Pupusa
Terra Firma
Finally, someone understands that fancy CGIs are pointless without a good story. This movie not only has a story, it has heart.
The heart, and the moral center, is the Western Duke Ji Chang. His kindness is shown, not told. His love for his sons, both estranged or adopted, will move you to tears. Li Xue Jian’s performance reminds me very much of Ian McKellen’s Gandalf. Although old and frail, he emanates warmth, wisdom, and a kind of quiet strength. The physical and mental abuse he suffers is beyond what most people can imagine, but he does not let it break him or waver his belief. I stay tuned just to watch Ji Chang survive it all and see the sun rise on his legacy.
Ji Chang’s foil is the very virile, very tyrannical King Zhou. This is a man so morally bankrupt that he would eat his own son if it gets him what he wants. Kris Phillips looks the part of a brute, with just enough charisma that you can see why a battalion of young men would admire him, even willing to die for him. His relationship with the fox demon Da Ji lends a whole new meaning to the term “animal magnetism.”
The younger actors are more than just bare-chested eye candy. Yu Shi and Chen Mu Chi are well cast in their roles as the sons of Ji Chang and King Zhou, respectively. You see something of their father in both men, yet each is still his own person. Assuming the movie follows the book, you’ll understand the poignancy of their friendship and how it will be sorely tested in the future. Yang Jian, one of my favorite characters, isn’t given much to do here and rightly so. I just wish they made him more of a badass warrior like he is in book. Ci Sha’s portrayal of Yang Jian, while cool, is a little tame.
Can the writing be improved upon? Absolutely. The book has a lot going on, making it extremely hard to adapt into a movie. The writers are right in trimming it down and focusing on a few plot lines. The end result is still in the spirit of the Fengshen Bang, placing kindness and compassion above blind loyalty to an unjust regime.
I'm looking forward to the next installation.
The heart, and the moral center, is the Western Duke Ji Chang. His kindness is shown, not told. His love for his sons, both estranged or adopted, will move you to tears. Li Xue Jian’s performance reminds me very much of Ian McKellen’s Gandalf. Although old and frail, he emanates warmth, wisdom, and a kind of quiet strength. The physical and mental abuse he suffers is beyond what most people can imagine, but he does not let it break him or waver his belief. I stay tuned just to watch Ji Chang survive it all and see the sun rise on his legacy.
Ji Chang’s foil is the very virile, very tyrannical King Zhou. This is a man so morally bankrupt that he would eat his own son if it gets him what he wants. Kris Phillips looks the part of a brute, with just enough charisma that you can see why a battalion of young men would admire him, even willing to die for him. His relationship with the fox demon Da Ji lends a whole new meaning to the term “animal magnetism.”
The younger actors are more than just bare-chested eye candy. Yu Shi and Chen Mu Chi are well cast in their roles as the sons of Ji Chang and King Zhou, respectively. You see something of their father in both men, yet each is still his own person. Assuming the movie follows the book, you’ll understand the poignancy of their friendship and how it will be sorely tested in the future. Yang Jian, one of my favorite characters, isn’t given much to do here and rightly so. I just wish they made him more of a badass warrior like he is in book. Ci Sha’s portrayal of Yang Jian, while cool, is a little tame.
Can the writing be improved upon? Absolutely. The book has a lot going on, making it extremely hard to adapt into a movie. The writers are right in trimming it down and focusing on a few plot lines. The end result is still in the spirit of the Fengshen Bang, placing kindness and compassion above blind loyalty to an unjust regime.
I'm looking forward to the next installation.
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