katief
Was good, I liked it ^^. Kind of like a double length episode of The Untamed in the vein of the Xue Fang character/story in Yi city, with an added dash of some Wen Ning personal growth (more than just a cinnamon roll ????).
The story setting is a night hunt in a town where they're afraid of lighting their houses at night for fear of attracting killer ghosts, so, while the film producers have still shot it very well for that kind of low lighting story background, people might need to adjust their monitor's brightness level up a bit.
My only strongly felt criticism of it would be that the music score wasn't really in keeping with The Untamed series. I would've appreciated the connection to the series background within the movie's soundtrack. Our memories of our experiences are founded on our senses, and like smell and taste, hearing/sound also matters in that respect. The electric guitar soundtrack in the big fight scene kinda grated on me. Hopefully my pointing this out doesn't ruin that scene for you. It's not that the electric guitar ruins the scene, it does kind of fit in it's own way. I just didn't think it thematically aligned to the series.
Fangirls (and boys) of the source material 'Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation' will likely whine a lot about the lack of their favorite fantasy love/p?rn match, but I'm good with it. I appreciate the delving into the side characters as main characters in their own right. If anything I would've like to know the story about Wen Ning reverting back to wearing the chains. Also, too short, I want MOARRRRRRR!!!! I guess I'll have to hang around waiting for the next spin off ????. Hopefully the next one is released before that 1st month free of VIP iqiyi subscription runs out or else I might actually have to keep the subscription! (Meh, not too much of a pain, I tend to watch mainly c-drama/fantasy these days anyway, which is saying something on the state of television in english speaking countries since that is the only language I speak).
The same people might also whine a bit about how Wen Ning suddenly seems to be a capable adult when compared to the series. I would argue that it wasn't that Wen Ning wasn't a capable adult in the series, so much that he is conformable to Wei Wu Xian in Wei Ying's presence ... and in the series he is generally seen in Wei Ying's presence.
In keeping with 2 of the 4 ratings areas of music and rewatch value, I took half a mark off because that electric guitar in the big fight scene and general lack of consistency of score in line with the series (there were moments that aligned but otherwise...), and half a mark off for rewatch value. It isn't a heavy impact or ground breaking piece of drama that makes you want to commit yourself to rewatching it annually, but it is something to revisit on a rainy day if you feel like it.
Edit: After thinking about it a bit more had a bit further to add. (I've always been long-winded. Duìbùqǐ) The series is heavy on the feelings of the despair due to the inevitabilty of human failings and the comfort of comradery amidst that despair. This movie is light on those emotions. This might also lead to some viewers feeling underwhelmed.
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A side note: in the lead up I was kind of hoping this movie was going to be the exploration of the Wen medicine family's death story since (1) that's what SuiZhui and Wen Ning have in common and (2) their sacrifice scene in saving everyone from the horde of attacking corpses in the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel didn't get in to The Untamed series. I thought the exploration of that story aspect might have also been able to lead to some good character growth for both Wen Ning and SuiZhui. That hope is obviously unfulfilled ... but I'll cling on to it. Maybe it's something they'll think of doing in future... ????????
The story setting is a night hunt in a town where they're afraid of lighting their houses at night for fear of attracting killer ghosts, so, while the film producers have still shot it very well for that kind of low lighting story background, people might need to adjust their monitor's brightness level up a bit.
My only strongly felt criticism of it would be that the music score wasn't really in keeping with The Untamed series. I would've appreciated the connection to the series background within the movie's soundtrack. Our memories of our experiences are founded on our senses, and like smell and taste, hearing/sound also matters in that respect. The electric guitar soundtrack in the big fight scene kinda grated on me. Hopefully my pointing this out doesn't ruin that scene for you. It's not that the electric guitar ruins the scene, it does kind of fit in it's own way. I just didn't think it thematically aligned to the series.
Fangirls (and boys) of the source material 'Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation' will likely whine a lot about the lack of their favorite fantasy love/p?rn match, but I'm good with it. I appreciate the delving into the side characters as main characters in their own right. If anything I would've like to know the story about Wen Ning reverting back to wearing the chains. Also, too short, I want MOARRRRRRR!!!! I guess I'll have to hang around waiting for the next spin off ????. Hopefully the next one is released before that 1st month free of VIP iqiyi subscription runs out or else I might actually have to keep the subscription! (Meh, not too much of a pain, I tend to watch mainly c-drama/fantasy these days anyway, which is saying something on the state of television in english speaking countries since that is the only language I speak).
The same people might also whine a bit about how Wen Ning suddenly seems to be a capable adult when compared to the series. I would argue that it wasn't that Wen Ning wasn't a capable adult in the series, so much that he is conformable to Wei Wu Xian in Wei Ying's presence ... and in the series he is generally seen in Wei Ying's presence.
In keeping with 2 of the 4 ratings areas of music and rewatch value, I took half a mark off because that electric guitar in the big fight scene and general lack of consistency of score in line with the series (there were moments that aligned but otherwise...), and half a mark off for rewatch value. It isn't a heavy impact or ground breaking piece of drama that makes you want to commit yourself to rewatching it annually, but it is something to revisit on a rainy day if you feel like it.
Edit: After thinking about it a bit more had a bit further to add. (I've always been long-winded. Duìbùqǐ) The series is heavy on the feelings of the despair due to the inevitabilty of human failings and the comfort of comradery amidst that despair. This movie is light on those emotions. This might also lead to some viewers feeling underwhelmed.
--------------
A side note: in the lead up I was kind of hoping this movie was going to be the exploration of the Wen medicine family's death story since (1) that's what SuiZhui and Wen Ning have in common and (2) their sacrifice scene in saving everyone from the horde of attacking corpses in the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel didn't get in to The Untamed series. I thought the exploration of that story aspect might have also been able to lead to some good character growth for both Wen Ning and SuiZhui. That hope is obviously unfulfilled ... but I'll cling on to it. Maybe it's something they'll think of doing in future... ????????
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