Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms

This is cinema on a grand scale, everything about it is breathtaking. The cinematography and visuals are stunning, the set pieces are immense, the scope of the story telling is wide and a large cast deliver polished performances. For western audiences, imagine a movie matching the scale and vision of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. The stories are completely different but there's something about the sheer scale and vision which they share.

The story is quite straightforward, good vs. Evil, the importance of family, moral corruption and the last for power, however it is done extremely well and makes for compelling viewing. The story is based on a classic story, I am not familiar with the original book so cannot comment on how faithful the movie is to the original.

Production values are very high and all of the cast deliver strong performances. If I have a criticism it is that the good vs. Evil story is very heavy. There is no nuance, no grey, the good people are paragons of virtue, the bad people full on over the top villainous caricatures. Although the main villain starts off as quite tragic in falling for the temptations of a demon that is quickly left behind as he becomes crazily over the top evil. That's why I give 9* instead of 10*, a little more nuance in the characters would have added a lot I think.

Overall a terrific movie for those who enjoy fantasy epics on a grand scale. They don't make many like this.

Absolutely a fantastic movie, the storyline, the acting, the virtual images, the music all made this movie an Epic movie.

Let me talk about the conclusion first: this is the best mythical epic movie in China!

As a fan who read Fengshen Yanyi at the age of seven and re-read the original novel countless times in more than 20 years, I can say responsibly that this movie is definitely not a magic reform! On the contrary, it is the first masterpiece among all film and television adaptations.

Some passages that seem magical at first glance are actually well-founded, and they are the optimal solution after careful research and selection. The adaptation of the movie is very good.

This new story from a contemporary perspective can be called a divine script. It is seamless from beginning to end, and echoes before and after the transition.

Can't wait for the 2nd one!! Highly recommend to everyone!

The original novel was published 400 years ago and have too many memorable moments. So it is very unsuitable for movie use. Moreover, Chinese classical novels, especially this type of novels, (hua beng) do not have the sublimation of characters in modern Western novels, so they are not necessarily suitable for movies. So the director made simplifications and trade-offs here. Many familiar scenes have not been retained. The perspective of the movie is abandoned and the change of a character is the most important driving force for the movie. The visuals have improved a lot. It is already very good to have such a performance.

Chinese mythological epics are rare - mainly because cast of characters and their relationships to mystical themes can be overwhelming. Lots of characters and events compete with waning audience attention.

It's surprising how satisfying the film is. There's battles galore, assisted by the support of abundant CGI in nearly every frame; some effects worked (the battles) while others didn't (the flying fox spirit), while a visit to the realm of the immortals was disappointing. While the story itself was irregularly paced, I found it more absorbing than, say, LOTR, and you can't deny that Chinese mythology has never been rendered as well as this film.

There's loud instrumental music from start to finish, with plenty of fights to keep your attention. The sincerity of the narrative is balanced by an amusing trio of spirits who try to prop up a failing Shang dynasty. It's really a miracle of sorts that the narrative coheres so well.

Let's start with the pros. Some of the costumes, art, and casting in the movie are excellent. Fei Xiang's face has a very advanced sense of screen quality, Yang Jian's casting, styling, and action design are bright and eye-catching, Su Daji is more in line with personal aesthetics, and the fox's dynamic expression is very dynamic. Zhaoge and Xiji are each unified in terms of visual sensibility, color, and design language, and from an art perspective, the shaping of the worldview is successfully completed. Zhaoge and Xiji are unified in their visual senses, colors, and design language, and from an art perspective, the shaping of the film's worldview is successfully completed.

The biggest problem is that the script is too weak in literature and has too many contradictory points of logic. The whole movie is boring if you take away the art and special effects. The deaths of Empress Jiang and Bigan were awkward, and the deaths were meaningless.