Movie Digest
A story of an ordinary youngster who overcomes numerous obstacles to become a hero of his time. Guo Jing, a pupil of The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, sets off on a voyage in which he encounters Huang Yaoshi’s daughter Huang Rong.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong have been entangled in a dispute over the “Nine Yin Manual,” and Guo Jing’s martial arts talents grow significantly with the assistance of Northern Beggar Hong Qi Gong and Old Mischief Zhou Bo Tong. Ouyang Feng has travelled to Peach Blossom Island to propose marriage in order to obtain the “Nine Yin Manual.” Guo Jing bears a huge burden in fighting a decisive battle on Mount Hua.
The Feel-Good Part
The aesthetics of the film in terms of costume and set design were on point. For the people who have read the actual novel on which this film is based, this is a bonus point. The cast did a decent job in portraying their monumental characters. In movies like these especially, the cast and director have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. Since they are making a live-action adaptation of a well-loved novel every single detail must be perfect. The best part was that the original theme song from the 1983 film of the same name was remade for this version.
The Disappointing Factor
This entire film is at best a poor man’s adaptation of the original novel. Despite the few things the creators did right the overall film comes crashing down due to its numerous shortcomings. The show is not a condensed or re-summarized version of the book but rather an unsuccessfully put-together version of a few arcs and sub-plots from the novel. By doing this, they end up glossing over some of the most important parts of the characters’ development. I agree that given the short duration of a film compared to a novel, you need to concisely portray everything. This is the reason the movie is quite fast-paced in order to cover more ground. But this only results in a very oddly shaped script that will certainly confuse people who are not familiar with the original story.
In-Depth Analysis
“The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Dragon Tamer” is certainly not the kind of movie you get excited to talk to your friends about. Yet, it is a guilty pleasure you can indulge in once in a while. While the movie certainly will not make the hardcore fans happy it is an ‘alright’ watch because at the end of the day it is an action-adventure film. It has all the typical action-adventure cliches; a tough-but-compassionate lead, the courageous and devoted romantic interest as well as all the twists and turns of fate that help the plot progress. These elements somehow still make the film work.
Star Power
The visual impact of the cast for “The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Dragon Tamer” is massive. We have Eddy Geng as the male lead Guo Jing. Eddy is a newcomer in the film circuit and so far has done roles in movies like “Awakened Demon” and “The Winners”. The beautiful Lin Yan Rou plays the role of Huang Rong opposite Eddy. She too is a new face in the Chinese film circuit with movies like “Fantasy Magician” and “Love the Way You Are”. Both of them have done a fairly decent job given their recent entry into the industry.
Overall Opinion
Did the movie do justice to the original novel/story? No. Will you love this movie? Probably not as much as you would think. Should you watch it? Yeah, sure. This movie is certainly a far cry from what it should have been but as a standalone, it still does a good job at being an entertaining film.
