"Above the Cliff" ruined Zhang Yimou, and Zhang Yimou ruined spy movies

During the May Day holiday, many people went out to play. I think it's rare to have leisure time. Either calm down and have a good rest, read a good book, or watch a movie, which can be regarded as a kind of leisure.

Today, I went to see Zhang Yimou's "Above the Cliff". Before watching it, I heard that the reviews on the Internet were very high, and it was said that the market responded well on the day of the premiere. However, after watching it, I realized that it was far from the case, and I was very disappointed.

To put it simply, "Above the Cliff" ruined Zhang Yimou, and Zhang Yimou ruined spy movies.

Why do I say that? Let me break it down in detail.

The plot of "Above the Cliff" originated from the popular TV series "The Cliff" a few years ago. It only intercepted a very small plot in the drama, that is, Japan's 731 unit engaged in germ warfare ran into a The Communist Party of China sent a special agent team to contact the prisoner and escort him out of the country. The characters Gao Bin and Zhou Yi in the play are still policemen from the Heilongjiang Police Department in "The Cliff". It can be regarded as a new story based on the original framework. Logically speaking, such a story should be full of dangers and very interesting. However, after watching the movie, I realized that it is still questionable how even a famous director can control a spy movie that is more suspenseful than sensational.

First of all, according to the logic in the TV series "Cliff", the germ warfare of Unit 731 is a highly confidential matter in Japan. Even the top officials of the Heilongjiang Police Department like Gao Bin who have close relations with the Japanese kept it secret and avoided it. . If a prisoner escapes from the Chinese city that studies germ warfare, it can only be investigated by the Japanese military police themselves. How can it be handled by the Chinese police from the National Police Agency? Doesn’t this mean exposing the secrets of germ warfare to the world? In the TV series "Cliff", Zhou Yi devised a plan to use Unit 731 to poison, and almost lost his life. The cunning Gao Bin was unwilling to participate, which seemed very consistent with the actual situation at the time. However, the movie "Above the Cliff" obviously did not take this objective fact into consideration. Throughout the entire film, not a single Japanese was seen, and the Heilongjiang police were the ones investigating from beginning to end, which made the entire storyline unbelievable and contrary to actual historical truth.

Secondly, the character creation is too conceptual and mechanized, lacking the thickness and depth that a spy film should have.

One of the flaws in the character creation of "On the Cliff" is that no matter whether it is the main positive or negative characters, they all look like Iron Man and cannot be killed no matter what. If it is a positive character, the inability of an individual to be beaten to death can express a certain spiritual immortality, which has a certain symbolic meaning and is understandable. However, if everyone cannot be killed, it would seem too fake. Could it be that the positive characters are all Iron Man? The same goes for the villain. If he can't be beaten to death, he can't be more fake. In fact, in that very cruel special period, human life was as light as a feather. Only by truly showing the cruelty of death, and even the frequency and commonness of death, can it be shocking. It shows that in troubled times, it is not easy to live, and life is very fragile in that era. The more it shows the fragility of life in that era, the more it increases our respect and remembrance of the martyrs today, and the more contagious it becomes. On the other hand, if the characters in the play are always unable to be killed, it will make people think that the so-called war or spy war is actually just a "game" without danger, thus reducing the weight and depth of the spy war drama. In the TV series "Cliff", the scene where Zhou Yi was shot at the end was very accurate, and it was very consistent with the reality of that historical period. Therefore, "Cliff" made many people want to watch it.

Furthermore, the characters are pale and feeble, especially Liu Haocun’s agent image, which is obviously inappropriate and inaccurate.

Many people have praised Zhang Yimou for his unique vision in casting. Although he has successfully discovered big stars such as Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, the use of Liu Haocun, who plays Xiaolan in the play this time, is incredible. With those clear and innocent eyes, it's okay to play a simple girl like in "My Father and Mother", but playing a female agent is too far away from the point. It seems that Director Zhang still has not strayed away from the old vision of literary films when choosing actors. This basically determines the failure of the film's character image. I personally think that whether a spy is good or not does not depend largely on how good-looking his image is, or even how cool his movements are, but rather on his eyes. The specific identity of an agent determines that this kind of person often does everything without revealing his body, focusing on subtle expressions, especially the expression of the eyes. This is the reason why Zhou Yi and Gao Bin in "Cliff" have distinct characters. The look you look at Zhou Yi is sharp and stern in its alertness. Looking at Gao Bin's eyes again, he is so sophisticated, profound and cunning, which is very consistent with the character's image. The eyes cannot express the rich, vicissitudes and ups and downs of life experience. But the characters in the play clearly lack this. Especially Liu Haocun, who is just starting out, is too immature, lacks the sophisticated eyes that an agent should have, and lacks basic acting skills, which is the biggest flaw in the play. I can't even figure it out. In that era where the blade licks blood, who would dare to use such a novice as an agent? Just because of a good memory?

Furthermore, the design of many parts of the plot is illogical and goes against common sense.

Zhou Yi prepared two glasses of drugged drinks, ostensibly for two KMT agents, but ended up charming three people. Among them, Zhou Yi intentionally gave one cup to his fellow police officers.

At that time, the female police officer present had already discovered that her colleague had drunk the drug by mistake. So, why did Agent Chu Liang also collapse? There is no foreshadowing or explanation in the play. It is obviously too fake. It seems to be suspense, but in fact it is ridiculous and illogical.

Jin Zhide was caught, and Gao Bin knew it was a lie, so why did he shoot the so-called mole? There is no explanation in the play, and there is also a lack of reasonable logic. Especially the dialogue between Gao Bin and the traitor was very funny and made many moviegoers laugh. At that moment, Lei Jiayin, who had always shown the wretched behavior of a traitor very vividly, seemed to be no longer a traitor, but a comedy actor.

Finally, the plot lacks a sense of suspense with twists and turns and dangers, and is far less ups and downs and gripping than the TV series "The Cliff". The few places that seem to be suspenseful are too coincidental. Although it is said that there is no book without coincidence, but if it is too coincidental, too many coincidences, it would be too false. The secret of suspense is that it is reasonable and unexpected. However, several seemingly suspenseful parts of the movie are basically reasonable and expected. For example, the female police officer went out to check on the female agent before returning to the room, pulled out her pistol, and suddenly pushed the door open, only to find Zhou Yi sitting there quietly without anything unusual. There are more than one similar plot that is expected and without suspense, so I won’t go into details.

In short, after watching "Above the Cliff", I felt that it ruined Zhang Yimou. Zhang Yimou ruined the spy movie and made a spy movie that was originally very interesting and dangerous. An unapologetically bad movie. Apart from the usual Zhang Yimou photography features of the film, there is almost nothing to say.