Why is this so? It stands to reason that this is not very scientific. Some people in the cinema will be emotionally infected. The 3D effect is really cool and not too low, and the sincerity and weight of the play is enough. And when I flipped through those well-founded criticisms, I did find something I would agree with: This movie doesn't tell a story.
I have always believed that the core of a movie is a "story". This story can be obscure, blank, hidden and need to be guessed, or it can be an intense, vivid, multi-line parallel and complex movie, but there is no story. It's not a movie, it's just a material. If the lens and the picture are not for telling the story, then it will lose the meaning of existence. The Mekong River without "The Lover" is really not beautiful.
And "The Return of the Great Sage", unfortunately, did not successfully tell a story. First of all, when it comes to shaping the image of the characters, the image of the Great Sage is undoubtedly a coincidence. The story of Journey to the West is too familiar to the Chinese people. It doesn't need to explain anything, and everyone can naturally substitute it into the context. However, the image of Monkey King in this movie is actually richer. The director intercepted a time in Monkey King's life that is often overlooked, and chose a very unique perspective: a former hero who lost his mana. One of the things that moved me the most in the movie was the great sage in tattered ordinary clothes sitting alone on the window sill of the thatched cottage, staring at the night sky with loneliness. , very classical, very Chinese, very moving. And "in the face of people you care about is in danger but you can't do anything" is also a common but often new good bridge in hero movies.
But the strange thing is that there are not many places in the movie to show the personality of this former hero. If you sum up the hot topics on the Internet, it is roughly: the red cloak is handsome, the teapot is handsome, and the great sage is handsome... However, this character His personality only shows "handsome", and it mainly depends on special effects and actions. It can be bluntly said that about the personality shaping of the great sage itself, the plot is not rich or successful.
From the appearance of the great sage, the encounter with Jiang Liuer, the journey together, and the outbreak at the end, the rhythm of the whole story is not too smooth. In fact, these plots show a simple truth: the more you love, the more painful it is to lose. This is also the reason why the Great Sage finally broke out. Therefore, if you spend more time sculpting the feelings of trust and dependence between Jiang Liuer and the Great Sage, and revolve all the scenes, fight scenes, and subplots around this point, and then, like now, try your best but lose it, The rhythm of the story is right. In terms of "storytelling", the song "Wukong" used in the MV that went viral before is a very good example. The moon splashes
on the star river, the long road is long, the wind and
smoke are exhausted, the shadow is fading ,
who calls me extraordinary ,
who makes me have a love-hate dilemma ,
and then I have just
broken my heart . Whether it is a human being, a ghost or a monster , it’s just a demonic debt in my heart, and I’m calling the Buddha back and there’s no shore to kneel for one person. Life and death have nothing to do with good or evil. What about the change? Still uneasy, or the clan's golden hoop is on the head , and I want to say it, but I want this iron rod . I want this iron rod. I have this change . I am confused and confused. The lyrics of the song are only just over 100 words (yes, less than 200 words), but these 100 words contain the lonely and deserted picture + the character's inner dissection + the ups and downs of fate to express the character, at least, every sentence The lyrics are all about one person - Sun Wukong, no nonsense. In contrast, the movie, 90 minutes, has not done a good job of lyrics with more than 100 words.
If I say that the plot of the Great Sage is still my criticism, the shaping of the villain "Chaos" in the movie is really... a piece of chicken feathers. I like the image of Chaos itself very much. It doesn't have the "vulgarity" of traditional villains. The shape is evil and elegant (although it is a bit suspected of plagiarizing Riman, but Facebook has been rescued) and Mr. Tong's dubbing is even more unique, which fits this very well. The characters are elegant and noble. BUT! Like many viewers, I want to ask a question: Why does Chaos eat seven, seven and forty-nine virgins?
This is exactly where "storytelling" is at its core: conflict. What is the conflict between Sun Wukong + Jiang Liuer and Chaos + Mountain Demon? It is to catch boys and girls. Then why arrest boys and girls? The movie didn't even say... The director said that Chaos's lyrics explained it, so let me copy and paste it:
Wuxingshan, there are temples.
On the bank of the river, and the eaves.
Borrowing the essence of boys and girls,
seeking elixir, and adventure.
"Seeking elixir", why do you want elixir? To become immortal? For longevity? I and other audiences can only infer from the experience of reading traditional Chinese myths. Then why do the sacrifices have to rush before the solar eclipse? What is the effect of a solar eclipse on chaos? To ask further, why did Chaos suddenly transform into a huge increase in attack value at the end? This is a confused account that is not clearly explained.
The core characters of this film are the Great Sage, Jiang Liuer, Chaos, and the other characters that can be counted are: Master Jiang Liuer, a pig, a little girl, the father-in-law of the land, and two mountain demons. The 8 images can be counted with two hands. However, when the core characters are unable to shape, these supporting actors will inevitably be reduced to a single "facebook" situation, even like the father-in-law of the land, who has no personality at all. In contrast to "Kung Fu Panda", we don't talk about the five heroes or the master, even if it's a duck dad who plays soy sauce, although there are not many lines in the scene, the audience can still remember hard work, love for his son, and pride in family traditions. characteristics.
While watching the interviews with the creative team, I probably understood why this happened. The creative team has outsourced many foreign animations before, and the interviews are all about technical regrets. For example, the details of some shots are not good enough. Fans think this is the cuteness of technical men, and I think this shows The team itself places too much emphasis on technology at the expense of others.
Storytelling is such a simple and profound thing. We tell children ancient and simple fairy tales, analyze step-by-step strategies for clients, write touching and affectionate words to lovers, and unconsciously learn structure, logic and emotion. The trick to the story. Movies should be masters of storytelling. They are not "shows". Movies that simply create movie viewing pleasure without stories have always been ridiculed as "popcorn movies", and "Inception" is not even a 3D movie. Instead of being complained about, it became a classic, and the top at the end of the film is an intriguing riddle. Of course, after the unprecedented success of "The Return of the Great Sage", the next movie will definitely attract a more powerful screenwriter team to join, and it should do a better job in "storytelling".
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