On the first day of the 2023 Lunar New Year, 7 Chinese films will be released at the same time, covering sci-fi, comedy, suspense, sports, animation, etc., which are richer and more diverse than in previous years. People who lifted the lockdown returned to the theater to feel the heat of the movie. According to the real-time data statistics of Lighthouse Professional Edition, the total box office has exceeded 3 billion so far, and the box office of the films "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Manjiang Hong" have exceeded 1 billion, leading the box office.
"Manjiang Hong" is directed by Zhang Yimou, a suspense comedy film blessed by a group of domestic first-class comedy actors, with a current Douban score of 7.9, second only to "The Wandering Earth". But can it lead the way as the first echelon? This article will analyze the film's main creative performance, story watchability and genre expectations.
There are faces, terriers and strength, can the role be brilliant?
The film gathers comedy stars, traffic, and acting actors, and what kind of effect will be produced when fused together, which makes people curious and worried, because the cast is strong, and movies that overturn are everywhere. After watching "Manjiang Hong", I found that this is a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner with stable performance and no lack of highlights, and director Zhang Yimou is the chef of this night banquet.
The cooperation between Director Zhang and starring Shen Teng is the most anticipated and worrying before the movie is released. At the premiere of "Full of Golden Armor in the City" in December 2006, Shen Teng was the "little eunuch" in the opening show. After 16 years of fluttering, Shen Teng has galloped into the Chinese comedy film "First Brother", but whether director Zhang Yimou can use him well, people still have doubts. In the first half of the film, Shen Teng performed the obscenity of a small soldier, and there was no lack of funny things close to the character in the lines, such as when Sun Jun kicked and beat him, he cried: "Don't keep kicking me in one place." Similar jokes can be seen everywhere, and he did not waste his "self-cultivation" as a comedian. In the later stage, Zhang Da's iron shoulder after reversing the character bears morality, and Shen Teng also plays it relatively well. It can be said that the director uses the contrast between the before and after characters to give full play to the characteristics and acting skills of the actors steadily, so that the film is stabilized by half.
As a commercial film, Yi Yangqianxi, as one of the leading actors, should also be the decision after the consideration of director Zhang Yimou and the film party. Shen Teng teamed up with Yi Yangqianxi, which is also similar to the "big and small match" of Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran in the "Tang Detective" series. The cast of this tested New Year film has also withstood the test: two people are cold and hot, one big and one small, one is one and one is harmonious, supporting the entire lineup of positive characters. The four-character younger brother is one of the acting skills of the younger generation of actors online, and although the performance in this is not amazing, it does not pull his crotch.
The villain lineup is stronger, and the acting emperor Zhang Yi and the funny Yue Yunpeng form another CP partner. A vicious and treacherous staff officer, a timid and fearful father-in-law, while creating negative tension, also contributed a lot of laughs. Zhang Yi had previously played a similar role in "Embroidered Spring Dao", so the performance was familiar with the road, and the weight was light, and it was completely effortless. Yue Yunpeng is more like his true colors. Qin Jiayin's actor Lei Jiayin is a piece of plasticine, shaping Qin Jiayin's true and false sides, hypocrisy and cunning, and the "shadow" design is not a play, but also brings unexpected surprises and joy.
It can be said that in the casting and use of actors, the 72-year-old Director Zhang has achieved a steady promotion, combining everyone's characteristics with the characters in the play relatively well. Overall, Director Zhang is a good cook here, and he didn't waste any good ingredients for actors.
The story is unconventional and the elements blend extremely comfortably
Throughout the past few years, the Spring Festival movies have been released, in addition to "Hello! Li Huanying", the blood-boiling main theme blockbuster "Changjin Lake", the surprising sci-fi masterpiece "The Wandering Earth" with special effects, and the suspense comedy "Tang Tan" series are also a business case that cannot be ignored. Its commercial success is mainly due to the grasp of the tastes of Chinese audiences, filling the gap in the commercial film genre of comedy suspense. In order to "save trouble", the series places where the story takes place in Thailand and Japan and other foreign countries, and "Manjiang Red" places this prescription for all diseases in ancient times.
With the experience of the decline in word of mouth brought about by the "Tang Detective" series due to vulgar and funny and reduced suspense content, "Manjiang Red" has undoubtedly worked the "sense of premium".
First of all, in terms of story, "Manjiang Hong" continues to follow the story pattern of director Zhang Yimou's "small sees the big" in recent years, and continues to be a steady strategy. It does not tell the story of Yue Fei himself, but uses the story of Yue Fei's loyal service to the country as a background board, telling the story of a small soldier four years after the death of this well-known patriotic hero. On the eve of the Song-Jin talks, the envoy of the Jin State died in the compound where Prime Minister Qin Hui (played by Lei Jiayin) was stationed, and the small soldier Zhang Da (played by Shen Teng), under the "supervision" of He Li (played by Zhang Yi), the chief manager of Xiangfu, and Wu Yichun (played by Yue Yunpeng), the deputy chief manager, and the young general Sun Jun (played by Yi Yangqianxi) jointly investigated the story. Dangerous investigation, limited time oppression, secret room-like scenes, changeable character settings, suspense settings in the bureau and step by step, express a costume historical story in the way of a small character legend.
Whether the story is good depends on whether the script passes. As director Zhang Yimou said: "The most important thing in the film is the story, especially when we decided that this is a movie released during the Spring Festival, we wanted it to have both comedy and suspense reversal, and at the same time move the audience." Bringing these ideas together and bringing them to life is complex. ”
In addition to Zhang Yimou himself, the screenwriter of "Manjiang Hong" is also Chen Yu, a professor at Peking University who once collaborated with "Sniper" (Douban score of 7.7), who is undoubtedly better than "Tang Tan" in terms of basic drama and overall grasp of the story. Even with hybrid types, the style is relatively uniform. The narrative pays attention to logic, the characters can stand, and the joy is also to follow the characters, relying on the contrast and relationship between the characters to make more advanced jokes. For example, Shen Teng and Yi Yangqianxi are large and small CPs, which are the contrast between the personalities of one cold and one hot, one soft and one rigid, to trigger the "laughing fruit" of comedy.
For the setting of the suspense plot, the film belongs to a closed space, and the story is told in a single scene. Similar single-space suspense comedy movies include the dark horse movie "Rise to Fame", known as script killing movies. But "Manjiang Hong" is definitely an upgraded version of "Fame and Fame", in addition to the strong cast, the reversal inside is step by step, peeling back the secrets of the murderer and the secret letter, so that finally "Manjiang Hong" historical puzzle.
The patriotic feelings it contains also sublimate the key elements of the film, making this film truly small and big, and appear advanced. At the end of the film, the generals of the three armies recited "Manjiang Red", with the childish voice of the little girl, sublimating the theme and bringing the film to a new height. This is also a routine that director Zhang Yimou once used, and he has tried it repeatedly.
It can be said that costume suspense comedy can achieve such quality, not everyone can do it, it is the result of the director and the main creative actor's years of creative experience to achieve the result, but also after "Embroidered Spring Dao", the beneficial attempt of costume commercial films is conducive to breaking through the shackles of thinking that recent Chinese films are limited to realistic themes.
Director Zhang Yimou also directed a costume suspense comedy "Three Guns Shooting Surprise" in 2009, which encountered a word-of-mouth Waterloo with a score of 4.7 on Douban and was known as the three vulgars. Although a group of comedians were also used, it did not save the full rout of box office and word of mouth. It seems that the audience is not a comedy will buy it. But the current Douban score of "Manjiang Red" far exceeds the 4.7 points of "Three Guns", which is a shame. 13 years have passed, and it seems that director Zhang Yimou has finally found the rhythm of suspense comedy that highlights the sense of premium.
Epilogue:
"Manjiang Hong" itself has some remarkable characteristics, but the effect is also mixed. For example, the soundtrack, using Chinese-style rock as background music, is extremely appreciated by some people and indigestion by others. The art setting of the courtyard courtyard on the scene, Director Zhang has also used similar scenes in movies such as "The Red Lantern Hangs High", different combinations of characters, repeatedly walking in this space with a sense of feeling, advancing the plot layer by layer, much like the chapter back body in classical Chinese novels. WITH THESE SETTINGS, PEOPLE WHO CAN GET THE SENSE OF BEAUTY WILL FEEL A SENSE OF REVIVAL BEAUTY, AND AUDIENCES WHO DON'T BUY IT WILL FIND IT REPETITIVE AND BORING.
In addition, the film does not have a large scene display, no special effects blessing, and may not meet the expectations of some audiences for blockbusters. In terms of plot, the second half has too many reversals and is also slightly weak: the film should have completed the climax setting in the section of Shen Teng's assassination, and the ending landing point was placed on the young general played by Yi Yangqianxi, which has a slight sense of dog-tailed mink. As a result, the film has been lengthened to nearly three hours, which is somewhat lengthy.
In short, the movie "Manjiang Hong" is not a movie that everyone is satisfied with, but it is a work that director Zhang Yimou and the actors play stably, and people can not only feel the suspenseful tension of the story, but also gain a lot of high-level comedy jokes. In terms of current performance, the box office and word of mouth are good, which undoubtedly adds a touch of red and a fire to the recovery of China's film industry after three years of the epidemic, and has become one of the double leaders of the Spring Festival file, which is a sure winner.