Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015)

Thanks for the memories!

Best movie of this year hands down!

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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!

"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.

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.

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.