Another adaptation of Journey to the West, this time a feature-length live-action treatment.  Fans of the ’70s series will be disappointed – while Monkey Magic has some pretty ropey special effects, there’s little martial arts, little magic, little Buddhism, and Monkey’s cloud has become a surfboard. Monkey himself is an idiot, and Pigsy and Sandy characterless sidekicks. The film largely presupposes knowledge of the Journey to the West story (or the successful recent Fuji TV series starring the same central actors) and focuses on one episode, that set in the Tiger Kingdom. With a runtime of around two hours it is far too long: the first half is particularly dull, and the slow pace, gurning to camera, silly exclamations, toilet humour and slow motion ‘Monkey’s first snow’ scene suggest that, despite the 12 certificate, it was made with a pre-school audience in mind.