1
5
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ChineseDramaFan
USA
Fast Moving - Everything Goes in a Blur
After The Untamed, Jade Dynasty is a much hyped movie because of its main male lead, Xiao Zhan, the most popular Chinese actor currently. Many viewers, including myself, love Xiao Zhan in The Untamed playing the character Wei Wuxian. In this review, I’m trying to be objective despite my love for the actor.
I’ve never read the novel related to this movie but I have watched the drama Noble Aspiration. I cannot say I was impressed by the drama; I found it too draggy, to the extent of becoming boring to watch. When it comes to the movie, it has to pack 55 episodes of the drama into about one and a half hours of the whole story. Things get moving very fast (in the movie). A big segment of the time is involved in fighting, which is pretty good at some scenes, especially the fight choreography performed by Xiao Zhan. However, there’s not enough time for character development. We hardly get to view the Bi Yao character properly; she’s simply just in and out of the scenes. There’s no time to see her and Zhang Xiao Fan’s relationship development, let alone how they fall in love with each other. We do get a peek at how Xiao Fan loves his shijie and how well she has treated him from young, how close he is with his shixiongs (senior brothers). I do prefer the Zhang Xiao Fan character played by Xiao Zhan than by Li Yi Feng. In Jade Dynasty, Zhang Xiao Fan is lovable and selfless but not lacking in his playfulness and silliness, whereas the Li Yi Feng’s portrayal in Noble Aspiration is a super slow person in every sense, so much so that many viewers are being put off by the un-charismatic character.
It is interesting to note that the Zhang Xiao Fan character is slightly similar to the Wei Wuxian character in The Untamed – among others, innocent young boy turns demonic; upstanding, altruistic and loved by all surrounding him; loves and adores his shijie (senior sister).
The whole movie is light-hearted, at times funny, but mostly cartoonish. For me, it is quite a letdown. Maybe I have geared up too high hope in the first place.
I’ve never read the novel related to this movie but I have watched the drama Noble Aspiration. I cannot say I was impressed by the drama; I found it too draggy, to the extent of becoming boring to watch. When it comes to the movie, it has to pack 55 episodes of the drama into about one and a half hours of the whole story. Things get moving very fast (in the movie). A big segment of the time is involved in fighting, which is pretty good at some scenes, especially the fight choreography performed by Xiao Zhan. However, there’s not enough time for character development. We hardly get to view the Bi Yao character properly; she’s simply just in and out of the scenes. There’s no time to see her and Zhang Xiao Fan’s relationship development, let alone how they fall in love with each other. We do get a peek at how Xiao Fan loves his shijie and how well she has treated him from young, how close he is with his shixiongs (senior brothers). I do prefer the Zhang Xiao Fan character played by Xiao Zhan than by Li Yi Feng. In Jade Dynasty, Zhang Xiao Fan is lovable and selfless but not lacking in his playfulness and silliness, whereas the Li Yi Feng’s portrayal in Noble Aspiration is a super slow person in every sense, so much so that many viewers are being put off by the un-charismatic character.
It is interesting to note that the Zhang Xiao Fan character is slightly similar to the Wei Wuxian character in The Untamed – among others, innocent young boy turns demonic; upstanding, altruistic and loved by all surrounding him; loves and adores his shijie (senior sister).
The whole movie is light-hearted, at times funny, but mostly cartoonish. For me, it is quite a letdown. Maybe I have geared up too high hope in the first place.
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