in my small cognition. I divide the comics into two categories. One is American comics, Marvel and DC, and there are "Superman" and "Steel". There are countless themes such as "Man", "Batman" and "Spiderman"; the other category is Japanese comics, such as "Naruto", "One Piece", "Reaper", "Rurouni Kenshin" and other classics, which are even more exquisite.
After the comics industry has matured to a very prosperous situation, the adaptation of comics to live-action movies has become an inevitable product of the times, and this emerging movie market has also become a kind of "perpetual motion machine" in the industry.
But it was not smooth at the beginning. Whether it was Japanese or American comics, the initial adaptations were almost unbearable. To give a few bloody negative textbooks, for example, "Dragon Ball" released in 2009 has almost become the long-awaited live version of Dragon Ball. The nightmare of a generation, and the double collapse of the box office reputation of "Dare Demon" and "Green Lantern" in Hollywood also made the production company realize that the adaptation of classic comics to live-action movies is not a sweet pastry for everyone to see and love.
At that time, the scariest thing about being a manga fan was to hear which company was going to adapt his loyal comics. It was a complex feeling of expectation and fear. However, with the passage of time, as the older generation of film workers made sacrifices on the road to failure, and with the rapid improvement of film technology, it has become possible or even better for the unconstrained comics to adapt to live-action movies. This is first in the United States. An explosion point was formed in the middle. The success of the "Iron Man" series, "Spiderman" series, and the "Avengers" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" mixed series has led to a new level of comic adaptation of live-action movies. So far, fans are not afraid, but not Stop asking the production company, when will this comic be on the screen? Who will play this character?
In the face of such a happy situation, how can a Japanese film production company remain indifferent.
Now, I'm going to talk about this live-action movie adapted from the classic "Rurouni Kenshin" comic. "Rurouni Kenshin" now has three live-action movies, namely "Rurouni Kenshin", "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Fire", "Rurouni Kenshin: The End of the Legend", because it is the end of the chapter. I haven't read it yet, and I haven't written a film review for the first part, so this article is based on the feeling of watching the first and second together.
Speaking of Japanese manga-based films, the "Hot-Blood High School" series that immediately lit up in my forehead was 2007. At that time, the first "Hot-Blood High School" live-action movie had a great impact on me. At that time, I discovered that the original movie was true. You can shoot the exaggerated and undistorted look and feel in comics, and the tension expressed in comic stories can indeed be achieved on the big screen. This has also become an important factor in my evaluation of this type of film. The story of "Rurouni Kenshin" does not need to be said at least, only the "Remembrance" can show the author's strong foundation in conceiving the story (now I think of the story of the Remembrance and I will be excited), then the story is no problem Now it's up to see whether "Rurouni Kenshin" has not done enough to restore the comic itself or even has a gratifying improvement.
In the beginning, many of the failures of manga adaptations to live-action movies were due to the fact that science and technology could not keep up with imagination. The cartoons portrayed in the wild: some are vast universes, some are strange countries, some are huge mechanical monsters, and some are magnificent martial arts fights. In the past, when the film technology was not developed enough, it was difficult to satisfy the original manga author’s imagination, maybe he could barely make it, but it was also difficult to satisfy the comic fans. But in 2012, the world was completely different. The "Avengers" that opened a new chapter in a comic adaptation of a live-action movie appeared in this year, so the first live-action chapter of "Rurouni Kenshin" was released in the same year. Many of the problems that I had to worry about in the past are now no longer a problem at all.
There is no problem with casting. Japanese actors themselves have an unclear temperament, as if they are living in comics. Many times this movie has nothing to do with comics, but it looks like the actors have come out of the comics, perhaps as Because of the country with a long history of manga culture. In the film, whether it is Takeru Sato who plays the protagonist Kenshin Himura or Kagawa Teruyuki who plays the exaggerated acting villain Takeda, the choice of each character in the manga is perfect in my opinion. I believe that with the popularity of the film, the faces of these actors have been given to this role in concept for many years, and they cannot be replaced.
There is no problem with clothing and scene design. In this regard, the film has achieved the first visual impact. Although there are good settings in comics or animations, it is actually a two-dimensional aesthetic confined to the drawing paper, and it is truly true when the scene is restored in reality. , The sensory stimulation it brings cannot be replaced by other elements. The good thing is that the team responsible for the entire set of costumes, scenes, and props have tried to restore the old Japan's face, especially the reality. At this point, I feel very touched. In the film, you will often feel that there is a kind of "beauty" but also some "dirty" in the shaping of the character. It’s like Kenshin walking incognito on the street, his wrinkled Ronin kimono with dust on the hem; like the kid in the show, the neckline of his clothes is dirty and black, and his hair has not been washed for a few days; it is also like "Kyoto The big villain Zhizhixiong who appeared in "The Fire", his whole body and the straps on his head are dirty and messy. Although these have no specific performance in the comics, they will feel very real in the movie. The other side of the reality is a strong visual contrast. The small ones are like small pendants tied behind the kimono of Xiao Cao and the red of Jianxin. The big ones are like Takeda’s "Mansion" and the shocking scene of the "Fire Hanging Policeman" at the beginning of "The Great Fire of Kyoto". The reality and contrast in these visions form a strong style of the entire series. Under the impact of this style, almost no one is dissatisfied with the restoration and adaptation of the scene.
There is no problem with the fighting scene. As an action movie, it is called martial arts movie in China, and Japanese movie also has its own scientific name called sword halberd movie. Chinese martial arts pursue a kind of culture and belief, and finally show the "chivalrous spirit" through fighting; while Japanese swordsman films pursue the visual stimulation brought by the real hack and kill (commonly known as the "big kill formation"). In the "Rurouni Kenshin" live-action movie series, it can be said that this kind of sword halberd pursuit can be seen everywhere. Through the hard practice of the actors, the film screen shows the kind of swordsmanship that is like a rabbit, and several action dramas. It also vividly expresses the feeling of "thousands of people cut". What's more commendable is that after each fight, the director tries to show the audience the truest side of the character, with dirty clothes and sticky hair sticking to his face. Above, although these pictures are not beautiful, they are extremely real. This is not seen in the comics. But the unique thing in the comics is that the author will fantasize many handsome, powerful, and named "movements". These "movements" were not available in the real world of that era, and the "movements" that did not exist were striving for How to behave in a real movie will also become the key to whether a manga adapted from a live-action movie can be illuminated. To my surprise, the whole team of the movie made this packaging very brilliant. In the final duel scene of the first live-action version of "Rurouni Kenshin", Udō Kenshin used the technique of "back knife". In the movie, whether it is the cutting of perspective or the performance of the actors, they have tried their best to restore the imagination in the comics, and they have a strong visual perception. The trick "Double Dragon Flash" used by Jianxin can only be used A handsome character to express it.
The story, actors, props, pictures, and action scenes are all fine. Where is the problem? In my opinion, it is precisely the connection between the second and the third that has a problem.
Let me talk about the first part. The first live-action version of "Rurouni Kenshin" was released in 2012. The whole movie feels like it was done in one go. A 134-minute movie can hardly feel the passage of time, even though 134 minutes is for such a huge comic book. It's still too short, but the first part still clearly introduces and shows every character that appears on the scene. Based on the fact that there are not many characters in the first part, there will not be the problem of characters squeezing the story and highlighting the characters too bloated. But this problem is undoubtedly revealed in the second part. In addition to the 6 permanent protagonists in the first part, a series of characters such as Juan Machimo, Cangzi, Shishio, Seta Sojiro, etc. are added in the second part (this It’s not even counted as some supporting roles in the scene), it is difficult in a story if you want to still give each character a good part in more than 130 minutes. Obviously the director also knows, so the second is not the second.
"Rurouni Kenshin" live-action series is released after two years. Although one is called "Kyoto Fire" and the other is called "The End of Legend", it essentially tells a complete story "Kyoto" , This is different from the sequel. The sequel usually has a complete narrative in one episode. Simply put, after playing one boss, play a new boss in the next one. However, the second and third parts of "Rurouni Kenshin" are completely different. The story is almost an indivisible whole, which leads to the feeling of loss when the second part is finished. And a sense of hollowness. Under such a premise, the second part lacks a lot of look and feel. Because the first part is very strong and refreshing, it is awkward to watch the second part. Want to see Jianxin's Dahongpao? Sorry, no; want to see the ultimate showdown between Jianxin and the boss? Sorry, neither. What I saw was Jianxin's broken sword, abused and finally defeated lying on the beach.
This is too much in contrast to the story of the first episode, and there is a saying called "Come on the excitement, and return after defeat." The film distributor is also aware of this problem, so "The Great Fire in Kyoto" was released in August 2014. Later, only one month later, the third "The End of the Legend" was released in September. This is simply unreasonable. We are familiar with the successful division of a story into two episodes and the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The two episodes are separated by 8 months, "The Hobbit" People: The Battle of Smaug" and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (also a continuous and complete story) have been separated by a year, and the domestic "Red Cliff" has also been separated by nearly 6 months. The next episode of "Taiping Wheel", which is released, will not be seen until 5 months later. Divide a complete story into two episodes. One may indeed be that the story is too large, and the director needs two works to explain it; the other is commercial interest considerations. Like the "Harry Potter" series and the "The Hobbit" series have long-standing heritage there, a cultural tradition has been formed, it is not a problem after a few months and a year, but if a series does not With a tradition spanning several years, and clearly knowing that the upper and lower parts are an inseparable whole, the time span of the screening is too large at this time, which is an act of irresponsibility to the audience. This also explains why the first episode of "Tai Ping Wheel" has a bad reputation at the box office, because many people came back and said helplessly, "watching the two-hour trailer." Ming knew that the first episode was not clear. The second part is only released after nearly half a year. I think it can only be explained by "recognizing money only".
In this regard, the Japanese publisher has done very decisively. The audience is upset when watching the second film, right, come on! One month later, watch the third part directly! Therefore, in fact, "The Great Fire of Kyoto" + "The End of the Legend" is the second work of the real "Rurouni Kenshin" in the sense.
Throughout the entire series, if one of the heart’s blemishes that caused you to die in two minutes but not died in 5 minutes has not appeared in the first part at the end, then the live-action adaptation of the first part can be said to be perfect. . And there is another shortcoming in the whole story that the policemen in the film are stupid, stupid, and weak, and they are not humane and convincing enough. As for "The Great Fire of Kyoto" that can be seen now, I don't think it is as good as the first one, but adding "The End of the Legend" may be a different impression.
So, now it’s okay to watch the first movie at any time, but if the second movie can be watched together until the third movie, I think it’s the most comfortable viewing experience. In any case, I really admire the Japanese publisher’s actions. The second and third works are released only one month apart. It is not a good practice from a commercial point of view, but in order to understand the story, in order to let the audience not finish watching it. Confused, they did it anyway. I don’t know if the domestic film distributors have learned anything.
By the way, in the movie, the swordhearted thief is handsome, and the girls with normal sexual orientation can't resist.
recommend! !
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