White Snake

6.3/10 (rounded to 6/10) How much do quality visuals contribute the overall quality of a movie? White Snake proves that it is important, but great visuals can not necessarily save a mediocre story. I watched this movie in Chinese a few months ago, and I was wowed by the amazing visuals. The backgrounds look spectacular, and the animation of the fight sequences is also very good. For some reason, I also really like how the fabrics look. If I had to point out some flaws about the visuals, I would say that some of the animation of the clothing looks stiff and that the character designsare bland. I'm a sucker for xianxia and wuxia stories, and I was disappointed by White Snake. While watching this film, not once did I think that the story live up to the exemplary visuals. The characters were uninspiring, in particular the villains, who were especially one-note and dull. The story was inoffensive at best and extremely forgettable at its worse. Its cutaways to flashbacks were sometimes confusing even though the rest of the plot was extremely simple. I actually had to watch the trailer to refresh my memory. Despite all this, I think White Snake was pretty enjoyable. I won't watch it again, but I don't regret watching it. It was a net positive experience. At the very least, I'm glad more people are willing to give Chinese animation a chance.

Not sure how much art contributes to the quality, but I can assure you that the artwork and animation is astounding. There is scenery in the film that's incredible, they're gorgeous and very appealing to look at. The animation is fluid, the battle scenes are fluid, and oh my goodness the scenery - THE SCENERY! The story, however, cannot be said the same. It may just be my own preferences - but I like slow-burn romances, things such as: 1.) it takes weeks to kindle even a friendship among the duo 2.) they've known each other for at least a couple months before advancing the relationship 3.) and majorevents happen to further progress the friendship before moving into a relationship. None of those things are in this film (a little bit of #3 tho). Xuan doesn't really have a reason to help xiao bai, and the characters progress too quickly for my liking. The ending was pretty fantastic, though, no spoilers here. overall rating = 7 (.5(?))

As someone who's a multitude of Chinese webnovels over the years, watching this movie has been an absolute treat. Seeing daoists and demons come alive on screen was really fun and it was so cool watching all the world building this movie has to offer. While it was a little slow at the start, it makes sure to pay off each and every set up that it makes, gradually cumulating into a climax that ties everything together. The visuals are great, and the action is amazing. The romance itself is not that great, but I still found it to be enjoyable. I think the moviedeserves an 8 for me. If I had to say anything, I would say that I wish the movie would have something that would leave a longer impression. Although the movie by itself is quite fun and rewarding to watch and experience on its own, so all in all I'm pretty happy to have seen White Snake.