Although after entering March, without the blessing of holidays, the movie-watching boom in the film market gradually faded, there are still many new works that have landed in theaters to meet the audience.
Following "Poisonous Tongue Lawyer", another new Hong Kong film "Broken Network" is also coming strongly, and the audience's expectations for this movie are still relatively high, after all, there are three Hong Kong star male gods such as Kwok Fucheng, Ren Dahua and Lin Jiadong, working together to perform a drama about the competition of data finance.
However, Hong Kong films have not been very popular in the mainland market in the past two years, and on the whole, this film is only a decent level, and it is said that the investment cost of the film is as high as 250 million.
The cumulative box office won 15 million in 2 days of release, and the pre-sale box office was only more than 69 million, and even the word of mouth was seriously polarized, obviously did not achieve the expected effect, and the possibility of a later reversal was minimal.
On the other hand, the movie "Wasteland" also landed in major theaters on the same day, this movie can cost 100 million, it can also be regarded as a large investment film, 2 days after its release, the first wave of word-of-mouth was freshly released, and the audience's score and evaluation were hit the nail on the head, so is this movie good?
Live shooting, Gobi survival, immersive plot is too eye-catching
The plot and overall texture of "Wasteland" gave the audience a great surprise, for which many netizens gave four-star and five-star praise, some praised: "rare female adventure theme", "The whole film is full of loneliness and despair, the use of the lens is just right", it can be seen that everyone is immersed in this story.
The film tells the story of the jungle (played by Ren Suxi) in his early thirties, who loves adventure but disappears in the Gobi, decides to embark on a "search journey" with his brother Cong Lai, but unexpectedly appears, Cong Lai is injured and lives hanging by a thread, and the jungle can only walk out of the Gobi alone to find a ray of life for two lives.
It is rare to see adventure films with a female perspective as the starting point, there are not too many characters and complex character relationships in the story, and the camera is focused on a pair of brothers and sisters who have conflicts due to their original families, and the two are relieved and reconciled after quarrels to deaths, but simple emotions can resonate with the audience.
Of course, the director dares to take risks and dare to do subtraction, the main line of the story is still the survival process of the heroine's jungle, and under the beautiful and magnificent Gobi scenery, life appears more small and fragile.
Watching the heroine struggling to find life, the desolation of no man's land, drinking urine to quench thirst after dehydration, and the non-stop marks continue to move forward, as if she is also in this loneliness, waiting for the unknown fate ahead, I have to say that the camera gives the audience too strong a sense of immersion.
At the same time, you can also see the director's intentions when shooting, this film cost 100 million is really not just talk, the crew directly filmed in the no-man's land, the shooting is mainly "relying on the sky to eat", sometimes according to environmental changes and improvisation, the difficulty can be imagined.
However, the director feels that this is also a kind of highlight, the shots are all Gobi native things, all kinds of scorpions, lizards and other "dragon set actors" give the scene the greatest sense of reality.
It can be said that the sincerity of the movie "Wasteland" is obvious to all, whether it is the delicate portrayal of family affection in the plot, or the portrayal of women's tenacity and desperate survival process can leave a deep impression on the audience, plus the magnificent picture, the watchability is very strong, and people are reluctant to look away.
Ren Suxi's acting skills exploded, and Li Chen's strength joined
The movie "Wasteland" is also very careful in casting, did not rely on the popularity of the big coffee Bo eyeballs, hype the heat, the performance of the two actors have been recognized by the audience, some people bluntly said that "the love for Li Chen has returned a little", "Ren Suxi's performance has a strong sense of substitution", which can be described as many praises.
First of all, the heroine, the film invited Ren Suxi to sit, although the appearance is not outstanding, but the acting skills are absolutely bearable, in the comedy movie "Donkey Gets Water" she showed a good ability to shape the characters.
There is also the fierce woman Ma Jiaqi who cursed in a wheelchair in "The Nameless" was also deeply interpreted, and in 2020, Ren Suxi was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress with "Half a Comedy", there is no doubt that this is a powerful actress.
And this time in the new movie, Ren Suxi also played a real performance level, she played the jungle walking alone in the desert, lack of water and exposed to the sun, skin is rough and broken, lips are chapped and dry, from the overall shape can be seen that she has thrown away the burden and devoted herself to the role.
What is even more rare is that Ren Suxi has a good grasp of the state of the character, when the jungle body is overly dehydrated, she begins to swallow saliva with difficulty, her dry throat seems to have a blade slashed, and she can't help but show a painful expression.
There were shots sweeping over the audience under the screening, and some people couldn't help but drink several sips of water in a row, as if the state of the characters was transmitted to the audience by the actors, which was too infectious.
At the same time, as the heroine stays in the desert for too long, she has gradually changed from fear and despair to numb, mechanical walking, and when she sees the supply station on fire, she loses her only hope.
At that moment, there was no crying, only silent gaze, but people can feel the character's inner holes, Ren Suxi's acting skills are natural and delicate, layers of progressive emotions completely play the role alive, perhaps only such a powerful person can withstand this "one-man show", looking for her to play is really the right person.
And the male protagonist Li Chen, as "Mr. Ten Billion Box Office", won the seventh place in the starring box office list, and his vision for selecting scripts is naturally unique, and being able to join this "Wasteland" is obviously to give the movie a certain blessing with its own appeal.
This time in the new movie, he played the heroine's brother Cong Lai, although the characters do not have many scenes, but they are the spiritual pillars for the heroine to be able to get out of the desert, and I remember that the male protagonist was seriously injured and had anticipated his death.
He looked at this sister who lacked family care since childhood, his eyes were full of distress, and he whispered to her, "When you feel that there is no road in front of you, don't be discouraged, continue to walk, the road is under your feet", listening to people's inexplicable hot eyes, as if there is a warm current sliding through his heart, Li Chen's performance is still remarkable.
All in all, "Wasteland" is not a movie that can be measured by commercial value, as an attempt to be a female adventure film, the audience can see the director's attitude and pursuit of the film, and the story gives the audience a strong sense of substitution, whether it is the picture or the shaping of the characters.
There is also Ren Suxi, Li Chen's acting skills are undoubtedly a highlight, although the box office is only 1.14 million in 2 days of release, but the reputation is quite outstanding, looking forward to the box office can achieve a counterattack after that, living up to the good intentions of the film, so do you think this movie is good?