China Entertainment 1997.

Chapter 581 Anti-hero-style ancient dragon martial arts

Sunday, May 5

Chen Mao (appeared in Chapter 406) sent his children to school, and drove to the breakfast shop he often went by himself.

Two cabbage meat buns + two leek vegetarian buns, and a bowl of salty tofu finally relieved the body from staying up late.

Chen Mao, who was a senior movie fan + amateur film critic back then, became a full-time film critic three years ago as his [Mao Chengcheng] account became more and more famous on the blog. There are also professional paper media invitations.

Unfortunately, Weibo was launched in 2008 and replaced blogs in a short period of time to become the most popular social platform.

During this period, Chen Mao, who has always used the blog as his main platform, was slow to respond, or he was reluctant to part with the millions of fans he had managed to accumulate on the blog.

The Internet is changing rapidly, and the traffic of emerging platforms is even more overwhelming.

It doesn't matter if Chen Mao is slow to respond. After he shifted his career focus from blogging to Weibo, the territory has almost been divided up. He has changed from a top film critic on the blog to a second-tier Weibo.

Fortunately, the commercialization of Weibo is much stronger than that of blogs back then. Even if you are a second-tier big V, your income has not decreased much compared to when you blogged.

Chen Mao's mentality is still good. He has been playing on the Internet for several years. He knows that this game has its ups and downs. Only by maintaining a normal mind can he not be troubled by traffic.

Of course, Chen Mao has this confidence mainly because his fans are very sticky.

Traffic is easy to get, iron powder is hard to find.

As long as he can consolidate the basic market, he has the hope of gradually growing bigger, even if he can't make it to the top, he can still have a corner in the industry.

There are a lot of new movies released in May, and Chen Maode watched them all, and then wrote movie reviews one by one. He also recommends any good TV dramas nowadays, and occasionally writes for the media. Week.

But there is no way, we have to have a meal.

After breakfast, Chen Mao drove home. His wife had already gone to work. She was the head nurse, and sometimes she worked more irregularly than he did.

After taking a shower, Chen Mao plunged into the bed to catch up on sleep, and slept until 1:[-] in the afternoon.

After recklessly heating up the leftovers to make up for it, Chen Mao went to the movies to watch the newly released "Sword Rain".

As a key movie in May, or even this year, Chen Mao's KPI for this month is pointing to it.

Today is the premiere, and it's Sunday again. Tickets are still hard to get. The most recent show is almost sold out, so Chen Mao can only buy tickets for the next show.

Sitting on the sofa outside the movie hall, Chen Mao was still a little bit embarrassed.

Looking back at those years, he was also a well-known figure on the Internet, and one of the most popular film critics on blogs.

When "Embroidered Spring Knife" was released, the crew specially invited him to participate in the premiere ceremony, with full board and lodging expenses. Afterwards, Cao Xuan, Gao Yuanyuan and other main creators personally entertained him...the film critics, all kinds of autographs and group photos.

Times have changed, and now he just wants to go to "Sword Rain", and people may not even know who he is.

The sadness of an out-of-date internet celebrity...

After waiting for half an hour, he was finally able to enter the theater. Chen Mao let go of his depression, entered the theater, and started watching movies.

At the beginning of the movie is the introduction of Moro's body + the hero of the Black Stone Destroyer.

There is a plot in the original movie that confuses many viewers, that is, the male lead in the back is so awesome, almost invincible in singles, and he was eliminated at the beginning.

In fact, it is shown in the plot that the male protagonist is surrounded by three masters, Xiao Yu, Lei Bin, and Cai Xishi, and is distracted to protect his father and family.

Outnumbered and outnumbered, yet distracted to save others, no matter how good the hero's martial arts are, this kind of scene has to be beaten.

It's just that because this section is short and doesn't give enough hints, some viewers will feel suspicious. The star version of "Sword Rain" adds an extra half-minute scene, mainly to show that the hero can fight, but due to the situation lose.

The beginning is an explanation of the background, laying the groundwork for the rest of the story. It is not complicated, but it still makes Chen Mao's eyes shine.

What surprised him was not the plot, but the play, which was chic, sharp and extremely aesthetic.

Chen Mao hasn't seen such a beautiful martial arts scene for a long time.

The Zhang Mansion was destroyed, and Xiao Yu took Mo Luo's body and disappeared. The next scene is Zeng Jing, played by Zeng Li, who rents a house with the mother-in-law played by Li Mingqi.

The Nishigong empress dressed in a coarse cloth ancient costume, although not beautifully dressed, has a beautiful appearance, and she has a bit of the virtuous and elegant feeling of an ancient woman.

The two female students in front of Chen Mao called her beautiful, and Chen Mao couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

What many people don't know is that Chen Mao is a loyal fan of Zeng Li and has written several articles about Amway Zeng Li.

Chen Mao vaguely remembers that the first time he met Zeng Li was Yin Susu in the 2003 version of "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" starring Cao Xuan. The image of the beautiful, glamorous and infatuated demon girl surprised him at the time.

Many people argue whether the 2003 version of "Yi Tian Shou Long Ji" is more beautiful as Jia Jingwen's Zhao Min or Gao Yuanyuan's Zhou Zhiruo, but in Chen Mao's mind, Yin Susu played by Zeng Li is the most beautiful woman in the whole play.

It's a pity that after Zeng Li, he didn't act in too many works, but they all left a deep impression on people.

The most famous one is Ding Baiying, the "stunning knife" in "Xiu Chun Knife 2", which is still a classic scene of martial arts actresses.

Even in the classics, Chen Mao and many film critics are talking about actresses playing dramas, especially in the past ten years, there is always Zeng Li's name, which shows how deeply this role impressed them.

Li Mochou in "The Legend of Condor Heroes" is also quite brilliant. Leaving aside the heroine and heroine of Xiaolongnv and Yang Guo in the whole drama, Guo Xiang, who is so sweet, may not be able to compare with her.

In last year's "Di Renjie: The Heavenly Empire", Zeng Li played Wu Zetian, who is unpredictable and majestic, and can be ranked among the major versions of Wu Zetian.

In Chen Mao's mind, Zeng Li's business level is very strong, and the property is in a good condition, and the conditions are very good. He is a rare Tsing Yi in the industry.

If you are more self-motivated, even if you don't reach the level of four-dan dual-soldier, you can easily rank among the first-line, especially in themes such as ancient costumes and martial arts, and it is likely to form a personal brand.

However, what made him and some fans of Zeng Li's movie resentment was that Zeng Li really didn't have much ambition in acting career.

Almost every time I make some progress in my career, I will enter a period of silence, and basically seldom appear in public, and I seldom accept media interviews and participate in programs.

The only way for many fans to know her is Weibo, but it is hard to say that she is diligent in updating.

The only gratifying thing is that although filming is not his heart, Zeng Li has never given up filming, especially in the past two years, he has always had works.

Especially this "Sword Rain", it is rare to act as a heroine, and Cao Xuan assisted her, which is definitely a top resource in the industry.

Many fans of Zeng Li are excited, looking forward to the rise of their idols. Zeng Li is almost 35 years old this year, and it's time for him to become popular...

Chen Mao also thought the same way, he hoped that Zeng Li would make more movies while he was young, otherwise it would not be suitable for him to take many roles when he was older.

Speaking of the plot of "Sword Rain", when Zeng Li first appeared on the stage, Chen Mao was still a little unsure whether this character was Xiao Yu or a new character.

When the plot flashes back later, the audience will understand what's going on.

After Zhang's family was destroyed, Xiao Yu met the monk Lu Zhu, and the two were entangled all the way, and finally fell in love with each other. In the end, Lu Zhu sacrificed himself to enlighten Xiao Yu, making her give up the way of killing.

In fact, this scene is quite interesting, but the most outstanding characters are not Xiao Yu and Lu Zhu, but an old monk.

The latter is played by Mr. You Benchang, the actor of the classic Jigong. You Lao has a solid foundation in his lines, a long charm, and quite a sense of Zen. Listening is a kind of enjoyment.

"Before the Buddha's disciple Ananda became a monk, he saw a young girl on the road and fell in love with him ever since. The Lord Buddha asked him how much he liked that girl.

Ananda replied: I would like to turn into a stone bridge and be exposed to 500 years of wind, 500 years of sun, and 500 years of rain, but I hope this girl can walk on the bridge..."

This passage is particularly famous, and it is also the most brilliant line in the whole movie. It contains both infatuation and Zen.

Especially the interpretation by You Lao's profound line skills is even more memorable.

Chen Mao felt that the lines were well written. Lu Zhu and the old monk didn't make many appearances, but the characters stood up and added a bit of depth to the movie.

In the following plot, Xiao Yu is influenced by Lu Zhu and intends to live a good life, so she changes her appearance and wanders around the market, and then meets Cao Xuan.

Unpretentious hairstyle and clothes, two mustaches, hunchback with chest covered, erratic eyes, the whole is a wimpy little postman.

Looking at that familiar face, all audiences know that this character is not that simple.

How should I put it, because the hero of the original version of "Sword Rain" is played by a Korean, many people don't know him at all, and the expectations for the role are not high, and the sense of surprise in the later reversal is enhanced.

But now that Cao Xuan is playing the role, he is too well-known, and the audience instinctively feels that this role is tricky.

Not to mention pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, even if this character is really a pig, many viewers probably thought he could fight back.

Sometimes, this can be regarded as one of the disadvantages of actors being too popular, which is not conducive to shaping some special characters, and occasionally destroys the original positioning of the characters.

According to the plot arrangement, the male protagonist should reveal his true identity in the middle and late stages of the film, but as soon as Cao Xuan appeared, some smart audiences began to make up their minds, and even guessed that the male protagonist was the young master who was killed at the beginning.

After all, Xiao Yu's face-changing has already confirmed the existence of the disguise technique, she can change it, and so can others.

When the male advocated that Ah Sheng and the female protagonist were getting closer due to various accidents, Chen Mao became more and more firm in his conjecture, and even wrote it down directly in the notebook.

"The combination of each with a secret, the Chinese martial arts version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

However, guessing is guessing, but this setting is still very attractive, especially in the final showdown to reveal the identity or pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger, which is very exciting for the audience.

This kind of routine will not be out of date even in 2022. A certain point and a certain Lu have similar books-the male and female protagonists hide each other's status as big bosses and get married, and then show their power outside in various ways, and pretend to be intimidating each other when they go home.

Afterwards, the male and female protagonists, who have completely become little people in the market, met and fell in love with each other on the street. The two lonely people chose to rely on each other and finally got married.

This shot is still very moving, especially the scene where the two of them hid from the rain and fell in love under the eaves. It looked so sweet and made people forget the previous Lu Zhu.

Some viewers even hope that it will end here, and let the hero and heroine live on in a mediocre way.

But it is obviously impossible for the movie to develop like this. Soon after, Xiao Yu reveals his identity, and Black Stone sends people to hunt him down.

Ye Zhanqing, played by Fan Xiaopang, commented on Xiaoyu and Zhang Asheng, and also contributed the biggest laugh in the movie so far.

An ugly country woman.

A useless and incompetent idler on the street.

We don't know if the character Ye Zhanqing is blind, or if the director forcefully instilled the role into the audience.

But looking at Zeng Li and Cao Xuan in the movie, even though they have deliberately reduced and suppressed their looks, they are really not ordinary or ugly.

The scene where the hero reveals his identity and sharpens his sword to retreat from the enemy can be called the climax of the whole movie, and it also arouses the passion of the audience.

Cao Xuan, who used to be cowardly, sat and sharpened his sword indifferently, his eyes were staring, his martial arts were amazing, the great contrast and the refreshing feeling of revealing his identity and slapping his face made the audience cheer.

On the contrary, it was the final decisive battle, which made the audience a little bit aggrieved. The hero "waited to die" the whole time, and the awesome villain, the king of wheels, was killed by the heroine, which always felt unhappy.

But Chen Mao felt differently.

Before watching the movie, he thought it was a martial arts movie, but after watching half of it, he realized it was a love movie, but the final ending made him see the shadow of anti-hero martial arts.

What is an anti-hero is that the plot does not have the indomitable heroes portrayed in martial arts movies, or even positive characters in the traditional sense.

The most representative ones are Gu Long's martial arts novels. It is hard to say that the movie "Sword Rain" has not been influenced by Gu Long's martial arts.

Regardless of whether it is the hero or the villain, they all have their own shortcomings. Everyone is just the common people in the rivers and lakes, and their goals are often very personal, even in the eyes of outsiders.

For example, Xiaoyu just wants to live in peace, but everything the Wheel-Turning King does is only for the sake of his descendants.

"Sword Rain" has many martial arts elements, such as fighting for treasure, revenge, love, and rivers and lakes. It should be a hearty story, but in the end it always makes people feel a little sad.

Chen Mao left the theater, returned home and began to write a film review of "Sword Rain", and then summarized according to the old rules and system.

[Fighting]: 5 stars, unrestrained and fierce, with careful moves, the most surprising martial arts action scene for me after the "Embroidered Spring Knife" series in recent years.

[Fuhuadao]: 5 stars, I can hardly find any faults, especially a few weapons, which are very characteristic and fit the characters
[Scene environment]: 4 and a half stars, the shot in the market is beautiful, especially the rain scene scene, it looks very comfortable
[Actor]: 5 stars, almost all the staff are strong, no one is holding back, Zeng Li and Cao Xuan are especially outstanding, and Fan Xiaopang is also very good
In particular, I would like to praise Zeng Li, the first-time leader can perform like this, it is perfect

[Plot]: 4 stars, some plots have been guessed, and some places are still a little bit underwhelming

[Soundtrack editing]: 4 stars, above the standard

[Concept]: 4 and a half stars, quite taste of cologne, I personally like it better
【…】:……

At the end of the film review, Chen Mao gave "Sword Rain" a score of 8.2 according to Mtime.com's scoring standards. The overall evaluation is——

In recent years, there are few martial arts masterpieces, and "Embroidered Spring Knife" has its own advantages, and it is equal. If you like martial arts themes, don't miss it!

This evaluation is still very high. After all, "Embroidered Spring Knife" can be said to be the best martial arts movie after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Chen Mao compared "Sword Rain" with "Embroidered Spring Knife", claiming that there is no distinction between high and low, and it will definitely attract a large number of movie fans.

And this evaluation is destined to usher in a lot of controversy, after all, movie aesthetics are also very subjective.

"Embroidered Spring Knife" is preconceived and has a classic aura. It is impossible for the style of "Sword Rain" to be liked by everyone, and many people are bound to choke.

Chen Mao didn't care, and was even happy to see the success.

There will be traffic only if there is controversy, and Chen Mao can't bear to make a fool of the rotten gimmick that deliberately grabs attention, but he is still willing to dawdle at this kind of comparison within a reasonable range.

By the way, he also yelled at Zeng Li, his favorite actor, as a loyal fan, he contributed to Zeng Li.

.........

Chen Mao is not the only one who gave "Sword Rain" a high score, and many film critics or fans have given good reviews.

Mtime.com's initial score was 7.9, and it stabilized at around 8.1 two days later, and there is a faint upward trend. It is definitely a good performance in popular movies.

"Ip Man 2", which was released a week ago, only scored 7.4. It can't be said that "Sword Rain" has been beaten by word of mouth, but it is definitely behind.

In terms of box office performance, "Sword Rain" did not give way to "Ip Man 2".

Frankly speaking, many people say that "Sword Rain" in the original time and space became popular a few years later, but in fact, when the movie was released, it was already hailed as a masterpiece of word-of-mouth, and many film critics and media gave it good reviews.

There are many reasons why "Sword Rain" is popular or not.

First, the style of the movie is more literary, and the rhythm of the plot is a bit procrastinated. It is not a commercial movie that many people like.

Second, I was unlucky at the time, and it happened to hit "Di Renjie: The Empire of Heaven". The two films had similar themes, so the box office was naturally suppressed.

Third, the box office appeal of the main creative lineup is extremely limited.

The male lead, Zheng Yusheng, is a Korean actor. He may be very popular in Korea, but in China, not many people know him, and they will not go to the theater to watch a movie because of him.

The heroine Yang Ziqiong has a high status, even a rare international star among Chinese, but her popularity is really not that strong, and she doesn't have much box office appeal.

The rest of the actors are basically supporting roles, and they can be icing on the cake, but it is basically impossible to play the leading role alone.

To put it bluntly, the hero and heroine cannot afford the box office, and the director is a "nobody".

The lineup hardly attracts the audience, the film style is more literary, and there is an unlucky schedule. Even if the word of mouth is not good, it is not to the point of turning things around.

In this way, it's no wonder that the original time and space movie doesn't rush...

But the situation is completely different now. Although the style of the movie has not changed much, the schedule environment and the starring lineup have indeed improved a lot.

Especially for the starring lineup, Cao Xuan's box office appeal alone is several times that of the original creators combined.

Not to mention "Ip Man 2" and "Iron Man 2" with different themes, even if they face "Di Renjie: The Empire of Heaven", they will not necessarily lose.

"Sword Rain" was released on May 5. It easily won 2 million box office on the first day, over 3000 million box office in the first week, and 1.5 million box office in ten days.

If this trend continues, I dare not say 3 million, but 2.5 million is still very promising.

This box office is incomparable with the ceiling of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff", but it can be regarded as a blockbuster.

This can be regarded as Nishigong Niangniang's first hit movie as the heroine. Even though Cao Xuan contributed 70% of the box office credit, the success of "Sword Rain" still allowed Zeng Li to enjoy what it means to be popular...

(End of this chapter)