STORY (No spoilers)
As a stand-alone movie, the way the story was told was choppy and incoherent - there was often little connection from one scene to the next, and from one character's actions to the next - so the viewer is often left confused and disoriented with what is happening and why the characters are behaving the way they do. Therefore, in terms of story-telling, this movie falls down pretty hard. For those who don't know the story behind the movie beforehand, the film would come across not making much sense, which, I can imagine, would be a pretty disturbing and disappointing watch.
Those who do know the story beforehand are generally able to fill in the blanks and insert all the backstory in between scenes but even speaking as someone who knew the backstory beforehand, I still found myself trying to figure out what was happening on screen and where the scene fitted in within the whole. It was terrible because your mind is having to adjust and place the characters and circumstances in the right place as each scene flashed by so you're always playing catch-up and whatever emotional connection you had with the characters ends up getting lost. You're no longer feeling the story or the characters any longer, you're playing catch up to what's going on.
It is worth noting that as the movie attempts to condense and reduce a very lengthy story into a 2-hour telling, the production team naturally had to make some changes to some characters and events which will inevitably differ from the original source material. While this is entirely understandable, it can also hamper the watch experience because in addition to the 'playing catch-up' process, the viewer is then also having to make sense of the changes within the movie-context in itself.
I personally found some changed plot-lines and new scenes baffling and bizarre, and to this day, still have no real idea why certain things happened, or what the director was trying to tell. A good example was the way the movie ended - haphazard, chaotic, baffling and bizarre.
In terms of pacing, the film was rather inconsistent. Some scenes were given plenty of space and air-time while other scenes flashed by so quickly that just before the viewer had time to absorb who was on screen and what was happening (especially for those having to read subtitles), it has ended and you're confronted with a completely different and new scene and your mind is having to adjust from the whiplash.
It made for a very scattered and disconnected viewing experience and I can't help but think that if the director or editor had spent less time dwelling on certain scenes (e,g, the long pan and introduction into Qing Qiu being one of them), there might have been more time to allow other scenes to breathe better.
I also found myself wondering why the director chose to use or dwell on certain scenes which do not really add value in advancing an already fast-moving plot e.g. there was an extended sequence of Ye Hua cooking for Bai Qian (let's not even go into how that scene was depicted). Precious minutes spent on a cooking class when there is still so much ground to cover.
ACTING/CAST
The choppy incoherent story-telling and inconsistent patchy pacing issues probably did not help (maybe even compounded to) the perception of underwhelming acting from the cast. Characters were not given enough time to establish their roles and personalities what more for them to show us their evolution throughout the movie. As a result, it made it difficult for the viewer to understand their motives and their actions as the movie progressed. With the lost emotional connection, it is easy to pan the actors/ actresses for bad portrayals of their characters. Perhaps some of it can be put down to lacklustre acting ability, but I do also believe that another part of it was down to poor scripting of the characters, and to poor directing and editing of the movie.
Yang Yang and Crystal Liu were suitable for their roles - looks-wise.
I thought Crystal was serviceable as Bai Qian but some key scenes which required her to exercise her haughty authority as the Queen of Qing Qiu did not have as much impact as I would have hoped for.
Yang Yang portrayed a rather different Ye Hua from the original source material in terms of personality and attitude. Some viewers might enjoy this fresh take on Ye Hua's character, while others like myself might have found it off-putting and borderline disturbing.
The rest of the supporting cast had too little airtime to really provide them with proper personalities therefore a lot of them came across as one-dimensional, one-note characters with a very set purpose to fulfil in advancing the plot along. They were there to do this, or do that, or say this, or say that, and their job was essentially done.
MUSIC
As I was too focused on trying to follow the plot and the happenings on-screen, I had very little time to appreciate the music score, except during that long pan of Qing Qiu.
RE-WATCH VALUE
Unfortunately, all things considered, I have to say that it was an unpleasant watch for me. There was very little I enjoyed or liked about this movie, therefore a re-watch is not even a consideration.
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Overall if your like me and haven't experienced both the novel or drama, you should give it a shot because you might just end up liking it like I did.
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First..for the good parts, the special effects are well done and much better than the obviously fake CGI animation in the tv drama. i also prefer the lead actress liu yifei in the movie. For me she looks more endearing than yang mi in the drama. It took a bit of time for me to warm up to TV yang mi. The pacing is fast (sometimes too fast) so you will not get bored watching.
now for the bad parts. whether or not you've seen the TV drama version, this movie has fairly significant shortfalls.
if you've not seen the drama, the plot will be baffling. Special effects cannot make up for lack of cohesive story. The idea to constantly go back and forth from the present to the past was initially ok, but later robbed the impact and I suspect will make it confusing to moviegoers with no background. And while i understand and support the need to cut many characters and side story, there was lack of explanation on important parts. On the positive side, you will likely find the acting passable, though not brilliant.
if you've seen the drama, the story will be understandable (thanks to your pre-knowledge), however the movie itself will be disappointing. Chinese netizens are diligently posting ludicrous parts e.g. the audience actually laughed the first time some of the supporting characters costume came on to the screen - not the reaction you wanted! Thankfully, the lead actors qian qian and ye hwa are (mostly) costumed nicely, however even qian qian elicited another laughter on one supposed to be dramatic scene, again due to over the top costume. But to me costume can be overlooked. What made it unsatisfying ultimately is lack of emotional connection. The actor yang yang is not so bad, but if you've seen the drama, you can't help but compare to mark chao. Whether it is the fault of the story pacing or the deficiency of acting skills, many dramatic scenes felt flat. One of the highlights of the tv drama was when lead actor and actress met again after a period of separation. In the movie, it was more like "boy meets girl for first time" romcom type of vibe.
For fans of the novel/series, don't be discouraged by this review. Do go ahead and watch. Arm yourself with low expectation and you will enjoy the movie more with its beautifully shot scenes and relive the story. Certainly the ~2hrs flew by quickly. For non-fans, I recommend stay away, it will leave you baffled on what the fuss is all about.
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This review may contain spoilers
I just finished watching Once upon a Time today. Wether I read or not the book or watch the drama or not, this movie is 100% Chinese typical type of creation to everything and I'm saying it as positive, meaning it was a great movie. (Been a fan of Chinese wuxia, hua xia, etc. movies and novel) SPOILER ALERT!
Forget the comparison between the drama the movie versions I think this movie is a stand alone concept, worth of movie type show. Different potrayal/vibe/aura of cast, plot/story and production especially the highlight of CGI here. The movie gave it a life to everything and it gave justice too wether the characters or the story or the production, that IT MADE ME WANT MORE! I was into it, it was not kind of childish or bubbly but a balance of maturity however it really kind of shorten.
Anyway to shorten this message/comment also (lol) it seems like China netizens and those international fans who have watched the drama are Eternal Love forever, BUT for me this is a great movie it passed a great deal. I will say it twice its a movie so everything was shorten/summarize important events PLUS unlike a series/episodes the characters INDEED did a splendid work potraying 3 different characters in less than 2 hours like omg.
It's one of my type of movie created but if you guys don't like it then don't make it a bad movie for everyone, it's kinda unfair. Thank you for the director and everyone that made this movie alive and great. Thank you.
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How to make a quick buck off of a super successful TV drama...
I watched this out of mild curiosity when I was in China on business and could only get into iQiyi. It was barely entertaining and nowhere compares to the TV drama Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. The storytelling was chaotic and difficult to follow because they pretty much just cut and pasted together all of the best moments and lines between Bai Qian and Ye Hua from the TV drama and then re-shot it with different actors. Everything else was hurriedly compressed into what time was left so it will be incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't know the story line.The actors who play the two leads, they are both beautiful people and had pretty good chemistry but still fell short of Yang Mi/Mark Chao. Liu Yifei's Bai Qian was way too young and sweet-natured to pull off the role of feisty goddess queen of the fox tribe. And Yang Yang's Ye Hua was very handsome in a very, very pretty way but as an actor he has nowhere near the emotional range and intensity of Mark Chao. They made for an adorable pair of young lovebirds but their relationship didn't build any substance before they were pretty much hooking up. In fairness to the actors, its difficult to impress when the no story-line jumps around and there isn't any real character development. One change to the story I did approve of is that four beasts become one beast and they kill it off together. That was kind of cool.
Alibaba had money to throw at this so the sets were visually stunning as were the costumes (and also more revealing). But the whole thing didn't come together in a good way. Had I watched it first I would have avoided the drama. I wouldn't say the movie is yuck but it is a rather obvious attempt to make a quick buck on the back of the success of a mega hit TV romance.
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In terms of actors/actresses, I have no say because all are talented but the role of Ye Hua & Bai Qian fits Mark Zhao & Yang Mi best.
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I was in awe with the CGI, it was great along with the costumes, it made me continue watching this movie. Acting-wise, the movie leads fall short when it comes to delivering the emotions of the characters. I somehow felt lacking. Especially with the connections of the characters. Although I'll give plus points to the main leads looking good together onscreen.
Plot-wise, I can completely understand that they have to compress 58-episodes worth of plot into two hours. Though, I like some of the changes they did with the story. There were some scenes that were absent which held significant meaning. I just can't help but lament over it.
Though, I do not know if I'll be watching this again. Still, waiting for this movie to be available for watching was still worth it.
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Okay... As a huge fan of the drama version, Eternal Love/Ten Miles Peach Blossoms, this will be a let down. It took me a long while to finally get to see this movie. & Like other reviewers said, do not watch with high expectations. In the beginning when I heard this movie was coming out, I already had a bad feeling about it. The story is very much the same. And as other reviewers said, if you are new to the movie without knowing the backstory (readers of the book or fans of the drama version), it may seem very confusing. It starts in the middle area of the story of the drama version. This movie squeezes everything from the drama into a movie. So it feels really rushed and fast paced. Like, you can't even feel the feels while watching it... I did not like the ending area at all.. Everything was all explained and squeezed in the end in a big ass bunch and you will be like, uh ok wtf??? And a lot of scenes seem like they were being replaying a lot... Which seems like a lot of time wasted... And each time it seems like they don't wanna reveal it to you either until the end... So it's like shady business through out the end.. So I really... Did not like that... Plus... Ending ended very odd and more confusing... So I just can't anymore XD
ACTING/CAST:
I am a fan of Liu Yifei, she's really pretty and I've seen her other work... But in this movie, it's just so rushed and I just felt like I wasn't really impressed with her in here and with this certain piece... Comparing her to Yang Mi as the Queen of Qing Qiu, I would choose Yang Mi because she can portray as a tough and cold person better. With Liu Yifei, she seems a bit like stiff on that. And of course, she does well as a kind Su-Su, but that was rarely shown... A lot of things were rarely shown in this movie... So idk man...
Yang Yang... I am a fan of him as well, but I just can't with this piece XD I am sure that they would've done a better job with a better production, better well-thought plot that is not squeezed and rushed like this. Maybe if they coulda been the main leads in the Eternal Love drama, maybe they could do as well or not... Who knows... But judging by this rushedly odd piece it is very hard to look at it...
Also, there's a green blob in there that gotta go. The CGI is somewhat ok, but that green blob thooo.
MUSIC:
Like other reviewers, what they said is true... Since there was so many things going on, I did not pay any attention to the music nor did it catch my attention.
REWATCH VALUE:
I do not want to rewatch it over again ever in my life!!!! I can barely watch it the first time!!!
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Loved the ending and memory scenes, and that Little Dought was perfect, I loved Migu too <3
For re-watching part, I must tell that every time I re-watch it, the scenes become slower and more understandable, but again, I only RE-watch first part, Mo Yuans kidnaping part, and ending.
Loved the movie cuz it was so DIFFERENT from drama, but the second part was ruining it with its speed. If some scenes were prolonged at least for few minutes (I don't mind watching 2hg long movie) it would be GREAT and PERFECT <3
I can tell this much at least <3
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The only thing I can watch it for is Yang Yang's face and any scene with Yang Yang. His character as Ye Hua is decent (though I prefer Mark's portrayal more). But the rest of the characters are a no from me.
Even if I were to try to look at it differently from the drama, the movie made me cringe ESPECIALLY the cooking scene. That cooking scene could have been reduced and the time could be used in something else. The drama itself had a few questions unresolved. But it wasn't as bad as the movie. If you were to watch this movie without the drama, you would not understand the story much. Watching the drama before the movie helps in filling in the holes. With a roughly two hour time frame, they should have arranged the story better to make it less confusing for the audience and less plot holes.
As for the chemistry between the two leads, I didn't feel it much. Again, for something to be of 2 hours length, the romance didn't build enough for me. It felt fake for me. It's also partially because of the plotholes. They also didn't give a proper development between the two characters.
I didn't like Crystal's Bai Qian either. She did a nice job in acting. But I liked the character of Bai Qian depicted in the drama by Yang Mi.
And I personally felt the CGI effects in some scenes looked more unrealistic than the drama itself (it felt some of them were coming from a Disney movie). In some scenes the CGI was better than the drama but for the most part, I felt like I was watching an animated background with real people in it and it just looked weird.
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I watched this movie cause of the drama and the casts in this movie ( I love YangYang and LiuYiFei)
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Worth a Try for its visuals :)
I personally found this movie to not be as bad as everyone claims it to be. Most of those who dislike this adaptation is due to comparing it to the drama. That aspect in itself doesn’t even make sense. It’s like you comparing a short story version to a novel, a 58 episode drama to a movie that’s about 1h and 45 min.The story itself is really complicated so its really hard to have every detail in the movie. I felt they did ok with the story telling as I myself was able to understand the story expect perhaps the ending (also why they all look so tan in some of the scenes lol). If you want details I would recommend to just go watch the drama or read the novel then.
The story telling wise as I have said was ok and the big idea was still understandable. Side note (Small spoiler) there’s a part where it feature yang yangs awkward noodle making/ cooking lol. There was a lot of sweet moments though. Also Crystal’s fighting are as amazing as always (in china she’s well know for her Wuxia acting). Basically the movie is a highlight of the main plots of the story. It’s told in a way that when theres a portion that needs explaining it goes to a cut scene of what happen that lead up to scene and since the story talks about there 3 life/ reincarnation they give you pieces of each portion. You can then piece them together. For example, warning there will be a spoiler, theres a part where we see FL talking to a men frozen in ice then her master was almost thrown of the cliff then there was a cut scene showing why her master was frozen in the ice (showing he was frozen in the ice because his soul was shattered when sealing with the sword).
This movie gave me a Disney production vibe and the underwater scenes reminded me of Barbie in a Mermaid Tale. This movie was so aesthetically pleasing, from the visual to the ML and FL actor (both Yang Yang and Crystal Liu are some of the top best looking actors and they have very positive image in acting in historical shows as they particularly excel in this genre in china so this casting was really well done), to the voiceover, to every characters costumes and so much more. Each character’s design where made with thorough thoughts. (But Susu’s wedding outfit was not it lol, light spoiler that bright pink head piece ;-;)
There is some lacking in the acting but there something in them that makes you believe in the character they act. The little green guy is also kinda cute and through out the show he quite humorous (most of the joke are hard to understand for non Chinese speakers though). Each character made me see there emotions, I laughed and cried.
In conclusion I think you can give the movie a try don’t be affected by the over the top negative reviews. Don’t go into it with such strict expectations or else you will always be disappoint and as I said its a unfair comparison. If you are a hardcore fan of the drama then you can ignore what I said. We watch shows for entertainment nothing is perfect no?
I think the movie is a great preview of the this beautiful love story and if you’re intrigued you can then go on to watch the 58 episode drama.
Anyways everyone have there own preferences, I still believe this movie wasn’t bad at all. I would watch it again, and if you’re interested here’s a link to watch it with English subtitles: https://www.xiaoheimi.net/index.php/vod/play/id/20266/sid/1/nid/1.html
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