text | Linghu Boguang
"Tomorrow's War" really failed miserably at the box office. This movie is Louis Koo 's work accumulated for ten years. Now that the box office is not good, Louis Koo is very worried. Why go to Internet celebrity live broadcasts, hold helmets at film festivals, and put down your body for all kinds of publicity? A few days ago, the official account of movie also released a video. Louis Koo watched the box office data more than twenty times a day. Every time he watched it, Louis sighed softly, almost crying with grievance.
This kind of publicity method was immediately evaluated by many netizens as "disastrous", but Louis Koo's long-term good popularity and charity work have made Louis Koo very popular with passers-by. Therefore, we can also see various shouting propaganda from fans and many netizens on various Internet sites recently, and even certain behaviors of bullying and selling people out.
If you want my personal evaluation, it is understandable but not necessary. After all, Louis Koo’s ten years of efforts have not received the rewards he deserves. At the same time, "Tomorrow War" has indeed made certain breakthroughs for Chinese mechas and Chinese science fiction movies. But behind the box office is the choice of the audience, and behind the audience is the quality of the movie.
Do you think it has anything to do with movie promotion? The answer is really not, it just means the movie is not good! The current "miserable" propaganda method cannot change the overall situation. It is better to make the next movie based on the lessons of "Tomorrow War". I believe that the audience will definitely buy tickets if it is really good.
predicted 2 billion, but the actual number was only 500 million. Why did Louis Koo's "Tomorrow's War" lose?
"Tomorrow's War" has not yet exceeded 400 million at the box office since its release. The reason why it failed at the box office has been written before. The answer It's just that the plot of the movie is not good. Even the aura of the so-called "China's first exciting mecha science fiction movie" cannot cover up the quality collapse caused by this plot flaw, so the audience did not buy tickets.
In fact, the most suitable domestic commercial blockbuster is "Walking on the Moon" starring Shen Teng next door.
"Walking Alone on the Moon" still has some surprises for me. This is a movie that does not use science fiction as its biggest selling point, and is even a comedy with relatively low expectations. The special effects are not very perfunctory. On the contrary, the quality is quite excellent and it is completely convincing (of course it cannot be said to be first-rate, but it is complete and smooth enough. It completes the narrative task without any drama)
It is no exaggeration to say that I think it makes me feel more promising about domestic science fiction in the future than "The Wandering Earth".
The shortcomings of "Walking on the Moon" have also been written many times. As a science fiction, it is not that good. At least it is the same as what many people think of the American " The Martian ". As a comedy, it is concentrated in the first half, and it is funny. The meme is not as good as the movies before Happy Twist , and the sensational ending is like a "Spring Festival Gala sketch".
As a commercial blockbuster, "Walking Alone on the Moon" has all the elements, including science fiction, performance, comedy, sensationalism, Randian, etc., but none of the elements are perfect. But if you want to evaluate it, this movie does have its highlights anyway, and the highlights are quite obvious.
For example, in the opening scene of the destruction of the earth, black humor , and then to the kangaroo pulling Shen Teng to run wildly on the moon, these two highlights show the unique sci-fi romantic imagination of the Chinese people.
" Tomorrow War " has indeed made progress for Chinese science fiction and the Chinese film and television industry, but from plot to special effects to style, the audience has seen Hollywood similar movies countless times. A good movie should tell a story that the audience likes, not a story that the creator thinks is good, let alone prove that someone has made progress. The entire setting and plot of the
movie is the core of Hong Kong police and gangster movies. It is also a low-profile version of Hong Kong police and gangster movies. It is incompatible with elements such as aliens, the army, and science fiction disasters. Presumably, when Louis Koo was conceived, he first had some fragmentary sci-fi fragments and elements that he felt must be included, and then he put together the plot to realize it, so the feeling of fragmentation in watching the movie was particularly serious.
The production level of "Tomorrow's War" is online, and the performance of the main actors is also impeccable. There are two aspects that can be criticized. First, the background of the plot is slightly unclear, resulting in a weak sense of involvement for the audience; second, the role arrangement of Zhang Jiahui is rather strange, and there is no suspense about his identity and direction of action, which leads to the suspense that should be solved according to the development of the plot from the beginning. Just as expected. It is a pity that these two flaws,
, were not discovered and resolved during such a long production cycle.
"Tomorrow's War" failed miserably at the box office? Who can blame it? It can only be blamed on Hong Kong movies.
As for why "Tomorrow's War" was filmed like this, this is also a commonplace topic. Hong Kong movies have no national concept due to historical circumstances, so they are like duckweeds without a pattern. They can only make police and gangster movies now. Because of historical accumulation, mainland audiences can empathize and still buy it.
Although the top police and gangster blockbusters "Warriors", " Bomb Disposal Expert 2" and "Fury" did not break through 1.5 billion, the next door " Detective vs. " also has 700 million, but at least the performance is still very stable, "Tomorrow War" "Record" moved this set to a science fiction mecha movie, and there was an obvious acclimatization.
This is the problem with Hong Kong films now. When they make a film with a large format, it feels awkward, impractical and awkward. Maybe it’s because they don’t know how to express it. In the past, Hong Kong movies wanted to highlight Interpol, making it seem like this organization is really a police organization that governs the world. In fact, it does not have that much power, and is more of a coordination and communication platform between countries.
Hong Kong films never like to put themselves in a national context. They always like to create some illusory and fictional international organizations, which seem to be very tall. In fact, sovereign states are the highest-level entities in the world, and international organizations are ranked lower. No international organization can override sovereign states.
The energy of an organization depends on the strength of the country behind it, so FBI can investigate FIFA across borders, but Interpol does not have that ability.
Hong Kong movies have always had the concept of so-called "global citizens" based on Western narratives. It seems that following this, there is really an international organization where all countries negotiate equally and respect authority, and really treat every country as a Citizens, there is an international organization above them that is similar to a government agency.
I won’t go into detail about their naive understanding of politics. The key point is that it’s reflected in popular culture.
Just like in "Equator", a nuclear bomb appeared in Hong Kong and the police were sent to solve the problem. Of course, if there are aliens in Hong Kong, the police should also be sent to fight the aliens. You said that the protagonist group in "Tomorrow's War" is not the Hong Kong police, but the base like a "rootless tree" has no extension of the setting, only a passing concept.
The main character team's job is to wear mechas to fight villains and catch moles, which is no different from the police movies.
Of course, there is no problem if you make a movie like this, after all, it is your freedom. The problem is that your biggest market now is the mainland. This is precisely the mainland audience that has a family and country background, and even now has a strong rise in national self-confidence, cultural self-confidence, and the rise of a great country.
There is no national background at all in "Tomorrow's War". There is only an international organization that is either exaggerated or simply made up, or there is no mention at all. It feels like a city is doing alien things on its own, which is outrageous. At this point, some people will definitely say that foreign movies also have a team of people fucking aliens.
The problem with this movie is not only its small format, but also its incomplete worldview. If we talk about the stories of small people, we can limit them to villages/cities, regardless of what the complete world looks like or what the main forces and core forces that control the world are. But when it comes to saving the planet, even if it’s just a small team of characters saving the world, you have to have a complete worldview and a smooth story.
These "Tomorrow War" really don't have it, and it is difficult for mainland audiences to resonate and empathize, which will naturally affect the box office.
"Tomorrow's War" came out, Louis Koo cried, I laughed
The lessons of "Tomorrow's War" tell us that science fiction movies are not only for the existence of science fiction, but can also be the background board for other types of films; when special effects are used It is natural to be good enough so that nothing happens. Of course; when a movie with a large proportion of special effects no longer needs to use special effects as the biggest publicity point, it no longer gives people the feeling of making dumplings for a plate of vinegar, nor does it need to use the rise of technology to morally kidnap . Excessive exertion, buying hot searches and exaggerating, or entering the miserable selling mode where the artist is miserable and poor. Not bragging or blackmailing is just silently serving the plot.
This situation is a sign that the entire domestic film industry is finally back on track.
Don't talk about the failure of "Tomorrow's War". Movies are highly refined comprehensive products of multiple cultural forms and industrial capabilities. Having appeal is a reflection of excellent cultural and industrial strength. The decline of Hong Kong movies is not Hong Kong filmmakers don’t work hard, it’s just that Hong Kong’s cultural economy and industrial capabilities no longer attract mainlanders.
Why are science fiction films called the crown of the film industry? Because only the most powerful places in science and technology, politics, economy, military, culture...are qualified to engage in science fiction, and only the science fiction they produce can have credibility and dissemination power in relatively underdeveloped regions. Just as we cannot imagine Africa at all The tribe can produce science fiction themes that attract global popularity!
When there is only one Chinese space station in space, China has mankind's most advanced fighter planes, warships, military weapons, science and technology, and the entire industrial chain. In the future, the Chinese will land on the moon and lead all mankind to explore Mars. By by that time, Chinese science fiction movies will have natural credibility and dissemination power, and science fiction movies from other countries will not be able to bypass the Chinese factor. This is the underlying logic behind science fiction movies becoming the crown jewel of the film industry.
In fact, even if South Korea, which is already a developed country, has produced science fiction " Victory " and " Sea of Silence ", due to the lack of background of a historical and technological power, these two science fiction works have followed the footsteps of Western and Japanese science fiction." "Learn from", the level of the film and television industry is also good, but the science fiction concept and science fiction content are not worth mentioning.
Haven't you noticed that the problem of "Tomorrow's War" is exactly the same as the problem of South Korea's "Victory".
Finally, this outstanding cultural talent needs to be fed by a large number of excellent projects. Compared with the rise of super-rich and super-hardcore science fiction movies every one or two years, only the full flowering of various types of movies can allow talents to truly flourish. . I really hope that in the future, no matter what the film is, I can use excellent special effects when I feel the need to use them, and I will no longer feel like I am limited in what I want to express.
In recent years, Chinese games and domestic animations have become more and more like this. As for film and television dramas, many themes in TV series also have this kind of expression. There is currently a lot of shortage of domestic films, but there are still signs of it in the mainland. For example, there is a blockbuster project " The Wandering Earth 2" in the science fiction blockbuster, and we can look forward to the animation " Deep Sea ", right? Of course, whether
is bad or not is another matter. The difference between having it and not having it is 0 and 1.
Hong Kong movies have not even seen a sign after "Tomorrow's War". Now that "Tomorrow's War" has failed, it is useless not to mention Louis Koo crying. All Hong Kong filmmakers and fans who support "Tomorrow's War" are Crying every day, can you still cry out about the future of Hong Kong science fiction movies?
Louis Koo, don’t cry. Hong Kong movies have no other choice but to integrate into the background of the country. If there is a sequel, please find mainland cooperation!
