As I have seen the drama and read the novel too...it just felt like they took half of the drama and half of the book and crammed it into the movie. But it wasn't that bad a watch.The story mostly followed the novel..... with its jumping story-line compared to the linear timeline in the drama.
Some things were quite new to watch...for example...the spirit forms of the immortals were shown more in the movie and the Eastern Sea palace was actually underwater!!(maybe because they had more budget for CGI). The costumes of a few of the characters were a bit overdone and bordering on weird. (Was Zhe Yan really supposed to be that........ glamorous?and the Demon Queen!!....LOL)
Acting of the two leads were quite good in their own way. The chemistry was good too. But all the other characters kinda faded to the background. With the time limit and complex plot there was no time for development of the supporting characters. I would have loved more of AhLi (one of my fav character in the drama :D ).
Overall...No regrets in watching it. It was nice to see the amazing story in another perspective. I would definitely recommend the drama-fans to give it a try. As for new people.... watch this...and then go straight to the drama if you want more...and maybe then to the book!!!
PS: Bai Qian has a serious drinking problem in the movie. She was a frequent alcoholic in the drama too but in the movie almost every scene has her holding a peach wine bottle. Even one of the promotional posters has her holding a wine bottle. ROFL.
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I feel like this drama was made for pp who has watched the drama. But even tho I watched it, it's still so confusing. Their first kiss in this drama......I seriously, SERIOUSLY!!!! Had no idea how it happened and why??? Like......ummmm....could u pleas rewind for me???
And obviously the story wasn't clear. It went to that scene then that scene and then another scene randomly throughout the drama. My motto after watching a drama is to forget about everything so when I watch it the next time I'd be able to enjoy it as much as the first time. But for this movie I had to try to remember stuff from the drama in order to know what's going so.....yea.
BUT.....even tho the story was like here and there and there were some bits that I had no idea what was going on.....i DIDNT not enjoy it. I gotta say.....it's all bc they had good actors??? There were some scenes that I was so immersed into that I cried. Even tho I didn't know what was happening. There acting was literally that good. And the scenes are good, but just confusing so yea.....if ur like me quite easy going then u probably wont be mad after this movie. Wow....Liu crystal....I give her a BIG THUMBS UP. She's the bomb. I now know why she's so popular.
It is a pity tho....that the story wasn't very clear. Yang yang and crystal are such good actors. I understand why pp are mad and gave this movie bad reviews. That's why I did too! Lol. I hope that they'd be together in another drama but it has to be a better one than this one. For sure. Well, that's it for me today. Laterzzz.
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The story line was really good but I do wish some scenes where explained more.
The acting was really nice, the music could of been a bit more dramatic at times but other than that the music was fine.
Overall I would recommend watching thistle someone who is willing to watch a movie that goes for 110 minutes.
I cried (I don't cry often)
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I loved the cast. Yang Yang and his beautiful eyes and smile loved him. I truly believe there would have been more chemistry between him and Liu Crystal if it wasn't so rushed.
The graphics and the scenery was awesome. Love the music.
Would I watch it again. Yes
overall I give it a 9.0 because I love the cast and the story line even if it was rushed.
I found it on this site for anyone that wants to see it.
http://kissasian.ch/Drama/Once-Upon-a-Time/Movie?id=34736
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Rating it on its own, it’s very pretty and there are some moving moments. Clearly the visual effects department got a chunk of the budget so there are some lovely settings and a huge epic battle. There’s also a ton of characters and a rather complex plot so some of this is hard to follow.
Comparing it to the other versions of the story, Ye Hua’s character is unexpectedly lively and the ending is open-ended and quite a change. Pretty surprising so it definitely breaks with expectations.
Overall, I enjoyed some parts and watching where they made changes from other versions. I didn’t like most of the changes, but they were mainly interesting. It’s watchable, but don’t expect it to line up with other versions of this story which are much better at getting the emotions right.
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Just don't bother! Waste of time! Didn't live up to the cast value!
Sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes in advance.Okayyyy, so last night I watched the Cmovie 'Once upon a time', which is an adaptation of the veryyyy popular Cdrama 'ten miles of peach blossoms/eternal love'. Ngl I did have high hopes for the cmovie as the main m/f lead was one of the best 'yang yang' and liu yifie', also it's basically an adaptation so what can go wrong? Well, so many things in this movie were so bad. Also, I already knew that it's gonna be bad or not as good as the drama cause words were around.
Anyways the production quality was so bad! About 95% or maybe the whole movie was just CGI (computer-generated images) apart from the actors themselves. And the CGI wasn't even good, like the quality was so bad and it was very very obvious what was CGI! But of course given the storyline, the acting and direction of the movie wouldn't be bad. right? or was it?
Yes, it so bad like the leads were yang yang and liu yifie so of course, i was gonna expect good acting. but yang yangs acting was so awkward and it just looks the same as anything else I have seen him acting in (love 020, king? etc). Liu yifie was okay, if the production, CGI, her opposite lead was maybe somewhat better then this movie wouldn't have been all that bad.
And let me just get into the storyline cause OMG they left out so much of the actual story and I know its a movie so it can't be too long otherwise obviously the original drama is there if u want everything. but come on how can they miss out so much. the movie was i think around 1hour 45minutes where as the drama is 58 eps so they can really be blamed to fit everything in otherwise it would just look like they rushing the movie. But honestly, I wished they could have made the movie longer. like I wouldn't mind if it was as long as 3 hours. I would watch the whole thing cause we all know from the drama that it's good so missing it would just be that u aren't bothered or u already seen the drama so why the movie. but come on they still could have done so much better if they made a bit longer. I think the only good scene was, spoiler, when she realized she's susu and how her eyes were stolen. so for that, I do give yifie a round of applause but everything else from the so obviously bad CGI to yang yangs bad acting to missing out on important parts of the storyline was so bad.
I gave it a 6.5/10 only cause liu yifies acting considering how everything else was bad. honestly, id say don't bother watching if u already saw the drama or just watch the drama if u haven't seen either. but if u still wanna watch the movie like I did despite all the negative reviews I've seen before even watching the movie then go on. Although I would recommend to just go on youtube and watch a FMV of the movie trust everything looks so heartbreakingly promising in them but it really wasn't. Anyways ill add a link to a good FMV of the movie, that is actually better than how the movie is.
2 different FMV of 'Once upon a time' Cmovie (recc to watch both):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCanjgz2XWA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEmZa12zpVE
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Honestly, I think if I didn't watch the drama first, I'll get confused by it's story. Why? Because it starting the story in the middle of the drama.
Chemistry between the character are good. Yang yang is great but when Bai Qian call him Ye Hua, I still thought of Mark Chao.
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Uniqueness of Plot: 3.5 / 5
Acting: 3.5 / 5
Technical Elements:1
**I agree with many people, this movie should not be compared to the drama entirely. It is intended for a different audience for one thing -- people less interested in deep, involved, dramatic, angsty shows and more into a good watch on a Saturday afternoon. I mean, I like the convoluted stories and interwoved storylines of a good 50-episode drama, but many of my friends and family wouldn't want to get that involved in something like this. So don't approach is as A) a copy of the book, B) a really good story to sink your teeth and time into or C) a copy of the drama. With that said, I'm going to give a review of it as a standalone film.
Review (As a Separate Movie):
MUSIC: The music was pretty good. I cannot say I actually notice the music in the background much, so it at least wasn't annoying. :) Unlike the drama, no songs particularly stood out to me as "oh my gosh I must download that" but nothing was a problem either. I'd say it worked for the film -- momentous when it needed to be, quiet when it needed to be.
SPECIAL EFFECTS: This is the one place where I'd say you can compare it to the drama. I mean, they seem to have had plenty of money for special effects and China has a great history of making BEAUTIFUL fantasy dramas that are incredibly realistic. Examples are The Mystic Nine, Eternal Love, Nirvana in Fire, Novoland . . . . . China has mad skills when it comes to CGI and special effects. So I'm not sure why this drama was so sketchy. I like to watch fantasy movies and forget that it isn't reality--I don't want to be reminded that this is fantasy during the film. I never got there with this movie. 1. Colors -- The colors in the drama are too bright. For a show that is mostly tragic -- all the colors were shiny and "animated" looking. They weren't realistic and it detracted from the "realism" of the show. 2. The animations were never quite good enough. In my opinion the nine-tailed fox was obviously animated, and sometimes in Chinese dramas you really can't tell. Most of the animals actually were obvious fakes -- their bodies didn't move quite right and it felt like parts of their movements weren't smooth or flowing right. Dunno. I just felt like the obvious "animation" of it all detracted from the story too. 3. There were way too many moments where the movie cuts were obvious. We'd jump from scene to scene with no transition, no music, nothing. Just a sudden leap -- like stream of consciousness. It was really distracting. 4. I know a lot of people didn't like the costumes, but I actually thought those were okay. Ye Hua was really good fashion wise, so was Bai Qian. Zhe Yan was a bit overdramatic, but considering they were having him come across as a phoenix, it suited his character here. Once again, it wouldn't have worked for the drama version of Zhe Yan, but this was a different take on his persona.
CHARACTERS / ACTING: The acting in the movie actually wasn't too bad! Okay, so I know some of you maybe didn't like this "interpretation" of the characters. Ye Hua is a lot less gloomy and tragic all the time, more cheerful and extroverted. Zhe Yan was totally different -- he's more of a flamboyant character (wine, women, and song kind of guy) and less "I want some peace and quiet" type. But while you may not like how the scriptwriter's depicted the characters, I don't think the actors themselves did too bad a job. I'd say Ye Hua and A Li did the best job. The only "eh. . . no" part I got was with ghost tribe b*tch. It just didn't work for me from costume to characterization to the portrayal. She came across as Overdone.Oh and the water king and townspeople scene -- definitely over done.
PLOT: The plot struggled. A Lot. I did try to watch it as someone who wasn't expecting things from the drama because I knew they changed some stuff. And I do think you could follow the storyline even if you didn't see the drama. But as far as a stand-alone film, it wasn't the best I've seen from China. Too many cut scenes and chopped up movement. 1. The drama just jumped too many times. You'd be in a scene and then suddenly you were somewhere else. For example, Bai Qian going to the sea palace. First you're in the garden and suddenly she's on the bank waiting to be shuttled to a palace for reasons. Why? They don't tell us. It just jumped there -- making the whole meeting with Ye Hua and A Li seem really forced. 2. Too many plot holes in the drama. For example, there is no background into her time with Mo Yuan -- we just know he's important for reasons. Later to be abandoned? I think? Or maybe he is Ye Hua -- I didn't understand that whole issue with him. It was strange. 3. Bai Qian is entirely too trusting of Su Jin in this drama. It isn't really clear why she listens to her at all and it demonstrates a naivety that she doesn't have in other places in the drama. It makes the conflicts seem forced. 4. The Ghost Queen -- that part was SO weird. IT was there, but I'm not sure why other than to drive the plot along. She didn't really do ANYTHING that was important to the plot (okay she pushed it along), but it felt so contrived. 5, The ending was CONFUSING! Was Ye Hua Mo Yuan. Which one woke up at the end. What was going on there? SO many questions left unanswered!!
That said. . . . it was understandable. I don't think they cut out TOO much that would have made the movie more clear. For example, it would have been nice to see her brother and family in the movie, but they could be taken out without ruining the Ye Huan / Bai Qian storyline.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This movie has a different "feel" from the drama entirely. There are several angsty moments, but more like what you would expect from a Comedic / Dramatic movie. Angst at the middle and end, with quite a bit of lightheartedness and romance in the rest. The focus is more on them falling in love again and less on what drove them apart. None of the drama and tears brought from the side stories in this movie--all ends well at the end. You can follow along, although you might need to pause it every so often to review what you've seen. It's a cute movie. Not going to win any awards, feels like a B list fantasy film from when they were kind of newer to it. I'd say -- Watch it without any expectations. Don't try to make it too serious or too "meaningful." It isn't that. IT ISN'T THE DRAMA and it really doesn't try to be. It's cute, mostly cheerful, got some fight / action scenes, got lots of romance and some good kiss scenes -- fun. Just enjoy it and (if you want a better storyline and effects) go rewatch Eternal Love again afterwards to get your crying on.
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But did I enjoy the crap out of it? Ya darn tootie I did
I can only whole-hardheartedly recommend this if you know the story about Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. Otherwise you will watch this and be very confused. Since I have watched the drama, I understood the premise of the story pretty well and because of that was able to really appreciate this movie.
This story, the essential third life in the three lives series, is my favorite one because I love how bad ass Bai is and just how loving Yehua is. The fact that that arch got it's own story/ movie just shows it's the best one out of the three.
This movie, when looking at the source material and just how much there is, did a pretty decent job of trying to incorporate all this information is such a limited amount of time. It's a bit messy and a little nonsensical but again if, you know the backstory then you should be fine. Yang Yang... baby... you did AH-MAZING. Like I liked you before but I just straight up love you now. Luo Lin, I was looking at his made up face with my head cocked to the side pondering- I've seen that face before- Princess Wei Young! and married to Tiffany! lol
I highly recommend this one as this kind of story-telling that had romance but also adventure is my ideal.
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This review may contain spoilers
Drama is far better than movie as well as it has happy ending too ... As already watched drama Ten miles of peach blossoms so movie get easily understandable otherwise it make you little confuse .Secondary the emotions of sadness,togetherness,separation,jealousy and reconciliation is so much intense and connected in the drama not in the movie .In short if drama watched ones then movie found to be pale or dull .... The tunning between the lead couple is so romantic which is not seen in movie ...
But one thing I like cute and adorable is the chid actor in both movie and drama they both did the amazing role .So cute and adorable they are .....
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My understanding: 70,000 years ago, when Bai Qian was Si Yin age 70,000 years old, Mo Yuan defeated Qing Cang - King of the Demon clan and sealed Qing Cang's spirit within the bell. In the process, Mo Yuan's own spirit was also shattered leaving behind a dead body. 20,000 years later, Mo Yuan's spirit was reborn as Ye Hua and he lost all his memories when he was Mo Yuan. Bai Qian was 90,000 years old when Ye Hua was born. That's why Bai Qian kept emphasising that she is 90,000 years elder than Ye Hua from the beginning of the movie. So when Ye Hua's body died, his spirit which was anyway originally Mo Yuan's spirit return to Mo Yuan's body along with all his memories and experiences when he was Ye Hua. When the ice which Mo Yuan lied in it cracked, Mo Yuan opened his eyes and finally woke up!
I liked the movie because It's filled with lots of emotions from funny to serious, greatest happiness to heartbreaking sadness, extreme love to hatred, friendship to enmity, betrayal, trust to distrust, anger, jealousy, revengeful, forgiveness, mortal beings to immortal beings... It's interesting and was never boring at all!
Superb costumes especially for Ye Hua, Bai Qian and Su Jin! For me, I think they aren't overly dressed else they'll look more like mortal beings rather than Royal immortal beings! Great special effects! Fantastic sceneries especially the underworld scenes and heaven scenes! Acting was quite good especially Yi Fei (Bai Qian), Luo Jin (Zhe Yan) and even Peng Zisu (Ah Li) for his young age. Yang Yang (Ye Hua) acted very good in the very touching scenes but there's still room for improvement in some other scenes.
Things that I wished they could have done better were:
1. those animated scenes such as the animated scenes of Qing Qiu as they looked too fake.
2. Mi Gu, the cartoon tree spirit. Though it looked cute but also too fake!
Overall, I would say it's quite good! I will give a 4 out of 5 or a 7.5 out of 10.
For those who didn't like it, sorry to say that the movie was not meant for them. After all, everyone has their own opinion, like and dislike.
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