Director Stephen Chow's martial arts filmmaking rattles across the screen like jazz, personality pouring directly from brain to hand to canvas. The incredible Kung Fu Hustle is the fight cinema equivalent of Dave Brubeck's “Take Five” — precisely composed, loose enough to swing. His latest, Journey to the West, is like the high school band's on the same standard.
True to his previous work, Chow strives to meld slapstick, wire work, and cultural profundity, but his take on the 16th century Chinese fantasy classic is unrefined and chaotic. Rich mythology drowns in garbage CGI as jokes pile up on screen with all the grace of a riot shotgun. But Journey to the West's core is still a jazz standard, with a bounce that's satisfying and familiar, even when it's incoherent.
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