1. Elaborate layout: Netizens are hotly discussing the memories of Zhou Xun's youthfulness
"At this moment, I can fully understand the feelings of those Korean netizens, if the role of Ruyi in "The Legend of Ruyi" was played by Zhou Xun in this style, maybe she would not have suffered so much criticism.
"When I looked at the comments of the majority of netizens on the Internet on the 43-year-old Zhou Xun's character in "The Legend of Ruyi", I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.
Looking at the photo with a face full of wrinkles and prominent double eyelids, compared with Zhou Xun, a peerless beauty who was active in the entertainment industry at the beginning of the 21st century 20 years ago, it is simply a cloud of mud, and the huge change in appearance is jaw-dropping.
Recalling more than 20 years ago, Zhou Xun appeared in a highly influential costume drama, illuminating the entire screen like a bright light, and her beautiful and moving image was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The delicate facial contours, the immature expression, and the endless tenderness and sweetness between the eyes are full.
Every time she lifts her head, there is a shy look in her eyes, and every time she lowers her head, her posture is elegant and charming, this unique oriental charm beauty always makes people yearn for it.
It was an unpolished natural beauty, untainted with the slightest hint of worldliness. Zhou Xun's ancient costumes in his youth can be called amazing, and on top of her beautiful eyebrows, a faint melancholy is faintly revealed, which makes the already beautiful and otherworldly appearance even more distressing.
Looking back on her classic image in the past, we have to express our deep admiration for this peerless beauty with both strength and beauty.
It is precisely because Zhou Xun was too radiant when she was young that when she entered middle age, when she tried to play the role of a girl again in "The Legend of Ruyi", it would inevitably cause a certain degree of disappointment and dissatisfaction among the audience.
The photo of the face is already full of wrinkles and the double eyelids are compared with the peerless beauty Zhou Xun who was active in the entertainment industry at the beginning of the 21st century 20 years ago, and the huge change in appearance is jaw-dropping.
2. Count the beauty of Zhou Xun's youth and the beauty of the country and the city
The graceful figure is like a light white veil dancing slowly in front of you, which is so beautiful that it is intoxicating and refreshing. Zhou Xun's fresh and refined temperament when he was young was undoubtedly the purest oriental beauty in the entertainment industry of that era.
Looking back at some of her early costume styles, I saw a hint of melancholy on her beautiful and delicious face, which added a bit of touching style to her already beautiful and extraordinary face.
Whether playing a Qing palace beauty or a chivalrous woman, Zhou Xun can always interpret the image of graceful and gentle or heroic to the fullest.
It is simply understandable why Zhou Xun was unrivaled in beauty in that era, and he undoubtedly became the recognized "king of appearance" in the entertainment industry! Looking back now, those photos of her and many stars, whether it was the martial arts beauty Zhang Ziyi standing next to her, or the new generation of gorgeous beauty Li Bingbing, were all overwhelmed by Zhou Xun's beauty without exception.
Her refined and fresh beauty completely subverted the audience's aesthetics and cultivated a more critical eye.
The youthful and high-spirited Zhou Xun can be called the "perfect goddess" who combines a wealthy background, outstanding talent and thrilling appearance. She shows a noble and natural temperament in both ancient costumes and modern looks.
No wonder even after entering middle age, her beauty is still permanent and has become an eternal "goddess" in the minds of many people.
3. Styling issues and the passage of time
However, it is precisely because of the brilliance of his youth that when the middle-aged Zhou Xun re-interpreted the role of a girl in "The Legend of Ruyi", it was inevitable that the audience would have a trace of disappointment and criticism.
In addition to the imprints portrayed on her face by the years, the styling design of the crew seems to have aggravated the phenomenon of Zhou Xun's "old state".
For example, the heavy bangs that covered most of her face, with overly bright accessories, and thick cheeks, were obviously deliberately highlighting Zhou Xun's "shortcomings".
The large bow worn around the neck is even more exaggerated.
In fact, in the audition stage, Zhou Xun once tried a simple and generous look. There is a bit of a gentle girlish atmosphere between the eyebrows, but unfortunately, this design was not used when it was finally put into battle, but the set of too eye-catching shapes was chosen, which made people laugh and cry.
Time flies, and no one can resist the vicissitudes left on the face by time. Even if she is a popular actress, it is indeed a little difficult for Zhou Xun to pretend to be tender at his age.
If Zhou Xun could participate in "The Legend of Ruyi" ten years in advance, he may not have fallen into such a much-criticized situation.
Aging brings with it a decline in appearance, a fate that no one can escape. For actors, playing the right role for their age group at the right time is undoubtedly the biggest challenge.
Once you miss the best age, no matter how good your acting skills are, you will inevitably encounter difficulties in styling.
Fourth, the production of "The Legend of Ruyi" was born
As a continuation of the well-known historical masterpiece "The Legend of Zhen Huan", the TV series "The Legend of Ruyi" has aroused great expectations as soon as it is planned. Two showbiz leaders Zhou Xun and Huo Jianhua teamed up to play the role of the protagonist, which immediately jumped to a new height in the value of the show.
And, given the record production budget of up to 300 million yuan, the audience has high hopes for it, expecting it to surpass the classic "The Legend of Zhen Huan".
However, there are unforeseen circumstances, and just as "The Legend of Ruyi" is in full swing of preparations, another work with the same theme, "Yanxi Raiders", was born. As expected, once this drama was broadcast, it quickly caused a sensation across the country, which greatly impacted and weakened the attention of "The Legend of Ruyi".
And "The Legend of Ruyi", which has gone through a lot of hardships in the creation process, has also undergone many revisions and deletions in the first 130 episodes, and finally presented to the audience in a refined version of 87 episodes, which really brings people a new viewing experience.
However, in order to reproduce the real atmosphere of the ancient court, the crew took great pains in terms of visual presentation, from costume design, makeup modeling, lighting arrangement to scene construction, all of which showed excellent aesthetic taste and unique ingenuity, which became the biggest highlight of the visual effects of this drama.
With such an excellent production level, it has naturally attracted many stars in the entertainment industry to join the army of chasing dramas. For example, the popular actress Yang Mi is one of the representatives, and she frequently likes this drama on social media, which is enough to see how much she loves this drama.
A strong production team, exquisite visual effects, and the enthusiastic pursuit of many stars have made "The Legend of Ruyi" accumulate extremely high popularity before it was launched. However, who would have thought that it would be met with controversy that would be far more than one expected.
5. Controversy and word-of-mouth turns
As soon as "The Legend of Ruyi" was broadcast, it was fiercely criticized, but surprisingly, this time the spearhead was not pointed at others, but at the powerful actor Zhou Xun. By the time she debuted, her youthful beauty was gone, replaced by a tired face with wrinkles and puffy eyelids.
Netizens even questioned whether she still had the qualifications to play the "big beauty".
The jury relentlessly criticized Zhou Xun and launched a comprehensive critique of her unique duck voice, haggard face and unsatisfactory acting skills in the play.
Negative comments such as "the makeup is too thick and the age is too old", "this is simply a typical example of an old dragon clock", "it makes people feel unacceptable as soon as they appear" and other negative comments emerged one after another, and they violently criticized Zhou Xun's appearance and acting skills.
However, there are also some supporters who have a strong belief in excellent acting skills to defend her, such as Zhang Yimou and other senior directors who highly praised her performance.
However, it is a pity that these positive voices have not been able to resist the wave of controversy, which has led to a sharp decline in the reputation of "The Legend of Ruyi" in the premiere stage.
Fortunately, with the in-depth development of the plot, the audience began to be deeply attracted by Zhou Xun's superb acting skills. Coupled with the careful adjustment of her later styling, her overall state has gradually returned to the best level, making the score of the show in the minds of the audience rise steadily, and finally stabilized in the high praise range of 7.5 points.
Interestingly, compared with the many criticisms of Zhou Xun by domestic audiences, Korean netizens are full of praise for her image in the play, praising her as "a fairy descending to earth" and "a senior face".
This completely different aesthetic concept is fully displayed here, and it is really emotional.
6. Summary and outlook: Gong Dou drama is looking forward to new classics
There is no doubt that time is undoubtedly the most cruel test for all actors. The years have ruthlessly carved traces of vicissitudes on everyone's faces, even those high-profile young actresses, at Zhou Xun's age, they can't escape the trouble of aging.
As a powerful actor, Zhou Xun has always been the biggest challenge for her to play the right role at the right age. Once the best age is missed, even an actor like her with deep acting skills will inevitably encounter difficulties in styling.
If Zhou Xun could have starred in "The Legend of Ruyi" ten years earlier, perhaps her image would not have been questioned so much.
However, fortunately, with his extraordinary acting skills and the careful adjustment of the later styling, Zhou Xun successfully reversed the predicament and reshaped the role, making "The Legend of Ruyi" widely recognized by the audience.
This drama is unique among many similar works with its unique theme of marriage and love palace fighting, and has won the reputation of "classic taste".
Recently, many palace fighting dramas with a high degree of similarity have emerged one after another, although these works have aroused countless heated discussions and pursuits, but they often only maintain a short-term popularity, and then quickly fall silent out of the audience's field of vision.
The once prosperous "drama king" - "Yanxi Raiders" has now fallen into a deserted situation.
On the contrary, the highly acclaimed "The Legend of Ruyi" fully demonstrates its irreplaceable classic status with its score of 7.5 points.
So, will the palace fight drama be able to climb to the peak again? "The Legend of Ruyi" undoubtedly provides us with a hopeful answer. As long as the plot is rich and profound, the theme is novel and unique, the production is meticulous, and the wonderful performances of the actors, a classic masterpiece is expected to come into being.