I liked the motion capture, the faces and gestures are just great. And the characters are presented and developed without over explaining, anything BUT the classic Hollywood style.
There are several plot twist and, depending on the translation project you're watching, you'll understand more or less so I would recommend you to pay attention to the subtitles.
The ending comes with several revelations, and a closing that suggests a second movie. I hope it comes soon because I had a great time with the characters and I'd love to know what happens next.
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Likes:
~ It takes Hollywood at least 3 movies to fully develop 7 characters. Asians only need 1 movie to do it. By the end of L.O.R.D., you knew something about every single character in the characters roster poster above.
~ Top notch CGI environments. The fireworks and flying scenes were really well done.
~ The funny parts were actually funny and neither slapstick nor corny.
~ I'm a sucker for any J.R.R. Tolkien LotR-inspired Asian fantasy work, and this movie is one of them.
~ The story is actually pretty good bordering on ingenious. But it was executed rather poorly b/c the screenplay/script felt like something between a first draft and polished version, probably b/c the writer and director (both the same person) had to meet deadlines.
Dislikes:
~ Weirdest parts were the eyes and facial expressions. Look in the motion capture clips, they hired a bunch of White guys to create this part of the movie. China should learn to develop their own facial and eyes motion capture tech. Put 'em Whities to shame... Like how they did with their own 5th gen stealth fighter, which is in many ways superior to the American one.
~ Music was unmemorable. I didn't remember a single tune from the movie. Oh well, music score was done by a Japanese guy actually so that might explain why it sounded so generic and uninspiring like every other fantasy anime themes out there. They should have recruited a Chinese composer instead. Just look at DragonNest: Warrior's Dawn, all composed by/with Chinese talent and probably the best LotR-inspired Fantasy movie soundtrack I had heard in years.
~ Male nudity (CGI William Chan, I'm looking at you), and attempted female nude in-bed scene at the end. Please can we just have a good fantasy movie to enjoy w/o too much CGI sexy?
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This is the review I wrote earlier:
I didn't like the male nudity and attempted sex scene. But other than that it's pretty alright. (There's a better Chinese produced CGI movie out there called Dragon Nest: Warrior's Dawn.)
STORY: The script felt rushed like something between a first draft and polished version. As a result the plot seemed very confusing until almost fully explained towards the end. Thus this movie warrants another rewatch to fully get the story.
ACTING: Motion captured acting was pretty alright. But there were moments that felt flat or boring, probably b/c the director was concentrating on the 3D environments or effects rather than the motion acting. But this only probably b/c I watched the 2D version.
MUSIC: Pretty standard fantasy chorus music. I didn't remember any particular piece b/c none of it was memorable.
REWATCH: Of course b/c of all the wuxia action sequences. BTW, I think this movie probably looks better in 3D. Gonna find the 3D version to rewatch later...
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Story:
Reminds me a little of Lord of the Rings with a mix of Final Fantasy. You dont know, besides the protagonist (Qi Ling) who is good or bad. You have to watch the entire movie to discern the aspects of the characters. Everyone has a dark side here and that is one of many good aspects of this film. The plot is well paced and answer all of the questions and the final leaves a margin for sequels. The story rounds for four chars (Bing Bing, Kris Wu, Cheney Chen and Lin Yun's Chars) even if the others have good attention to their sides of the plot.
Acting/Cast:
Its the most strong point of the movie. Cheney Chen and Lin Yun surprised me (Cheney Chen really does well naive characters and its good to see Lin Yun in a more strong female lead instead of the ingenuous character that she played in Mermaid). The rest is no comments. Fan Bing Bing, Kevin Yan, Yang Mi, Willian Chan... Its a wonderful sight. And if you wonder about the CG, you can recognize the actors even with the CG. The unique caracteristics of the actors are well represented.
Music:
Its good. Well placed in the moments.
Rewatch Value:
The plot is kinda ingenious. You have to rewatch a few times for better understanding because, as i said, the aspects of the several characters is hidden even after the ending. If you miss something, you will be pissed off with the ending.
I will wait for the sequels (if they are in planning)
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The characters, cinematography/animation design, and landscape were all beautiful and wonderfully done. I absolutely loved the expressions of the characters, making them lovable and believable. The costumes, magic, monsters, and landscapes were awesome, although not anything new. The musical score seemed almost nonexistent; besides the theme song, which had multiple versions sung by different artists, whatever melody was played throughout the movie was not memorable at all. The major drawback of this film is the story, particularly how it was told. It might have been the translation/subtitles that threw me off and didn't explain the story well, but I want to blame it on the directing style. The beginning and middle were interesting. At times a solid, linear story was given, then confusing, but still very compelling, subplots and foreshadowing were thrown randomly into the mix. A fast-forwarding time skip (at least that's what it felt like to me) happened and suddenly the main characters and ambiguous new characters are in an epic battle with awesome beasts. Sides are drawn, and strange and unnecessary sacrifices were made as characters try to explain their actions, but a big blob of a cliffhanger is what is left at the end. It had so much potential, but the main plot was not revealed in a very detailed and clear manner, and a few subplots were thrown in there that left a lot of unanswered questions.
I just hope that a second film will follow involving more world building, character history, and relationship insight that will answer most, if not all, the questions that rose in this film.
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MUY elaborado y MUY largo- pero una obra de arte hecha en computadora.
Es una historia larga, MUY larga y la película realmente se toma su tiempo en explicarte todo y mostrarte hasta el más pequeño detalle, pero la cosa es que se siente intencional. Se siente como si la historia completa que nos trata de contar perfectamente da para una película de 4 o 5 horas, pero se tomaron realmente su tiempo y dejaron el final súper abierto para continuar en la segunda película- es decir, que de ninguna manera habría tiempo para hacer todo en una película sola y el director lo sabía.Ahora, éste es el tipo de películas que en un pestañeo es como si te perdieras de 30 minutos de la película porque ocurren TANTAS COSAS en un par de minutos que te puede hacer sentir abochornado. Hay demasiada información importante entrando en casi toda la película, personajes nuevos igual de importantes, nombres de algunos que ni siquiera aparecen pero son igual de relevantes (como los duques)? Nombres de lugares, clanes-- alto embole, pero con paciencia y un par de pausas se entiende, tampoco es como si estuviesen hablando en códigos todo el rato.
La animación es digna de "chuparse los dedos" *cheff kiss*, JAMÁS he visto una película donde se hiciera la cara de los modelos de un modo tan... Abrumadoramente exacta que hasta parece que ni es trabajo hecho en computadora. Y esto es otra cosa que te distrae MUCHO , o al menos a mi. No puedo ni contar con los dedos la cantidad de veces que me quedé en blanco mirando la cara de Yin Chen (Kris Wu) o Qi La (Wang Duo), o mirando los pequeños detalles, olvidándome de leer los subtítulos-- razón por la que me demoré más en ver y entender esta película JAJA.
En fin, resumen: la manera en la que ésta historia se cuenta es lo único que hace que tanta gente se sienta tan amargada cuando mira ésta película, pero les juro que es cuestión de detenerse un par de segundos y analizar, prestar atención a lo que se te está diciendo. El resto es INCREÍBLE, amé esta película y la miraría otra vez sólo para observar la preciosa animación que tiene. Una película hecha con mucho cariño para los usuarios del juego original y aquellos que puedan sentirse interesados en probarlo.
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