Burn Money Burn!!!

I've been having a good Chinese New Year celebration so far. Especially with family and friends. Had a great time playing with baby nephew especially, while my baby niece was kinda moody but still so cute nevertheless (wished I could snap some photos). Welcomed old friends and YAFers to my house on the second day. Visited a couple of homes. Celebration this year has been kinda muted.

So why the title above? It's not about the many ang pows I happily gave away, nor money lost in gambling (I won some actually)! But about a certain movie which I thought was a total disaster and waste of money, opportunities and talents.

The hype of Red Cliff 's release last year was muted because it was only the first half of two parts, and all the attention was on The Dark Knight. I've been anticipating the grandest battle in The Romance of Three Kingdoms to be played on the big screen for far too long. I thought John Woo would finally make my dream come true but the first movie was kinda let down for me. But I withheld my judgment and criticism until I watch the second part. It's finally here and I watched it last weekend.

After the first movie, my expectations were lowered considerably but I didn't expect to feel so disgusted by the second movie. Sure, I never expect it to be strictly faithful to the novel. I found out the movie was supposed to be based more on the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms (historical) rather than the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (fictionalized, romanticized historical). In the process, the writers wrote and rewrote the script many times to mix the two, add in some of their own stuffs to create their own version (maybe to suit certain actors/actresses). It was nowhere near as brilliant as the original novel. I was wondering why rewrite what's already brilliant if you can't make it any better?

Of course if you had no foreknowledge of the story, you'll enjoy the movie tremendously and may be impressed even. But it's a big NO for me. USD80 million was burnt like how the red flames licked the black sky in the movie. Mr. Woo had the highest privilege to showcase the best war scene (its brilliant build-ups to the climax) ever written in any history on the big screen, but he totally blew it. He reduced it to the size of his vision, and the popularity of his stars. What a shame, what an extravagant waste!


(To avoid spoilers, I won't comment further until a later time. Perhaps I'll hint why the original novel has been an endearing story to me. Just maybe)