"Dragon Tiger Gate": more than love but not enough strength
(Text: Vulcan Ji) 1. Beginning.
Forgive my increasingly weak aesthetic sense. If I were to choose my favorite movie adapted from a comic book, maybe I would rather still choose Takashi Miike's bloody "Killer Aichi" rather than the "Dragon Wumen" by Ye Weixin. The abandonment of the sense of the times has made me unable to accept such a pure story. Maybe it's just because I can no longer express anything as a singular like or disgust as naively and purely as I was when I was a teenager.
2. The awkwardness of genre action movies and go to TMD pseudo-art.
The same seems to be the case for this blockbuster action film that has been criticized as "the full score of martial arts with zero points" or "Wubi "Tom Yum Kung", Vincent "Slaying the Wolf". In any case, it cannot be denied that this is a very exciting movie recently. The martial arts are designed smoothly and heartily; the literary drama is interspersed with the emotions of two women and seems to appear to be higher than the pure action movies in the past that blindly emphasize the beauty of men's desire to conquer and power. As an action movie, this movie is already very rare. After all, it seems to be tolerant, rather than just acting for the sake of action. At this point, this movie has already made a breakthrough.
Seek a grand breakthrough for violence and then seek the visual beauty that violence brings to us; this is almost everything that all action movies want to express to us. Action movies may just be to satisfy our most primitive and savage violent tendencies. Tsui Hark’s "Seven Swords" is a breakthrough in the prohibition of martial arts, and the seven swords go down the mountain just to save the world's warriors or to save themselves; it is called a chivalrous man. A while ago, Ye Zhen cooperated with "Slaying the Wolf" based on the conflict of black and white forces as a breakthrough. The brutality of the army used on the drug lord seems to be acceptable to us; it is called justice grandiosely. After all, it was just to seek a grand cause for the violence that followed and then started the fight. In fact, it doesn't matter whether the literary and drama of an action movie is clever or not, because whether clever or not, it is all about seeking a reason for the later violence. Regardless of whether the reason is clever or not, all we want is violence. As a reason, literary drama is second and second; and violence is the most fundamental thing in action movies. The second and second reason, what is the difference between wise and unwise? Going to watch an action movie, who in the bones would go to the cinema with enthusiasm just because he wanted to see the literary drama in it. If you just want to see love or emotions in a movie, why bother to watch an action movie. After all, it's still a time when literary and artistic films are all the rage. So, should we not criticize those action film directors for not treating action films as literary films? For all those people who criticize the lack of literary drama in action films, if you want to watch literary drama, you might as well go to see Wong Kar-wai or You Zhida, why bother to come here. Since it's an action movie, it's all about finding a reason to start fighting, so why bother to pick faults.
If you have to demand the literary and drama of action movies, then why not blame Wong Kar-wai's style movies for the lack of smooth martial arts design. Since the genre films are divided into several categories, then undoubtedly they want to adapt to the different preferences of different groups of people. If action movies are required to be both civil and military, why not ask for both civil and military in literary and artistic movies. After all, it's just to blame for the colored glasses in action movies. When we can applaud those genre films that are literary and artistic, why can't we applaud those genre films that act for action?
People who watch movies, please correct their mentality. If we open our minds of inclusive literary and artistic films without action design to accommodate the weak literary drama of action films, we may find that many action films are actually very good. Far from being as unsightly as in the legend. Go to TMD pseudo-art. When literary films can be purely for the sake of literature and art, but we still have to find a magnificent reason for you before they can be violent, perhaps what you should be lamented should be the dedication and exhaustion of our action film production group. Rather than finding faults in our literary and drama and ignoring our true focus: those violent sparring and smooth action design. Go to TMD pseudo-art. The producers of those literary and artistic films don’t even have a reason not to use violence. They are just literary and artistic. God knows, where is so much literary and artistic in this world. It is not that we are savage, but that we have the same blood of our ancestors who conquered and were conquered in the wilderness. We live in this violent world, and literature and art are just whitewashing peace.
3. Ye Weixin may have forgotten that this is a movie and not a live-action comic.
In fact, I quite like the plot in this movie. If you just treat this movie as a review of the original manga, I think it will be a very good movie, and watching this movie will definitely give you a good feeling. However, this is not just a manga for us to review the original, but an action blockbuster adapted from the manga. So some aspects of the treatment seem a little immature. Because I can no longer watch this movie just like watching a comic. Many scenes that should have looked beautiful at first always seem to be overly affectionate. In the age when I was still reading comics, perhaps I would be confused by Wang Xiaolong’s childhood memories of himself and Wang Xiaohu before Buddha; however, in the age of watching movies, I may no longer accept this childish narrative. Up. I would rather this be an unremarkable action movie in Shunxu, as long as the action design has enough beauty. Rather than such a movie with too much comic narrative style. Since it is a movie adapted from a comic, it should be adapted from it. When I watched this movie, I didn't always feel the feeling of watching the adaptation, and was closer to the feeling of watching the live-action anime of the manga "Dragon Tiger Gate". Too many comic narrative elements make this movie somewhat of a flaw.
We are no longer the kind of ignorant teenagers who blindly worship heroes. So the straightforward narrative in this movie with some memories interspersed with the comic narrative style made me disgusting. When watching a movie, there is a feeling of returning to childhood to watch cartoons. It's just that the narrative style that once made me obsessed can no longer make me boil; on the contrary, there is a feeling of being fooled. When we were ignorant teenagers, it seemed natural to be fooled. Because we don't understand anything. But so many years have passed, it is a bit unreasonable for us to continue to be fooled by the same things. I can accept that when I watched "Saint Seiya" when the five small strong were beaten to pieces, they lay on the ground and recalled the hardships of childhood learning and the exhaustion along the way. After that, I stood up and burned the small universe with my remaining consciousness before defeating the powerful enemy in front of me; I was even moved to tears. I can also accept the ecstasy and exhaustion of watching "Captain Tsubasa" before Qiu Zhennan kicks up the shot and suddenly straddling the whole episode and shooting the ball into the waves until it shoots through the waves; I even start to sigh for those who have aspirations. It happened. However, it is impossible for me to accept all this now. Just like this movie, I really can't accept Wang Xiaolong lying deep in the grass when he was seriously injured and recalling his mother's instructions and reaching out to accept a jade pendant that Wang Xiaolong suddenly appeared in his childhood and gave him. Play the small universe burning again, and then save his life and fighting spirit. I am ashamed that when Wang Xiaolong suddenly became the constantly expanding small universe in the Five Xiaoqiang, I would encounter it occasionally in this movie. Because I have no way to believe what all eyes see like in the time when I watched Wu Xiaoqiang or Qiu Zhennan.
Maybe it's not that I don't believe in all the narratives in this movie; it's just that this comic narrative style completely collapsed my doubts about the lens' aesthetics. Or because Ye Weixin forgot that he was making a movie adapted from a manga and thought he was making a live-action manga, so that there are such childish narratives everywhere in this movie. This kind of narration in the comics is supported by the generous length, and if this style is also introduced in the movie, it will make the movie seem very verbose and tedious.
Or, the whole people rejuvenate together. Let's follow Ye Weixin to see this childlike "Dragon and Tiger Gate" of the Five Little Strong. To some extent, this comic narrative style throughout the movie is always depressing. When modern comics have begun to abandon this cumbersome narrative style and switch to a relatively compact narrative, Ye Weixin's "Dragon and Tiger Gate" looks very nostalgic and retro. Even with a little literary and aesthetic sentiment, but this aesthetic is a bit wishful thinking. It's just that the current comics and movies still continue to use this simple narrative style. I am disgusted, very disgusted.
4. There is Yu Wenxi in love.
As an action movie, "Dragon Tiger Gate" has achieved quite a bit. In the literary drama, Rosa's obsession with Wang Xiaolong and the ambiguity between Ma Xiaoling and Wang Xiaohu, coupled with the majestic name of a justice knight who kills grassroots people, are already slightly better than other action movies.
I like the sonorous and powerful narration at the beginning of the movie: the young people from all sides are proud to join the Dragon Tiger Gate. It is just out of nostalgia, a visual and auditory nostalgia, not a narrative style. I like Wang Xiaolong’s memories that continue to spring up at a certain time like a stream of consciousness, and I also like the stories about Wang Xiaolong’s entire childhood that the movie puts together in this way. The scenes of those memories are very beautiful. I also like that the yellowing hue directly derives the kind of imagery like "memory that has yellowed".
I like the illusion that in the afternoon in the park there are troubled little girls waiting for the brave little boys to be heroes to save the United States. I like this kind of promise. After the hero saves the United States, I will return a promise of repaying me and a lifelong vow of "I like you all my life".
I like this sad experience so cruelly, the sad and inspirational story of my childhood is awakened in the depths of my memory. The troubled times of natural and man-made disasters will always create one of the most mighty peerless heroes. I vaguely remembered that my mother always told me when I was a child that the children of the poor were in their homes early. I also like the brotherhood of standing up to protect my younger brother as an elder brother. Even though the brothers were still being bullied in the end. But the bloody nature of the little man who was a brother who shared the joys and sorrows finally found a breakthrough.
However, the section where Ma Xiaoling took Wang Xiaohu and Shi Heilong to Baiyun Mountain to find the strange men with the car made me feel very affectionate, and it was so tepid that it made me feel helpless. Qi Xia's pretending to be deep has made me feel quite unconscious. There is another section of the bridge that picks up the rosary in front of the Buddha and a forceful jump; the chivalrous person, the so-called chivalrous person, has to be unpredictable and add a little bit of floppy to appear his unfathomable. However, Shi Heilong and Wang Xiaohu, who were beaten half-dead by the Fire Cloud Cthulhu in front of him, were able to support the Huoyun Cthulhu for a while under his training for a while. This is also a side support and cheer. Appreciated.
I was thinking, if he is really so powerful, if he really has a chivalrous name, and if Huoyun Cthulhu is really punishable by everyone, why didn’t he take the initiative to beat Huoyun Cthulhu into the ground and let him go. Two half-year-old new born calves who had just learned a trick and a half, who weren't even an apprentice, went to the Huoyun Cthulhu to torture and let him insult his martial arts in a mess. Everything is just for affection.
The fire cloud evil god bravely picked the Dragon Tiger Gate just to pave the way for Wang Xiaohu and Shi Heilong to fight him. After Wang Xiaohu and Shi Heilong were finally defeated, Wang Xiaolong's appearance was based on the front paving and added another layer. An icing on the cake. It's a bit superfluous. Finally, when the evil god of Fire Cloud was beaten into the ground by Wang Xiaolong, Wang Xiaolong hugged Wang Xiaohu and shouted in a low voice: I can return to Longhumen with you now, brother...looks very pretentious. I am speechless. After all, Donnie Yen is an action actor, not a literary and artistic actor, so I can't take it harshly. The weak smile on Wang Xiaohu's face looked helpless. Maybe it's because Wang Xiaolong hit his wound when he hugged him.
After all, the literary drama of this movie is not weak, but rather strong. To a certain extent, it is the leader of this action movie, but on the other hand, the literary and drama of this movie seem to be overly affectionate, which weakens the action movie itself. The most passionate thing in the whole movie is the death of Ma Xiaoling’s father. Ma Xiaoling rushed into the camera and beat the masters one by one from start to finish, but they didn’t even turn their hands and looked at the weak woman motionlessly. After being tired, he fell to the ground and threw himself on his dead father. Looking at this passage, I feel that those masters are really considerate, considerate to women, and then wait for the hero to come out to complete the hero's professionalism in saving the beauty. It is really admirable.
5. Martial arts with insufficient strength.
What disappoints me most is the character modeling and martial arts design in this movie. The martial arts in this movie don't even look as good as the street fighting in "Slaying the Wolf" a while ago. The long hair style of Donnie Yen's disheveled hair is really not suitable for him. It looks very old. If he were to play the role of Yuan Qiu, I would not overestimate him. In childhood, Wang Xiaolong and Wang Xiaohu looked at most two or three years old, but when they grew up, Wang Xiaolong looked more than twenty or thirty years older than Wang Xiaohu. I'm thinking about whether the stylist intentionally made Wang Xiaolong look older so that we can know that Wang Xiaohu's life in Longhumen is well maintained and well maintained to reflect that Wang Xiaolong's fatigue in the rivers and lakes has made him appear old. On the other hand, Wang Xiaohu's hairstyle seems to be healthier. Shi Heilong's gray hair appeared not to be sprayed on purpose, but white hair was accidentally overnight, and the clothes on his body looked a bit like a beggar gang leader. I feel gloomy.
Martial arts design. I admit that I went to watch this movie because of Donnie Yen’s martial arts. I always think that in this movie, he will be the martial artist and the male actor himself, so he will design his actions beautifully and smoothly. But disappointed. Donnie Yen seems to be obsessed with posing for close-up shots. I watch this movie more often than not playing, but playing cool poses. In fact, many actors who have learned three punches and two kicks can do the actions of Donnie Yen, so it seems unnecessary for Donnie Yen himself to appear in this movie. What I wanted to see was a smooth and beautiful action movie of Zhen's. But what I saw was an old Donnie Yen. The serial legs of Zhen's that I was so obsessed with that appeared in "Breaking the Wolf" can no longer be seen. I think Donnie Yen is already old. Of course, it can be said that he was seeking a self-breakthrough and gave up his original signature moves. But in my opinion, he didn't make any breakthroughs in this movie, and he is a little bit suspicion of taking his roots. I saw Jet Li in "Fearless" on his body. It's just that "Fearless Fearless" still has Jet Li's shadow. I can't find Donnie Yen in "Dragon Tiger Gate".
When Shi Heilong praised Wang Xiaohu's leg work well, I actually saw Nicholas Tse's raised foot trembling. This is the so-called leg work. The old Yen Zidan's weak fists and the two cream boys who are lying on their backs, are these the blockbuster action movies of this summer vacation? I am really disappointed.
When an action movie can only make me admire its literary drama loudly like a literary movie and watch the depressing martial arts, I dare not say that this is an unsuccessful action movie, but I want to say that this is not one. A successful action movie. Donnie Yen may be more suitable as a purely action actor rather than as a martial artist. Too much reliance on special effects made this movie a bit biased towards the taste of Western action blockbusters. I'm thinking, if this film fails to please the Eastern audience, maybe I can only expect it to achieve better results in the Western audience. After all, Hong Kong movies are moving towards the international market and moving closer to the West. Such movies may be closer to Westerners' daydreams about Chinese Kung Fu.
6. One of the most poignant on-screen loves.
Undoubtedly, my favorite role in this movie is not Wang Xiaolong as a hero, or as rising stars Shiheilong and Wang Xiaohu, as Ma Xiaoling who is out of the mud but not stained, but the Raksha girl who is a wicked minion. As a woman, just as a woman, she gave me far more reveries than pure Ma Xiaoling. In other words, as a literary drama, her dedication to Wang Xiaolong is more flavorful than the ambiguous lingering between Wang Xiaohu and Ma Xiaoling. This is also the reason why I said that the literary drama in this movie is stronger than the movies of the same type. No matter how she climbed such a high branch. After she was rescued by Wang Xiaolong, she said to Wang Xiaolong: I like you all my life. I stubbornly concluded that this is a woman who dares to love and hate. Although she was still very young at that time, even though she was not called Raksha Girl at that time, she was called Rosa. And beside the Huoyun Cthulhu, she is an adopted orphan, a Raksha girl, perhaps from Raksha Gate, a so-called evil devil sect. But in Wang Xiaolong's place, she is always acting as an infatuated woman named Rosa. From when she wanted to persuade the evil god of fire cloud to hand over the Rakshasa order to Wang Xiaolong, to when she went to kill Wang Xiaolong and finally was moved and told her purpose of coming, to the end she gave Wang Xiaolong the only medicine that could save him or one of her. And died for Wang Xiaolong. In my opinion, she can only be Rosa and not a Raksha girl. What kind of woman would betray the owner who adopted her because she had rescued herself in her childhood. What kind of woman regards the day a man saves her as her birthday. What kind of woman will sacrifice herself to perfect this man because she loves a man who doesn't love her. To some extent, Wang Xiaolong can be said to have made such achievements because of Rosa's perfection. If it hadn’t been for Rosa to give up his life to save Wang Xiaolong and increase Wang Xiaolong’s functions, let alone finally defeating the evil god Huoyun, the two subordinates of the evil god Huoyun, the old demon and the stick demon, had already put him down. Up. Does this movie want to tell us that there must always be a sad woman behind the hero to complete the hero?
After the Rakshasa girl rescued Wang Xiaolong, she sat on the ground and leaned on the screen weakly and said: Wang Xiaolong, have you ever loved me. That picture still looks so sad with a close-up of half of the face and back. In my opinion, this is the most poignant love. Weak and unable to struggle. The reason why he let the benefactor of the man he loves die is because this man doesn't love him, and if he cares about him, he can only choose to hate him. Wang Xiaolong tried hard to get up on the ground, trying hard to speak, but there was no way. Close to the end of the world, perhaps this is the most intuitive depiction. A second ago, I hated you for your bones; this second, I want to get close to you and hold you in my arms with pity, but I can't do it; the next second, we can only be separated by ghosts and humans. And just in these few seconds, time and space have been chaotic together. From hate and love, from love and pity, I can only watch these when these are slowly disappearing together and there is nothing I can do, and I can only watch silently when you leave me forever and I can't keep it. This section is perhaps the most touching part of this movie.
7. At the end.
Of course, I also like this movie. After all, this is a movie I have been looking forward to for a long time. And in terms of lens design, this movie is also very good. Memories with a strong literary taste, the beauty of the stream of consciousness, and the prosperity of special effects are actually very good. Having said so much, I'm actually just talking about a grievance, or just want to record my opinion. Don't take it to your heart. Maybe my requirements for action movies are too harsh.
I might prefer the bloody smell of the old guy Takashi Miike. So when I watched this movie, the first thing I thought of was the irrelevant "Killer Yi". forgive me.
2006-8-12; July 19 of the Bingxu year.
Note: The movie data extension link. ■Title: "Dragon Tiger Gate" ■Translation: "Dragon Tiger Gate" ■Director: William Yeh ■Starring: Donnie Yen/Nicholas Tse/Shawn Yue ■Genre: Action/Plot ■Length: 100 minutes ■Region: Hong Kong ■Language: Cantonese ■Release : Shanghai Film Group Corporation ■ Premiere: July 28, 2006
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