Jue ji

This could have made for a decent 45 episode drama, but in just two hours there are too many characters and concepts, too much world-building, for anyone's head not to spin. I have no trouble keeping the dozens of characters in lengthy dramas straight, but the dizzying speed of this movie was beyond my abilities to maintain.

If it were a TV series I'd probably be whining instead that the graphics are terrible. As it is, by turning the entire film into CGI they managed to make the monsters look natural to their environment, a decision for which the filmmakers do deserve credit. The scenes that ought to have captured the viewer's attention and imagination the most would have looked quite corny, no doubt, were this a live-action film, so I am willing to tolerate the animation. It does work quite well in this regard.

The film ends with two random characters whose role I only faintly understood discussing what just happened. This oughtn't have been necessary. The viewer ought to have known more or less what was going on as it happened, but at least we do discover the plot before the credits roll.

Probably one thing that most American viewers found refreshing is that this does not feel Chinese in the slightest. The architecture, the mannerisms, even the eyelids, seem rather European. I was expecting a more Oriental experience, something more like Fights Break Sphere or Tribes and Empires or Ever Night, but instead it seemed almost like I was watching a Disney movie.

In the end, the most redeeming quality of this film is that it is entertaining. There are far, far too few fantasy films being made to begin with, much less really good ones. This, while not particularly amazing like Lord of the Rings, is good and at least an entertaining option for the would-be fantasy viewer who is otherwise distraught by lack of choices.

The storyline seemed somewhat jumbled but the accompanying computer graphic imagery and action sequences were very pleasing. The concepts weren't run-of-the-mill. Definitely worth a watch if you enjoy animated films.

First of all, I really want to like this movie, I do. I like the casts. I love animation. And seeing it was produced by two China giants, Wanda and Tencent, I was hoping at least it could be tiny entertaining.

The CGI was fine, but the story telling is totally none. Some reviewers said you should read the book before you can understand the movie. That is totally rubbish. A movie is another powerful telling medium. If one had to read a book to understand a movie, then at the least it should provided some written reading to those who were going to watch the movie. To put it into comparison, people who do not read Tolkien's still can understand his Middle Kingdom in LOTR, although not fully.

A waste of resource, casts and time.

You read my title, spend your money elsewhere. The movie story line is so convoluted, I got instant migraine just from watching it. The opening scene give some back ground about the fantasy land of the story, but that's about it. as the story progresses I keep asking myself, who is this character and why should I care about him? and as new character appears, the same questions repeat it self. Who is this new character and why should I care about it? and after 30 min I began to ask who is the protagonist who is the antagonist of the story? and as more characters with no background keep being added to the story. My interest in the movie just completely over. 1 hrs into the movie the only thing I get from the movie is there are bunch of guys and bunch of girls who meet and fight each other for I don't know what is the reason. What the hell am I watching? and the ending is a complete non ending. who won? who lose? So it's a bunch of guys who meet and fight and no one is winning and no one is losing? WHO WRITE this stuff? 3 year old baby? Whoever write this story need to go to school and stop bringing misery to movie viewer. Here is a basic story writing : Opening, Content, and Conclusion. and the 3 D animations, sure it capture the face of the movie star into 3 D CG, but they fail to capture any expression from their face, it's like watching a doll house. Even in death their face is expressionless. Trust me your money is better spend watching other movie. I want my money back! too bad Chinese theater don't give refunds.

Personally... I've enjoyed the movie. Also, if this a crap movie?! Obviously most people don't know what an actual crap movie is. Truth to be told, there are so many bad, and I literally mean bad movies out there. This is nothing compared to a bad movie.