5. Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons (2013)
Box Office Gross: 1.246 billion yuan Finally! An actually great movie in the top 10! Like The Monkey King, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons also happens to be based on the classic Chinese tale of the same name - Journey To The West. Unlike The Monkey King, though, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons - save for its title - is a pretty awesome movie. Which is a good thing, really, because the best flick in China's top 10 so far has genuinely been Titanic. Directed by Stephen Chow, who also brought the world Kung Fu Hustle, Journey To The West is a splendid affair; a manic comedy in the fantasy mould, with all the excess, magic, and craziness you'd expect from the director - not to mention wonderful - and often breathtaking - fight sequences. The most admirable thing about this picture, of course, is the way it blends together so many genres and ideas into one manic whole; it's not always consistent, but as a sort of beautifully-realised hodgepodge of styles, it's never anything but brilliantly entertaining.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
