Yin Yang Guardians
Less than 2 months after the release of The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, Netflix finally aired The Yinyang Master on 19 March 2021, about a month after its cinema release in China on 12 February 2021. For fans of fantasy in general, and Onmyōji in particular, Christmas has come early with two adaptations within such a short period of time.Rip-roaring fun and excitement with almost non-stop action, fantastical depiction of supernatural beings with magical powers in an enthrallingly beautiful other-wordly setting, along with a group of adorable characters that anyone would love to root for. That’s my enduring impression of this film.
(Note: There will be some comparisons made between this film and Dream of Eternity in this review due to the shared premise and proximity of their release)
The Story
The Yinyang Master is adapted from the NetEase game Onmyōji, which in turn is based on the original source material, the novel series Onmyōji by author Baku Yumemakura.
The story is about the Yinyang Master saving the world from apocalypse by preventing the return of the demon lord from the spirit realm in which he is imprisoned. The plot is uncomplicated, the motivation behind every character's actions is clearly defined and the mission is straightforward - stop evil at all costs, even at the cost of lives.
Screenplays that are adapted from video games usually reflect the richness and intricate details of the game world, which is very much the case here. Every aspect of the storytelling is executed to near perfection, in my humble opinion. The inclusion of deeply layered characters, each with its own fascinating backgrounds, and the many unique and colourful creatures, monsters and “guardian beasts” blend seamlessly with just the right dose of suspense, thrill, action and emotions.
Interestingly, there are a few elements that evoke memories of Marvel productions. Rocket Raccoon’s doppelgänger makes an appearance, while the Yinyang Bureau’s teleportation vortex is similar to Thor’s Bifrost Bridge dimension travel. In addition to that, the cute creature Red Ghost looks like a cross between Hellboy and Maui (as attested by several other users as well). Coincidentally, Dream of Eternity also shared some similarities with the Marvel-verse, notably the “magic circles” used by Dr Strange himself.
At 113 minutes, which is about 20 minutes shorter than Dream of Eternity, and despite the quick pacing of the story progression, the film does not feel at all rushed. There are sufficient introspective and evocative moments that convey the emotional depth and the intended themes of certain scenes and character arcs to the viewers. Dream of Eternity focuses primarily on the four central characters and the themes of love, friendship and bromance (perhaps even BL undertones). The Yinyang Master, on the other hand, has a bigger cast of characters with themes of friendship, camaraderie and teamwork, as well as childhood friends to potential romance dynamics.
Production
The production values are obviously of the highest order because this entire film is stunning to behold. From the A-list cast, top-tier production crew down to the top notch set design, visual effects and gorgeous cinematography.
The cast is headlined by the supreme talents of the award-winning Chen Kun and Zhou Xun (which is more than enough to elevate any production, really). The production designer is the experienced Yoshihito Akatsuka who has designed the sets for renowned productions notably Babel, Kill Bill, The Flowers of War, and Shall We Dance, among numerous others. The music director involved is the legendary Shigeru Umebayashi, famous for Yumeji’s Theme, and composing music scores for Wong Kar Wai films, as well as the original Japanese Onmyōji films.
Principal filming took place at Hancheng Film and Television Base in Xiangyang City (unlike Dream of Eternity’s filming location at the famous Hengdian World Studios) and the visual effects photography employed the use of an IMAX full-frame camera, with more than 2000 visual effects lenses, and real-time visual effects synthesis, which apparently is the technology of choice in big budget Hollywood productions.
Acting
Chen Kun is undoubtedly a fine actor. He is good in any role that he portrays but I always feel that he’s made for dramatic roles in historicals. Likewise Zhou Xun, she is perfect for epic period productions. Together they make everything look great and I believe have the potential to save any poorly made production too. The way they convey their emotions through nuanced micro-expressions, and articulate the essence of every scene is beyond words. I particularly love Zhou Xun’s voice, with the deep husky tones projecting a subtle quality of intrigue that further enhances her already formidable acting range.
Chen Kun’s Qin Ming is very similar to his Ning Yi in The Rise of Phoenixes. Devious, cunning with a hint of mischief and a big dose of self-confidence. Mark Chao’s version is somewhat more pleasantly charming but less dramatic. In any case, I quite enjoy both versions. Bai Ni is a more understated supporting character but Zhou Xun expertly delivered this role with finesse.
The rest of the cast were decent in their portrayals, through the limited screen time that they were given. Qu Chu Xiao, of Bloody Romance fame, depicted a more cheerful version of Bo Ya (as opposed to Deng Lun’s stoic version). William Chan’s Ci Mu is commendable but nothing spectacular. I thought Wang Duo characterization in Dream of Eternity was more compelling, but they both had their bare chested moments in a similar capacity, which some viewers may enjoy.
Music
In addition to the wonderful music score composed by Shigeru Umebayashi (incidentally Dream of Eternity had its own iconic Japanese music director in Kenji Kawai), Yinyang Master has no less than 6 OSTs, including the superb rendition of Where You Belong by the remarkable Zhou Shen as part of the ending theme.
Track listing as follows:
1. "Promise 侍约" by William Chan
2. "Where You Belong 归处" by Zhou Shen
3. "Cross Together 同渡" by Jin Wenqi
4. "An Enemy or Friend 宿敌亲启" by Feng Qinyuan
5. "Against the Shore 靠岸" by Zhi Ma Mochi
6. "Someone in the Heart 心有所主" by Jill Yan Qier
The Yinyang Master is an amazing production that should not be missed, especially by fans of Chinese fantasy. In comparison with Dream of Eternity which is probably somewhat slower-paced, and perhaps more contemplative, this film is considerably less emotionally convoluted and forward-thinking in its execution. Each is great in its own unique way and for that they both get the same rating from me (their ratings on Douban are quite close, at 5.1 and 5.8 respectively).
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在下晴明 - Qingming is in the house.
在下晴明Yes! Yes! YES!!!
Qingming is in the house!!!
That is THE most striking difference between Yin Yang Master and Dream of Eternity, where I was like - Huh?...what??? Detective Dee?? Where is Qingming??? Where oh where is my yin yang master? THE Yin Yang Master? And in this Chen Kun just delivers the wickedly enigmatic and alluring essence of Qingming, a diabolically powerful, magical, misunderstood half human half demon that walks the world in between.
This version of Yin Yang Master's plot is much simpler and thus, better executed. It hones in on the life and death bond between a demon familiar shi shen/侍神 and their master zhu ren/住人. Falsely accused, half human, half demon Qingming is estranged from his zhu ren Baini and the Yin Yang Bureau. They reunite in a desperate attempt to recover an artefact that can set a powerful demon free; a quest that tests and lays bare their true loyalties and exposes past betrayals. Chen Kun and Zhao Xun's chemistry never fails to thrill, captivate and move me and they effortlessly convince me of their life and death bond. What I also love is that Qingming is not just uselessly waving his hands in the air reciting incomprehensible incantations. He really jumps into the thick of the fray in a way that leaves no doubt that he is in it to win it. In every life endangering encounter there is that nail biting sense of urgency, intensity and imminent peril. This fantasy world with its human and demon yao/妖 inhabitants has a very adorable, young adult and enthrallingly magical feel to it. In many ways, it captures the essence of Disney in that it speaks to two audiences both kids and adults with its clear message that both humans and demons can be monsters.
The only thing I really did not enjoy in this movie were the second leads - both actors were juvenile and did not deserve the screen time that they got. The animated characters like the Evil Red Ghost and side characters like the Peach Blossom Fairy were far more compelling and managed to capture my heart over those two jokers.
Overall this was a very entertaining movie - Chen Kun fans like myself will obviously be able to find many things to like and I can see kids just absolutely loving it. I rate it 7.5.
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Stunning, Thrilling, Classic Xianxia
First of all I must gush over how visually stunning and well put together this whole movie was, like wow. The CGI, the sets, the costumes every single frame was just beautiful and don't get me started on the action scenes. Every fight was beautifully choreographed and elegant, really candy for the eyes.The acting was also phenomenal.
I'm a huge fan of xianxia and wuxia, I read tons of xianxia and wuxia novels and I don't often see such high quality xianxia on Netflix so I was really happy when this came out.
For those who aren't familiar with the genre, or stories like this, they may not have understood the high fantasy concepts, the universe, the world building or the drive behind most characters. Admittedly the story doesn't go out of it's way to explain the setting too much so for the unfamiliar layman who decides to watch it they might be confused.
As a hardcore fan of the genre I already had that background knowledge so I was quite blown away with the whole story and excited by everything.
It also helps that I've read the source material that this film is based on "Onmyoji" by Yumomakura Baku.
For fans of Wuxia and Xianxia this is a must watch!!!
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Am I watching Star Wars movies??
Just finished watching this movie .........this movie made me feel like I am watching Star Wars movies excluding the outer space concept. LolSince I have done watching both Yin Yang Master - the 1st one which has Mark Chao & Deng Lun & the 2nd one with Chen Kun & Qu Chu Xiao. I know I should not compared both of these movies but with the same characters & storyline indirectly I will start comparing it. My advise is if you like Marvel movies then watch Yin Yang Master acted by Mark Chao & Deng Lun whereas if you are fans of Star Wars movies then Yin Yang Master by Chen Kun & Qu Chu Xiao would be more to your preferences.
Storyline - Over here, less of travelling of time or space but concentrate of this evil stone. You may watch everyone go all the way to obtain this evil stone and our poor ML - Qing Ming was blamed for losing it which was being kept in the temple. Then the 2nd ML acted by Qu Chu Xiao played the role of Boya as the Imperial guard. Surprisingly William Chan acted bro. Cimu who is good brother in disguised but he has evil intention & framed up the ML. The FL acted by Zhao Xun as Bai Ni who always stands by the ML side and the 2nd FL acted by Shen Yue as Shen Le is one of ML so called family member whom she called the ML as her master.
Acting - Everyone over here acted very well according to their role especially William Chan who played good & badass roles but Qu Chu Xiao role over here is not as cool & chill as Deng Lun and he seems to be always mingle around with the 2nd FL - Shen Le. Personally I like the monster - Red Ghost as this monster looks very cute & chubby. The FL role over here is quite limited as what I can see from this movie is she keeps on chasing after the ML. Lol.
CGI effects - For China movie standard, I can commented it was good. The characters over here is quite similar to Star Wars movie especially on the monsters.
Conclusion - this movie is not to my preference compared to the Mark Chao & Deng Lun version. I prefer - Yin Yang Master - Dream of Eternity more compared to this Yin Yang Master (2021). Anyway, it depends on individual preferences (so not hard feelings!).
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This review may contain spoilers
Go and Watch
Just finished watching it in theater and have immensely enjoyedTheater was full but there was pin drop silence seem every one enjoyed it at the end they also just 10 sec of animation scene
Lucky for me there was English translation too.
let me first talk about some thing which can ghave been improved , some more editing there are too many character and their side stories. and some scenes are left unanswered End is a cliffhanger
I would have prefer more scene between two main lead Chen Kuna nd Zhou Xun as their chemistry was awesome
and other character background stories were not needed
Story flow smoothly, performance by all is awesome Chenkun has charishma and screen presence whenever he was there u cant look at anything else
Shaw Qu acted well I had seen him before in Bloody romance he is good
But not 10-10 to Ci Mu sorry may be 8/10 Loved all the monsters they were more cute than horror I will definitely watch it again
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Stunning
This is SO good! I loved every second. Amazing production, packed with action, great characters, effects, costumes and stunning sets.Loved the cast (especially Aloys Chen as Qin Ming).
There is humour, warmth and good v evil. Fab monsters too . The main supporting duo of Bo Ya and Shen Lee provided the lighter comedic moments (as did the various animals and 'familiar' monsters) with their youthful personalities and bickering.
The character of Qin Ming is a dual personality to a point and I really liked that even though he'd been let down, he remained loyal to those he loved. He was confident and aloof, but not arrogant. The family vibe of the various monsters he took as 'familiars' was heart warming and quite moving on occasion.
Really very entertaining and a feast for the eyes. I'd love a follow-up!
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Dissappointed
I'll admit I came for Shen Yue and also because I like fantasy genre's.The overall story itself wasn't terrible, but I felt like that were so many stories that are behind the movie (which I imagine this are since this is based off of a game) that it felt like the barebones of something that could have been better.
The ML lead didn't have much time to form a relationship with the two humans which is disappointing. I knew Shen Yue was more of a side character, but she seemed useless in the movie. I did some reading about her character in the game and there is a lot more going on there than is portrayed. I totally understand that there is limited time since it was a movie, but I still left feeling disappointed.
As for the bad guy/red stone/the friend who turned evil. Even that was underwhelming. There's this huge deal about this dragon, that it's so powerful, and then just like that it's defeated? I watched the other Yin Yang Master and that movie made it really feel as if they were facing a challenge. The Winter Queen was the only interesting antagonist. The rest were underwhelming.
The FL, I like her acting, I hated her characters. She spend the entire movie fighting with the ML. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less about their love story our whatever it was. She just wasn't likeable half the time.
Ultimately, this feels like someone just picked pieces of an overall story and threw them together with out caring much about the characters backgrounds. It was jut hard to get invested in.
What I did like, Shen Yue, the ML, second ML, Winter Queen, the outcasts demons. But I still would have preferred more to their story.
The FL, was pointless, the evil friend was pointless, that time should have been devoted to an actual villain.
The story really should have been told over a series with focus on the individual characters and their own backstories and their importance to the overall story.
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The visuals are definitely where this film shines, specifically in the scene and set design. The character work still has some of that plasticine feel of CG, but the worlds feel really exceptional, particularly the Demon Realm, Qing Ming's Courtyard, and the Yin Yang Bureau. Fight sequences fought in these sets feel otherworldly, displaced outside of reality in the way of good fantasy.
The story drags a bit in the later acts. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, it just feels like a much longer movie than it actually ends up being.
TL;DR: Visually, the spectacle is 100% -- and I really love the characterization of Qing Ming here.
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It's just a fairy tale.
While The Yin-Yang: Dream of Eternity gave the impression of mystery, understatement, danger and there was a mystical note somewhere in the background, this production seemed purely entertaining, such a fairy-tale.
Arena, fighting monsters and of course the standard defense of the world against evil actually resembles Star Wars, more of an American production for children and teenagers.
Acting did not make any impression on me, because acting roles did not require it. Well played, no fireworks. But I was curious to see how Chu Xiao, known to me as the reserved, silent Chang An from Blood Romance, would play in this movie. Here he showed a different face. A bit of the flashy, pugnacious Yuan Bo Ya. Complete change of "emploi" (fran). And that's positive.
Obviously the computer graphics are amazing, the music is well chosen, but otherwise the movie is not memorable and I won't be watching it again.
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Rich and fun to watch!
Watched this at about 2AM whilst waiting around in A&E (that's the ER at a hospital, if that helps), so memories are a little fuzzy, but honestly it was a blast and made the wait so much easier.Chen Kun is having fun with the role and is a joy to watch, and Qu Chu Xiao does so well balancing the comedic and serious aspects of his character. Shen Yue, as well, brings her character to life without being a caricature and functions well within the film. Zhou Xun's Bai Ni is sincere and powerful, phsyically and emotionally.
Visually, the film is absolutely beautiful. Just a joy to watch. Didn't know the film was based on a game but, in hindsight, I can see the bones of it within the film. The overall style is so well done and fully realised, and I found it so easy to watch.
Definitely worth a watch, and would recommend as a rewatch. Though there is a twist at the end, the foreshadowing is there for you and makes watching again a good experience.
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Cute Monsters, Beautiful Story & Chen Kun
I've been waiting for this Movie because of course Chen Kun, and also because it's been quite some time there's pretty much Good Chinese Costume Movie.What's good about this movie is the emotion, relationship between the character ( including the animated one), and how the story flows. For me it's pretty much quite obvious who is the bad guy judging by the Trailer and the Cast, so no big surprise. But regardless, I do still enjoy this Movie.
Bai Ni and Qin Ming definitely my two fave char, their chemistry is just strong for them, it's love in a bittersweet and sincere one. Boya, the Red Monster and Shen Le has this unique relationship due to circumstances, they start off bickering and ends up helping each other. I'm also very fond with the somehow all the monsters, some of they are just adorable.You can feel the family bonding in this movie a lot, especially all the scenes in Qin Ming house, how every char behave towards each other are just heartwarming.
I couldn't talk this movie without the acting of Chen Kun, as Qin Ming he gave such a great presence, the acting superb, and he's able to tone down a little bit for this movie in my opinion as he can be very domineering but he somehow let the other character shine with their own story. I love Shen Yue acting, she's such a funny character and it suit her appearance. William Chan also did a good job here.
The CGI for me is pretty good, from overall production I can see how much they put efforts on the details. It's a movie worth your time to enjoy!
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Bridge to Terabithia
If you've seen the other movie, you might be wondering if they are two parts but they are actually different with the same concept. Because I've seen the Dream of Eternity first, I couldn't help but compare but it was clear as soon as it started that though the protagonists are the same, the story itself and the execution are completely different.This version focused a lot more on its adventure aspect and the choice of humans and monsters instead of humans and demons differentiated both straight away. Whilst the visual effects on both films are both amazing in their own ways, the pacing is where I found the deciding factor was. Dream of Eternity's strength lies on its characters and their strong relatability to the viewers mixed with the solidly directed storyline, amongst all the other well-executed factors that made it such an enjoyable and stunning film for me.
Here, I found the pacing really offset the impact of everything. I found the climax a bit too quick where the buildup seem to have just been starting, leaving not much of a strong impression after everything's been done. And if you are expecting the same level of bromance Qingming and Boya had, I'd say to lower your expectations. If I hadn't watched Dream of Eternity first, I wouldn't have appreciated Boya's character here as much. Qingming on the other hand, both actors in both movies have offered different interpretations to Qingming's character and they really have offered different sides and appeal to them. However, the villain is not quite as good and at times felt a bit tacky and like I was watching a children's movie (and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with this being based off of a game). Unfortunately, it didn't have the same finesse and classiness its counterpart had.
Overall, still a good watch especially if you liked Dream of Eternity. It's nice to be able to see a different spin to the story but unlike the latter, it wasn't as stunning and didn't have much of a lasting impression that DoF had. It reminded me a lot of Bridge to Terabithia though which helped me connect to the monsters especially Red Ghost and the ferrets later on.
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