The film is absolutely superbly done. The acting is excellent--from the major characters to the minor supporting soldiers; everyone does an excellent job. I cannot really say I would watch it again, but that is just because the film is so emotionally draining. This does not reflect the quality of the film. The story's beauty is that there are so many stories wound up in this one woman's life. It isn't just Mulan tale--although that is gorgeously told in an of itself. This is also the story of Tiger and Wen Tai and all the soldiers who follow and believe in her. It is the story of a father and his daughter. A story of several kinds of leaders and the strength of the loyalty which they inspire. Underneath it all, it is a story of love--between many different kinds of people in many different ways. It may sound silly, but at the same time that I watched this film, I was studying Confucius's works in school. We were taught that Confucius spoke of five relationships--parents/children, ruler/subjects, husband/wife, elder/younger siblings, and between friends. In a way the story in this film is an embodiment of those relationships. I watched it with a friend and we spent hours talking about the philosophy and ideas behind this story. This film is worth watching for many, many reasons. I watched it because I love historical films, and this tale has always interested me. But I loved it because it was so well written. This is a fascinating and very well-designed film. I highly recommend it (but have a tissue handy)

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Wow, I'm actually not sure which way to go on this one. On the one hand, I secretly loved it and thought it had some really fabulous parts. MOST of the acting was actually really, really good. About the only characters I didn't like were Eun Sang and Hyun Joo. Otherwise, they all did their parts very well, so mostly I blame the script. The two moms together were adorable; and so were Chan Young, Bo Na, Hyo-Shin, and Myung Soo. They add wonderful humor into the story, and I kind of want to be best friends with Chan Young and Bo Na myself. I did adore Kim Tan and his brother was pretty sweet too as the show went on. Even Young-Do wasn't too bad once his character got some development. It had some unique elements, especially the approach it took to the "rich kids and their parents" element (sort of).

But there were a lot of not-so-awesome parts in it too. The storyline is the worst part. Have you seen Boys Over Flowers? Good, then you've seen about 2/5 of this show, except this time the cast is way too old to pull of the high school scene. Seriously, I just made it college in my mind to get through it since there was NO WAY those people were 17-18. The bullying, the fights, the petty bickering, even much of Lee Min Ho's relationship with the girl - it all comes right out of BoF. Although, Eun Sang has nothing on Jan Di; I didn't feel like she felt anything for Kim Tan until at least 3/4 of the way through the show.

Worst, the ending completely and totally sucks. Seriously, Korean dramas are infamous for leaving webs unwoven, but what was up with this drama? There were so many unfinished plot threads, it drove me nuts! What happened to the mistress and dad? Is Young-Do's father going to be okay-and does this mean their relationship is going to survive or at least improve? Is Hyo-Shin really, really okay? What about Myung-Soo? They introduced the idea that he's suffering there at the end but never explained why or how it might be resolved. What about Young-Do? Is he not alone anymore, because Gosh-Darn-it, I want him to have someone to hug! What about Kim Tan's mom? How is she going to survive? And will the dad finally realize what he's about to lose? What about the company? Was Won's loss all for nothing, or will his enemies now back off? Perhaps the worst of it all, I still wish Kim Tan had a better girlfriend than Cha Eun Song.

Kim Tan is one of the very few characters who truly deserves the best that life can provide him. He's good-hearted, determined, caring, and generous to those around him. Other than his lack of drive or ambition/inability to do a decent day's work, he's pretty awesome. And I don't feel like it's resolved at the end. After all the times she's run off and ditched him without warning, I don't feel like you can trust Eun Song (or anyone else in his life) not to do it again. I suppose I feel like Won is going to be there for him now, but that brings me back to Won and the way the show completely ruined him. I hated where they left him and I'll never forgive this show for that. Or the way it left the other characters. Yeah, the ending just sucked.

Anyway, the message expressed was actually pretty good and kind of interesting. It seemed to be based on the theme "be careful what you wish for." If you put Fame and Fortune at the top of your list, you may not be happy when you get it. Conversely, sometimes love and passion just isn't enough. You have got to think about the people around you, not just your love for one individual. It's a story about bad parents and children left to raise themselves. A story about becoming a man, but not rushing to grow up too soon. About loving family, because they may be all you have left.

The actual acting and technical elements were AWFUL in the beginning, while it was set in America. It makes the Americans look like either drug-addicted, violent, wife-abusing criminals or fat, stupid, drug-addicted criminals. To be honest, I wasn't real impressed with the first few episodes. Between the bad acting, the plot holes, the completely unbelievable coincidences, and other random annoyances, I didn't really get into it until after he was back in Korea (which took a few episodes). Then it smoothed out and got a more well made (until the awful ending).

Would I recommend it? Maybe. . . If you liked Boys over Flowers, it reminds me a lot of that show. But I would almost recommend you stop it about two episodes early. It picked up a ton of unnecessary angst just to drag the show out and it completely ruined the story. If you do pick this up, don't stop until after he's back in Korea. You don't get a feel for the drama until after that; everything before is just cheap intro.

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This drama was just a bit strange for my tastes - however, that seriously might have been because it had bad subtitles. I'm not sure - I mean most of the drama I understood perfectly. But towards the end, I started losing track of things. I genuinely couldn't tell if my subtitles were weird (the sentences made sense) or the drama itself just got too plot-holey.

I'd say the first 1/2 of the film is really excellent. Lots of underground adventure - tombs, monsters, evil traps, etc. Then, the last 1/2 was vaguely understandable and cool. I mean, I understand what happened in the end - I'm just not quite sure about all the pieces and why things worked that way. Maybe it's just me?

Plenty of suspense and action. NOT however really much about tomb raiders at all. To me, the description was really misleading

My plot would be something like:

The 1900s were a time of discovery and new insight into the ancient past as more and more secrets are dug up from the ancient tombs. But sometimes one can dig too deep. When Hu Ba Yi steps up to explore a mysterious occurrence deep underneath the Kunlun Mountains, he could never have predicted the adventure that awaits him. In a desperate battle to save humanity from an ancient evil long buried, Hu Ba Yi and his friends will have to unravel the mystery behind what happened in the past and how to prevent it from repeating itself in the future.

To be honest, this was more of a mixture between some sort of 30% "lost world" / "Jurrasic Park" and 50% "Riddick" and 20% an Indiana Jones movie. It's got tombs and supernatural stuff and all that. Which was awesome - It really wasn't about tomb raiders or tomb raiding. Definitely no buried treasures and Certainly not comparable or similar to The Lost Tomb, Mystic Nine or the other dramas supposedly based on this book series.

Still a lot of historical background, mythology, action, and cool "underground" scenes. I'm not saying don't watch it, it's got merit on its own for what it is - just know the description doesn't really fit. The Candle in the Tomb, this is not. It wasn't meant to be - so I'm not sure why it is described like that.

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Excellent movie!
I always appreciate a unique plot; after a while if you've seen one Kdrama you start to feel like you've seen them all. And while this one has the old "the nobles are evil and a heroes needs to defend the poor," much of the story is pretty darn unique or at least uncommon.

Of course, I just loved the chemistry between the two male stars - they bounced off of one another spectacularly. The straight man kept throwing off oddly perfect comedic moves, and the funny man would have strokes of gentle sincerity that worked perfectly. It helped that I loved the entire rest of the cast as well. They characters, their personalities, the collection - it all just worked for me. I usually have at least one character that I'm less fond of, but here I really loved them all.

I also appreciate (as I've said many times before) the fact that the romance wasn't the ENTIRE story here. It was a side story that flowed perfectly into the rest of the film and only added to the comedy and action instead of detracting from it. It wasn't something that sprung upon our heroes at first sight either, there was at least a little foundation for the romance making the story require less of a "leave your brain at the door" feel.

My only complaint would be that it seemed to start off a little slow - it started pretty heavy on the angst, and I was worried it wouldn't be as funny as I hoped. But later it picked up and moved on into the more fun part, so if you think it doesn't look that good just give it at least 30 minutes.

I loved this film, my friends loved this film, and it's one of the few movies I would consider pulling out in a party of mixed genders. It had something for boys and girls, and is a great group watch!

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This drama was amazing, largely because of the times we are living in.  It's the same theme shown over and over in dramas today (from Pied Piper to Stranger to Pride and Prejudice) . . . . what do people do when the very laws and government they are assigned to protect and uphold lead to more injustice and corruption?  When your job as a government official is to support a system that uses and abuses its people.  "Crisis" is a fascinating look at the state of world politics today (though it's set in Japan, the events probably  ring familiar to many  viewers) and the horrible corruption and greed displayed in many governments.

When the very system at its core is broken.

When the political leaders wield both the law and the police / military for their own private protection and gain.

When the government officials seek to accumulate money and status for themselves and their children at the cost of the people they swore to protect.

When there is no hope under the law and no justice to be found in the courts.

What are the people to do?

The drama points to the issue of vigilante justice. The instinct is to argue that vigilante justice in those situations is wrong (you can see this in the comments for the drama here on MyDramaList) . . . but that raises a new question -- what then should they do?  Should they surrender to the system?  Many would argue that rather you should go through the legal procedure and justice will eventually prevail. But that seems rather naive.

The legal system in the drama is flawed. It has crumpled under the weight of powerful men and women who obey it only when it conveniences them and then break it in the name of "national defense" whenever  the law threatens them. These people are corrupt. Their children are corrupt. And they keep passing their positions from one corrupt individual to the corrupt people below them who bribed their way into that role.

And the citizens, and their children, and the grandchildren they will someday have are all suffering under the burden of this government.  As parents and future adults, what is the responsibility of the citizens here? If it is not revolution or vigilante justice, what is the answer? How can they change a system they have no control over?  What do the people do?  In the past, people have ignored it, until events just piled up one after another. Now the next generation is fed up. Done. They are reaping the ill benefits of the past neutrals. And it is breeding a growing unrest.  

It's about how people who are backed into a corner, betrayed by their government and abandoned by their fellow men, can be easily led into a bad situation.  

This drama is not a happy one, and there is no happy ending.  In my opinion, this drama is not meant to be entertaining.  Instead, it's more like "Animal Farm" or "1984" -- a work intended to make you think.  And it should make you think.  I like that it asks the questions people are raising in the political forum today.  It's the same problem we see century after century, from the days of an insane Nero and his cronies to France gone wrong before the French Revolution.  The drama does not encourage  vigilante justice . . . . but it does ask viewers to consider what alternatives are left and what kind of political system would result in a rise of vigilante justice.   Can a system survive, is it truly a good system worth protecting and defending, if victims and civilians feel their only recourse is to take matters into their own hands?  And if you do think it is too corrupt, can you really just turn a blind eye and walk away?  Knowing that your children and grandchildren will suffer because you did nothing?  

The drama offers no solutions, but it does at least ask some important questions.

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LOVE!

MUSIC: The music is simply gorgeous. So beautiful in fact that I actually bought the soundtrack for it.  I really thought the OST was lovely, and I listen to the song ALL the time when I'm working or studying.  Unlike some dramas, this song was actually written for the drama and really fits with the lyrics. Really though, all the music was great - grandiose when it needed to be grandiose, bright and fluffy appropriately, etc.  VERY Well done!

SPECIAL EFFECTS: Once again, I know several reviewers and commentors said the special effects for the drama were not good. Maybe I'm just easy to please, but I thought they were great.  I have a passion for Fantasy dramas, and I've watched as many as I possibly can.  Perhaps there are spots here and there where you can spot the CGI or effects, but on the whole -- this drama nailed it.  I did of course get so caught up in the plot that I may have just been oblivious, but I've rewatched several of my favorite parts of the  drama about 13 times so far and I still think it was solid effects.  Beautiful colors, gorgeous costumes, great make-up, stunning architecture -- that peach tree orchard begs me to go visit.  I'm definitely getting my future husband to make me an orchard.  

CHARACTERS / ACTING:  The acting was simply brilliant!  I can't really name a single character that I thought didn't hold up their part.  Mark Chou as Ye Hua was just fabulous -- you really felt the emotionless aspect at the beginning as well as his confusion at the lengths people would go to for this "love thing."  But then later, when he is crying over Su Su, it's just heartbreaking.  His little shocks when he first meets her and then his bravery and sacrifices later in her name - you just wanted to give him a huge hug and tell him everything would be okay.  Seriously, the dude ripped out your heart.  And the adorable little boy - he's just SO CUTE!  OMG he is the sweetest little kid ever.  I love his "little dumpling" title - fits him to a tee.  And his interactions with both Ye Hua and Su Su were so precious.  I could keep going - I won't because this would be too long - but the acting was definitely fab. 

LENGTH: This drama is long, and I would definitely divide it into three parts plot wise.  Unlike some dramas though, I don't think there was really an episode you could skip and still move forward.  Part of the reason for its length is that it had a TON of plot lines running at the same time.  You had about 4-5 different couples, plus the whole "saving the world" theme, the Mo Yuan plot, the Ghost world plot. . . . you get my point. It was just a whole lot going on in one story.  But I've got to say, I watched it all.  Usually I'm pretty quick to skip over boring fighting or "plotting" parts that seem to take up so much of the Chinese drama time. But here, I just soaked it all in.  And I actually enjoyed all of the plot lines. 

PLOT: Just so good!  It was complex, it was convoluted, it was chock full of emotions and action and movement.  There were a million things interacting and impacting one another - the romance of once couple subtly igniting events that struck another which triggered reactions flowing on to a third.   You felt the romances and tragedies alike. Even when you really hated Su Jin and the Ghost Prince, you could also feel their pain and heartache at the same time. Everyone had their reasons and passions - it was just a story of how you should respond to them.  

One of my favorite parts of the drama was how much it taught me about A) Chinese culture and B) their understanding of Buddhism / how the ancient religion worked.  You'd be surprised how much of it was part of their mythology and actual hierarchies.  For example, I was fascinated by the use of "fate" and "self-will" in this story.  Part of the question was how much you can fight against fate and how much your actions will impact your future if fate is already predetermined.  I was also fascinated to see how they explained the who saints and gods thing.  Like how the whole "earthly test" thing went and what it meant.  I actually learned quite a bit :P  

Also, it gives you a good glimpse into how China's culture is different from that of Korea or Japan.  For example, although Bai Qian can be sweet and kind, she's far from submissive or willing to just take abuse. She doesn't lash out and yell at people like the Kdrama starts sometimes do, she doesn't just accept it like the Jdrama girls do. She gets mad and then gets even. Smart girl - she waits and plots and then just does it. And in China, that doesn't make her a bad person.  She's loyal, honest, and kind to those who deserve it. If she's a bit brutal to the bad guys, well they are bad guys after all.  I liked her :) 

 

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I have to admit, I'm going to give this one a "Meh." It wasn't exactly bad, but it wasn't real great either. Bonus points for the hottness value of Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-Sung, and I admit I'd probably watch the film just to see Lee Byung-hun, because he's simply gorgeous. More bonus points because the cast did a fairly good job in their roles and the technical elements weren't too badly done. All in all, it was a fairly well made little adventure story, full of angst and comedy in a "holy heck! what just happened" kind of way.

I loved the cowboy feel to the show; the characters were dressed like wild, wild west characters, and the shootouts were classing western-style. It's kind of like Korea's take on an old comedy/angsty western. I also liked how the character were related, and it had some great comedic moments. The great chase was pretty funny, and the Good and Weird pulled off some touching moments.

Honestly, most of my problem was the plotline flaws. For one thing, the violence and gore was a little more pronounced than I tend to prefer. I'm not terribly fond of that much torture and gratuitous evilness. Let's just say the Bad is really, really, really BAD. It's actually a bit more gruesome than I've come to expect from Korean works, and I've watched A LOT of mysteries and crime shows.

Then there were all the plot holes. Korean dramas have a tendency to just drop storylines without explanation, and this movie had a bunch of them. What happened to Weird's friend? Why did he do what he did to the Bad guy? Did he change his personality? What was that story?!? Why does the Good hold such a grudge? Why don't they understand the treasure when they find it? Why is the Bad so Bad? Was he always that Bad? How did he meet his boss/father figure? What happened to the treasure? Who survived? What happened to the military? Did they help the Independence movement? It was all just a giant confusing mess, especially towards the end.

There also were a bunch of little annoyances to me, for example the inability of the bad guys to shoot anyone. I mean, most shows have bad guys with horrible aim, but considering the number of bad guys firing at the same person, this was just annoying.

I'll give them one thing, the ending as pretty much a complete shock. So not what I was expecting! Overall, I'd say the plotline was weak, the film was well made, and the actors are pretty good. Would I recommend it to you? - Meh. It's not going to be an epic, but it's good if you have some guys around who don't want sappy romance. Personally, the only thing it had going for me was the hotness factor and a few random bursts of comedy.

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Theme Depth: 3/5
Uniqueness of Plot: 3.5 / 5
Acting: 3.5 / 5
Technical Elements:1

**I agree with many people, this movie should not be compared to the drama entirely. It is intended for a different audience for one thing -- people less interested in deep, involved, dramatic, angsty shows and more into a good watch on a Saturday afternoon. I mean, I like the convoluted stories and interwoved storylines of a good 50-episode drama, but many of my friends and family wouldn't want to get that involved in something like this. So don't approach is as A) a copy of the book, B) a really good story to sink your teeth and time into or C) a copy of the drama. With that said, I'm going to give a review of it as a standalone film.

Review (As a Separate Movie):

MUSIC: The music was pretty good.  I cannot say I actually notice the music in the background much, so it at least wasn't annoying.  :)  Unlike the drama, no songs particularly stood out to me as "oh my gosh I must download that" but nothing was a problem either.  I'd say it worked for the film -- momentous when it needed to be, quiet when it needed to be. 

SPECIAL EFFECTS:  This is the one place where I'd say you can compare it to the drama.  I mean, they seem to have had plenty of money for special effects and China has a great history of making BEAUTIFUL fantasy dramas that are incredibly realistic.  Examples are The Mystic Nine, Eternal Love, Nirvana in Fire, Novoland . . . . . China has mad skills when it comes to CGI and special effects.  So I'm not sure why this drama was so sketchy.  I like to watch fantasy movies and forget that it isn't reality--I don't want to be reminded that this is fantasy during the film.  I never got there with this movie.  1. Colors -- The colors in the drama are too bright.  For a show that is mostly tragic -- all the colors were shiny and "animated" looking.  They weren't realistic and it detracted from the "realism" of the show.  2. The animations were never quite good enough.  In my opinion the nine-tailed fox was obviously animated, and sometimes in Chinese dramas you really can't tell.  Most of the animals actually were obvious fakes -- their bodies didn't move quite right and it felt like parts of their movements weren't smooth or flowing right.  Dunno. I just felt like the obvious "animation" of it all detracted from the story too.  3. There were way too many moments where the movie cuts were obvious. We'd jump from scene to scene with no transition, no music, nothing. Just a sudden leap -- like stream of consciousness. It was really distracting.  4. I know a lot of people didn't like the costumes, but I actually thought those were okay.  Ye Hua was really good fashion wise, so was Bai Qian.  Zhe Yan was a bit overdramatic, but considering they were having him come across as a phoenix, it suited his character here.  Once again, it wouldn't have worked for the drama version of Zhe Yan, but this was a different take on his persona.  

CHARACTERS / ACTING:  The acting in the movie actually wasn't too bad!  Okay, so I know some of you maybe didn't like this "interpretation" of the characters.  Ye Hua is a lot less gloomy and tragic all the time, more cheerful and extroverted.  Zhe Yan was totally different -- he's more of a flamboyant character (wine, women, and song kind of guy) and less "I want some peace and quiet" type.  But while you may not like how the scriptwriter's depicted the characters, I don't think the actors themselves did too bad a job.  I'd say Ye Hua and A Li did the best job. The only "eh. . . no" part I got was with ghost tribe b*tch.  It just didn't work for me from costume to characterization to the portrayal.  She came across as Overdone.Oh and the water king and townspeople scene -- definitely over done. 

PLOT: The plot struggled.  A Lot.  I did try to watch it as someone who wasn't expecting things from the drama because I knew they changed some stuff. And I do think you could follow the storyline even if you didn't see the drama.  But as far as a stand-alone film, it wasn't the best I've seen from China.  Too many cut scenes and chopped up movement. 1. The drama just jumped too many times.  You'd be in a scene and then suddenly you were somewhere else. For example, Bai Qian going to the sea palace.  First you're in the garden and suddenly she's on the bank waiting to be shuttled to a palace for reasons.  Why? They don't tell us.  It just jumped there -- making the whole meeting with Ye Hua and A Li seem really forced.  2.  Too many plot holes in the drama.  For example, there is no background into her time with Mo Yuan -- we just know he's important for reasons.  Later to be abandoned? I think? Or maybe he is Ye Hua -- I didn't understand that whole issue with him.  It was strange.  3. Bai Qian is entirely too trusting of Su Jin in this drama.  It isn't really clear why she listens to her at all and it demonstrates a naivety that she doesn't have in other places in the drama.  It makes the conflicts seem forced.  4.  The Ghost Queen -- that part was SO weird.  IT was there, but I'm not sure why other than to drive the plot along. She didn't really do ANYTHING that was important to the plot (okay she pushed it along), but it felt so contrived.  5, The ending was CONFUSING!  Was Ye Hua Mo Yuan. Which one woke up at the end. What was going on there?  SO many questions left unanswered!!

That said. . . . it was understandable.  I don't think they cut out TOO much that would have made the movie more clear.  For example, it would have been nice to see her brother and family in the movie, but they could be taken out without ruining the Ye Huan / Bai Qian storyline.  

FINAL THOUGHTS: This movie has a different "feel" from the drama entirely.  There are several angsty moments, but more like what you would expect from a Comedic / Dramatic movie.  Angst at the middle and end, with quite a bit of lightheartedness and romance in the rest.  The focus is more on them falling in love again and less on what drove them apart.  None of the drama and tears brought from the side stories in this movie--all ends well at the end.  You can follow along, although you might need to pause it every so often to review what you've seen.   It's a cute movie. Not going to win any awards, feels like a B list fantasy film from when they were kind of newer to it.  I'd say -- Watch it without any expectations. Don't try to make it too serious or too "meaningful." It isn't that. IT ISN'T THE DRAMA and it really doesn't try to be. It's cute, mostly cheerful, got some fight / action scenes, got lots of romance and some good kiss scenes -- fun.  Just enjoy it and (if you want a better storyline and effects) go rewatch Eternal Love again afterwards to get your crying on. 

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This was definitely my favorite romantic comedy, despite the fact that it was the first Taiwanese show I watched. I had already seen Playful Kiss (which was very well-done), but this version was even more amazingly written. Between this show and the sequel (They Kiss Again), the plotline was far more developed than it was with Playful Kiss. The main characters had more depth and emotion in their roles, and while the quality was not always as good, the story itself was far better. Because it is so long, the writers were able to add more though behind why certain characters act the way they do and to make the whole storyline a little less unbelievable. Plus the two leads always work excellently together. They make the romance seem beautiful and sweet all at the same time. I rewatch this show whenever I want to smile, laugh, or feel that glow inside that comes with knowing there are still sweet, naive, innocent, beautiful romantic stories in the world of film.

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