Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015) User Reviews

Tombraiding Chinese style...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 8 October 2016]

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" (aka "The Ghouls", a title which do the movie no justice at all) is definitely not a movie that you should let slip under your radar. I became aware of the movie because I am a fan of Shu Qi, so of course I had to watch the movie. And let me just say that this movie can essentially be summarized as a Chinese "Tomb Raider" movie, of sorts.

The story is about three close-knitted tomb explorers whom is drifting apart, as they are not adjusting to life in USA, after having left China behind. And when Wang Kaixuan (played by Huang Bo) sends an alluring video with proof of an ancient tomb, the interest of the Hu Bayi (played by Kun Chen) and Shirley (played by Shu Qi) is stirred. But what secrets will the Mojin unearth in this ancient tomb? And are the intentions of their employer really what they say? Whom can you trust when you are trapped far beneath the surface of the Earth?

There is a very good pace to the movie, and it kicks up into a fast and good pace early on, and it doesn't really slow down throughout the course of the movie. And as such, then there weren't really any slow, dull or boring moments throughout the two hours that the movie run for.

The effects in "Mojin: The Lost Legend" were goods and that really helped the movie along quite nicely. Especially because special effects and CGI that prove convincing, realistic or just dazzling awesome are very important to movies such as this. And the special effects and CGI team handled this with flying colors.

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" has a good assembly of cast members. The three lead talents were equally performing well in the movie; that being Huang Bo, Kun Chen and Shu Qi. But also Xiaoqing Liu (playing Madam Ying) was standing out here with her performance.

If you enjoy adventure movies with supernatural elements, such as "Indiana Jones", "Tomb Raider" and the likes, then you should most definitely give "Mojin: The Lost Legend" a chance. Don't write it off because it is a Mandarin movie, because this movie is definitely a well-worthy addition to the adventure genre.

Stunning visuals and very suspenseful

[subxerogravity · 6/10 · 21 December 2015]

It's one of those movies that I knew I'd be interested in, going to the theaters. the poster screams action and adventure like Indiana Jones.

It's a buddy movie with a little romance and fantastic imagery. It's how the Chinese are doing epic these days, outdoing the American blockbuster, or at least giving it a valiant effort.

The special effects are boss, and the movie comes with a great assortment of charters in a story that untangles in a way that keeps you interested in what happens next.

But I have to admit, Mojin is not as charming and amusing as they think of themselves, but that might have more to do with the cultural differences

One of my favorite parts was a scene were the characters just began to drop f-bombs like it was nothing. It felt like the use of this word was not as bad in China as it is in America (especially in sub title form), but it made for a good unexpected laugh from a movie I would have assumed was rated PG-13.

Mojin is definitely visually amazing. I could watch the imagery for days and it has a great story tied to it. Nice blockbuster made in china.

Tomb Raiding Chinese style

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 19 May 2017]

We are a mere couple of weeks away from a new Mummy movie. And it just goes to show you that adventures with ancient secrets, graves and legends are still very popular in the eyes of the film watching audience. There is a couple of time-lines and everything is of course connected as you would expect. It's overall a nice adventure for the whole family with action and suspense for everyone.

You can't really judge acting in movies like that and the story overall. It's all there for the special effects to come on. The relationships work nicely and the flow of the movie is good too. The mentioned special effects are good enough. Just don't expect too much and you'll be pleased

Visually, humorous, yet not enough.

[Patient444 · 6/10 · 11 February 2016]

In all fairness, it is a far better production than I've seen many times, a good plot, good actors, script, director, overall, a movie to entertain, maybe even to recommend.

I must say, a lot of the lines were quite funny, they got me laughing, and not just one or twice. Visually, it is beautiful, peaceful and calming effects, that got you focused only on them when they were on, good use of CGI, plenty of Asian culture references, a little of the American view towards it too. I had fun watching it, the end is as always over stretched but lucky for me, I got used to it by now.

I graded it 6 stars out of 10, it succeeded on many levels, but there was room for better.

Cheers!

The sight of undead and forbidden tomb, the quintessential Chinese action adventure.

[quincytheodore · 6/10 · 23 December 2015]

Fighting a hopping ghostly entity in action comedy flair is an old trend in Chinese cinema, mostly dealing with silly version of vampire. As the visual technology advances this kind of premise resurfaces recently, the closest comparison would be The Mummy with oriental atmosphere. Mojin might seem too flamboyant or slow at first, rightfully so since the blend of horror and action only shows its effectiveness later on.

Story follows a reluctant adventurer Hu Bayi (Chen Kun) as he is drawn to a mystery from 20 years ago. The pacing is unfortunately sluggish at first act, relying heavily on slapstick comedy for a bit too long. This kind of loud banter is used frequently in Chinese comedy, or even in Korean or Japanese flicks, but the outlandish approach may not resonate too well for audience from the west. It's admittedly a niche flavor and culture-oriented taste. Furthermore, the drama factor simply shines towards the end.

After it sets the tone, it gets increasingly better. By incorporating few mythological embellishments and creepy characters, it even manages to be unexpectedly eerie beyond the original cheesy nature. Action and effect fare much better. There is a polished visual here, though it's not the level of high tier animation and it needs the help of artistic design to create appealing set pieces, especially since it dabbles mostly on barren terrains.

Credit must go to Shu Qi as the love interest Shirley. She looks very gorgeous, donning the popular Lara Croft visage and it's nice to have such character when raiding long lost tomb. The action also comes to fruition on second half as story shifts from silliness to tight narrative and eye-catching sequences. Humor works better as well, breaking away from the stand-up comedy and presenting a couple of nice gags even when the pace becomes faster.

The movie's later parts are better than the rest, more so considering it's a fairly long movie with considerable build-up. However, when all the pieces fit together Mojin - The Lost Legend is an adequately fascinating adventure.

The perfect action adventure fantasy.

[paulclaassen · 6/10 · 17 June 2018]

Just like 'Tomb Raider' this is another perfect example of amazing action sequences and stunning visuals compensating an average plot. So, if it's non-stop action you're looking for, you'll definitely find it here. The cinematography was also awesome! I enjoyed the archaeological aspect as well as the setting in the huge tomb. Angelbaby did her best Angelina Jolie impression but was not as convincing and did not seem determined enough. I enjoyed the friendship/rivalry between long-term friends Hu Bayi and Wang. The film has a lot of silly slapstick humor, but the entertainment value was far greater. This was funny, thrilling, exciting and super entertaining. It may not be a perfect movie, but it is a perfect action adventure fantasy!

tomb raiders in China

[unkel_andee · 6/10 · 14 September 2017]

This review contains a "spoiler" read at your own risk

Not the best tomb raider movie but I've seen worse. The action is uneven and it seemed like the movie could not decide if it was an action comedy, a caper film or an adventure flick.I never felt pulled into the story and "spoiler alert" when it looks like a lead character may have died I didn't really care but if you like a movie with subtitles that sometimes flash past before you finish reading and you have nothing else to do then watch this movie but if you want great plot,great acting and great storytelling then you might want to skip it.

Stunning visual and audio which was dragged to hell by an absolutely dumb plot

[fugakaka · 4/10 · 25 January 2016]

I rarely watch Chinese movies and dramas, but there's a formula in almost every single title I've encountered: the cast is full of dumb side-characters with no brain cell just to make the main characters look cooler than they actually are, which they actually aren't. And often, none of the cast is memorable or like-able, and neither is the plot.

Mojin-The Lost Legend's production value is high. That's what you can tell from the very first moment you see the movie. If you wonder how great the visual and audio is, just watch the trailer. However, I'm afraid the trailer already shows all this movie offers. Everything else is just... awful.

As I said, the visual can not save this movie's 5-year-old plot. This movie has lots of suspenseful sequences (4 as long as I can remember), but that's all there is to it. The entire movie's plot revolves around triggering these sequences by whatever reasons just to showcase the visual, the effects, CGI, etc. Let me list some instances where side characters acted like they were brain-dead just for those oh-so-cool scenes to happen:

1st sequence: We saw some weird-looking thingies. One of our member said those were dangerous. To hell with it, let's destroy them! -> Sh*t happened, lots of people died. Whew!

2nd (Just after 1): Hey. Those weird-looking thingies are here again. Our people just died? I don't f*cking care! Let's destroy them again. "We are materialists. We are not scared of anything!" <- Sh*t happens, running like chickens later.

3rd sequence: We are in someplace dangerous and full of traps. The experts said do not touch anything. Wow! There's that thing we were looking for. Let's touch it immediately! -> You can imagine the end.

4th time: Our people just died. Experts said don't wander aimlessly. Why the h*ll should I care? I go where I want to -> die immediately after.

5th sequence: There's that thing we were looking for, AGAIN! Our people just died from touching the same thing. Oh f*ck we want it so bad. So let me take it! And I'm sorry I don't like wearing gloves despite our people just died from touching the very same thing. Hah!

At this point I did not care about any of the side characters anymore. They were either brain-dead or suicidal or both. If I want to watch a movie about them, I would not watch this movie in the first place.

And the main characters, they were okay at most. The movie depicts them as "Legendary Mojin" but fails to deliver. There were nothing impressive about them in the film. There were some instances where the hero could showcase his "wit", but it is delivered in such an awful way that you might not understand anything and think the writer of this movie was just feeding us bullsh*t in order to make the main hero looks "smart".

The heroine, if you has some understanding about Japanese culture, is a "tsundere". She was okay, but her character was not invested enough in my opinion. There was no back-story explaining why and when she met the main hero and how their relationship developed. She was just... there, in the present, insulting the protagonist almost every instance she talked (even though it was obvious she was insulting him because she loved him so much.Hah!); however, in the end, BOOM!, they became a couple. A movie just could not be done right without a happy ending and romance, right?

In conclusion, if you just want to watch some cool suspenseful sequences and do not care about the plot and how illogical the characters are, this movie is perfect for you. However, if you are looking for something more than just an eye-candy, look elsewhere. This movie is not for those looking for logic and realism.

Chinese's Indiana Jones

[devesh070 · 7/10 · 15 June 2016]

This movie just like Indiana Jones adventures, fun, suspense, love etc. but here instead of one hero there are two heroes and a girl. This movie plot is somehow related to the Indiana Jones but this movie is also as good as Indiana Jones and one scene is there when one of the guys got trapped in illusion in the end of movie is very good. Mostly you feel the touch of Indiana Jones in this movie. The maker of this movie must be very big fan of Indiana Jones. In the movie they showed us that the three of them used to steal treasure from the tomb and in the tomb there are lots of traps they are expert of it but something happen once so they gave up this profession. Someone come to one of the guy and told him to steal from the tomb just as they used to do it and ready to give lots of money. Firstly one of the guys goes alone than after sometime other two followed him and reached there then they solved lots of mysteries and puzzles. So, movie is very good you will like it if you are fans of Indiana Jones type movies you will love this movie.

A terrible mess

[dircpitt · 5/10 · 3 December 2019]

An attempt to imitate Indiana Jones unfortunately failed. Also in this case (as in Jiu ceng yao ta), the cues are many but instead of enriching the plot they end up complicating the development. On the other hand in some moments the thread of the narration is lost, everything becomes possible but without any connection or logic, the flashbacks sometimes seem put a little at random, more for narrative needs than for concrete reasons of development. It's a pity because it is a product that for the West really introduces so many new narrative inventions and possible paths never crossed but it all translates into a terrible mess.

Xun long jue is the most wonderful movie in the series of ghost blowing lamp.

[xuefeiding-47289 · 8/10 · 30 June 2020]

From the two books of huangpizifen and Jingjue ancient city, the director creates a horror and horror story from the abandoned Guandong army fortress. The performance of the three main characters is good, and the play and special effects are also great.

Chinese Version of Indiana Jones

[xinbuluan33 · 6/10 · 10 February 2016]

This is the Chinese version of Indiana Jones and Chen Kun has played a satisfactory part with the support of Shu Qi and Huang Bo.

Based on a radio programme "Gui Cui Deng" the plot and characters hold enough interest from the audience though the special effects made the film more CGI based that plot-based. The best part in the the romance between Shu Qi and Chen Kun while the mock at the innocence of the Red Guard spirit and the use of revolutionary romance to sustain the first part of the story was commercially driven which has money rather that meaning and story depth in mind.

The best part is really the finale where Angelababy's equninox flower emerge to put more meaining in the the first part where she fell to her depth due to her love for our hero.

All in all, I would like to see the movie more character and plot driven than CGI and 3D. Good enough to sustanin a sequel but not enough to win commerical hit or any critic acclaim. But another plus for Chen Kun.

Absolutely miserable film.

[cdseely · 1/10 · 4 July 2016]

I actually created an IMDb account just to write this short review. This movie is terrible. Not only does it make absolutely no sense, there isn't one character who is even remotely likable. The main characters fight and work at cross purposes for no apparent reason. The motivations for characters are unclear. I was hoping this movie was going to end with every character dying and an on-screen apology from the production company. Sadly, I was disappointed again. Avoid this film if you are planning on following dialogue or enjoying a plot. If you want to see some stuff explode and some sub-par comic relief, by all means watch.

3D effect is good

[yoggwork · 6/10 · 19 February 2019]

3D effect is good, it's a scolding name for the effect of washing garbage. I haven't seen who the actor is for a long time. Big Golden Teeth should be the best performer. In the plot aspect, the plot develops smoothly, breaking through customs and fighting monsters, but unfortunately, there is a lack of a boss in the end, just a little less hallucination.

Advantages & Disadvantages

[hooraychining · 7/10 · 30 January 2016]

Advantages: It has basic elements for adventure type film should be: a handsome leading role (Kun Chen), a wild beauty (Shu Qi), humour (Bo Huang & Yu Xia's roles), mystery and unknown whithin the story. It also reveals me that the human beings need to forget some obsession, in order to move further. In other words, to forget some pains, it may be the only chance to renew ourselves. Liu Xiaoqing is doing her best in this film. She dares to took a wig at the end, I think it is a challenge whether for her role, or for her own. You got it,right?

Disadvantages: Recently, I saw Angelababy in many films, really tired. The most important is that she is not the kind of beauty I like. Shu Qi's mandarin pronunciation is still really made me don't feel very well, especially when she was roaring.

Chinese Indiana Jones, yet entertaining

[siderite · 7/10 · 14 February 2023]

The visuals were very nice, the acting was decent, it was an entertaining action-adventure. It also made fun of mindless communist youth in the 60s and took pride in Chinese history and mythology. I am sure a lot of things were lost in translation, but I enjoyed the watching.

The plot is simple: a team of heroic grave robbers return to the place of their first major traumatic event. They explore a weird underground tomb guarded by zombies and curses and flames and in the end find closure and unity as a team. The acting was probably the worst part of the movie, or maybe the main character, who was an arrogant idiot telling everyone what they need to do and forcing them to do it if they didn't want to, while he attempts unsuccessfully to sacrifice his life when it actually isn't necessary. I liked that the story was focused on the characters, even while they go through endless (and mostly non-sensical) action scenes.

Bottom line: it gave me a feeling of hope for China's pop cinema. After all, we just need a steady stream of good accessible movies to start understanding their culture. Americans did it and look where it got them.

A decent one time watch Chinese action movie.

[sauravjoshi85 · 7/10 · 24 May 2021]

Mojin: The lost legend is an action adventure fantasy movie directed by Wuershan and stars Chen Kun, Huang Bo, Shu Qi, Angelababy, Xia Yu and Liu Xiaoqing in the leads.

There retired Tomb Raiders comes back from the retirement to find the reason behind the loss of one of their loved one.

I am quite surprised to see the movie rating of just six IMDB stars as the movie isn't that bad in fact is decently gripping and quiet humorous.

The plot of the movie is good and execution is decent, there is an excessive used of CGI but is been used effectively, the screenplay of the movie is decently paced and will keep you engaged. Action scenes of the movie are amazing,

Acting is good and for me the best of them all was Huang Bo with his perfect comic timings he surely makes a mark on the viewers, Chen Kun and Shu Qi were also impressive, Xia Yu was also humorously effective, Liu Xiaoquig wore a similar face throughout the movie.

This is a decent one time watch action adventure movie with decent storyline, good execution and good ending. Watch once and you'll not be disappointed.

Terrible Indiana Jons rip off that fails.

[gvis · 3/10 · 28 March 2020]

Why do Asian movies always have these hyperacive charaters all time ? I see it in all these Asian action comedies.

Mojin is some sort of Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider type of movie about a group of "tomb raiders"who decide to quit after a accident and move to the US. Suddenly a rich guy, who's motive is never really made clear, makes hem an offer they can not refuse. They reunite and decide to pick up their old habit again.

From there it becomes one terrible mess. The plot line (if there is one) and the motives of the characters is never really made clear. The main characters do nothing but shout and bicker at each other and none of them are really likeable. The scenery is ok but is mostly an overkill of CGI. I found myself fast forwarding the second half and was glad it was finished. What a waste of time.

Good Plot and Scenery, Bad Acting and Screenplay

[cbk123 · 4/10 · 15 August 2022]

Better rename the movie Mojin: Planet of Apes. A very good plot destroyed by bad acting and bad makeups. The movie could have been made far better - it has a really good plot and overall theme.

you need to learn about Chinese history

[emilyz-25809 · 10/10 · 30 January 2016]

This movie is adapted by the novel of the same name. If you think some plot is ridiculous, it is because you know nothing about Chinese culture and history. What happened in 20 years ago in the movie is on the background of the Great Cultural Revolution. Lots of people were brainwashed so that they didn't respect the Chinese traditional stuff and destroyed the historical sites at that time. You can google this history if you are interested in. Besides, Grave Robbery is a mysterious profession with long history in China. Anyway, It is a good way to learn about the unique Chinese culture and history that I cannot explain in a few words through figuring out what you cannot understand.

It is an excellent movie! The plot is thrilling but hilarious! All the actors are professional! Unfortunately, it is difficult to translate everything accurately!

Visually beautiful, BUT.....

[fumper1023 · 8/10 · 1 January 2019]

Here's why I gave it an 8, the beginning. That's it, the beginning. What's up with the "INS" lady she just happens to be on the mean streets of New York or in this case, an alley of NYC? Was she there to bust random people? Oh! and the breakdancing?? I know they were trying to emphasize that it was the 80's but how cheesy was that? Was there no other way for them to create an 80's feel to the movie? And the bar scene also lowered the rating for me. The over acting of one of the main characters took away from the movie, and certainly didn't add anything for me. I know this form of comedy is the "go-to" for many Chinese movies but it doesn't work too well in the West. Otherwise I really would've given a 10 because I loved it. Totally action packed and visually eye popping.