⭐️⭐️⭐️
The 2014 Chinese film starring Fan Bing-Bing as Lian Ni-Shang, Huang Xiao-Ming as Zhuo Yi-Hang, and Vincent Zhao as Jin Du-Yi.
Brief summary: In a land at war with each other, newly appointed leader of the Wu-Dang clan Zhou Yi-Han leaves to investigate the murder of his grandfather but ends up meeting a mysterious woman instead. With the Jin army out to catch the elusive Jae Raksha sorceress and the Palace out to acquire Zhou Yi-Hang, it might be nothing short of a miracle if the two of them can survive it all together.
Fan Bing-Bing is stellar in this movie! She’s cool enough to rank up there with Wonder Woman.
The credits right off the bat were impressive. The cinematography was beautiful, even if the story seemed a little jumbled.
One of the pitfalls of this movie was that this is total drama material. We could construct a 50-60 episode Chinese drama with these characters and basic concept. We could embellish and develop and fix all the kinks that this movie struggled with. There just wasn’t enough time to really give the plot the attention it deserved. In the beginning we spent plenty of screen time just trying to figure out who all the characters were and then we spent the rest of the screen time watching Yi-Hang and Ni-Shang’s rollercoaster of a romance that we lost sight of the plot, what their relationship and the conflict had to do with each other, and the characters’ impact on the rest of the story. The time limit imposed by making it a movie kept it so fast-paced that we didn’t really get involved with the characters or shipped the main couple.
Granted, the man and the little girl were the cutest. I enjoyed watching the scenes there were in, even if they were few. “If you miss me, light a lantern. I’ll definitely see it.”
I found the comparing of emotions to poison interesting. Ni-Shang says quite a few times “Love is the deadliest poison.” And yet when the spirit of her mentor says that, she replies “But hatred... isn’t it a poison too?” As Ni-Shang’s feeling evolve, she finally declares “If love is the deadliest poison, for you I’d take it without hesitation.” It’s interesting enough that I’d like to hear more on that concept if possible.
[SPOILERS IN NEXT PARAGRAPH!]
But that ending kind of ruined it. They merged Wu Xia Chinese OST with American 80s ballad material as they kissed and spinned to their deaths. And then there’s nothing more. We all could have improved that ending a hundred different ways. I’d personally start with ditching that final song.
So all in all, I think I can afford to give this one just barely 3/5 stars. The movie had a good cast and great film quality, even if I would have changed some things!
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