Recently, the most lively thing in the film and television industry is "Tsui Hark wants to remake "Condor "".
As soon as the news came out, three hot searches exploded in an instant!
Judging from the movie poster officially released by the film "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Heroes", the lineup is strong.
Directed by Tsui Hark, starring Xiao Zhan and Zhuang Duffy, there are famous directors, popular artists, plus Jin Yong's well-known IP.
On the movie scoring platform alone, there are more than 30,000 viewers who want to see it, which shows its popularity.
However, it is one thing for netizens to "want to see", and two very different attitudes are another.
Someone said directly without mercy, "When this film was released, it was the team building day of the owner of the bad film spit area!" ”
Even for the appearance of male and female protagonists, it is said that "you can play interchangeable roles".
Some people also expressed expectations, and mentioned that directors have their own considerations when casting and selecting scripts. Tsui Hark, in particular, focuses on a "subversion and rebellion", and the martial arts he sees has never disappointed.
I don't know if you have found that most of the audiences who are looking forward to this movie are due to one reason -
That is, the director of this movie is Tsui Hark!
This time, before we talk about this upcoming remake of "Condor ", let's talk about Tsui Hark, which is obviously a subject that has been remade countless times, why can the audience still expect him?
First, remake + magic change, into Tsui Hark's "fame killer"
The story of "Liang Zhu" is familiar to everyone, it has been passed down for hundreds of years, whether it is drama or film and television works, the more remakes, the more difficult it is to shoot.
But in 1994, Tsui Hark challenged the genre and subverted tradition with a one-hand remake.
While making this film, he did two things.
First of all, it is the magic change plot, in his movie, the tragedy of "Liang Zhu" is ostensibly attributed to Zhu Mu.
But in fact, what Tsui Hark wants to express is no longer a simple love affair and a marriage to a doorman, but the class barriers and ideological imprisonment of the times reflected under tragic love.
Secondly, it adds fantasy visual effects, especially the dark and treacherous in the second half of the movie, which not only shows the mysterious oriental color, but also releases the ultimate emotion.
That's what makes a classic!
It has to be said that Tsui Hark is a wizard and a "geek", and his ideas are always very different.
His debut film was "Butterfly Transformation", which was originally a pure martial arts film.
But Tsui Hark thought that this shooting was too monotonous, so he cleverly used Hitchcock's thriller to complete the work.
Although the box office is not good, the word of mouth is amazing.
When it came to filming "Xinshushan Swordsman", Tsui Hark was more "self-free", and the scenes of the warriors flying with swords and fighting magic weapons in the original work were vividly interpreted by him.
To this end, he did not hesitate to hire a Hollywood production team, but also used the special effects technology of blue screen combined with set for the first time.
Forty years later, this movie is still better than eighty percent of martial arts and fantasy works.
Of course, Tsui Hark's cow is not only the explosion of his "special effects", but more importantly, he can tell stories, and it is also a different story.
Remakes, always have to give people new ideas!
At that time, he wanted to make a costume love movie - "Qiannu Ghost", but Cheng Xiaodong, who was a martial arts instructor at that time, did not agree with it, because the audience was tired of watching this theme; But Tsui Hark disagrees, arguing that his previous works did not show "pure love".
So, he came to a subversion, in his movie, Nie Xiaoqian is a female ghost with fairy air, kind and innocent, who can give everything for Ning Caichen.
To this end, he also boldly used Wang Zuxian, whose acting skills were not perfect at that time and his height did not fit the character character.
Three beats in a row, part of the classic.
The same is a remake, the latecomer is really not comparable to him.
And in "Green Snake", Tsui Hark also found a different way, did not shoot traditional love stories, but "worked hard" on the character of Xiaoqing, and launched a love triangle full of desire.
Undoubtedly, another great success!
Looking at Tsui Hark's works in the 80s and 90s, almost all of them are boutique.
He dares to think and do, the size of his brain hole is amazing, it seems that all "magic changes" can become surprises in his hands!
Second, success is also magical, defeat is also magical? In the past two decades, Tsui Hark's reputation has gradually "collapsed"
With Tsui Hark directing, can a movie definitely "win steadily"?
Not necessarily!
As we said above, most of Tsui Hark's classic works are in the eighties and nineties of the last century.
But looking back at the past 20 years, he has encountered "Waterloo" one after another, and the reason is also a magic remake.
In 2001, he spent a lot of money on filming, invited superstars to star, and invited a number of American special effects companies to create a fantasy film - "The Legend of Shushan".
Unexpectedly, it failed miserably in the box office war.
It's not that the movie can't do it, but judging by the special effects, this movie is undoubtedly a work of conscience.
In particular, the makeup and scenes in it can be called art.
But the plot after the magic reform is difficult to say.
The original storyline is based on an overhead worldview with strict logic, but after Tsui Hark's adaptation, it becomes a simple battle between good and evil, almost fighting for the sake of presenting a fight.
Compared with "Green Snake", it lacks the portrayal of human nature, and it lacks the soul of the entire movie.
So, word of mouth is mixed.
I thought that this was just his accidental "mistake", but in 2005, he launched another masterpiece "Seven Swords", which still ended with "box office hit the street".
This time, Tsui Hark "evolved" traditional martial arts into "realistic martial arts."
Unfortunately, the wonderful action pictures of "Seven Swords" do not surprise the audience, but are a "spit" and disgust.
At that time, some people said that Tsui Hark and Jiang Lang were exhausted.
But he was not convinced.
In 2011, Tsui Hark challenged IMAX3D for the first time with Dragon Gate Flying Armor.
As far as remakes are concerned, being able to have such a rating is actually considered passable.
But he is Tsui Hark, and the greater the expectations, the more demands will naturally be.
Helplessly, this work, the box office is a hit, but the reputation has collapsed.
And such a decline did not improve slightly until the release of "Di Renjie's Tongtian Empire" and "Outsmart Tiger Mountain".
Especially in the latter, many plots such as "fighting the tiger up the mountain" and "banqueting bandits with a hundred chickens" can be called amazing.
However, after a short period of "brilliance", the reputation of Tsui Hark's works in recent years is still declining.
We can clearly see that behind the grand visual effects, the unreasonable shortcomings of his works are quietly exposed, and the natural reputation is gradually collapsing.
For example: the original plot of "Di Renjie's Four Heavenly Kings" was based on the "seizure of power" with "Dragon Gong" as the core symbol, supplemented by the ultimate reasoning of Western detective films, and the two logics can show the disputes between rivers and lakes and the court.
But what is finally presented is that many of the strange cases in the film are actually "illusions", and the story is very weak, so that the final reversal is extremely embarrassing.
It is undeniable that Tsui Hark is a very dedicated director who loves movies
When "Di Renjie's Four Heavenly Kings" was filmed, he was 68 years old and still stuck to the set.
In his words, making movies is very hard, but you can't give it up because of love!
But for a movie, love alone is far from enough, after all, the "sentiment card" has long been played.
Third, the remade Jin Yong classic and the audience's two aspects
After talking about Tsui Hark, let's talk about this "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero".
According to incomplete statistics, Master Jin Yong's 15 novels have been remade more than 100 times, of which the IP of "Condor " has as many as 19 film and television works.
In contrast, there are classics and bad movies.
For example: the 83rd version of "Condor ", nearly 100,000 reviews, but still has a high score of 9.2.
The film version launched in 2021 has a score of only 4.6, and there is a lot of complaints.
But judging from the official news revealed by "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero", it seems that it is not afraid of "classics" - spending 400 million, traffic blessings, and famous directors.
And the team behind the scenes is still the old team that created "Dragon Gate Flying Armor" and "Changjin Lake".
Especially in the news, Tsui Hark's personal ability is also highlighted.
But for the audience, even if the official is full of confidence, there are still two "concerns":
First, can director Tsui Hark's "magic reform" be accepted by the audience?
As we said earlier, this movie, according to Tsui Hark's routine, is bound to be "magically reformed".
But compared with martial arts movies in recent years, after the big change, all of them are bad movies.
Take Wang Jing, in 2022, Jin Yong's classic work "The Legend of Relying on the Sky and Slaying the Dragon", he remade two in one go.
The plot has also changed a lot, but the result is 3.8 points and 3.5 points.
Some netizens said, "There are no highlights in the plot adaptation, especially the ending is very vulgar, and I am afraid that I am not afraid of changing it without ambition." ”
And this statement also applies to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero".
Second, "worried" whether the actor can look at the thickness of the character?
Or in terms of Wang Jing's works, the most unacceptable of them is one of the heroines, Zhou Zhiruo, played by Qiu Yinong.
In the original work, Zhou Zhiruo was described like this——
"Self-made beauty, either gentle and beautiful, or delicate, but this Miss Zhao is very beautiful, and she is more heroic and proud."
Obviously, Qiu Yinong did not resist!
Some netizens frankly said, "Extinction is better than Zhiruo", "I feel sorry for Jin Yong when I look at it more!" ”
In "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero", netizens set their sights on two people Xiao Zhan, and newcomer actor Zhuang Duffy.
Let's start with Xiao Zhan.
His ancient costume is worthy of "handsome and handsome", and his appearance is a pinch.
But the role of Guo Jing requires three points of humility, three points of chivalry, and three points of fortitude.
Aside from appearance, "Guo Jing" needs to show more inside.
This is the key to testing Xiao Zhan!
Let's talk about Duffy Zhuang.
For her, most audiences are not familiar with her, that is, in last year's hit TV series "Rock and Roll Crazy Flower", Yao Chen played a mother and daughter with her.
Of course, starting a newcomer, Zhang Yimou has done it, Feng Xiaogang has done it, and naturally Tsui Hark can also do it.
So, such a rookie actor was officially announced.
Don't be convinced!
It is reported that although this person is only a newcomer, he is a solid "resource coffee" with a good background.
Another "little knowledge" of popular science, she and Li Gengxi and Xiang Hanzhi are collectively called "Sanlitun sisters".
First of all, the youngest Xiang Hanzhi, began filming at the age of 17, has been on many hit dramas, and there are many dramas to be broadcast.
Among the male stars who cooperated, there was Xiao Zhan.
Li Gengxi is even more powerful, and he debuted directly without finishing college relying on 16 months of acting training experience.
Partners Haiqing and Huang Lei starred in "Little Huanxi", and a drama is full of experience points.
In the popular martial arts IP "Sword in the Snow", she is the heroine, although she is killed by various beauties in the play, but it does not hinder the red.
In the recent hit drama "Long Season", it is a partner actor and a group of powerful actors, according to the current trend, it is not far from the top female artists in China.
Compared with these two, Zhuang Duffy's road to "upgrade" is not lost in the slightest.
Since "Daydream Me", almost all of them have played the heroine position, and the power behind this can be imagined.
But the problem is that Huang Rong can't play anyone!
In the original work, Mr. Jin described Huang Rong's appearance like this-
"The skin is victorious in snow, Emei is beautiful, the corners of the mouth are full of smiles, and the complexion is beautiful."
And Zhuang Duffy has a long face, with a large distance between the eyes, slightly flat cheeks, and a long neck.
Some people even jokingly call him a "women's clothing boss", and the similarity with Huang Rong is probably only gender.
In terms of sweet and delicate, youthful and agile, she is not as good as Michelle;
In terms of eccentricity, purity and cuteness, she is not as good as Zhu Yin;
Even the fairy qi and clarity in the latest drama version of Huang Rong, she didn't have it.
Of course, Duffy Zhuang is not useless, and her appearance has a heroic spirit.
Speaking of which, Duffy Zhuang's heroism may not be a bad thing for Tsui Hark.
As we all know, Tsui Hark is a director who is very good at shooting women.
As early as in "The East is Undefeated", Tsui Hark used a heroic actress - Lin Qingxia.
The undefeated Oriental role she played in the reverse string has both female delicacy and male fortitude.
As for tuning the acting skills of "actors", it is not the first time for Tsui Hark.
We also mentioned Wang Zuxian earlier, in fact, it is not only her, Maggie Cheung is the same, before starring in "New Dragon Gate Inn", her acting skills were still controversial.
But after starring in gold-encrusted jade, she showed the spiciness and affection of the role, which is enough to show Tsui Hark's ability, especially in the face of Zhou Huai'an's completely different eye play from the officers and soldiers, the role is vivid and the acting skills are solid.
Therefore, Tsui Hark is a director who is particularly good at "shooting" actors.
Of course, Huang Rong is not a male character, but if Tsui Hark can use this heroic and ingenious face to bring a new Huang Rong perspective, it will be the biggest highlight of this movie, and it will also become Tsui Hark's biggest "killer app".
To be fair, the above two "concerns" are definitely the voice of most people, but no matter what kind of worry, it is impossible to verify right or wrong at this moment, so we can only wait and see.
Finally, what Uncle Fan wants to say is that no matter how famous the director is and how luxurious the cast lineup, a work can only be called a good work if it can withstand the verification of the audience.
Obviously, this upcoming remake of "Condor " still has a long way to go.
Hopefully, Tsui Hark can cheer, otherwise he will have to follow in Wang Jing's "footsteps".
(Movie Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Office: An An)