This is a movie that has nostalgia written all over it. It utilizes elements of the traditional Chinese culture and combines it with modern issues. Essentially it is a tale of redemption between a neglectful father and a broken son, of how people we put down can have their own big story and of how modern society lacks the "rules" that define our actions.
The themes in the movie were intriguing (corruption, old gangs...), the premise of the story was promising but it just wasn't a well told story. The scenes dragged, the dialogue felt flat at times and all in all the movie easily lost the audience. This could be blamed on the unnatural pauses in the story telling, the weird cuts and mis-en-scene as well as the out of place soundtrack. It felt like the team behind this movie was pushing the 'artsy' tones a little too much and it all came out forced and fake.
A good film drags the audience in, makes the audience empathize and feel every raw emotion of the characters. In this film, the character I was moved by one character and it happens to be an unnamed ostrich. Jokes aside, the only female lead was played wonderfully by Xu Qing, the character worked because her actions felt real. The title character Mr. Six was played well by leading man Feng Xiaogang, but I couldn't help but feel he was 2D at times.
With cinematography of this standard, and this type of storyline the movie could not possibly attract the attention of the younger population. So, it decided to cast two of the hottest young actors, Wu Yifan and Li Yifeng. Voila! Teenage girls will go crazy! There's one down side though...they can't act! Wooden expressions, awkward delivery...sometimes the performances bordered ridiculous. Yes, there were a few shining moments but all in all the younger characters were a failure. Heck, they even got one of the most popular "teen idol" groups to make a cameo! What happened to movies being about acting...
The take-home message here is that this is a great idea squeezed inside a small container, it tried to be personal, but it wasn't, it tried to be epic, but it wasn't that either. It seemed like the ending of the film tried to be both...it ended up making me want to retreat into my seat and never come out again.
The themes in the movie were intriguing (corruption, old gangs...), the premise of the story was promising but it just wasn't a well told story. The scenes dragged, the dialogue felt flat at times and all in all the movie easily lost the audience. This could be blamed on the unnatural pauses in the story telling, the weird cuts and mis-en-scene as well as the out of place soundtrack. It felt like the team behind this movie was pushing the 'artsy' tones a little too much and it all came out forced and fake.
A good film drags the audience in, makes the audience empathize and feel every raw emotion of the characters. In this film, the character I was moved by one character and it happens to be an unnamed ostrich. Jokes aside, the only female lead was played wonderfully by Xu Qing, the character worked because her actions felt real. The title character Mr. Six was played well by leading man Feng Xiaogang, but I couldn't help but feel he was 2D at times.
With cinematography of this standard, and this type of storyline the movie could not possibly attract the attention of the younger population. So, it decided to cast two of the hottest young actors, Wu Yifan and Li Yifeng. Voila! Teenage girls will go crazy! There's one down side though...they can't act! Wooden expressions, awkward delivery...sometimes the performances bordered ridiculous. Yes, there were a few shining moments but all in all the younger characters were a failure. Heck, they even got one of the most popular "teen idol" groups to make a cameo! What happened to movies being about acting...
The take-home message here is that this is a great idea squeezed inside a small container, it tried to be personal, but it wasn't, it tried to be epic, but it wasn't that either. It seemed like the ending of the film tried to be both...it ended up making me want to retreat into my seat and never come out again.