Becca256
Costa Rica
I didn't really think I would like this movie as much as I did, since I really loved the drama version and thought it couldn't compare to it. Oh boy how I was wrong. I will continue this review without mentioning the drama, because it must be reviewed as a movie itself, not an adaptation. My comparison between the movie and drama will be at the end.
Story: The story is very cute and sweet. It perfectly mixes the in-game story and the real world story, making it both a fantasy and a coming-of-age movie. Some parts of the story where rushed because of the small time frame for the movie, but the most important parts where there. I really liked that they included a lot of gaming to the second part of the movie, showing how you can relate to the people you care about through games, too. I also liked that they showed the characters failing some times, that made it more relatable and realistic. One part that I didn't like was that they hid Xiao Nai's motives for the first part of the movie, which made it really hard to care for him or understand him; it would've served the character better if his motives and intentions were clear from the start.
Characters: I believe that this is what the movie sacrificed the more in service of the story. It had so much story to go through, that we were not able to get to know the characters as deeply as I would've liked. The character that really stood out was Bei Wei Wei. She was strong, temperamental, brave and deeply compassionate towards the people she cared about. For me she was the best part of the movie by far. Xiao Nai was a good character but we didn't really spend a lot of time getting to know him; he's your typical alfa-male. Because of this, the moment that I liked him the most was when he was going through a hard time, since it's the only time where I was truly able to see how he processed emotions and information. As for the supporting characters, they were basically non-existing since there was no time to develop them, which was truly a shame.
Actors: The standout for me was Angelababy. I had seen him in a drama before and I wasn't impressed, but here she shone through and gave a very emotional and nuanced performance. Jing Bo Ran did the best with what he was given, but as mentioned above, we really didn't get that much insight to him.
Comparisons with drama
I'm still going back and forth with wether the love story was better in the drama or the movie. The movie rushes through their romance, but once it's there it portrays it beautifully. Another thing that I really loved in the movie was that they were equals in their relationship, and collaborated and worked together. And the actor had great chemistry.
The pacing of the story was a lot better in the drama, since it had more time to breathe, but the movie is also able to remove fillers and concentrate on the main parts of the story.
Final Thoughts
This is a very light and sweet movie. It's not the best movie in the world but it is a vey good adaptation and can stand on its own. This is also a very good altenative if you're not willing to invest the time to watch the whole drama. You will especially enjoy it if you have ever been part of an online gaming community, or forums.
Story: The story is very cute and sweet. It perfectly mixes the in-game story and the real world story, making it both a fantasy and a coming-of-age movie. Some parts of the story where rushed because of the small time frame for the movie, but the most important parts where there. I really liked that they included a lot of gaming to the second part of the movie, showing how you can relate to the people you care about through games, too. I also liked that they showed the characters failing some times, that made it more relatable and realistic. One part that I didn't like was that they hid Xiao Nai's motives for the first part of the movie, which made it really hard to care for him or understand him; it would've served the character better if his motives and intentions were clear from the start.
Characters: I believe that this is what the movie sacrificed the more in service of the story. It had so much story to go through, that we were not able to get to know the characters as deeply as I would've liked. The character that really stood out was Bei Wei Wei. She was strong, temperamental, brave and deeply compassionate towards the people she cared about. For me she was the best part of the movie by far. Xiao Nai was a good character but we didn't really spend a lot of time getting to know him; he's your typical alfa-male. Because of this, the moment that I liked him the most was when he was going through a hard time, since it's the only time where I was truly able to see how he processed emotions and information. As for the supporting characters, they were basically non-existing since there was no time to develop them, which was truly a shame.
Actors: The standout for me was Angelababy. I had seen him in a drama before and I wasn't impressed, but here she shone through and gave a very emotional and nuanced performance. Jing Bo Ran did the best with what he was given, but as mentioned above, we really didn't get that much insight to him.
Comparisons with drama
I'm still going back and forth with wether the love story was better in the drama or the movie. The movie rushes through their romance, but once it's there it portrays it beautifully. Another thing that I really loved in the movie was that they were equals in their relationship, and collaborated and worked together. And the actor had great chemistry.
The pacing of the story was a lot better in the drama, since it had more time to breathe, but the movie is also able to remove fillers and concentrate on the main parts of the story.
Final Thoughts
This is a very light and sweet movie. It's not the best movie in the world but it is a vey good adaptation and can stand on its own. This is also a very good altenative if you're not willing to invest the time to watch the whole drama. You will especially enjoy it if you have ever been part of an online gaming community, or forums.
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