The Monkey King (2014 film)

The Monkey King
Theatrical release poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese西游記之大鬧天宮
Simplified Chinese西游记之大闹天宫
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīyóu jì zhī dà nào tiāngōng
Japanese name
Kanji西への旅
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnNishi e no tabi
Directed bySoi Cheang
Screenplay bySzeto Kam-Yuen
Edmond Wong
Lola Huo
Dali Chen
Based onJourney to the West
by Wu Cheng'en
Produced byKiefer Liu
StarringDonnie Yen
Donald Chow
Aaron Kwok
Joe Chen
Peter Ho
CinematographyCheung Man-po
Ardy Lam
Yang Tao
Edited byCheung Ka-fai
Music byChristopher Young
Production
company
Distributed by(See Notes)
Release dates
  • 25 January 2014 (2014-01-25) (Beijing premiere)
  • 30 January 2014 (2014-01-30) (Hong Kong)
  • 31 January 2014 (2014-01-31) (China)
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesHong Kong
China
LanguageCantonese
Budget500 million yuan (82 million USD)
Box officeUS $182.2 million

The Monkey King (also known as The Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven's Palace) is a 2014 action-fantasy film directed by Soi Cheang and starring Donnie Yen as the titular protagonist Sun Wukong. A Hong Kong-Chinese co-production, Yen also serves as the film's action director. The film co-stars Donald Chow, Aaron Kwok, Joe Chen and Peter Ho.

Production began in Beijing on 18 October 2010 and was filmed in 3D. The plot is based on an episode of Journey to the West, a 16th-century Chinese literary classic written in the Ming Dynasty by Wu Cheng'en. It was released on 31 January 2014 and received mixed reviews from critics. A sequel, titled The Monkey King 2, was released in February 2016.