REVIEW:
There are many fans of "Journey to the West" and it should be noted that this film is a rather loose interpretation, although it comes closer to portraying some of the story's events than the American made-for-television film entitled "The Lost Empire" that co-starred Russell Wong as the Monkey King. "Heavenly Legend" is also much more entertaining with extensive martial arts combat, colorful characters, and liberal amounts of bathroom humor (if you're into that sort of thing).

"Heavenly Legend" does share production values with the previously mentioned film. Both contain special effects that never look polished or realistic but are frequently imaginative and enjoyable to watch. In "Heavenly Legend," Ba-jie morphs from a pig into a piggish-looking boy, Li Na-cha repeatedly slaps underwear onto the surface of a lake, causing huge explosions that rock the submerged water kingdom and a giant rock creature gets an earful from The Monkey King, literally.

The bulk of the film's story takes place before the Monkey King is imprisoned in a mountain by a Buddhist monk. It focuses on the misadventures of Li Na-cha, played by a talented young star named Shieh Shiao Long and the Monkey King, played by an equally talented Jimmy Lin. Both of these two actors were also featured in "Chivalrous Legend" (1999) with Lin playing the older version of the pair. Thanks in part to dynamic action choreography from Shiao De-Hu, the two get to show off some terrific moves, turning a potentially average fantasy piece into a fast-paced actioniere. Shiao Long has a tough, no-nonsense demeanor beyond his years that is only outmatched by his martial skills. This kid is simply amazing to watch. His performance in the film's opening scene is a definite highlight. Jimmy Lin, who ironically has a passing resemblance to Jimmy Wang Yu has less intensity but plenty of charm to match his physical skills. Hau Shao Wen's performance as the piglet will cause some to wince and others to laugh. The poor kid has to not only endure the indignantly of wearing a pig nose throughout the film but also has to traipse his portly little body around in the buff, fart on numerous unsuspecting victims and urinate on the villain.

The combination of poor special effects that look more dated than anything seen in Tsui Hark's classic "Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain" (1983), corny rubber masks and frequent juvenile humor will turn off some viewers and rightly so. But putting these elements aside, the film survives with a fun and spirited story featuring great martial arts action and engaging performances from the principle stars. There are few fantasy films produced in the East or West that deserve mention and although "Heavenly Legend" is hardly a masterpiece, it does stand as one of the better fantasy films produced in Hong Kong.