RealCharlesTsui
Joined Feb 2015
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Ratings1K
RealCharlesTsui's rating
Reviews9
RealCharlesTsui's rating
A total mess from start to finish. Feels like the script was pieced together by an AI trained on popular Chinese thrillers like Lost in the Stars and No More Bets, following every cliché in the "viral hit" playbook.
The plot is painfully contrived, and the performances are awkward at best - Duan Yihong seems like he's stuck in a stage play, while the leads have zero chemistry and often look like they wandered in from a spoof.
The editing is chaotic, the sound design over-the-top, and the score is so desperate to create tension that it becomes irritating. By the end, you're left wondering if this was meant to be taken seriously or if it's just an elaborate prank.
The plot is painfully contrived, and the performances are awkward at best - Duan Yihong seems like he's stuck in a stage play, while the leads have zero chemistry and often look like they wandered in from a spoof.
The editing is chaotic, the sound design over-the-top, and the score is so desperate to create tension that it becomes irritating. By the end, you're left wondering if this was meant to be taken seriously or if it's just an elaborate prank.
I caught this film in London today, and honestly, it's the best Chinese comedy I've seen in years-an absolute event cinema experience. From start to finish, it's packed with laughs, delivering a sharp, refreshingly absurd take on toxic workplace culture in China.
What sets it apart is how effortlessly it avoids the usual traps-no cheesy sentimentality, no heavy-handed moralizing. Unlike so many recent Chinese comedies that lean on tired, borderline offensive jokes about gender, regional stereotypes, or race, this one steers clear, relying instead on genuinely smart humor.
It also pulls off something rare: weaving absurdity and real-life frustrations into a seamless, well-paced story without falling back on clichés. Even more impressive, it openly acknowledges workplace sexual harassment-a bold move, especially in the context of Chinese cinema. Could it have gone deeper? Sure. But given the censorship constraints, it's remarkable that it even made it to the screen.
That said, a fair warning-many of the jokes are deeply rooted in Chinese cultural and social media references. If you haven't spent significant time in China or immersed yourself in its online spaces, some punchlines might fly over your head.
What sets it apart is how effortlessly it avoids the usual traps-no cheesy sentimentality, no heavy-handed moralizing. Unlike so many recent Chinese comedies that lean on tired, borderline offensive jokes about gender, regional stereotypes, or race, this one steers clear, relying instead on genuinely smart humor.
It also pulls off something rare: weaving absurdity and real-life frustrations into a seamless, well-paced story without falling back on clichés. Even more impressive, it openly acknowledges workplace sexual harassment-a bold move, especially in the context of Chinese cinema. Could it have gone deeper? Sure. But given the censorship constraints, it's remarkable that it even made it to the screen.
That said, a fair warning-many of the jokes are deeply rooted in Chinese cultural and social media references. If you haven't spent significant time in China or immersed yourself in its online spaces, some punchlines might fly over your head.
This film moves at a sluggish, outdated pace-both in its storytelling and direction. "Based on a true story" seems to act as a free pass for mediocrity, as if the filmmakers assumed that an interesting real-life event alone was enough, sparing them the effort of crafting a compelling cinematic experience.
Rather than a well-structured narrative, the film feels more like one of those VCR montages played before an honoree steps onto the stage at an awards ceremony-a glorified tribute reel explaining why this person is so great, filled with empty platitudes and predictable beats.
The pacing of this film is stagnant, the characters lack depth or motivation, historical details are glossed over, and the visual style is indistinguishable from generic television. Worst of all, it drags with excessive, redundant dialogue-characters endlessly reiterating information we already know, as if the goal were to stretch a concise 60-minute documentary into a bloated 110-minute feature.
After watching, I looked up the director's background. Unsurprisingly, his experience is almost entirely in television drama, with little to no history in actual filmmaking. And it shows.
Rather than a well-structured narrative, the film feels more like one of those VCR montages played before an honoree steps onto the stage at an awards ceremony-a glorified tribute reel explaining why this person is so great, filled with empty platitudes and predictable beats.
The pacing of this film is stagnant, the characters lack depth or motivation, historical details are glossed over, and the visual style is indistinguishable from generic television. Worst of all, it drags with excessive, redundant dialogue-characters endlessly reiterating information we already know, as if the goal were to stretch a concise 60-minute documentary into a bloated 110-minute feature.
After watching, I looked up the director's background. Unsurprisingly, his experience is almost entirely in television drama, with little to no history in actual filmmaking. And it shows.