The film begins with the pursuit of the demon world, but after entering the human world, it is quite abruptly transformed into the youth model of Chinese martial arts movies. The arrival of the queen and the two loyal and righteous demon ministers of the little demon king in her arms has fallen into a predicament of multiple wrestling. The film's handling of such a dilemma does not copy the crisis model of mainstream American commercial films or the brainless spirit of Chinese-style pseudo-blockbusters, but rather organically combines the "Journey to the West"-style myth-shaping with the tradition of contemporary madness. Going up, the texture seems to be no different from the "Spring Festival Gala"-style commercial films, but the highly self-deprecating reversal of the lines and actions can make people feel different speculative colors in the series of jokes. The masculine appearance of Huo Xiaolan (Bai Baihe), a demon hunter with two money, contrasts with Song Tianyin's feminine status and character. The attitude could not be more obvious, the almost crazy chase and banter, the level is not on the same level as some domestic movies with a real "yin and yang" character.
Of course, this does not mean that "Monster Hunt" can be taken for granted as an impeccable masterpiece. On the contrary, its value is definitely based on the unsatisfactory level of the overall level of domestic films. In fact, the superficial narrative of "Monster Hunt" did not break through the chase and escape mode of general commercial films. Around the life and death of the little demon king, all parties fought fiercely. In the narrative that progressed layer by layer, there were quite a few boring jokes ( For example, most of the scenes in which the monster hunter Luo Gang appeared), there are also burdens that are obviously not shaken (such as the password door and the ability of the little monster king to change the two worlds in the legend), the confrontation in Yongning Village at the beginning is wonderful, and finally The duel has fallen into a cliché, and it is the biggest feature and disadvantage of "Monster Hunt". This movie has a very distinct self-deconstruction character, but it is not thorough. Generally speaking, it is completed. The task of making the audience joyfully appreciate in the theater, but failed to persevere in the spirit of madness to the end.
It is worth mentioning that the film's director Xu Chengyi and screenwriter Yuan Jinlin, the former is Xu Chengyi who has rich experience in Hollywood animation production, and the latter is the director of the previous year's Hong Kong film "Storm". "From the point of view, the overall audio-visual performance is not first-class, but the animation image can indeed satisfy the current fans of cute things to a certain extent. The story and character formation with a very inland character borrows the mythological prototype and adventurous spirit in "Journey to the West", and at the same time does not forget to connect with the appreciation mentality of the current people, adding a renewed call for love and sincerity. Even if it fails to make a breakthrough in the end, "Monster Hunt" is still a work that is relatively worth watching in the desert-like "Domestic Film Protection Month". There are many songs and dances that imitate Bollywood movies in the film. If the lyrics can be written even a little higher, it will be another highlight worth writing.
The Beijing News 2015
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