Are you scrolling through Netflix and just can't find anything to watch? Do you want to try something different and new so you don't click on another season of a show you have seen A THOUSAND TIMES!? Might I suggest a Chinese movie that is VERY entertaining?
Yes, I am talking about The Yin Yang Master that just premiered on NETFLIX this past week. It is a unique watch and if you are worried if it is anything like The Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity - REST ASSURED, THE 2 MOVIES ARE NOTHING ALIKE!
*Now as per usual with any review I write, I will not be including any spoilers in this review.*
Here is a short synopsis - Yin Yang Master Qing Ming is found guilty of murder and exiled from the human world. When an evil resurfaces in the monster world, he and a gang monsters and humans must work together to overcome conspiracies, mystery and evil forces to defeat the evil.
When I saw the trailer for this movie, I IMMEDIATELY KNEW I HAD TO WATCH IT WHEN IT WAS RELEASED! I was SO GLAD to see that Netflix planned to pick it up and stream for international audiences. The trailer just made the movie LOOK BEAUTIFUL and I could not wait to see how this movie played out.
There are a lot of aspects of this film THAT I LOVED and there were other things that I disliked about the film. For me, the things I disliked did not distract me or make me not like the movie. It was just some things that I would have liked to be different or be more fleshed out in the movie.
The Pros
1) The Visuals - THIS MOVIE WAS BEAUTIFUL! What I loved the most in this movie was the lighting. I loved how light was used throughout the movie. I especially liked the lighting in the scenes in the fight arena. I thought that was really well done. The CGI looked amazing and the costumes were gorgeous. The monsters were so unique and well made. Each had their own look and had their own personality and character. I just thought the visuals in this movie STOOD OUT SO MUCH! I am not really surprised by this because there were a lot of spells and monsters in this movie and when a movie has those elements, they seem to stand out and be a wonder to watch.
2) Based off a videogame - I loved that as you were watching the movie, YOU CAN TOTALLY TELL THAT THIS MOVIE WAS BASED OFF A VIDEO GAME! I found myself saying things like "Oh, this could have been a boss battle" or "Oh, this would have been a great level in a videogame" or "Oh, this could totally be the place where a player could heal up in a videogame". I thought that aspect gave this movie a unique twist. It just shows you can practically take any source material and make it into an entertaining movie.
3) The Fight Choreo - The fight scenes in this movie were A DELIGHT to watch! They were exciting and action packed. I loved how the movie mixed magic and sword fighting into one scene. You also have the element of monsters involved in these fight scenes so that brought a unique element to the fight choreo. I am really curious to find some behind the scenes footage on how the actors went about filming the scenes where they were fighting HUGE MONSTERS!
4) The Acting - I loved the acting in this movie. There is a lot of star power in this movie AND IT SHOWS! Everyone played their characters very well, gave their own spin to the characters and worked well together. You believed in the characters because the actors sold their characters.
The Cons
1) The Story - The story seemed all over the place at times. It seems like they wanted to tell 2 different stories at once and couldn't choose which one to go with. On one hand, you got Qing Ming's story which (for me) was the prominent story in the movie. On the other hand, you have Boya's story which took a SEVERE back seat in this movie. I wish they would have gone with one story or the other. Now, I have not played the video game so this might have been how the video game was.
2)The Character's relationships - The movie is advertised as Qing Ming and Boya's relationship and them working together. I think that was false advertisement. For me, this movie was essentially the story of Qing Ming - WHICH ISN'T A BAD THING! I thought his story was very interesting and compelling BUT their relationship was NOT a key element in this movie. For Me, Boya was more of a side character in the movie and this movie sort of showed the beginnings of their relationship. Maybe if there is a sequel, that sequel can explore more of their relationship but Qing Ming and Boya did not have an established relationship with each other in this movie. They did have established relationships with other characters in this movie which I loved and would like to see be explored more. Honestly, most of the characters in this movie seemed more like side characters - EVEN the villain because Qing Ming was SUCH A DOMINANT presence in this movie. This might just speak to HOW AWESOME OF AN ACTOR CHEN KUN IS TOO!
3) The Villain and The Ending - Now, I could see the villain coming A MILE AWAY which wasn't necessarily the bad thing. If you have seen enough Chinese dramas, you can easily figure out who the villain is in this movie. What I thought was a downer was how the villain was dealt with in the end. Now, this might be due to the time constraint. I mean this movie is a little over 2 hours long SO, I am sure there was no easy way to win the battle and defeat the villain without it seeming not much of a fight or quick. That was just it. The villain seemed too easy to defeat and his demise came too quick. The villain was just a little flat for me. This might also be because the movie set itself up for a sequel WHICH I ACTUALLY WANT TO SEE! The ending left a lot of loose ends that could make a second movie.
*MY RECOMMENDATION*
If you want to watch both The Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity and this movie, my recommendation would be to watch this movie BEFORE The Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity OR watch the movies REALLY FAR APART so you don't compare.
I will say, for me, BOTH MOVIES ARE SO DIFFERENT, I didn't find much I could compare to the other movie.
Rating: 8/10 (Streaming on NETFLIX now)
So, have you seen The Yin-Yang Master?
What did you think?
Is it on your list to watch?
WE NOW ALSO HAVE A DISCORD SO TALK TO US ON THERE AS WELL!
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