Coming from how well thought out the tv series' plot is, and how the tv series is one of the best Asian TV series of the year, the movie is such a disappointment. To a point when I walk out from the theater, I couldn't help but feel the movie is all but a half effort cash grab leeching off the success of the original tv series.
From the get go the movie is obviously caught in a awkward dilemma of deciding whether it wants to be a standalone movie, or some sort of sequel / extension of the tv series. And I really don't know which one it is at the end of the movie, and it's a shame regardless which angle you're coming from, the movie is still a serious letdown.
The biggest culprit here is the story. The plot is extremely messy. Without spoiling the story, I'll say Act I is fine. It even has some nice fan moments. But in Act II and Act III the plot has created such a messy scenario that 1. Nobody can really tell what's going on anymore and 2. It's an impossible puzzle to solve. And finally in Act IV, without a real reasonable way to wrap up the story, the movie just makes up the most ridiculous and illogical ending. On a scale of 10 where 10 is a complete WTF, this rates fairly close to a 10 imo. While watching at the theater, I overheard the audience behind me saying 'if this is how the story ends im going to explode.'.... Unfortunately that's exactly how it 'ended'.
The pacing of the movie is fine. It feels dragged and slow in Act II, but it's mainly due to the weak and convoluted storyline. Acting is actually great IMO. Alice Ko especially stands out where if you're ever confused which character she's playing, it's because there's a plot twist. And there's no weak acting in this movie. And all this is such a shame. The actors do their best to make the characters believable, but there's no saving of this disastrous plot.
The only reason I gave it a 5 is there are a handful of nice fan moments to reward the fans of the tv series. Unfortunately those are all you will get out of this disappointing movie.
