Flying Monkeys

Attack Of The Plastic Monkeys: Standard SyFy Silliness With A Surprising Amount Of Heart
4 stars: Lovers of Cheesy SyFy Fare
2 stars: Everyone Else

In approaching a SyFy channel original creature feature, there are only so many resultant options available in terms of entertainment value: (1) The movie can be unrelentingly and painfully bad, (2) it can be so delightfully horrendous that it's camp nirvana, or (3) it can be genuinely frightening or effective. Faithful fans of the network's slate of films will realize that most fall within the first category while only a minuscule few hit that third category. No, as a true SyFy fan, I generally hope for that second classification: cheesy goodness that makes bad movie magic! If you like pure silliness, you have to think that a movie entitled "Flying Monkeys" offers the potential for great fun. Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally), SyFy premiered this epic on the same weekend that the new Oz movie hit mainstream theaters. SyFy knows how to take advantage of these synergistic opportunities...

WHERE'S THE MONKEY?
After a quick glimpse of our flying monkey, the film opens with graduation in Gale, Kansas. Dad (David Kranig) was once again late for his daughter Joan's (Maika Monroe) event. This time it was graduation. So being the loving dad that he is, he makes up for it by throwing money at the issue and buys her a monkey from the local pet store that deals in illegal animals.

From the subplot in China we discover this is not an ordinary monkey, but one that turns into a flying demon at night with special effects that made be think of the harpies from "Jason and the Argonauts." Now the kicker is that this F-ing monkey demon can not be killed with ordinary weapons, but only those blessed in China 1000's of years ago. (I love it when bad plots collide.) Now how many of those do you find in gun crazy Gale, Kansas? Oh BTW, the monkey has taken a shine to Joan.

I think you see where this is going.

Part of the film is shown through a monkey's eye view which used a...

Above Avg SyFy Ch Movie
This movie steals from The Wizard of Oz, Gremlins, and Jeepers Creepers. And to top it off it is a "SyFy Channel Movie". Normally that is the kiss of death. But this one is actually not that bad. The story is decent. The acting is decent. And the CGI monkeys are decent. But some how the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It just sort of works....against all odds!!! Bought the DVD for under $5 so I am keeping it and will watch it again some time.

Never thought I'd EVER give a SyFy Ch movie 3 stars!

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