I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 392 Epilogue (Part 3)

The screen lights suddenly turned on.

The logo of "The Great Wall: Taotie" slowly appeared on the giant screen accompanied by magnificent background music, instantly silencing the entire screening room.

Countless people stared intently at the screen, their excitement filling the entire screening room.

This magnificent co-production, directed by Li Zhengtao and created with the help of a top Hollywood special effects team, is the most expensive film in Chinese film history and naturally carries the expectations of countless viewers.

Everyone held their breath, eager to see what kind of story this epic blockbuster would tell...

Liu Jiasheng sat in the screening room, his eyes fixed on the magnificent opening scene of "The Great Wall: Taotie" on the screen.

This film continues director Li Zhengtao's pursuit of grand scenes and cinematic aesthetics, with the opening scene of the Great Wall army showcasing an unprecedented visual impact...

The striking array of armor in five distinct colors, the valiant female soldiers suspended by ropes leaping down the Great Wall to engage in close combat with the Taotie—these powerful visuals, combined with the dynamic use of color, instantly transport the audience to an epic battlefield atmosphere. Accompanied by the music, they subtly evoke memories of the epic opening of "The Lord of the Rings"...

Judging from the opening ten minutes or so, this film seems to attempt to blend traditional Chinese cultural elements such as the Great Wall, gunpowder, Kongming lanterns, and war drums with Hollywood monster movie genres, conveying values ​​of collectivism and sacrifice. It appears to be the only exploration of this approach in co-productions...

Liu Jiasheng watched silently, initially nodding as he read, somewhat amazed...

I could vaguely sense from this film that Li Zhengtao has integrated and broken through all his previous films, reaching a new stage...

but!
I'd barely seen a quarter of the movie when things started to get really weird...

The film's initial theme seems to be to showcase the mysteries and enigmas of the ancient Chinese civilization from the perspective of two foreigners.

He could even vaguely sense that Li Zhengtao was trying something new again. He hoped to attract Chinese audiences with the traditional Chinese monster "Taotie," combined with Western special effects and his expertise in "strategic deployment," "human wave tactics," and "ultimate visual performance." At the same time, he longed to create a sense of immersion for overseas audiences from a foreigner's perspective...

But, as I watched...

I've noticed that all the characters in the story are becoming increasingly strange!

The characters' motivations felt forced, and the villain Taotie's character design lacked depth; it seemed to appear suddenly and inexplicably...

In the movie, the background of rising star Zhang Tiantian is shrouded in mystery. The camera shows foreigners showing off their archery skills, while the local soldiers outside the Great Wall, including high-ranking officers, act like idiots, constantly marveling at the two foreigners who have just shot a few arrows. Then, inexplicably, they insist that these two foreigners stay to save the world, as if the world would end without them...

Upon seeing this, Liu Jiasheng began to feel increasingly uncomfortable.

The more I watched, the more awkward it became. Besides, it seems that in an attempt to blend Chinese and Western elements, the film's dialogue and acting style started to become "neither Chinese nor Western"...

By the time I got to the middle of the movie, I finally got a general idea of ​​the main storyline...

but……

The plot is so idiotic it's outrageous!
A bounty hunter from Europe, influenced by the patriotic education of the expressionless female protagonist, embarks on a journey to Bianliang in a hot air balloon fueled by gunpowder, without seats, to rescue another expressionless young man, Zheng Yichen…

In this movie, Li Zhengtao seems to have gone completely mad in order to express the concept of "fusion"!
On the Great Wall during the Song Dynasty, English was surprisingly pronounced in three different ways: American English, Mainland Chinese English, and Hong Kong English.

The city guards marched with the discipline of Olympic formations, but in actual combat, they were as helpless as fish and shrimp. The most ridiculous thing was that the blue-armored bungee jumping female soldiers had to perform acrobatic stunts like those at the Olympic opening ceremony, only to be followed by the expressionless female protagonist spouting nonsense about "trust"...

On the other side, the so-called Taotie army—yes, the Taotie army—looked mighty and domineering, covering the mountains and plains, but damn it, they were all like robots!
Yes!

In this movie, not only are the supporting and main characters expressionless, but even the monsters are terribly sluggish, like robots...

In the movie, the monster communicates accurately and systematically using radio. Its attempt to scale the wall is a feint, but it digs a hole at the foot of the Great Wall, only to have a magnet appear and ruin its plans...

Then, they were all controlled by a giant monster...

Then, in the end, this giant monster was suddenly blown up by two foreigners...

Yes!

Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers tried everything they could, but to no avail. Then, two foreigners with nothing took care of it in no time...

This is not just taking "Hollywood" style individual heroism to the extreme; it's downright brainless and utterly mindless!
It even reminded Liu Jiasheng of Zhou Yang's early films...

Oh shit!

While Zhou Yang's early films may have been intellectually absurd, they weren't this bad, were they?
……

Towards the end of the movie, Liu Jiasheng subconsciously looked at the seat next to him!
Given how terrible the movie was, if Zhou Yang, as a competitor, were to act according to his personality, he would probably leave early, or even publicly criticize it...

However, Zhou Yang and his group did not leave...

On the contrary, they watched the movie very attentively until the end, and a group of them even took serious notes, as if they were learning something...

This shocked Liu Jiasheng!

What are they doing?

Zhou Yang closed his notebook, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "Finished reading?"

Zhang Yunyi nodded, his expression somewhat complicated, seemingly uneasy: "President Zhou, about this film..."

He really wanted to say that the film's premise seemed a little off...

"Very insightful, isn't it?" Zhou Yang gently tapped the armrest. "Did you notice that this film is essentially about foreigners coming to the East for adventure and incidentally saving the world? But think about it from another angle..."

He suddenly lowered his voice, a smile flashing in his eyes: "What if we reversed the script? We could have Chinese special forces go to New York to fight monsters, and while they're at it, teach the Americans what collectivism is. They make 'The Great Wall' with white people coming to China as saviors, so we could make something like 'The Statue of Liberty's Doomsday,' or something like 'Saving the Statue of Liberty' or 'American Unity,' letting our soldiers teach Americans teamwork and cooperation in the ruins of New York, and then teach them how to fight, together against aliens?"

Liu Jiasheng couldn't help but interject, "Won't this be too much for the box office...?" "What are you afraid of?" Zhou Yang shrugged. "Just say we're making an 'international humanitarian aid film.' In the movie, add some 'brotherhood' that Americans love, the great unity of the world's people, plus some degenerate black brothers being redeemed, ultimately sacrificing themselves to help the white brothers, the white brothers wiping away tears, crying their eyes out, and finally resolutely taking up the mantle of the black brothers and sacrificing themselves to take on the main role of saving the world... With these elements added, the box office will be there..."

"..."

"We should film these kinds of stories about 'family,' bonds, and brotherhood."

"..."

Liu Jiasheng felt a chill run down his spine and was speechless for a moment.

Then, Zhou Yang put on his hat and led a thoughtful-looking Zhang Yunyi out of the screening room.

The two figures gradually disappeared in the dim light...

After they disappeared from sight, Liu Jiasheng slowly stood up and silently walked out of the screening room.

The sunlight outside the screening room was a bit too bright...

There were all sorts of noises everywhere.

The fans of "The Great Wall" who have gradually returned have very mixed feelings.

The special effects are indeed very good, the scenes are grand, and the production quality is top-notch.

But beyond these visually stunning moments, the entire film evokes an indescribable sense of helplessness…

It's like looking at a meticulously crafted empty shell, ornate yet hollow.

Liu Jiasheng paused for a moment at the cinema entrance, listening to the audience's complaints about "The Great Wall": "The special effects are amazing but the plot is terrible," "But why did foreigners save Bianliang in the end?"

Various voices rose and fell...

He shook his head, his gaze shifting to the poster for "The Black Robe Alliance 3" in the next theater...

The bat-man stood atop a Gothic building, his cloak torn like the wings of a fallen angel.

The tagline at the bottom of the poster, “The ultimate choice between humanity and darkness, the fall of Batman and Superman,” flickers under LED lights, creating a sharp contrast with the flamboyant Taotie totem in “The Great Wall.”

He touched the movie ticket in his pocket, and finally strode towards the ticket gate.

..............................

It was late at night on the 30th.

The weather is getting cold.

The red carpet for the premiere of "The Great Wall" was still laid out in front of the Huaying International Cinema.

However, a torrent of criticism has already flooded the internet.

Li Zhengtao sat alone in the dimly lit study, silently reading through the comments...

Even as the movie was nearing its end, I had a vague feeling that something was about to happen.

But a flood of sharp criticisms, such as "fragmented plot" and "cultural pandering," came pouring in. Among them, the comment "Let white saviors run rampant in China?" was like a sharp knife, piercing his heart.

He silently gazed out the window.

The first snow of the winter is falling quietly.

He lowered his head.

He locked himself in his study until 3 a.m.

He heard a knock on the door.

The assistant walked in quietly.

It brings the latest box office data.

"The Great Wall: Taotie's opening weekend box office: 4600 million RMB..."

The assistant's voice lacked excitement; he seemed to force a smile as he added softly, "It's today's box office champion..."

Li Zhengtao nodded, but there was no smile on his face. He took the data and looked at it for a long time before finally looking up and asking, "Which movie is the runner-up at the box office?"

"The Black Robe Alliance 3 grossed 4200 million RMB..."

How was the movie?

"It's hard to say, but..."

"But what?"

"Director Li, our box office is mainly in overseas markets. The Chinese market is actually... not that important. Besides, wasn't your original intention in making this film to break into the international market?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)