Wei wei yi xiao hen qing cheng

Gaming is quite a "hobby". Depending on how much you are invested in it, you get some sort of satisfaction. Shaming others for doing what they love should not be an issue and it isn't here. You actually get a movie about people in love ... and a passion for gaming.

What I just realized though: I only watched this movie and had no idea there is a TV show too. So I have no idea how this is connected, if there was anything added or prior to the events of what happens here either. Therefor I may have a redacted experience of it all - ah the lingo. Enjoyable and decent enough for the right minded people

Anytime you take a complex story full of iconic moments and try to condense it down to 2 hours, you're just asking for trouble. As someone who read (and enjoyed) the original light novel, I knew up front not to get my expectations too high, but I had still hoped for a bit more than I got. Caricature characters, throwing out glib and rushed lines, a barely coherent storyline (which scarcely resembled the novel) and chaotic action sequences, just for starters. That being said, I blame the director more than the cast, since I did feel the actors could have delivered better performances if they weren't in such a hurry.

If this film had any redeeming points at all, it would be the polished cinematography and CG (both were decent, considering the film's budget). Lines aside, the actors also did a reasonable job of acting to green screen, which is notoriously difficult. There were also a handful of scenes overlaying the game world with reality, which were creative and did a surprisingly good job of conveying the feeling of belonging to both the 2-d and 3-d world.

ROMANCE RATING: 7/10. As per the novel, there was only one kiss scene, but it was fairly long and the actors had reasonably good chemistry. Bear in mind that while the scene did feature "A" door, it is not "THE" iconic office door from the novel.

In summary, I'm sorry to say this movie was weak in almost every way. Fans of the novel will certainly be disappointed and newcomers are unlikely to develop any interest in the novel. Not recommended. HOWEVER, if you have to choose between this film and the drama, I probably would choose this, mainly because, as others have mentioned, Angela Baby and Boran Jing have acceptable chemistry whereas Yang Yang and Shuang Zheng did not.

So after watching the series I went straight to the movie. Some people said to prefer it but I really don't. I have no problem with the leads but the story is completely disjointed by the speed they're trying to tell it at and all the details they omitted. For me, this one isn't even worth it for the cheap thrill of experiencing the story when I don't have time to rewatch the entire series, because it just does not deliver the feels or tells the story well enough. Regretfully, not recommended. I'd say watch the series or read the novel, which is absolutely excellent.

Better than the series but still pretty average.

I have watched the show before of this movie and struggled a lot to even finish it. Was so dumb and childish, I couldn't believe it.

By my surprise this one is better but obviously doesn't have enough time to go in depth to any of the storylines.

So you don't get attached with any of the characters, everything happens fast and it's quite superficial.

I think this is an ideal movie for kids and teenagers, good enough acting, a bit of lighthearted romance, some fun effects with the vídeo game scenes and effects.

Entertaining enough for a quick movie night with friends.

This movie is enjoyable from the first scene to the last, surprising considering that most "gamer" movies tend to fizzle out about half way through. The main character Bei Weiwei (Angelababy / Angela Yeung Wing) could not have been played better. Angelababy is cast in a very feminine and cute role, but brings out the strength, character and competence of both the real life and game life of Bei. Boran Jing does a good job of playing the reserved and stoic role of Xiao Nai, the #1 player in the game. Both players and their avatars are realistically portrayed in a splendid mix of fantasy and reality.

Although cliché, I enjoyed the special way this movie often combined the real world with the game world (although one scene featuring portals on a bridge jumped the shark a bit). Despite the gamer/fantasy setting of the virtual world, the fantasy characters and "real life" character both are played very well. The supporting characters are somewhat cliché as well, though acted well enough. The fact that the movie requires the supporting characters mostly as comic relief and moral support is the one weakness of the story-line, although that is forgivable considering the genre. An Asian movie without such characters would be somewhat of an unexpected let-down.

The story-line is not strong, but strong enough to both keep the viewer entertained and present a morality play as well. It's nice to see a movie that doesn't take tired, over-used side-trips during the main plot. The developing romance between the online avatars and the unwitting Weiwei is enjoyable to watch from the spectator's seat. Much in this is predictable but enjoyable nonetheless.

It's not a perfect film, nor a tear-jerker or film of the year. It just a very enjoyable romantic gamer film with excellent special effects and a script that for once succeeds in an over-used and often-abused genre. If you can understand the concept of mixing gaming and romance I fully expect you will enjoy this film very much.