I have seen almost all of Stephen Chow's movies, many of them many times. It is roughly estimated that I have watched "Tang Bohu's Autumn Fragrance" no less than twenty times. I also like to listen to "Nine Pins of Sesame Official" to work or sleep. "Kung Fu" is also my favorite.
Because I like Stephen Chow's movies, whether he starred or directed, I choose to ignore the emotional disturbance between him and Athena Chu, and ignore his being criticized for being difficult to get along with. I have a lot of favorite stars, but never choose which one to adore. I won't get angry because others criticize them, I won't try to get close to them, I believe that even if I see them, I won't burst into tears like some fans, so I really don't know what idols are and what does it mean. But I think Zhou Xingchi should be regarded as my idol.
The furthest thing in the world is not that your idol doesn't know you like him, but that you know you like him but you can't help but stop him. After hiding in the corner of the corridor with my mother and smoking a box of Hongta Mountain, I finally decided to start writing the following text. It is not so much a criticism of the film as a nostalgia for Stephen Chow.
In the past, every time I watched Stephen Chow's movies, I was really very happy. But this time, the ceiling lights of the theater turned on, but it couldn't clear the haze that had accumulated in my heart for a long time. An indescribable depression blocked my throat like a stone. And as the effects of VFX and camera shock faded from my brain, it became clear to me that behind the seemingly unstoppable imagery was all the crude and mean truth.
1. Fly in the ointment sensory experience
The purpose of Stephen Chow is to shock the audience with visual effects, which to a certain extent have a certain effect. The 3D effect of the film can be regarded as the benchmark for domestic films, so that the pair of glasses on the bridge of the nose does not become an additional burden, especially with some scenes that tend to be terrifying, it has accomplished its mission well. The power of the battle scene gushed out, allowing the audience to experience Stephen Chow's imaginary world, but most of the time, a very sharp shout seemed to penetrate my eardrums. The density is so great that after leaving the cinema, in addition to the classic soundtrack from "Journey to the West", only screams from monsters or women lingered on the beams of my house and refused to leave. The raucous sound effects are barely aesthetically pleasing, which fits perfectly with the ugly faces of the film's characters, making them no more disgusting and disgusting than they are. At this point, I realized that the previous criticism of Zhang Jizhong's Journey to the West was a bit too much. The amateurish traces of too many shots have created a distancing effect that cannot be ignored, making the audience frequently play. If this is Zhou Xingchi's intention, it will be a very bad thing.
"Kung Fu" is a rare good movie among Chinese-language films in recent years. The skeleton swordsman in it can be regarded as a classic visual example in Chinese films, and ideas such as playing the piano and flying leaves and breaking the cat in the sky not only avoid the blood, but are also subtle and calm, which makes people memorable. This allows us to see A talented Stephen Chow. But in this film, there is no trace of similar details. Stephen Chow tries to use more shocking blood and violence to achieve his goal, but it seems impossible to sigh or shock those who are addicted to the visual spectacle. leave us with something more.
The romantic and sad mood created by the yellow sand in the desert and the deserted Gobi in "Journey to the West" is even less likely to be shown in this film, and the audience will not be able to appreciate it. The unrealistic scenes used in the film are more like modern industrial glass and lack a humanistic feeling.
2. A very unsuccessful classic subversion
The over-subversion of the classics is beyond what I can bear and is extremely uncomfortable. Huang Bo's shape has already pushed the image of the Monkey King into eighteen layers of hell, and he will never be able to turn over. That face that was simply sutured by the community hospital after the car accident, after my rigorous reasoning, it is impossible to say such a fluent dialogue. If the shapes of fish monsters and wild boars could not trigger my grooves while watching the movie after drinking a few bottles of beer at noon, then the appearance of King Kong in the end made me sober and my spirit was on the verge of complete confusion. In a trance, I suspect that Monkey King's irritability at the end is because Zhou Xingchi did not prepare the Empire State Building for this gorilla to climb.
The rearrangement of the original story can be said to be appalling, and if it were any closer, the whole story would be reduced to three paragraphs without any connection. The events of the recapture of the three apprentices are completely segmented and isolated, and the reason for the far-fetched connection can only make the whole story seem stupid and meaningless. The role of Chen Xuanzang is completely reduced to a soy sauce master who only gets in the way, and the only focus is to talk about a noble love that can't be empathetic.
3. Abruptly Ineffective Funny Plots
Most of the comedy sections of the movie are out of touch with the plot, appearing abrupt and helpless, and ultimately can only fail.
Zhou Xingchi is still continuing his old way, by playing a lot of ugliness to get the effect of comedy, catering to the public's taste for ugliness. The four old mothers of the empty son are undoubtedly an important pawn in this, but they are so boring and excessive that I began to sympathize with the old actress who has lines. The fresh-faced Jiang Bang had an innocuous dialogue with his junior sister. There was no humor at all, leaving the audience only cold and helpless. In the movie, the funniest scene may still be the use of control characters, but such scenes that can make people laugh are obviously very rare, even if it is a face-masking one that needs to be scolded by Nima to appreciate. joke.
I don't see anything funny about the structural subsidence of the bones caused by the constant hammering of the monster's face, except that the excessive repetitive footage has already caused my eyesight fatigue. Most of the dialogue is just a vain attempt to create a low-loss comedy effect by relying on strokes, but what is ushered in is only helpless laughter. The audience knows how much joy, helplessness and self-deprecation in this laughter. The proportion of effective comedy scenes is estimated to be at most one-fifth of the total, which is obviously an irrefutable failure for a comedy film devoted to comedy from beginning to end.
I even heard some people laugh out loud in the last paragraph of the film, and this part is the parting of life and death, the only part of the film that contains sincere feelings, they can only laugh because most of the previous jokes have been messed up The audience's laughter.
4. Failed theme mining
If you say that the first three points have their own opinions, or I am too harsh, then this fourth point will be the most fatal flaw of the film. There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, but at least that is Hamlet, not Zhu Yingtai. No matter what we think of the characters and the film, its spiritual core is still the most important. When we watch a good movie, whether its course is erotic, parody, violent, horrific, or narrative, its gist tends to be clear in the end, but that's clearly not the case with this movie.
Chen Xuanzang, as the leading male lead in this film, from the time he appeared as a beggar, made the audience firmly believe that it is possible to exorcise the truth, goodness and beauty that can be awakened in the hearts of monsters by singing 300 children's songs non-violently. In the film, we see the exact opposite direction. The fish monster was violently taken away by Miss Chen, and Zhu Gangjiao didn't give Chen Xuanzang a chance to state his claim, but in the end it had to be recovered by the most violent Sun Wukong. Chen Xuanzang was still unable to appease Sun Wukong at the expense of Miss Chen, and finally had to rely on the slap of the Tathagata Buddha to pat him obediently.
In the end, when the heaven and the earth are ethereal, everything is pure, and Wukong under the Bodhi tree accepts Xuanzang's curse, a confused mood completely occupies the hearts of the audience. We have no way of knowing how all this happened, nor can we understand Zhou Xingchi's feelings and thoughts. , the whole movie is even less attractive, because it is shriveled and chaotic. This can't help but make me miss the iron lotus dancing at the end of "Kung Fu". At that moment, every audience's heart is full of tolerance and warmth.
The whole movie is already riddled with holes and can't even describe it all. New Year's Eve, irritable, unwilling to write more. In short, this is not a comedy, but more of a thriller and fantasy.
Zhou Xingchi has been dormant for many years, and all he has given us is a journey to the west without getting the scriptures.
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