Two Steps From Heaven
Essex
Tedious
Had I not watched the excellent CGI and special effects in 'Till The End of the Moon' I might have given this one a pass but knowing better has raised the stakes and so the first thing of note is the awful cinema. Things that are fake look fake and even those that are real have no sense of proportion (like Hong Yi's red/pink/white furry robes and outfits which were a tad too small around the shoulders). On another note, we also have a scriptwriter who didn't understand how normal conversations or interactions work. The plot, the set design, the atmosphere, the costumes, and the dialogue...all were in a constant state of disconnect; likewise we have characters who do nothing but fly around in the clouds being deliberately oblivious while the villains are left to plot unimpeded. Huh.
Xianxia is never about intelligence cos we all know the god's are 'good' while the 'devils' are bad but only cos the 'gods' wear white <------------ otherwise if we went by their actions we might have to invert that belief. The core of XX is being sold a belief system that allows the audience to empathize with the laborious gatekeeping of the Whites while reviling the monstrous deeds of the Blacks. But what if the audience is indifferent and not easily led by the nose mainly because your character-driven plot failed to give us anyone to root for?!!!
Sigh.
In addition, how is it that the goddess that is Zhao Lusi was cast with this Wang An Yu guy who, by the way, has done some sort of teeth capping which makes it difficult for him to close his lips and in turn is detracting from his main job. Then there's Lusi's reversion to pre-2020 talking voice. Like, this woman has given us so many iconic performances in the last three yrs that we have just barely healed from the assault that was the baby voice, and now they plopped us right back???? Can we say trauma??
Finally, and most importantly, THE PLOT HAS BEEN DONE A DOZEN TIMES AND IT OUGHT TO BE RETIRED. Please, we beg directors and screenwriters to stop giving us 'scattered souls that need to be collected' or 'chickens who turn out to be phoenixes' plotlines. It's been done and we're tired
Xianxia is never about intelligence cos we all know the god's are 'good' while the 'devils' are bad but only cos the 'gods' wear white <------------ otherwise if we went by their actions we might have to invert that belief. The core of XX is being sold a belief system that allows the audience to empathize with the laborious gatekeeping of the Whites while reviling the monstrous deeds of the Blacks. But what if the audience is indifferent and not easily led by the nose mainly because your character-driven plot failed to give us anyone to root for?!!!
Sigh.
In addition, how is it that the goddess that is Zhao Lusi was cast with this Wang An Yu guy who, by the way, has done some sort of teeth capping which makes it difficult for him to close his lips and in turn is detracting from his main job. Then there's Lusi's reversion to pre-2020 talking voice. Like, this woman has given us so many iconic performances in the last three yrs that we have just barely healed from the assault that was the baby voice, and now they plopped us right back???? Can we say trauma??
Finally, and most importantly, THE PLOT HAS BEEN DONE A DOZEN TIMES AND IT OUGHT TO BE RETIRED. Please, we beg directors and screenwriters to stop giving us 'scattered souls that need to be collected' or 'chickens who turn out to be phoenixes' plotlines. It's been done and we're tired
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