Shadow

The desaturated palate is monotonous more than beautiful, though the film does feature a few exquisite moments. As for plot, it also feels a bit disappointing: its concepts are compelling but underwhelmingly executed. In the end, just a decent film.

Exquisitely crafted epic comes to stunning life during its action scenes, (most notably a breathtaking village assault by a horde of umbrellas(!)) but only makes the dry, oftimes clunky exposition that much harder to deal with - the film comes to a frustrating stand-still in the moments that it should be livening the audience. Still the technical work (including some beautiful cinematography) makes this well worth seeing.

I might have enjoyed the color scheme for another movie, but going for such a formalistic look in a movie that is seemingly 90% dialogue (and mostly bad dialogue at that) is a regrettable choice. And I never was much into kung fu movies, but if you have to have your characters slide through a town on revolving blade-umbrellas to stand out in some way, it raises the question whether everything that needed to be done has been done in the genre already.

A disgraced general hatches a plot to reclaim control of a great city. It's an interesting story, well acted and supported by some incredible visual compositions but is held back by two things: pacing (which is all over the place in the second half), and the complete and utter lack of a color palette. I mean, I totally get the aesthetic Zhang is going for, as well as the thematic parallels between the literal use of shadow and the way the general uses his double/shadow in the story, but damn.

inevitable that zhang would attempt an overt manifestation of the taijitu after years of balletic brutality & sensual spectacle. shot in against-type monochrome with stretches devoted to chess/go-like strategic manoeuvrings, it's a film of dualities the most intriguing of which may be between director(commander) & actor(shadow). best not think too hard though; the pop epic's where his heart lies, and the sublime finale of snorkels and weaponised umbrellas is a relief when it finally arrives.

Yimou Zhang returns with another big martial arts epic shot in stunning grey scales with only the slightest hints of colors. On the fight choreography Zhang also delivers again. Most rememberable is a sequence with a group of fighters use umbrellas made out of knifes to slide down a street on. Unfortunate these fight scene stakes depend on a plot about some uninteresting cliched political intrigues and maneuvering involving some uninteresting stereotypical characters.

Yimou is the master of these kind of "internal" stories. History of China, secrets, loves, martial arts etc. His script and Zhao's cinematography is the perfect match. Scenes of the conquer of the Jing are the most beautiful moments of the film. Maybe the best in its kind. I really love this!

Considering that this is from the director of Hero, the movie manages to underwhelm. This is especially notable because it plays and focuses heavily on the use of the colors of black and white. In concept, this makes sense. But in reality, it adds a blandness that is unexpected and somewhat unwelcome considering how vibrant many Chinese epics are.

Masterpiece ?

While I think it's great, it's lesser than Flying Daggers and Hero. The plot isn't as intriguing or emotional, and the fighting isn't as thrilling, but both of these are good. But Zhang displays a dedication to the idea of shadows, both as a type of person and an aesthetic; it's very grim and dark, not much colour, represents the life of a shadow. Beautiful photography, directing, some memorable scenes. I appreciate the artistic choice but it doesn't pop like Daggers or Hero.

What the fuck is wrong with everybody? Poor kings and prince!

saray entrikalari icerisinde 31ciler icin bir stepwife hikayesi de kurulmus. bolca kan ve karikaturize isler

I'm not sure how this movie looks better than House of the Flying Dagger even though it might as well be black and white. I guess Yimou Zhang is just a film wizard. While I think the fight choreography of this is superior it suffers from the same character and plot problems as Flying Dagger.

Visually stunning. The rain-soaked, deep-focus exteriors are especially breathtaking but there isn't a single throw-away shot in the whole film. I would like to think Zhang Yimou only made that crummy Great Wall movie to fund this.

Awesome visuals and choreography. The plot is a bit twist heavy, especially in the end, but the story is compelling nonetheless.

Zhang Yimou'dan ilginç bir film. Barış antlaşması sağlayan 2 hanedan, aralarına nifak tohumu sokan bir komutan tarafından bozulmak istenir. İlginç şemsiyeli sopalı dövüş sahneleri komedi. Bence 2018 yılının 2. overrated filmi. Savaş sahneleri çok komik. Son hesaplaşma sahnesi mükemmel. Filmi kurtaran, arada klişe de olsa sonu. En son şemsiye ile dövüş olduğunda metrobüs uçmuştu. Sağlam silah. Kafaya vurdu mu şişirir.

Because of its color palette, there was always a good chance it could feel quite gimmicky- thankfully, it doesn't. Carried just as much by its strong characters & simple but engrossing story as by its stunning visuals, it's a fascinating ride that combines fun action sequences with a well-structured plot full of twists & turns, & a hint of romance. There are some pacing issues in the third act, & one too many twists for twists' sake for my liking, but overall it's very worth a watch.

The stunning cinematography can't really rescue a script that combines all the worst parts of M. Night Shyamalan movies and young adult anime. It's particularly frustrating because the first act is so wonderfully set up--like Frank Herbert's Dune in ancient China. Unfortunately, once the action picks up, we get into the eye-rollingly stupid. Twists for the sake of twists, plotholes the size of bowling balls and dialog that seems not far off from "heh, not bad, you made me use 5% of my power."

The real highlight of this film is the beautiful cinematography, but the plot itself wasn't too bad either, despite a somewhat confusing start and a dearth of relatable characters.

Definitely shines in the cinematography department. The desaturated look fits the film well and all the rainy scenes look stunning. Also the action is great. The film lacks in the first half. The story takes long to take off and the pacing feels a little odd. But it's worth it just for the third act.

Incredible cinematography, like there could be anything less from Yimou Zhang. The use of darkness and water was brilliant! I really loved the story, though I think the musical duel near the end broke up the tension and the end has a few too many Departed-style deaths. All in all, a fine addition to Yimou's already impressive filmography.

Gray tones, Black & White lots of grainy rock patterns, and lots of slow-motion? Is this Zack Snyder? Jokes aside, a great director like Yimou Zhang could've been much better than creating cool frames. The director's illness of the last era. "Cool and Dark Frames". Directors start to take on cinema like photographers which is a bad habit. About the movie, political maneuvers between shadow, real commander, and the emperor were the best side of it. Action is okay-ish and the rest is mediocre.

A story of deceit and betrayal told in an almost shakespearean manner in addition to a nice bit of nicely choreographed action and some amazingly gorgeous imagery. It's great to see that a master like Zhang hasn't lost his touch and can still produce something skillful like that.