A Chinese Odyssey: Part One - Pandora's Box

1995 [CANTONESE]

Action / Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy

24
IMDb Rating 7.5/10 10 9305 9.3K

martial arts

Plot summary

When the Goddess of Happiness tosses the Longevity Monk and his disciples out of heaven (because the Monkey King tried to attain immortality), the Monkey King is reincarnated as the Joker. He now spends his time chasing two jealous women. When one of them is dying, the Joker goes back in time in an attempt to save her.

Director

Jeffrey Lau Photo
Jeffrey Lau

Top cast

Stephen Chow Photo
Stephen Chow as Joker / Monkey King
Karen Mok Photo
Karen Mok as Pak Jing-Jing
Li Po Lung Photo
Li Po Lung as Monkey Servant
Shuming Lu Photo
Shuming Lu as Bull King
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
810.78 MB
1280*720
Cantonese 2.0
NR
Subtitles cn  
24 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 7
1.63 GB
1920*1080
Cantonese 5.1
NR
Subtitles cn  
24 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 23

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Mara-Jade-Skywalker-23 8 / 10

What Did I Just Watch?

Intro: A Chinese Odyssey Part One is a weird, but enjoyable and hilarious movie. Known as the movie that put Stephen Chow on the map, I appreciate the film for this. But, this film wasn't my introduction to him. My introduction was Kung Fu Hustle. But I later watched this one, and I think it's even better than Kung Fu Hustle. Now, I still love that film. But this's one of the best film to come out of China, one of the favorite comedy films, and a great film.The Story & Characters: The film centers around a the Monkey King, who after trying to gain immortality, was banished out of Heaven by the goddess of happiness, and he was reincarnated as the Joker. And the events are some of the most over the top, funny and most insane things to happen in any movie.First off, the comedic writing is on point. Perfect timing, perfect delivery, and really funny dialogue. Such as, the fact that this film was made in a time that the crotch gag was getting old, and they still made it work several times in this film. The film's comedy is just always perfect.I also enjoyed the characters as well, all of them have their own brand of funny to them. And have very funny lines. To cut this short, the characters were all unique and entertaining to watch.And the film as a whole is just a completely chaotic and ride. And I loved every second of that crazy ride. The film's literally impossible to predict. I couldn't predict the events of the film.The Visuals: The visual style of this film is not all that impressive. But I don't think it's supposed to look very good. I think having the fake sets and bad costumes adds to the comedy value. Granted, it made me laugh a few times.Conclusion: A Chinese Odyssey Part One is a great example of Chinese film making, and just a good comedy film. It might be one my favorite films, and it's a movie I can always come back to and re-watch.
Reviewed by chrichtonsworld 8 / 10

fantasy martial arts extravaganza Stephen chow style

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box is a fantasy martial arts extravaganza like A Chinese Ghost story. Just to give you an idea what to expect. The main character is Stephen Chow. He plays The Monkey King and Joker. Joker is The Monkey King reincarnated who doesn't know of his past life. It is through these roles where Stephen Chow shows his versatility as an actor. If you have seen some of his movies than you know what to expect. He always tries to combine humour, martial arts and drama. Maybe for some the humor will be a bit over the top. But Stephen Chow's humour is very visual and will appeal to many viewers. A few scenes made me laugh so hard I almost choked. I even dare to say that some scenes in this film outclass Kung Fu Hustle when it comes to comedy. And that one was hilarious. I liked how during these scenes the actors maintain straight faces and are very serious about what they are doing. You know like they did in the Naked Gun film series. To me that makes all of it even funnier. Another thing I liked that the comedy does not come at the expense of action. Of which you will have plenty of. Most of the martial arts is done with wire works though and in combination with fighting demons this is done beautifully. The special effects may look a bit cheesy compared to CGI to some, but are very enjoyable because most of the effects are used creatively. I personally prefer effects done this way since it shows that sometimes all you need is a little imagination to create movie magic. And Pandora's Box certainly is magical. In fact it's a fairytale you can enjoy over and over again.
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