Just give a brief evaluation.
The degree of completion is very high. "Long search" defines a new benchmark for Chinese magic production, and it must be promising at the box office.
China's annual movie box office market has exceeded 40 billion yuan, making it the second largest market after the United States.
Now, we need a matching domestic production.
In recent years, most of the box-office miracles in the market have been low-cost dark horses, especially comedy movies. The top ones in the box office list are the small costs such as Hong Kong 囧, Charlotte, Thai 囧, and Pancake Man. Even if the record was just set in the summer, Monster Hunt, which topped the list, is nothing but a comedy that takes the cute route in a magical coat.
Correspondingly, the sub-accounts that occupy the forefront of the domestic box office list are all Hollywood super A-level productions, such as Fast and Furious, Transformers, Avengers, Jurassic World and Avatar.
In the era of the rise of Chinese blockbusters, we also have blockbusters such as "Hero" and "Promise". No matter the quality is good or bad, at least in terms of spiritual temperament, they are bold and ambitious. The last film that set a box office record, which can be called a blockbuster, was also "Painted Skin 2" in 2012 by Chen Guofu's partner Wu Ershan. Over the years, those who have insisted on tinkering with movies with big productions seem to remember a Tsui Hark.
Up to now, the market themes are becoming more and more rich, but the strategy of holding high and playing high is not necessarily popular with investors. Paying attention to cost performance is the king.
The comedies and youth films that compete with the outside films are all comedy and youth films that take a different approach, but there are few orthodox big productions, and they dare to face the outsiders in terms of technology and hardware.
Therefore, the box office proportion of domestic films is several percentage points higher than that of imported films every year, but there is always some lack of confidence in comparison.
It's not that comedy youth films are bad, but that I eat too much shallots and tofu, and occasionally I want to have some big fish and meat, and I want Chinese taste.
Finally, at the end of 2015, "Searching for the Dragon" came.
2015 is recognized as the year of the explosion of domestic films. Not only the box-office good news is frequent, the record is broken again and again, and there are many surprises in the quality. Against such a background, "Looking for the Dragon" will still surprise people at the end of the year.
Like the previous "Nine-Layered Demon Pagoda", "Searching for the Dragon" was also born out of the novel "Ghost Blowing the Lantern". But compared to the former, who was adapted by Lu Chuan and his parents did not recognize it, "Looking for the Dragon" really picked up the essence of the original work - touch (dao) gold (mu). Yes, the protagonists are really digging their graves and opening their coffins.
The film almost reached its climax at the beginning, with wonderful visuals and special effects, with very ceremonial scenes and action scenes, as well as the background explanation of Captain Mo Jin, the film style was quickly established.
Wu Ershan is the best at getting a good look in movies. His works, no matter how good or bad the story is, are sure to look good.
In "Looking for the Dragon", the high investment allows the director to construct an ideal world extremely well. The beautiful natural scenery of Inner Mongolia, the grand and exquisite scenes in the underground palace, the ghosts, the monstrous, and the design of the style of De Toro and Wayne Barlowe all make the movie very enjoyable to watch. At the same time, "Looking for the Dragon" is also one of the few Chinese movies suitable for viewing on a giant screen.
There is always tension in the film that oppresses the mind. It is not a specific ghost, but the fear itself, created by fantasy, the unknown and the human heart, full of elusive dangers and unknowns.
The movie borrows the background of a ghost blowing a lamp, and the story is directly placed after Hu Bayi and Shirley traveled to the United States, and then started anew. In several key scenes, only the Huangpizifen in the original work is used, and the educated youths hold the quotations with a sense of the age of the four olds, which responds well to the atmosphere of the film. Different from Lu Chuan’s ghost talking about aliens, although it is also bound by censorship, the story of “Long-hunting” basically inherits the theme and atmosphere of ghosts blowing lamps, but it is just a subtraction of the routines and methods of touching gold. Focusing only on one item of finding the dragon, the props used are nothing but a compass and gossip, but it is more like a Western-style adventure story.
This kind of subtraction makes the captains of Mojin seem to be better than others, but they are still better than the gang of useless firewood in "Nine-Story Demon Pagoda" who can only run around, scream and shoot.
In terms of the degree of completion, "Looking for the Dragon" is one of the few films in recent years that can truly match Hollywood's production level. This progress is all-round. The scene of the film, the construction of the story, the selection of actors, special effects, and costumes. , props, photography, 3D effects, BGM, and even publicity.
The script is directed by Zhang Jialu, and the original author is in charge. It maintains the look of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" and has a Hollywood narrative rhythm. It is a bit similar to Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. In addition to the amazing adventure, it also integrates the Oriental Culture-specific mystery culture. Although the original party may regret the subtraction of the movie, as a 120-minute movie, it has to take into account some censorship red lines. As for director Wu Ershan, storytelling is not a strong point. As long as it is complete, I can justify it and explain the motives of the characters clearly, I am satisfied.
Actors are another laudable part of the movie. Apart from being too cool, Chen Kun has at least the temperament of Hu Bajiu. Rich; Shu Qi's thick lips are three-pointed like Julie. Although the accent is a problem, Shirley Yang, who is Chinese-American, is just right; as for Yang Ying's Ding Sitian, there are not many scenes, but several styles are The finishing touch is beautiful and convincing, and it completes the touching moments of the movie.
As for the teacher Liu Xiaoqing, who plays the villain Rinpoche, she is 60 years old this year. Looking at her wrinkled face, it is really scary to think about without speaking.
Perhaps the villain's setting is a weak point of the film, the splendid team is full of fanfare, but the whole process is unplanned and chaotic. A lot of people came, but they only brought a gun, and they obeyed the law to the point that it was unbelievable. Except for Yan Zhuolin's Japanese killing Matt girl, the villains have almost no sense of existence. It seems that the role is to die in various fancy ways and show human flesh to the tomb agency. Fortunately, in the end, Mr. Liu Xiaoqing's devotion to the world shocked the world, which made people stunned and shocked for a long time.
Of course, when it comes to villains, the biggest enemy of the protagonists will always be the mysterious, eerie and terrifying tomb, which is siloed in history, has no specific personality, but is omnipresent, and is the root of all suffering.
The answer to the story, in the end, is still in the alien world. It connects the past and connects the memory with the reality. There is the memory of the past time and the deceased, the retention of the lost beauty, and the sacrifice and self-redemption.
What is touching is that in such a movie that focuses on scenes, actions and special effects, the characters' personalities and emotions are also full. Hu Bayi and Ding Sitian are shy and ambiguous, Shirley Yang's silent nostalgia, Wang Fatzi's The love for each other and the friendship of several people in the family of touching gold are described quite movingly.
It can be said that under the joint management of the three film giants Wanda, Huayi and Guangguang, Chen Guofu and Wu Ershan jointly handed over excellent answers, and this "Looking for the Dragon" can completely become a new benchmark for high-concept production in China. .
This benchmark is not only reflected in the production level. In the next Spring Festival, under the condition that the quality of "Wan Wan" is not satisfactory, "Dragon Search" may become a behemoth that dominates the schedule. The domestic box office record just set by "Remember" may even climb rapidly towards the higher target of 3 billion.
However, in any case, at the end of 2015, it is really a good thing to see such a wonderful closing film, which is a perfect end to a year of Chinese movies.
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