Right, just watched it so it's fresh in my mind.
The sound design is probably the first thing the audience would notice. Every action, every scene is accompanied by a unique noise such as having gongs beaten on the slap of a fan, that, I wouldn't go as far as to say it is innovative but it is certainly rare to hear in most modern films. It essentially takes traditional Chinese theatre music and integrates them into the movie.
You've probably seen this film being listed as a comedy but by no means is this a comedy so don't be misled into thinking it'll be a Stephen Chow type thing. Sure there are some comedic elements to break the steam a bit once and a while but the seriousness of the movie is very well reflected throughout. Also, don't expect much action, this is not an action film. It works in the same way as a detective movie would go about.
And that leads me into the penultimate point. The unpredictability of every corner. Sure sometimes, going overboard with avoiding cliches can be detrimental at times but this is an instance where it remains impressively well thought out. There's a very clear crescendo that hits its climax at the very end so just know the tension will only keep rising whilst maintaining a good storytelling pace.
Mind you, you really need to keep track of what's going on or you are for certain going to lose grip on the story.
However, if there are a couple of critiscms to be made. The ending had room to be even more fleshed out, since at that point, everything happens really quickly and there's a weird unexplained twist that gets shoved in there without too much explanation. Furthermore, as good as the non-cliches are, it creates a pattern that you pick up pretty easily if you're focused enough.
My personal verdict on this movie comes as a 9/10. Highly unexpected for this year. I had not even heard of it before today in fact except reading on the background history of the time period of which this film is set in. There are few films in the past few years which has actually attracted my attention to write a review on it, and I'm glad that I've watched it and have been able to give my review.
Thank you.
