight choreography was under the control of Dee Dee Ku along with Alan Fung Wai Lun and Shu Jian, with Bruce Law handling the vehicle action. To me, Monk Comes Down The Mountain is one of the best Yuen Woo Ping movies never directed by Yuen Woo Ping, and apart from some moments of comedy and characters throughout, this would mainly be because of the action. Dee Dee Ku started life in the Hong Kong film industry starring in Hong Kong classics such as My Lucky Stars, Royal Warriors, A Better Tomorrow 2, and Tiger On The Beat (as well as working as a stunt double for Jet Li in many films) and began trying his hand at action-choreography on films such as Holy Robe Of The Shaolin Temple, Mirage, Born To Defence, Revenge Of Angel, and Stone Age Warriors. In the early 90s, Ku would find himself lucky enough to be taken under the wing of master Yuen Woo Ping to work on films such as Tiger Cage 3, God Of Gamblers 3: Back To Shanghai, Iron Monkey, Tai Chi Master, Black Mask, and many more and went on to be an action director in his own right. But it's easy to see that his time with Woo Ping made quite the impression, as in Monk Comes Down The Mountain he brings a ton of fantastic martial arts sequences to the screen. And while they may not be the greatest fights ever committed to celluloid, they all still prove to be hugely entertaining and wildly imaginative for the most part, blending the aforementioned moments of superhuman abilities with some skillful wire-work to make it all a little more special.

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While this Chinese/Hollywood co-production did pretty well at the domestic box office, I'd imagine it would still get lost to many western viewers because of its strong philosophies and shift in tones. But for me, Monk Comes Down The Mountain is a stunning and impressive piece with great performances from all involved with plenty of emotion, genuine laughs, and enough great fight scenes that kept me glued. This is one I'll be going back to time and time again...

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Overall: A comic book kung-fu flick with plenty to enjoy, Monk Comes Down The Mountain is full of stunning visuals, wisdom, and exciting fight scenes!