It’s the remaining 10% that really sticks out, since it suddenly cuts back on the production quality and gives us strange looking scenes. “Mojin - The Lost Legend (寻龙诀)” is a pretty slick looking action film that pulls out all the stops… for 90% of the film. It stars Chen Kun (Hu Bayi), Huang Bo (Wang Kaixuan), Shu Qi (Shirley Yang), Angelababy (Ding Sitian), Xia Yu (Da Jin Ya), and Liu Xiaoqing (Ying Caihong). “Mojin - The Lost Legend (寻龙诀)” is a Chinese action adventure film based on the Chinese novel, “Ghost Blows Out the Light (鬼吹灯).” It follows the adventures of a group of treasure hunters as they discover there’s more than meets the eye to an ancient treasure. He Tweets/ Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. There will undoubtedly be sequels based on the box office takings, and with limited choices available at Chinese Cinemas I fear they will be as successful and breed yet more.Wang Kaixuan (Huang Bo) explores a cave. But the film is lacking in terms of plot, characterization and fails to build the suspense, drama or camaraderie present in classics of the genre. MoJin marks a step up for domestic made Chinese movies in terms of CGI and action effects, looking to flex their new found financial muscle and become a genuine competitor to the imported blockbusters which generally take the majority of box office receipts. It is this underground tomb to which the trio return later in the film and in which most of the action takes place.
It is here that we see one of the films first and most impressive action sequences as the “red guards” bumbling attempts to destroy the past cause the zombies of the dead Japanese soldiers to return. Here they discover an underground tomb of strange totems and a WW2 Japanese army base. This prompts a flashback scene and probably the most interesting of the film as we see the young Bayi and Kaixun as members of the “red guard” visiting Inner Mongolia. After a job offer from a mysterious corporation to find the Equinox Flower, an emblem buried with the object of their affections 20 years before the trio set off to revisit an underground tomb they barely escaped. We then join intrepid tomb raider HuBayi (ChenKun), his sidekick Wang Kaixuan (HuangBo) and girlfriend Shirley (ShuQi) in their retirement in the USA. The film begins with a choreographed scene of wire work, a trio of grave robbers and a sarcophagus. The action is heaped on from the outset and some of the set pieces are gripping enough. This is the second film to be based on “The Ghost Blows Out the Light” by Tianxia Bachang and following the success of this one at the Chinese box office one fears it won’t be the last.ĭespite the incredibly formulaic plot and characters there are some pluses to be found as China aims to take on Hollywood at its own game.
That said for a country with as long and deep a history as China’s to draw on MoJin is incredibly shallow and lacking. Directed by WuErShan and co-financed or distributed by Wanda Pictures, HuaYi Brothers and Enlight Pictures it has an admirable foundation and looks set to repay the investment many times over.
#MOJIN THE LOST LEGEND LANDSCAPE SERIES#
The film is based on a series of bestselling teen novels telling tales of adventure and fame.
#MOJIN THE LOST LEGEND LANDSCAPE MOVIE#
Despite this the film has lived up to its hype at the box office at least and grossed $90 million on the opening weekend alone setting it up to become the highest grossing movie in China. A disappointing addition to the tomb raiding adventure genre from some of the biggest names in Chinese mainstream cinema today.Ĭhina’s rich cultural history combined with it’s varied and vast landscape should be the perfect setting for an Asian Indiana Jones, this is not it. The audience I enjoyed this film with was predominantly under the age of 12 and the distinct lack of laughter or obvious enjoyment on their part was really quite telling.