Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms

GoT meets Shogun meets Indiana Jones meets LOTR meets Wheel of Time! Such a great show with interesting characters and plot, well-balanced with action and drama!

I love Chinese culture, and there are so many references to hostoric China and customs that I really enjoyed.

I am American but have always been interested in the concepts of Chinese culture from Taoism to the Tao De Ching. There is so much to learn.

The cinematography was beautiful as are the actors and actresses. I was hoping for a dragon throughout but there are some satisfying mystical elements for those who seek that type of thing. ENJOY!

The original novel was published 400 years ago and have too many memorable moments. So it is very unsuitable for movie use. Moreover, Chinese classical novels, especially this type of novels, (hua beng) do not have the sublimation of characters in modern Western novels, so they are not necessarily suitable for movies. So the director made simplifications and trade-offs here. Many familiar scenes have not been retained. The perspective of the movie is abandoned and the change of a character is the most important driving force for the movie. The visuals have improved a lot. It is already very good to have such a performance.

If you're not put off by subtitles, any fan of war films and heroic fantasy should watch this. Though it seems odd they haven't done an English-dubbed version, which would get it through to a much wider audience.

They could also try a different title. Maybe Superheroes of the Fall of the Shang Dynasty. For Chinese and other East Asians, the idea of mortals becoming gods is familiar and believed by the religious or superstitious. A belief also found in Classical Greece, but confusing for a Western audience.

It is an heroic fantasy, loosely based on the actual fall of the Shang, 3000 years ago. A concubine who was widely blamed in later histories is re-invented as a Fox Demon - another concept unfamiliar in the West. And it is actually simplified from the original legend, which has three spirits sent by an offended goddess to be destructive concubines who made a bad man worse.

Which may be no more historic than Shakespeare's Macbeth, but certainly makes a good drama.

It seems this legend is even better known than Journey to the West / Monkey, which is much better known in the West and had a recent much-rewritten film, as well as a Japanese television series that was popular in the West with dubbing into English. As I said, maybe humans become gods is too odd in the Western view, though the very popular superheroes are essentially the same.

The plot is complex, and I found the palace guards confusingly similar. But it was entertaining, and is the first of three.

An absolutely needed movie for Chinese cinematography. Surprisingly edgy and mystical that makes one wonder how did it ever pass the "bar". Many scenes reminded me of the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, and indeed as many lauded, this could very well be the Chinese version of GOT or Lord of the Rings. At the same time, the film has so many things that is so distinctly Chinese in terms of its value system and culture. No doubt, I hope the sequels gets the green light, as these films could really push our culture and stories forward to a larger stage. Only gripe is that there is still a sense of awkwardness in some of the acting, most specifically with the King. Nevertheless, it is still one of the greatest villains I've seen in a Chinese film and the casting of the younger actors are fantastic, finally some masculinity again!

Let's start with the pros. Some of the costumes, art, and casting in the movie are excellent. Fei Xiang's face has a very advanced sense of screen quality, Yang Jian's casting, styling, and action design are bright and eye-catching, Su Daji is more in line with personal aesthetics, and the fox's dynamic expression is very dynamic. Zhaoge and Xiji are each unified in terms of visual sensibility, color, and design language, and from an art perspective, the shaping of the worldview is successfully completed. Zhaoge and Xiji are unified in their visual senses, colors, and design language, and from an art perspective, the shaping of the film's worldview is successfully completed.

The biggest problem is that the script is too weak in literature and has too many contradictory points of logic. The whole movie is boring if you take away the art and special effects. The deaths of Empress Jiang and Bigan were awkward, and the deaths were meaningless.