Uniqueness of Plot: 3.5 / 5
Acting: 3.5 / 5
Technical Elements:1
**I agree with many people, this movie should not be compared to the drama entirely. It is intended for a different audience for one thing -- people less interested in deep, involved, dramatic, angsty shows and more into a good watch on a Saturday afternoon. I mean, I like the convoluted stories and interwoved storylines of a good 50-episode drama, but many of my friends and family wouldn't want to get that involved in something like this. So don't approach is as A) a copy of the book, B) a really good story to sink your teeth and time into or C) a copy of the drama. With that said, I'm going to give a review of it as a standalone film.
Review (As a Separate Movie):
MUSIC: The music was pretty good. I cannot say I actually notice the music in the background much, so it at least wasn't annoying. :) Unlike the drama, no songs particularly stood out to me as "oh my gosh I must download that" but nothing was a problem either. I'd say it worked for the film -- momentous when it needed to be, quiet when it needed to be.
SPECIAL EFFECTS: This is the one place where I'd say you can compare it to the drama. I mean, they seem to have had plenty of money for special effects and China has a great history of making BEAUTIFUL fantasy dramas that are incredibly realistic. Examples are The Mystic Nine, Eternal Love, Nirvana in Fire, Novoland . . . . . China has mad skills when it comes to CGI and special effects. So I'm not sure why this drama was so sketchy. I like to watch fantasy movies and forget that it isn't reality--I don't want to be reminded that this is fantasy during the film. I never got there with this movie. 1. Colors -- The colors in the drama are too bright. For a show that is mostly tragic -- all the colors were shiny and "animated" looking. They weren't realistic and it detracted from the "realism" of the show. 2. The animations were never quite good enough. In my opinion the nine-tailed fox was obviously animated, and sometimes in Chinese dramas you really can't tell. Most of the animals actually were obvious fakes -- their bodies didn't move quite right and it felt like parts of their movements weren't smooth or flowing right. Dunno. I just felt like the obvious "animation" of it all detracted from the story too. 3. There were way too many moments where the movie cuts were obvious. We'd jump from scene to scene with no transition, no music, nothing. Just a sudden leap -- like stream of consciousness. It was really distracting. 4. I know a lot of people didn't like the costumes, but I actually thought those were okay. Ye Hua was really good fashion wise, so was Bai Qian. Zhe Yan was a bit overdramatic, but considering they were having him come across as a phoenix, it suited his character here. Once again, it wouldn't have worked for the drama version of Zhe Yan, but this was a different take on his persona.
CHARACTERS / ACTING: The acting in the movie actually wasn't too bad! Okay, so I know some of you maybe didn't like this "interpretation" of the characters. Ye Hua is a lot less gloomy and tragic all the time, more cheerful and extroverted. Zhe Yan was totally different -- he's more of a flamboyant character (wine, women, and song kind of guy) and less "I want some peace and quiet" type. But while you may not like how the scriptwriter's depicted the characters, I don't think the actors themselves did too bad a job. I'd say Ye Hua and A Li did the best job. The only "eh. . . no" part I got was with ghost tribe b*tch. It just didn't work for me from costume to characterization to the portrayal. She came across as Overdone.Oh and the water king and townspeople scene -- definitely over done.
PLOT: The plot struggled. A Lot. I did try to watch it as someone who wasn't expecting things from the drama because I knew they changed some stuff. And I do think you could follow the storyline even if you didn't see the drama. But as far as a stand-alone film, it wasn't the best I've seen from China. Too many cut scenes and chopped up movement. 1. The drama just jumped too many times. You'd be in a scene and then suddenly you were somewhere else. For example, Bai Qian going to the sea palace. First you're in the garden and suddenly she's on the bank waiting to be shuttled to a palace for reasons. Why? They don't tell us. It just jumped there -- making the whole meeting with Ye Hua and A Li seem really forced. 2. Too many plot holes in the drama. For example, there is no background into her time with Mo Yuan -- we just know he's important for reasons. Later to be abandoned? I think? Or maybe he is Ye Hua -- I didn't understand that whole issue with him. It was strange. 3. Bai Qian is entirely too trusting of Su Jin in this drama. It isn't really clear why she listens to her at all and it demonstrates a naivety that she doesn't have in other places in the drama. It makes the conflicts seem forced. 4. The Ghost Queen -- that part was SO weird. IT was there, but I'm not sure why other than to drive the plot along. She didn't really do ANYTHING that was important to the plot (okay she pushed it along), but it felt so contrived. 5, The ending was CONFUSING! Was Ye Hua Mo Yuan. Which one woke up at the end. What was going on there? SO many questions left unanswered!!
That said. . . . it was understandable. I don't think they cut out TOO much that would have made the movie more clear. For example, it would have been nice to see her brother and family in the movie, but they could be taken out without ruining the Ye Huan / Bai Qian storyline.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This movie has a different "feel" from the drama entirely. There are several angsty moments, but more like what you would expect from a Comedic / Dramatic movie. Angst at the middle and end, with quite a bit of lightheartedness and romance in the rest. The focus is more on them falling in love again and less on what drove them apart. None of the drama and tears brought from the side stories in this movie--all ends well at the end. You can follow along, although you might need to pause it every so often to review what you've seen. It's a cute movie. Not going to win any awards, feels like a B list fantasy film from when they were kind of newer to it. I'd say -- Watch it without any expectations. Don't try to make it too serious or too "meaningful." It isn't that. IT ISN'T THE DRAMA and it really doesn't try to be. It's cute, mostly cheerful, got some fight / action scenes, got lots of romance and some good kiss scenes -- fun. Just enjoy it and (if you want a better storyline and effects) go rewatch Eternal Love again afterwards to get your crying on.
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But did I enjoy the crap out of it? Ya darn tootie I did
I can only whole-hardheartedly recommend this if you know the story about Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. Otherwise you will watch this and be very confused. Since I have watched the drama, I understood the premise of the story pretty well and because of that was able to really appreciate this movie.
This story, the essential third life in the three lives series, is my favorite one because I love how bad ass Bai is and just how loving Yehua is. The fact that that arch got it's own story/ movie just shows it's the best one out of the three.
This movie, when looking at the source material and just how much there is, did a pretty decent job of trying to incorporate all this information is such a limited amount of time. It's a bit messy and a little nonsensical but again if, you know the backstory then you should be fine. Yang Yang... baby... you did AH-MAZING. Like I liked you before but I just straight up love you now. Luo Lin, I was looking at his made up face with my head cocked to the side pondering- I've seen that face before- Princess Wei Young! and married to Tiffany! lol
I highly recommend this one as this kind of story-telling that had romance but also adventure is my ideal.
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This review may contain spoilers
Drama is far better than movie as well as it has happy ending too ... As already watched drama Ten miles of peach blossoms so movie get easily understandable otherwise it make you little confuse .Secondary the emotions of sadness,togetherness,separation,jealousy and reconciliation is so much intense and connected in the drama not in the movie .In short if drama watched ones then movie found to be pale or dull .... The tunning between the lead couple is so romantic which is not seen in movie ...
But one thing I like cute and adorable is the chid actor in both movie and drama they both did the amazing role .So cute and adorable they are .....
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How to make a horrible movie from a beautiful drama
How to turn a 58 episodes drama to 1 hr. 40 min movie?I was curious that's why I watched it, and the answer I found is: "Let's skip 29 episodes and start from ep30 and make all what happend before as hasty flashbacks that give you no emotion, then let's ruin the most satisfiying scene of FL's revenge, and we can just leave the guy she've been trying to revive for 70.000 years frozen there who cares, let's turn a phoenix god to a peacock, and make everything goes so fast, who cares about new viewers understanding of the story? people who watched the drama will understand what scenes we are referring to. The ending? Do we actually have to give it a clear ending? All what matter is bringing a beautiful FL and handsome ML and let's make sure that they look gorgeous in evey scene that will be enough."
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Qualitatively terrible, but I don't regret it
Movie is qualitatively one of the worst ones I have watched, but I don't hate it. Also, surprisingly, I don't regret watching it. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the story.First of all, horrible, horrible writing and editing. The way the story is told is very choppy and jumpy, and it feels like you need to know about the story before watching it. Even if I knew about the story though, the way the scenes are put together and the way they end so abruptly...terrible. The first half was difficult to get through, and I took a pause.
I think the second half is more watchable because there is more action. The movie gets better after that fight with the monster. Also, as the backstory is revealed (albeit still in very choppy ways), the leads develop chemistry-ish. I think I was able to convince myself through sheer willpower and the pretty.
CG is okay since I've seen worse. Everything is very bright colored and fairy tale-esque. I may have seen some of the worst costumes and makeup ever in a production in this movie though lol
Oh, but wtf was the ending? Was there supposed to be a second movie? Also, what was up with the frozen master guy?
Overall, consider watching if you are fan of the leads (not a must) and may be curious about the drama.
Is it worth watching for Yang Yang? I think it was for me.
Does he cry very prettily? Yes.
Has he improved since Love O2O? I think he has a bit in here. He goes from robot to robot that cries pretty.
Bonus: great kiss scenes (rewatch just for those)
If anything, this movie has got me interested in trying out the drama. (Looks wise I prefer Yang Yang, but the drama version definitely has the better actors. Also, this story is more suited for longer format production - drama or multiple movies.)
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My understanding: 70,000 years ago, when Bai Qian was Si Yin age 70,000 years old, Mo Yuan defeated Qing Cang - King of the Demon clan and sealed Qing Cang's spirit within the bell. In the process, Mo Yuan's own spirit was also shattered leaving behind a dead body. 20,000 years later, Mo Yuan's spirit was reborn as Ye Hua and he lost all his memories when he was Mo Yuan. Bai Qian was 90,000 years old when Ye Hua was born. That's why Bai Qian kept emphasising that she is 90,000 years elder than Ye Hua from the beginning of the movie. So when Ye Hua's body died, his spirit which was anyway originally Mo Yuan's spirit return to Mo Yuan's body along with all his memories and experiences when he was Ye Hua. When the ice which Mo Yuan lied in it cracked, Mo Yuan opened his eyes and finally woke up!
I liked the movie because It's filled with lots of emotions from funny to serious, greatest happiness to heartbreaking sadness, extreme love to hatred, friendship to enmity, betrayal, trust to distrust, anger, jealousy, revengeful, forgiveness, mortal beings to immortal beings... It's interesting and was never boring at all!
Superb costumes especially for Ye Hua, Bai Qian and Su Jin! For me, I think they aren't overly dressed else they'll look more like mortal beings rather than Royal immortal beings! Great special effects! Fantastic sceneries especially the underworld scenes and heaven scenes! Acting was quite good especially Yi Fei (Bai Qian), Luo Jin (Zhe Yan) and even Peng Zisu (Ah Li) for his young age. Yang Yang (Ye Hua) acted very good in the very touching scenes but there's still room for improvement in some other scenes.
Things that I wished they could have done better were:
1. those animated scenes such as the animated scenes of Qing Qiu as they looked too fake.
2. Mi Gu, the cartoon tree spirit. Though it looked cute but also too fake!
Overall, I would say it's quite good! I will give a 4 out of 5 or a 7.5 out of 10.
For those who didn't like it, sorry to say that the movie was not meant for them. After all, everyone has their own opinion, like and dislike.
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I also confess to watching pieces of the drama months ago, so I basically knew the stroyline, but not enough to have the whole thing spoilt.
I found it entertaining, the costuming was fabulous, the lead pair were fantastically beautiful to look at, and the ending... I liked it. I really like this movie. One of the reasons I couldn't do the drama was the length of the drama and the too long story. This one was perfect in telling the story in a short time. But if you didn't know the story beforehand, you'd need some real good deduction skills to make sense of it. I guess that's why people called it choppy. But I liked this puzzle piece so much, I don't see a problem with it.
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the movie contains a lot of emotions (laughter, annoyance, sadness), and I might have cried a little bit throughout the movie. the cast and music I think was picked right and it helped build the story-line and emotion and that's why even when I watched it over again, I would still rate it a 10.
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Don’t worry. Go ahead and watch it.
I watched this without being aware it is based on he same source material as the famous drama. Or maybe I knew when I put it on my PTW list, but forgot by the time I watched it. Either way, I watched without any expectations and it is very enjoyable. But when I checked on MDL, there is so much criticism comparing it to the series. That’s the reason for my review.Yes the transitions between scenes are choppy. Yes there are details that are missing. Yes you need to pay attention or you can get lost. But it’s still an enjoyable story. The acting, CGI, is great. For someone who hasn’t seen the series, like me, don’t let the negative comments stop you.
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But gotta say, it's tad hectic, the way scenes just change and not because of flashbacks, simply not enough time in a movie to tell it all fully, so if one has not read the novel or seen the drama it might be somewhat confusing, but I'd need someones take on it who has seen only the movie, no novel & drama - was the plot easy to follow/understand? If you have read novel or seen drama, piece of cake, everything was clear.
That aside, whoa, the cgi and cinematography is breathtakingly gorgeous! The sets & clothes too! I do believe it's one of the best I've seen if not the best from China! Like, whoaaaaaaaa, a feast for eyes!
And the music is also good!
Even thou the scene changes & plot are somewhat fast forward & and the end was super abrupt, I'm still loving this movie. Wouldn't have thought I would, but I do.
Sooo:
Story: obviously difficult to stuff a whole books contents and little nuances into less than 2 hour movie, but they did pretty good.
Acting/cast: I'd say there were 4 main roles: The lead roles Liu Crystal as Bai Qian & Yang Yang as Ye Hua did great. And Luo Jin as Zhe Yan was also great. Li Frida as Su Jin I'd also consider among the main cast, she was ok.
As for other roles, the actors did ok as well, considering how little screen time there was and the kind of characters they had.
Music: music was actually very good, great even, I'm gonna find that soundtrack.
Re-watch value: It's worth re-watching now and then, definitely gonna do it myself.
Overall: the movie did very good.
Acting was great. Visuals/cinematography was spectacular. Plot was ok considering it's a book to movie adaption. Music was nice too.
In the end:
Loved the novel, loved the drama and loving the movie too ;D Each is great in it's own way ^^
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Positive:
The visuals were admittedly nice, particularly the scenery and CGI. The music was fine.
Negative:
I had trouble understanding what was going on even before the skipping, and the film felt like it was trying too hard to condense a complicated story into an oversimplified movie-sized one. What I could get of the story (even based on my friend's description of the drama) seemed like a really cliche marysue love story.
The actors were not good at all - I don't like Crystal Liu to begin with and her acting seemed particularly one-note here, and she had no chemistry with the awkward male lead. They also weren't helped by the bad writing, as the change of heart seemed really abrupt.
If you really love the drama, I suspect there's at least some chance you'll like the film if just for additional content for an IP you enjoy (no judgment, I do that all the time), but there's also some chance it'll disappoint you. My friend wasn't very impressed and told me the drama was much better. If you haven't seen the drama but you like cheesy romance stories that will make you get out the tissues, you might like this one and at least it's nice to look at. But if you're like me and have no connection to the original AND dislike cheesy romances, there's not much there that will be worth your time.
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