INTRODUCTION
This movie is not that popularly advertised and seems to be following a popular folklore. However like many layman and people out there, I have had no clue what the story is about besides the fact that this is some show about some demon white snake and her love affair with some humans.
SHOCKINGLY, this movie wasn't the boring lovey dovey drama fest that i thought it would be. In fact this movie can easily be classified into the realms of Action movie. Action with tons and tons of CGI. Chinese action shows generally fall into the kungfu or pugilistic kinda movies and this show really surprised me in how the story was written and adapted into the big screen.
The story as told by oral tradition can be read from wikipedia at this link here
As you can see, Jet Li in all his kungfu glory is supposed to be the star of this show, but to be honest, the real star of this show is its action packedness and its very well done story line at least to me.
For the male viewers, you are not forgetten in this show and will enjoy the treat of pretty good CGI action as well as Eva Huang
Ok enough with the eye candies, time to tell you all what I expected and what I got from this show.
Plot
Like I said earlier, this movie spans across at least 3 genres here. The first is Love story drama, the next would be action and the third genre is comedy. Yea i am not kidding. This show manages to even put it quite a few comedic scenes into a really sad and yet ACTION packed story. And it does all these 3 genres really really well.
Story wise it does keep pretty closely to what i got from the wikipedia source and the action portions all add much to the storyline and the background unlike some movies that just focus on action and rip the storyline to shreds.
All three genres are nicely mixed together and there is no moment whereby you feel that there is TOO much of one of the genre that it detracts from the entirety of the story.
Characters
Character development in this show is pretty strong with only a few characters getting slightly neglected but still having and adding to the story in their own ways. There are some other characters that are added for comedic effect but even then their presence doesn't disrupt but rather adds to the fun of the show.
For knowledge however, there is actually no real sorcerer in this show but rather something that is pretty different from a sorcerer as according to conventional definitions. So the english title of this show is kinda spiffy. Just thought I will say this for now in case people are expecting Gandalf to make some special appearance.
At the very end of the show, if we are able to emphathize just a tiny bit, we will be able to appreciate and understand why the characters of the show do things in their respective manners and why they are unable to compromise. All these little touches make the show a very touching one indeed towards the end.
Cinematography
The Cinematography is pretty strong for a Chinese CGI movie as far as the current movie standards go. Unlike the western counterparts however, it is pretty obvious in this show what portions are CGI. Filming angles in the show are well thought out to show the magnitude and bring out the action elements of the show and this results in a more enjoyable experience in those sequences.
Music
The music in this show can be said to be pretty fantastic. This is a good example of a show whereby the music visibly adds to the immersion of the show and it makes the action parts more exciting, the funny parts more enjoyable and the sad parts that bit more tear jerking. Of course I didn't cry cause I am heartless but that's the extent of how well the show stands out from the competition. Heres the theme music here
Spectacle
This show does very well in bringing out the folklore in a way that can be enjoyed by the modern man and although I have a certain feeling that there are many previous movies that were filmed based on the same story line, this movie was still pretty new to me and it was a totally different experience.
It does the action segment well and wows the audience with elaborate effects (Might even be too elaborate at times), the drama during the show is pretty well acted out and the light hearted moments are pretty good coming from a straight faced monk at times.
Overall
Plot : 4.5 (Storyline has always been there, but the portrayal is done very well)
Character : 4 (Development is there, there are some characters that can be developed a bit more)
Cinematography : 4 (CGI a bit too obvious, but overall still pretty good and shows magnitude)
Music : 4.5 (Very good music, especially the theme song)
Spectacle : 4.5 (Does all three genres pretty well.)
Overall : 4.3 (Lovers of chinese action CGI will definitely like this, and if u like any of the other two genres i.e comedy and action or action and love story, you will most likely be able to enjoy this show)
All in all this show exceeded my expectation of just a lovey dovey drama with its outlandish action scenes. As long as you are interested in having fun with a good story line for this show, you will most definitely enjoy it.
Any comments please don't hesitate to add below :)
I want to watch this again (:
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