Overall, it was an enjoyable experience to watch!

The story was interesting, and keeps you on your toes. The overall tone of the film is very different from Chen Qing Ling. There is a bit more of a horror-mystery feel to it, with a dash of buddy-cop kinda partnership. Although it gives some more insight into Wen Ning and Lan Sizhui's characters, and expands on some more personal details about them, their own personal stories are somewhat overshadowed by the actual plot (which is fair, but may not be what people are expecting going into it). This is very much still a Wen Ning story, with Lan Sizhui more of a side kick (though he has chances to shine, of course!), and gives some great insight into Wen Ning's personal thoughts and insecurities. The plot felt a little rushed at the latter half, with events happening very quickly.

However, from a continuity stand point, I found it was a little strange in some parts. For example, Wen Ning now dons his Jin-imprisonment chains and uses them much more efficiently as weapons, rather than fighting with his hands as he previously had. In addition, he seems to have gained some spiritual abilities, which were previously not present. Although I'm not opposed to him having them, I'm thoroughly confused as to where he got them, and that discontinuity was a little disengaging for me. It can be assumed that some years have passed since the events of CQL, and it was interesting to see how Wen Ning had grown since those experiences.

Overall, the music was great, but definitely not in the same vein as CQL. There's an electric guitar riff that plays during the larger fight scene, which was kinda of disengaging. I felt it didn't really fit with the era, or with any of the other pieces played. My other (kind of spoiled) complaint was the visuals - they had a much higher reliance on CGI in this film (probably due to having a much tighter budget, I'm guessing), which felt out of place at times. There was much more 'magic whisps' when the characters were using their abilities, as well as just general things that felt weirdly out of place.

That being said! Yu Bin and Zheng Fanxing did a fantastic job with their characters - Wen Ning and Lan Sizhui really shined in this piece, and I absolutely adored them. Anyone who is a fan of them should definitely check this film out, because their acting was superb. Gao Han, as well, was fantastic - what an incredible shift between the clumsy, frantic mutterings of Xiao Yi to the cunning smirks and instability of Zhao Yi. They all did such a fantastic job with this piece.

Leia Mais