MovieChat Forums > Bai she chuan shuo (2011) Discussion > Suffers the same flaws as most Chinese m...

Suffers the same flaws as most Chinese movies nowadays

posted 12 years ago by aaronethanh
10 replies | jump to latest

Back in the days when CGI was non-existent, Chinese movies had to rely on a good storyline to be successful. Ever since CGI has become readily available, Chinese movies have suffered greatly because the focus is making a film look cool.

This movie really felt like a cluster of forced CGI scenes used to wow the audience, rather than to help flesh out the story. I've been watching Chinese movies ever since I was a kid growing up in the 80's and I truly feel like the quality of movies have taken a step back in the last decade or two. Countries like South Korea has emerged as a powerhouse in releasing movies that have high production values and great story telling. Chinese movies feel like they were made by some kids who just discovered a computer graphics software and are allowed to run wild with it.

[–] jazzjeppe 12 years ago

Think it's a bit unfair to say "most Chinese movies nowadays". Sure CGI is a greater part of a production but you will find the same thing pretty much everywhere. There are still many great epic Chinese movies that uses CGI sparsly and only when really needed. Watch "Red Cliff" for instance and you'll see what I mean.

[–] Link6321 12 years ago

by - aaronethanh on Mon Dec 26 2011 17:56:22

Chinese movies feel like they were made by some kids who just discovered a computer graphics software and are allowed to run wild with it.

If that's how you describe this film (and/or generally the CGI-filled Chinese movies nowadays), then I wonder how you'd describe the use of CGI in recent Filipino films.

In my opinion, yes, the CGI in The Sorcerer and the White Snake was overwhelming, and it was over-the-top in some places, but it wasn't that bad (especially considering the genre). Go and watch fantasy (or even horror) Filipino films with the muck that they try to pass off as "CGI," then come back and see if you'd still be complaining about the usage of CGI in this film (for the record, I'm Filipino). In my opinion, even if Chinese filmmakers are abusing CGI, at least you can still see the effort they put into the actual animations, and the stories are still somewhat coherent (albeit confused). Filipino CGI films, on the other hand, are just embarrassing (re: CGI, animation and story).

I actually liked the "feel" of the movie. The environment was beautifully vibrant, too, and didn't feel claustrophobic (unlike the CGI location shots in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender). Don't get me wrong; the film was definitely confused. It didn't know what it wanted to be. I liked the cinematography, though, even though the wire-work needed a little more...work, and the CGI needed to be toned down in some places.

My point is that filmmakers don't have to shy away from CGI in order to tell a good story. That's a very silly association (re: CGI and good storytelling) that I will never understand. If the writers made more effort in writing a coherent story, even if they used the same amount of CGI they used in the film that we did get, we'd still get a good movie.

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| Dexterized | A juvenile 54-year-old. I'm his #1 fan.
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[–] can_ace_ian 12 years ago

OP needs to season his palate with a little Donnie Yen. "Most Chinese movies"; a sweeping generalization if I've ever read one.

(K) eira

K (N) ightley

(O) rlando

(B) loom

Need I say more?

[–] george_aslf 11 years ago

Actually, I agree with you.

[–] benniewoodell 11 years ago

I do agree with you as well. I have a huge collection of Hong Kong films from the Celestial releases of Shaw Brothers films up to current titles, but the bulk of my collection are from the mid 80's to about '98, right about the time CGI started to come into HK films with the Storm Riders and such. There definitely is something missing in HK films nowadays. Not to say I didn't enjoy this film, I really dug it a lot actually because the romance really felt like I was watching A Chinese Ghost Story and films with that kind of melodramatic romance tone, but it would have been great to see it all done via wirework and animatronics. I saw Green Snake so long ago that I don't remember much about it, so now I'm going to have to go back and rewatch it. I wonder if the leading actress in this film was cast because she really looks like Joey Wong.

But so far in the early '10's, Hong Kong films have seemed to have gone back to making films that were distinctly Chinese instead of trying to Hollywood'ize everything. I really can't recall any fantasy films like this in the 2000's except maybe The Storm Riders and A Man Called Hero, though I think they were the late 90's. I'm positive there were fantasy films in the last decade, I just can't for the life of me think of one, but so far this film and the Chinese Ghost Story remake a couple years ago really have me excited to see what crazy films we're going to start seeing from the East again. I noticed they're remaking the Bride With White Hair as well.

[–] b530 11 years ago

You should watch movies starring Donnie Yen. Most of his movies are all stunts and none of that flying around and stupid CGI

[–] mnorthco-1 11 years ago

While I agree that there was a lot of CGI in this film, it was not as over the top as many Hollywood movies and the CGI seemed to be well done and also enhanced the story. I particularly liked the first time you see the white and green snakes as well as the final battle. In the final battle I found it easier to understand what was happening, something not found in many western CGI "epics".

I also did notice what seemed to be good non-CGI model scenes in the movie, which shows that the old traditional methods are still there.

To be honest I was wowed by the CGI, and that is something that does not happen much these days as we have pretty much everything. CGI in western movies looks fake no matter what skills have gone into the scenes. Chinese CGI has an appearance of fantasy and reality, if you know what I mean.

Also, the human side of the story was well done. To me the integration of 3 dimensional characters and CGI was well done. If Hong Kong/China continue to move in this direction and ignore the flatness of characters in western CGI epics, they will do well.

[–] Scribblenaut 11 years ago

Aside from the CGI I don't really see the difference between this and other Chinese period fantasy. There's definitely a serious case of nostalgia goggles going on here. A good storyline doesn't necessarily mean the story's told well. Wing Chun had amazing choreography and a good plot, but the film itself was all over the place. The same could be said of a lot of movies from 80s - 90s.

[–] drasimov 11 years ago

But a sloooow talking turtle, an aggressive interpretive rabbit & a mouse....? Pretty sure it was at that point that I raised my iced tea & complimented Jet Li (whom I love) on being able to pay a "Visa" bill... I'm all about well done CGI as long as it fits into the plotline (yeah...looking at you, George "Phantom Blechness" Lucas...) This one was seriously...meh... Saved me from mowing the yard, I guess...

[–] KaZenPhi 11 years ago

I actually didn't mind the CGI that much because it helped to create a distinct look. In a fantasy movie I don't mind some over-the-top effects. It did go overboard at the end though but that didn't ruin the movie for me. I think the CGI in movies like Dragon Gate (the 2011 sequel) is a lot worse because it takes you out of the movie.