I started watching this series about two months ago or so when it was aired on a Vietnamese channel. I originally saw the first few episodes on Viki but after the 6th episodes, all the links were broken. Fortunately, chnent2009 from Viki fixed those links at the end of last month if anyone is interesting in watching this version of Journey to the West. I personally still enjoy the 1986 version better in terms of plot wise. The computer effects are definitely more advanced compared to the '86 version but that is understandable since CGI was still a fairly new application back then.
While the 2010 version has a plot line that flows from one episode to another as oppose to the 1986 version, the depictions of the characters annoyed me. I don't think I have ever been as irritated with Zhu Bajie character in any of the other versions as I was with him in this one (I have watched the 1986, 1996, and the 2002 version titled--Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 齊天大聖孫悟空). The character development of Bajie wasn't written terribly because I felt as though his character didn't undergone any changes as compared to Wukong or Wujing. I hated Bajie constant complaints and his reaction to immediate troubles was always to divide the luggage and give up on the journey. I heard him talked more than I saw him fight. The scriptwriter could have tone down this flaw personality of Bajie towards the end but they didn't (and if they did, they didn't tone it down enough!).
One aspect that drove me up the wall with the 1986 version which I have now come to term with is that multiple actors played Tang Sanzang. I'm glad that so far only the '86 version has that problem because I'm not a big fan of multiple actors playing one role unless there was a point to it in the story. Victor Chen as Tang Sanzang in the 2010 version is okay. I don't take much fondness to his character either. What's with the wide eyes expression?! That expression made it seem like he was trying to gasp for air or something.
And I believe the reason I love the 1986 version more is because I love Sun Wukong, and his depiction by Fei Zhenxiang was alright here. He got better as the series goes on. He really was the only reason I decided to finish this series. Overall, I wouldn't say this series is terrible because I like some of the things they did with it such as those moments when the protagonists reflected on the event that just happened and make an insight about life. I also like the interaction between Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing as a whole. I rate this series above the 1996 and 2002 version but below the 1986 version. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to watch the 2011 version because I can't find it with English Sub or Cantonese/Vietnamese-Dubbed but that version looks really interesting and different!
