In a way the movie reminds me of Jackie Chan's The Myth. Both follow the story of a researcher in a quest to find ancient artifact. Along the way his consciousness is mysteriously and magically transported across space and time. Thus, he relives the past life in awkward parallel perspective. It has all sorts of epic romance fantasy elements, all of them are merely skin deep, and most importantly it lacks any charm on the characters.
The main problem is the movie tries so hard to pack beautiful scenery, it sporadically shift sequences without establishing the character in any meaningful manner. First act alone sees myriad of subplots, it immediately enters a conspiracy, political and love banters. Note that it opens with two different timelines and stories, so when the movie introduces predicament so suddenly, it barely gives any sense of familiarity for the characters and audience probably wouldn't care much for them.
Writing is similar to astrology reading, fortune telling, or straight up fortune cookie gibberish. It wants to be a romantic lore, yet it sounds very pretentious with its "love conquers all" cliché. This ultimately ruins the characters as even though the cast is good, the material barely give them any depth or recognizable trait other than fantasy wannabes. The drive for relationship is simply absent.
It doesn't create momentum, and the drab pace continues, or even worsens towards the end. It's as though the vistas are the actual star and these people are the background. There are some good views here, it's clearly an above average production with costumes, intricate sets and occasional action scattered between. However, without amiable personalities, it becomes a boring escapade with cheap plastic romance.
Flair for aesthetic won't help much if the core human drama is overwhelmingly barren.
The main problem is the movie tries so hard to pack beautiful scenery, it sporadically shift sequences without establishing the character in any meaningful manner. First act alone sees myriad of subplots, it immediately enters a conspiracy, political and love banters. Note that it opens with two different timelines and stories, so when the movie introduces predicament so suddenly, it barely gives any sense of familiarity for the characters and audience probably wouldn't care much for them.
Writing is similar to astrology reading, fortune telling, or straight up fortune cookie gibberish. It wants to be a romantic lore, yet it sounds very pretentious with its "love conquers all" cliché. This ultimately ruins the characters as even though the cast is good, the material barely give them any depth or recognizable trait other than fantasy wannabes. The drive for relationship is simply absent.
It doesn't create momentum, and the drab pace continues, or even worsens towards the end. It's as though the vistas are the actual star and these people are the background. There are some good views here, it's clearly an above average production with costumes, intricate sets and occasional action scattered between. However, without amiable personalities, it becomes a boring escapade with cheap plastic romance.
Flair for aesthetic won't help much if the core human drama is overwhelmingly barren.