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You Have Been Weighed, You Have Been Measured, and You Have Been Found Wanting
This movie is a direct sequel to the 2019 TV series. However, by attempting to design a plot that does not require the audience to have watched the series first, it leaves the movie feeling a little flat. Ultimately, reducing the movie to a greatest hits version of the TV series. You got the longing for Li Zi Wei in Act 1, the mysterious package with the Wu Bai cassette tape and blue Sony Walkman II that sets up Act II, Huang Yu Xuan’s spirit possessing Chen Yun Ru’s body, etc. There’s even the same soundtrack cue’s from the series.
Following on the heels of a massively successful series is no easy feat, and I commend the production cast and crew for taking on the challenge. Screenwriter Hermes Lu, makes a valiant effort in attempting to recapture the mind-bending twists and turns of the series as well as tug on our heart strings as we eagerly await Li Zi Wei and Huang Yu Xuan’s happy ending. However, with a runtime of only 1hr 47min, it’s a lot of story to cram into a very short amount of time. Which results in a hasty resolution to the mobius loop paradox in Act III. With the original cut of the film being over 3 hours long, you have wonder what was left on the cutting room floor.
With that being said; if the film is available in your area, seeing this film in a movie theater is a must! Award winning sound designer, Kuo Li-Chi, weaves an audio masterpiece in simulating the sensation of traveling back in time. He interlaces the sounds of a clock ticking backwards with Wu Bai’s “Last Dance.” But not the original version of “Last Dance.” He manipulates the song by slowing down the tempo, and isolates the left and right channels to be out of sync. Giving the audience a sense of spacial dissonance. It’s an experience that can only truly be enjoyed in surround sound. Additionally, Kuo Li-Chi shared that the number of ticks of the second hand that the audience hears was carefully selected. Can you decipher its meaning?
Fans of the show who have eagerly been awaiting these long two years need no convincing to watch and root for their favorite couple. But for everyone else, I recommend you start with the series. If you are satisfied with that ending, you can stop there. If you need more, the movie will always be waiting here for you. Just as Li Zi Wei will always be waiting for his Huang Yu Xuan.
Following on the heels of a massively successful series is no easy feat, and I commend the production cast and crew for taking on the challenge. Screenwriter Hermes Lu, makes a valiant effort in attempting to recapture the mind-bending twists and turns of the series as well as tug on our heart strings as we eagerly await Li Zi Wei and Huang Yu Xuan’s happy ending. However, with a runtime of only 1hr 47min, it’s a lot of story to cram into a very short amount of time. Which results in a hasty resolution to the mobius loop paradox in Act III. With the original cut of the film being over 3 hours long, you have wonder what was left on the cutting room floor.
With that being said; if the film is available in your area, seeing this film in a movie theater is a must! Award winning sound designer, Kuo Li-Chi, weaves an audio masterpiece in simulating the sensation of traveling back in time. He interlaces the sounds of a clock ticking backwards with Wu Bai’s “Last Dance.” But not the original version of “Last Dance.” He manipulates the song by slowing down the tempo, and isolates the left and right channels to be out of sync. Giving the audience a sense of spacial dissonance. It’s an experience that can only truly be enjoyed in surround sound. Additionally, Kuo Li-Chi shared that the number of ticks of the second hand that the audience hears was carefully selected. Can you decipher its meaning?
Fans of the show who have eagerly been awaiting these long two years need no convincing to watch and root for their favorite couple. But for everyone else, I recommend you start with the series. If you are satisfied with that ending, you can stop there. If you need more, the movie will always be waiting here for you. Just as Li Zi Wei will always be waiting for his Huang Yu Xuan.
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