chi bi.
so yes, i finally watched chi bi. and i loved it. i've always had a thing about epic movies. and especially those set in ancient times. the storyline was great. i was a little wary about watching it at first since hongbin felt that the movie was too draggy. but it totally wasn't. i can understand why but i felt that there was a need for such movies to be draggy. in this case, the movie was draggy at the right places. it wasn't too in-depth and neither was it too casually brought across. so even if you know nuts about the three kingdoms, you'd be able to understand the film.
my dad made my brother and i read the book and the television series when we were young, so the plot was rather familiar to me. there wasn't much changes, but there was more focus on the love aspect, as compared to the actual story, which focuses more on the development of each character and the war tactics used. but i have to say that the cinematography was very much similar to the Lord of the Rings trilogy - especially when they were trying to show how large an army Cao Cao had.
but. but. but. i was rather disappointed with the way it ended. in the show, the final part of the war was about to happen, practically the next day or so. and they just cut it off there and then. rather abruptly, in my opinion. i knew there was going to be a second part, but i hadn't expected it to be so abrupt and.. just there and then. i'd really very much rather they made this a three or four hour movie and i'd gladly sit through the entirety of it. this just makes me feel that they're doing this to get twice the profits from tickets. people who watched the first part would most definitely pay again to watch the second. double the tickets = double the profits. and to think that the second part would be coming out half a year later! what? i've to remember every single detail of the first part and regurgitate it for the second? totally ridiculous. which means i'd have to get the dvd and watch it before watching the second or pay more to watch both the first and second in the theatres - i bet the theatres would have some kind of movie-thon going on as some form of promotion for the movie.
this whole first part and second part thing is totally irritating, in my opinion. same as with the Lord of the Rings. i'd very much gladly sit in the movie theatres the entire day and finish off the entire series, rather than leaving disappointed and having to wait for an entire year before i can complete the movie. so extremely tamade.
but anyways, i'd still say, go catch the movie. you really need the sound effects, the super clear huge screen to appreciate it. for the first time, i actually felt the gory in a war movie. i didn't even feel it in other movies like Black Hawk Down. so yes, watch this. =)