Shining For One Thing: The Movie (2023)

Be sure to watch the Post Credit Scene

I saw Shining For One Thing: The Movie this morning in US and if you take nothing else from my review please WATCH THE POST CREDIT SCENE!

Key points:
- Happy Ending
- You don't have to have seen the show to understand or enjoy the movie
- Twists you didn't see coming (just like the show!)

General Thoughts:
The movie took to heart the key theme of parallel universes and expanded on that. Therefore, the movie is more adjacent to the series than a direct continuation but don't worry, we still get our Happy Ending! Of course because it's a movie with a limited run time and not spanning multiple episodes it's unable to create or show a real or psuedo-relationship like the main characters had in the show but it still does a great job of conveying how strongly and deeply they feel for each other. Also, this is all about Zhang Wansen & Lin Beixing; the side characters we also love aren't apart of the story much. As someone who watched the series I found it incredibly satisfying and cannot wait to watch it again.

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As a continuation to the drama series, the story hits harder than if it was a stand alone movie. As a movie, the first two thirds of the movie moved at a pretty slow pace and the inclusion of side characters didn’t really make sense or added to the storyline. However, if you’re a fan of the drama series, the snippets of side characters will bring back the nostalgia of a bigger and deeper world than can be contained within a movie.

Although the development and build-up was slow and at times, confusing, the last third of the movie really tied everything together and gave meaning to the characters’ actions. In the end, I think the writers ended up with a nice, cohesive story for the two characters where the focus was the depth of their feelings for each other rather than the mysterious action of time travel. A worthy watch for fans of the original drama or new watchers alike.

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Explaination for the movie and review

To those who doesnt understand the movie.I will explain it here.

Spoilers ahead!!!!

Lin Bei Xing in this movie is another version of Lin Bei Xing. So we have Movie version Lin Beixing and Drama version Lin Bei Xing. Both of them are living in different universes. So the drama version of Lin Beixing was not here. We only have Zhang Wan Sen and Lin Bei Xing movie versions. No drama versions of themselves are not in this movie.

First, lets start with the fire incident.

In the original universe of Zhang Wan Sen movie version, Lin Bei Xing died in the fire incident. Then he cross parallel universes to save Lin Bei Xing. (This is the only ZWS that can travel in parallel universes)

While in the original universe of Lin Bei Xing Movie Version. Zhang Wan Sen is the one who died in the fire incident.

So both movie versions are not in their own universe. ZWS and LBX movie versions are both travellers and not in their original universe.

Lets name the movie univese as "Universe M"

So in the story, both travellers have cross paths in the same universe which is Universe M. They have both have the same plan, to save the other in this universe.

Only LBX have a restriction in her travelling rule which is "Dont let him says his name to you or says his name".

While the restriction of the drama version of LBX "Dont say I like you to one another"

While ZWS movie version have one restriction that he doesnt know because its the first time he travelled in another universe. His restriction was "Dont introduce yourself or say your name to LBX".

In the case of movie version of LBX. She already travelled several times, thats why we have different versions of ZWS in her POV. She will come back to her own universe if she says his name. (Reminder: The ZWS in her original universe is confirmed dead)

She only have one chance left, and that was universe M. Where ZWS in this universe was really similar to ZWS of her original universe.

The ZWS in Universe M is also a traveller like her. So both doesnt own this universe.

In the end, both have tried to save each other. In universe m, both have reported the concert so it will be cancelled.

So how did both of them know that both of them are travellers.

ZWS learn it when he was listening in the car after hearing LBX story on the radio.

While LBX knew it from Maizi. ZWS told Maizi about what happened and told him that he isnt the real ZWS in universe M and LBX dies in his original universe.

Then both of them met knowing that they arent the real ZWS and LBX in universe M.

Since they dont own this universe, they have to go back to their original universe. They feel guilty for owning a universe that doesnt belong to them. So when they return to their original universe. The real ZWS and LBX will be together.

So happy ending? Yes, for the real ZWS and LBX in universe M are both alive and are together.

But the ZWS traveller and LBX traveller didnt have a happy ending. Because in their original univese, one have died already. And both came back from their original universe.

In the end credits we see the drama version of LBX. She is in her original universe and we can finally see that ZWS in her original universe didnt die. So we got a happy ending for the drama version of LBX and ZWS.

Thats it, the whole universe was against this two. Most versions of themselves in every universe had sad endings but there is some universes where other versions of themselves had happy endings such as the original universe of LBX drama version.

This is literally, I love you in every universe.

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Un film qui clôture en beauté un magnifique drama!

J'en trépignais. Cela fait bien 2 ans que l'OST tourne en boucle. Que les images de ce magnifique couple me hantent. Cela fait 2 ans qu'aucun couple n'a réussi à remplacer Bei Xi/ Wan Sen dans mon coeur. Certains m'ont autant ravi. D'autres ont fait battre mon coeur à 1000 à l'heure. Mais celui-ci a bien une place particulière. Et c'est donc affamée que je me suis jetée sur le film dès qu'il m'a été possible de me le procurer. Surtout après quelques grosses pointures décevantes, plébiscitées par toute la communauté....

Inutile de m'attarder sur l'histoire, j'en ai assez dit sur ma précédente critique. Le film nous replonge directement au coeur de leur histoire. De cet amour fou qui traverse l'univers. Car oui, avec ces 1h47 de visionnage, j'ai compris que ce parapluie n'a pas traversé le temps, mais bien l'univers entier! Et c'est ce qui rend leur amour encore plus incroyable!
J'éviterai d'en dire de trop.
Mais si j'ai pu ne serait-ce qu'un peu oublier Wen Sen, ce film a la bonté de me rappeler à quel point j'ADORE ce personnage. Il transcende l'écran, lui le garçon simple, le garçon sans histoire. Sans aucune force. Sans aucun pouvoir magique. Sans aucune compétence particulière. Ce garçon maladroit. Celui qui a su me faire comprendre que l'amour avec un grand A ne nécessite rien d'autre que d'aimer de tout son âme.
Je défie quiconque de me trouver un protagoniste aussi adorable, aussi transi d'amour, aussi faible et fort, aussi intense que Wen Sen!!!! Son monde ne se résume qu'en 2 mots : Be Xi. Et oh mon Dieu, son regard qui se pose sur elle avec une telle maladresse, avec une telle intensité, avec un tel amour, c'est juste dingue....
Et Bei Xi? Rappelez-vous, dans le drama, au départ, j'avais un sentiment mitigé. Au fur et à mesure qu'avance le drama, son obstination à vouloir sauver Wen Sen, ses sentiments grandissant nous la rendait de plus en plus attachante. Et puis, le film. Be Bei Xi dans ce film incarne cet amour fou, cet amour qui illumine l'écran, cet amour qu'on se refuse de lâcher. Elle est bien devenue à coup sûr une de mes protagonistes préférées...

Mais encore? cela nous apporte-t-il la réponse tant attendue? Mille fois oui! et j'en suis totalement satisfaite. La réponse va même au-delà de mes attentes et apporte un éclairage inattendu et nouveau par rapport au drama.
Je conseille vivement de regarder le drama avant de conclure avec le film.
La fin est sublime. Epique. Le rythme qui s'accélère et qui vous prend à la gorge ne ralentit qu'une fois la vague retirée. Jusqu'à la dernière seconde.

Cette histoire a su me toucher comme aucune autre. "Shining for one thing" représente tout simplement l'idée que j'ai de l'amour fou.

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Honest Review from Indonesian Audience (me)

Sebelumnya, gw mrasa opening nya kebanyakan. Gw hampir ngira kena scam?

Btw, ini tuh film romantis semi sci-fi yg bikin pusing dikit tapi memuaskan. Gabisa bgt ditinggal ngedip dikit, soalnya ntar kelewat bagian pentingnya.

Pokoknya mulai dari sinematografi, plot sampai karakternya yang loveable itu benar-benar juara. Zhang Wansen tuh definisi cowok tipe hutan hujan tropis yg ugal-ugalan bgt, effort nya gede kalo berurusan sama Lin Beixin.

Di pertengahan film gw merasa bingung sedikit, tp penjelasannya yg cukup sederhana membuat gw paham (pd akhirnya). Gw suka bgt sih adegan pembahasan ttg timeline-nya Zhang Wansen yg gak lebih dari 10 menit (kayanya).

Dan astronot sebenernya agak berlebihan sih buat film romantis kayak gini (sorry ??)

Jujur, sebenarnya gw lebih suka dramanya karena bapernya lebih brasa (efek eps nya yg byk jg). Dan sedikit kecewa karena filmnya ini membahas tentang dunia paralel mereka yg lain. Jadi mau gw sambung-sambungin ke dramanya jg gak banyak yg bisa tersambung. Beneran ngambil timeline dan event yang berbeda dari dramanya. Ini menguntungkan karena casual viewers (yg ga nonton dramanya) bakal lebih bisa mengikuti alur, tp penonton dramanya kaya gw mrasa ada yg kurang (kesalahan gw sndiri sih yg membanding-bandingkan drama sm filmnya, ini manusiawi bro).

Dan sebenernya pas di ending gw sempet misuh-misuh sebentar karena adegan payung yg kirain gak bakal ada (iykyk). Adegan yg satu itu beneran penyelamat sih. Kalo gaada adegan itu gw udh bad mood bgt kali yaa...

Jangan lewatin credit title pokoknya!

Love from Apollo

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If you watched the drama first, disappointment is a risk.

If you watched the drama first, disappointment is a risk. However, as a non-drama audience, it’s a 9/10 — Okay, let me elaborate:

First of all, I want to point out the obvious. The movie has this filter which gives off a “more expensive budget” but personally, I find it pretentious. The drama was in no means low-budget or lacking in editing skills. However, the drama’s cinematography gives off a unique and refreshing vibe. Basically, it’s lighthearted in a good way. On the other hand, the movie had this really heavy vibe going on. It’s not awful but it’s weird okay. It takes away the “it” factor of the drama.

Second, the movie is 2 hours long so the storyline had to be compressed. Some say that the movie is a rehash of some drama scenes. Personally, I don’t agree. The movie, as a standalone/ for non-drama audience, is actually good. It starts off slow (not in a bad way) but definitely does a great job in redeeming itself with the twist in the end. On the other hand, as drama audience, be ready to be disappointed if you expected to see (even just snippets) the other characters from the drama. At the very least I expected a cameo by Zhan Yu, Yang Chaoyang, or even Han TengTeng. Sadly, they’re not there. The only (drama) characters aside from the main leads are Gao Ge, Maizi, and Gao Guangming. To be honest, I truly don’t know how to feel about this. I’m trying to be understanding of the movie’s restricted running time but I really am sad to see them missing. Shining for One Thing (drama) was amazing, not just because of the ML and FL but because of the spectacular side characters and their fleshed out arcs. I mean, even Maizi’s friends who weren’t in the drama had more screen time than Gao Ge. Like???

Third, I also have compliments for the movie. I watched the movie right after the drama so I may be a bit bias but really, I did somewhat enjoyed the movie. That said, what the movie did better than the drama is the “I will love you in every universe” trope. In terms of that trope, the movie was brilliant. That’s why I said earlier that if you watch the movie as a non-drama audience, you’ll definitely enjoy it.

Fourth, let’s talk about Maizi. Now, I found him adorable in the drama. Even with limited screentime, the actor stood out to me. He still embodied Maizi from the drama. I also really liked how they kept Zhang Wansen and Maizi’s friendship, because that was definitely one of the strong points of the drama. Even in the movie universe, Maizi’s loyalty to his friend was just heartwarming & heartbreaking. I’m even willing to overlook the loophole of how Zhang Wansen and Maizi became friends, when the drama established multiple times that they became friends after Maizi beat up Zhang Wansen because of Gao Ge. This was canon regardless of when Lin Baixing time/space-traveled. The movie, on the other hand, tells the audience nothing at all. Nevertheless, since Maizi is still the loyal & kind Maizi everybody loves, I’ll overlook this heh

Fifth, let’s talk about the acting. For a non-drama audience, it’s moving. On the other hand, as drama audience, even love for the drama cannot make me gaslight myself enough to ignore some quirks. Zhang Wansen’s actor kept 90% of his character from the drama. His mannerisms were still there and all that. Acting wise, it’s good but emotionally, it doesn’t feel genuine. On the other hand, Lin Beixing’s actress was just disappointing. It was so so so unfamiliar to the point of being borderline uncomfortable. Imagine this, I’m seeing the same Lin Beixing face and hearing the voice from the drama but the familiarity is not there. The mannerisms of Lin Beixing is simply not there. Adding fire, Lin Beixing’s character in the movie is simply not fleshed out. Not even the movie’s runtime can excuse this problem. Lin Beixing in the movie is simply a girl who Zhang Wansen likes and a girl who likes Zhang Wansen, nothing more, nothing less. Now, as a non-drama audience who watched the movie for the romance part, you probably won’t mind. But as a drama audience, no other words can describe it other than disappointing. Drama Lin Beixing was her own person, someone who actually had their own personality. I really related to Drama Lin Beixing because she was honest of her fears for her future after graduation. Everyone around her seems to have their own dreams and plans while she felt lost. Now, that Lin Beixing was truly a character. Looking at Movie Lin Beixing, I am simply not moved.

Sixth, the music. The movie did not have any standout music, which is unfortunate since what made the drama 10x better is the ost.

In conclusion, I really couldn’t enjoy the movie as a drama fan. I’m trying to be reasonable and give my compliments to the movie. I mean, I do have sincere compliments to the movie which is how they truly did a spectacular job with the “I will love you in every universe” trope. However, from a non-drama perspective, the characters really are not fleshed out. You’ll only truly enjoy them if you are already acquainted with the drama. The irony is, as a drama audience, disappointment is really a risk.

P.S. Some will argue that the drama characters and the movie characters are not from the same universe so that’s why they’re not exactly the same. The problem here is not “not being exactly the same” but rather, it definitely feels like a caricature of the drama.

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