It's another domestic blockbuster, another Hong Kong famous director, another unremarkable story, and another disappointing big production.
People in the Chinese film industry have always admired Hollywood's big productions. They want to make a blockbuster film that can rival Hollywood blockbusters. This kind of thinking is good, but including famous directors such as Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kaige, etc., they all fell on the cognition of the film.
What is a blockbuster? The celebrity guides in our country seem to believe that they spend a lot of money and invite a lot of stars to create a very big scene. This is a blockbuster movie. In fact, this is a huge misunderstanding. Remember the earliest blockbuster movie in our country? Red River Valley directed by Feng Xiaoning. I don't know how much the production cost of that movie is, but it is definitely insignificant compared to the current domestic blockbusters. But Red River Valley succeeded, becoming the first domestically-produced blockbuster that is praiseworthy and unforgettable to this day. Contrary to the Red River Valley, there are many counterexamples, including movies such as Wuji, Heroes, and Yeyan. The Tongtian Empire is obviously also eligible to be one of the counterexamples.
Let me talk about the actors first. Andy Lau is really not suitable for acting as a detective. Actually I don't remember which detective he successfully played. Until the end of the story, he did not participate in the role of Di Renjie at all. From the beginning to the end, he was Andy Lau and had nothing to do with Di Renjie. Rather than turning himself into a second tiger as he did in the name cast. Li Bingbing is a beautiful vase, and his acting skills are not even as good as that of King of a Thousand Kings. It's Carina Lau and Deng Chao, whose acting skills are commendable. Especially Deng Chao, who played Pei Donglai with only his eyes. The most pitiful is Leung Ka Fai, an actor of the actor level, because he played the real murderer, there is no room for acting in the whole play. In the end, he finally yelled crazy, but the man caught fire, and he didn't let you look at his face at all.
I had hope for the plot before watching the film. After watching it, I still overestimated our domestic screenwriters. Facts have proved that reasoning suspense is not something everyone can play. Moreover, Mr. Chen Guofu had better go back to high school and put his historical knowledge back to the heart. If it is said that building a Heaven-Through Divine Pillar that Ziwu must have can also praise the rich imagination, Di Renjie inexplicably spent eight years in prison can also be considered acceptable, but the Langxie King is too outrageous. Before Wu Zetian ascended the throne, how could anyone dare to challenge her blatantly? If such a heavily armed enemy is left indifferent to him, can Wu Zetian be able to be emperor with confidence? This is not only a question of overhead history, it can even be said to be a fallacy in plot and logic. Domestic screenwriters seem to lack the most basic logical thinking, often in order to promote the plot to make the characters in the play do some of the most absurd behavior. Just like in the October Siege, Sun Yat-sen knew that Qing assassins were waiting for him in Hong Kong, and he refused to change the place for the meeting. The bodyguards knew that there were assassins, and they were not willing to change their forward path. The assassins knew that their purpose had been known to the target, and they never thought about why the other party didn't change their route, let alone the other party's yoga stand-in. Sun Yat-sen's double was obviously able to slip away in advance, but he had to stay in the house for 15 minutes meaninglessly. Stiff, ridiculous, plot for the sake of plot, fight for the sake of fighting, this is the common problem of our domestic screenwriters. Such problems are naturally inevitable in the Tongtian Empire.
Sha Tuo raised a group of assassins. There were a hundred ways to kill the head of the Ministry of Engineering, but he used the most shocking and sensational method, and Di Renjie was drawn out of prison. As for Di Renjie, he knelt in front of Wu Zetian and refused to give up. He even raised Erlang's legs and set the footsteps of the detective. He simply didn't know how to write death words. Does Wu Zetian use God's will to kill people? In history, no high-ranking person would kill people in such a narcissistic way. Just drag it out and chop it off. Where can there be so many twists and turns? Chen Guofu thought that the Tang court was a medieval church? To kill, you need to speak from the national teacher? There was also the Langxie King, swaggering under Wu Zetian's nose, no one dared to care, that Wu Zetian was too face-to-face. Especially in the last scene, Di Renjie actually asked Wu Zetian to kneel for him, and Wu Zetian actually kneeled, making people speechless to the sky. Brother, don't bring such fun. Can the emperor kneel down? Do you think this is the crowning of the Pope? When Chinese screenwriters and directors are making blockbuster films, they never seem to study history seriously, study the customs and behaviors of ancient people in history, and the performances of the actors are as always indistinguishable. They can't tell whether it is an ancient person or a traversal. person. This is true for Chibi, so is Confucius, and so is the Tongtian Empire.
Finally, let me talk about Tsui Hark. It can be seen that Old Monster Xu really did his best to use all his skills. Compared with the previous year, the only thing missing is his strong personal temperament. Yes, the visual effects of the film are gorgeous and the fighting is weird and unpredictable, but the whole film does not have its own temperament. In A Chinese Ghost Story, that temperament is grotesque and weird; in New Dragon Inn, that temperament is that of knights and lakes; in Huang Feihong, that temperament is magnificent; every movie is very tasteful and makes people feel Unforgettable at first sight. But in the Tongtian Empire, I couldn't feel this kind of taste. As a suspense film, it lacks horror and suspense; as a martial arts film, it has no sense of Jianghu; as a historical film, it is not rigorous and solemn. This is a four-dimension work that combines a series of eye-catching elements. At this point, it fails just like the Jingwu Fengyun that was released not long ago.
Secondly, Tsui Hark didn't master the rhythm of the film well enough. Obviously it is a suspense fighting movie, but it still can't make people nervous. Too many slow-motion close-ups in the fight make the fight seem weak and uninteresting. As for those special effects, please, domestically produced movies can't compare to Hollywood's in this respect. How do those buildings and ships look fake? If you spend money on these fake special effects, it's better to spend more energy on the sets and costumes.
After watching Jingwu Fengyun, I feel that Hong Kong directors are no longer good, and they have no innovative spirit. Looking at the Tongtian Empire again, this idea of mine was even more confirmed. The skills of those former celebrities are still there, but their souls are lost.
The heavenly sacred pillar fell, and then collapsed, and there was the old monster Xu who used to be high in my heart.
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