First of all, let's talk about the overall evaluation, 8 points, very good steampunk sci-fi movies, those who like this kind of movies are highly recommended to watch, it is different from the Japanese steampunk style, and it is harder. At the beginning, the scene of metropolitan London preying on small Bavarian towns is very shocking.
Advantages: 1. Picture: Peter Jackson and Weta Digital are carefully crafted, and the scene is sincere enough;
2. Actors: The acting skills basically meet the needs of such films, and the part about the heroine Hester and her robot adoptive father is quite touching;
3. Storyline: The film is adapted from the first part of the four-part series of "Predatory Cities" by British writer Philip River. (Peter Jackson originally planned to make a series similar to Lord of the Rings, the first one lost miserably)
Cons: One of the things that doesn't make sense in the plot is that the villain, Valentine, keeps saying that Social Darwinism is outdated and that he wants to surpass the previous mayor. But the difference between him and the previous mayor is that he has mastered Medusa, and after breaking the wall, he still has to let London prey on small towns, and big fish eat small fish, there is no difference.
Some analysis of the reasons for the film's bad box office:
1. The subject matter: Although Predatory City also has the original book, it has no reader base in the United States, and the previous publicity is estimated to be insufficient. Anyway, I have never heard of it in China. The plot of this film is more hard-core and not suitable for children to watch. It is more attractive to young people and science fiction fans. And generally the big-selling sci-fi or fantasy movies are family-friendly, with simple plots, funny or warm. In fact, The Lord of the Rings is also a fairy tale. It is only a grand scene and a complex plot for children. Not to mention Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean.
2. The problem of market selection: As analyzed above, steampunk is not actually the mainstream of American science fiction or fantasy, but it is still very popular in Asia, especially Japan, and China, but it seems that the film side has not arranged global synchronization. Screening, and no large-scale publicity in the Asian market. This is a mistake in positioning. For example, "Warcraft" relied on the Chinese market to barely make a return, and there are several subsequent "Transformers".
3. Actors: There are no stars, and there is no publicity appeal. Although the protagonist does not have to look for stars, at least two big-name supporting roles, all passers-by. The other is that the original book is a four-part series, and the first part is not enough for the protagonist, and it is not attractive enough. The elf prince Orlando does not always appear.
4. In terms of storyline: This should be the pot set in the original book. The representative of the Western predatory faction - London is set as the big villain, and the anti-traction faction that symbolizes the East is Shanguo (its leader is the governor surnamed Guan, played by a yellow-race actor) It represents the side of justice, and it will still arouse the resentment in the hearts of Great Westernists. One of the interesting points came after receiving intelligence that London was going to use the Medusa, a weapon of mass destruction, to attack. Governor Kwan said that if there was another way, I would choose it, but no, so I decided to preempt it. (It's always a bit of a joke about the principles of using a certain weapon in our country, you know).
Add an interesting point: the heroine's mother's name is Pandora, she discovered Medusa, but was snatched by Valentine and became a terrorist weapon; but she handed over the crash program to the heroine, which eventually destroyed Medusa Sarah. So, the demons are released, and hope remains. If you know other names, please leave a message, thank you.
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