A Preposterous Fantasy Blockbuster Mounts a Godly Rebellion on Netflix

The legend of the Monkey King is one of China’s best-known myths, and there’s been no shortage of adaptations bringing the story to the big screen. In fact, since the beginning of the 21st Century alone there have been no less than 17 live-action and animated movies involving Sun Wukong in one way or another, with Wu Kong the latest to make its presence felt on streaming.

Per FlixPatrol, the 2017 fantasy blockbuster – which is confusingly also known as Immortal Demon Slayer, Immortal Demon Slayer: The Legend of Wu Kong, Wu Kong: Immortal Demon Slayer, The Legend of Wu Kong, or Tales of Wu Kong depending on where you happen to live in the world – has become one of the streaming service’s Top 10 most popular hits in half a dozen countries around the world, putting it on the cusp of breaking into the overall Top 20.

Preposterous but in an entertaining kind of way, it’s hard to put any sense of originality on a tale that’s been told so many times over in so many different mediums, but director Derek Kwok and star Eddie Peng make a decent fist of it nonetheless. Disguised a as a human to gain entry into the heavenly kingdom, the title hero refuses to be cowed by destiny as he sets out to mount a rebellion against the gods.

A decent-sized hit that earned in excess of $100 million at the box office, Wu Kong may not be deemed as the best version of the legendary fable there’s ever been, but it’s evidently got enough in the tank to appeal to subscriber of the world’s market-leading streaming service.