Member DrNgor Posted November 20, 2021 Member Share Posted November 20, 2021 Since the days of Panku, humans and monsters have walked the Earth. At some point, an evil nine-headed dragon showed up and led the monsters against the humans. He was defeated through a magic sword and the monsters were more or less banished to the Monster Realm, while the humans stayed in our world, with the Yin Yang Bureau keeping patrol over any monster who would cross over illegally into our world. One day, a murderous monster called Snow Lady (Summer Xia) is freed from her prison and tries to steal the Scale Stone, which contains the soul of the dragon. The blame falls on Yin Yang master Qing Ming (Chen Kun, of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and Painted Skin: Resurrection), a half human-monster. He flees into the forest, where he takes care of outcast monsters and spirits. Years later, a pair of Raven warriors steal the Scale Stone and flee into the forest. The stone is stolen by Qing Ming's three Ferret spirits, one of whom swallows it. When he realizes what has happened, he heads into the Monster Realm to find the sword. Accompanying him is a human court guard, Yuen Boya (Wandering Earth's Qu Chuxiao), and cute female spirit, Shenle (Shen Yue). The Yin Yang Bureau, led by Baini (Painted Skin's Zhou Xun), is also in pursuit. Old bonds will be tested and new ones will be formed as the Scale Stone comes closer and closer into the wrong hands. This is a wuxia fantasy filled with monsters, magical attacks, wire-assisted swordplay, talking animals, cute female nature spirits, solid digital effects, and the ever-graceful Zhou Xun. The action is handled by Nicky Li Chung-Chi, but if you don't like fantasy combat, you won't enjoy this. There is a neat fight with a four-armed opponent early on--it turns out to be three CGI ferrets beneath a cloak. But most of the action revolves around flying people, CGI ice attacks, and magical shield spells. Stuff like that. I've noticed this in some Chinese fantasy films, and in the popular RPG Genshin Impact [1], but it often feels like the world is limited to a single human city. The world feels especially smaller that way, which is bad for what should be a sprawling epic fantasy. In this film, it almost feels like the world is limited to Pingqing City, while the Monster Realm is limited to a single city, too. I had the same vibe in League of Gods, although that one threw in an underwater city and a desert realm and stuff like that. In this movie, the world-ending conflict feels like a dispute between two cities. But this is a personal observation and not really a knock against the film. [1] - In that case, each separate continent/country is defined by a single city...or so it feels. 侍神令 (2021) The Yin Yang Master Origin: China Language: Mandarin Release Date (China): 02/12/2021 Director Li Wei-Ran Screenwriters Chang Chia-Lu Jian Yi-Wen Action Choreographers Nicky Li Chung-Chi Producers Chen Kuo-Fu Chang Chia-Lu Cast Chen Kun (1) ... Qing Ming Zhou Xun ... Bai Ni William Chan Wai-Ting ... Cimu Qu Chu-Xiao ... Yuan Boya Wang Li-Kun ... Peach Blossom spirit Shen Yue (4) ... Shenle Summer Xia Tian ... Snow queen Wang Yue-Yi ... Butterfly spirit He Yong-Sheng (1) ... Dong Jue Zhang Shuang-Li ... Xi Can Li Yi-Nan ... Jing An Zhang Zi-Xian ... Yanyan Le Yi Ran (2) ... Jue Liu Ruo-Gu ... Young Qing Ming Ai Mee ... Young Bai Ni Peng Yi-Bo ... Young Cimu Trailer: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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