Introduction: Fantasy detective drama, there are surprises and confusions.
article｜Dai Taojiang
Douban score is around 7 points. It is a wonderful score for suspense plots and action plots. Most of the works in the range of 7 to 8 points are popular and popular. The scores will deviate due to the different aesthetic interests of the audience, but the fluctuation is not large. Those who exceed 8 points either have the filter of the times, have a bit of literary atmosphere, or are labeled as "childhood classics". Most of the ones below 7 points have plot flaws. " Tang Dynasty Strange Things Record " has controversy in casting, and Douban scores are also up to 7, and there will be a second season, which shows from one aspect that some local audiences eat this set.
The title of "Tang Dynasty Strange Things" highlights the word "strange", so many viewers who come from this local horror element have become tolerant of the plot arrangement. In terms of the plot design and visual design of this drama, it is not difficult for viewers with a certain amount of views to see the shadow of the Tsui Hark "Die Renjie" series of movies and the Chen Kaige movie " Demon Cat Legend ". Tsui Hark Di Renjie's series of movies opened a new chapter in the local fantasy detective theme in visual presentation. Although the first movie in this series, " Di Renjie's Tongtian Empire " was still popular when it was released, it can definitely be called a commercial success, and profoundly influenced the visual presentation of subsequent film and television creations for the fantasy detective type.
Three completely different landscapes, temples, civilian markets, and underground worlds, are almost the standard urban landscape configurations in the same type of domestic works in recent years. They also continue to grasp the key points of this theme, namely, magnificent scenes, exquisite and gorgeous picture colors, character shapes of various colors, and imaginative action scenes. The detective is more like a tour guide who starts a new map than a detective, responsible for connecting various scenes. The core reasoning and suspense settings in "Fantasy Detective" have never seemed to have become the focus of the film. However, this emphasis on inclination still requires a degree of grasp, and it is also a lack of polishing of the plot and suspense settings, which has led to the films of Di Renjie stopping in the fourth part. There are regrets in Tsui Hark Di Renjie's series of movies, but it does not mean that local audiences have completely lost their appetite for this genre.
From another perspective, suspense reasoning themes have become an important part of popular culture since their birth and have lasted forever. The detective breaks the desire of individuals living in the city to spy on others' privacy, and at the same time, because he is in the position of a bystander, he does not need to feel guilty about his own desire to spy on his own. As a variant of 's native reasoning , the variant reasoning type has changed from a puzzle game for wise men to a detective's murder game. "Tang Gui" and other fantasy detective types are all variant reasoning. This type enhances the elements of thriller and horror than the native reasoning intelligence game. When film and television replace text and become the main consumer product for mass consumer entertainment, it has caused more commercial elements to accommodate more visual wonders and quickly became popular, attracting countless audiences who are in 's curiosity and thrill-seeking mentality.
Looking at the popularity of East Asian film and television, the more social pressure increases, the more likely it is to succeed in film and television works that can provide stronger sensory stimulation. During the Asian financial crisis, Korean thriller movies emerged, and a large number of viewers relieved their inner pressure by watching the movie in disguise. Highlighting the weird atmosphere and the "Chinese horror" elements that have gradually become popular in recent years, it provides different stimulation for viewers seeking new entertainment after the summer season.
However, fantasy reasoning also faces the common problem that the major category of reasoning needs to face, that is, how to go long-term. "Detective Conan", once regarded as a work of the natural reasoning, has now developed towards Marvel-style superheroes and fantasy reasoning after more than 20 years of development. "Tang Gui", which is directly positioned as a fantasy reasoning, will not overcome the Conan-style difficulties if he wants to continue.The fundamental crux of this difficulty lies in the enduring classic narrative model of mystery novels. Whether it is the original, the change, or the social reasoning, the story is gradually moving from openness to the "only solution", that is, the process of truth. Whether it is brainstorming or physically pursuing clues, it is a process of eliminating wrong answers. Classic narrative focuses on revealing the truth of the case. When the characters need to continue to act, they need other dramatic conflicts as driving force.
In other words, a reasoning type work not only needs to deal with the core tricks of the unit case, but also needs to deal with dramatic conflicts outside the case. The main problem of most reasoning works is that after exhausting the exquisite case design, the audience gradually loses their attention and interest in the fate of the characters. After the first crazy plagiarism of the Japanese comic "Kinda Ichi" series and the "Detective Conan" series, the once popular "Young Bao Qingtian" lost its core trick support and gradually became similar to the costume idol drama. Although the audience scored well, it was still powerless. "Sherlock", which has set off a craze for two male protagonists around the world, also became a fan-oriented work that was tyrannical after losing its exquisite case design. The starring lineup of Yang Zhigang and Yang Xuwen has completely eliminated the hidden dangers of selling corruption and seeking glory in "Tang Wei" in "Detective Sherlock", but it does not mean that it is absolutely safe.
As a masterpiece that influences the local fantasy detective type, Tsui Hark's first film series began to make up for various flaws in case design with visual novelty stimulation, and finally lost in the pursuit of novel vision, so that the fourth part of the work lost to a comedy movie with lower cost and wider audience. Like the movies in Di Renjie, the whole drama of "Tang Gui", which is also difficult to call exquisite in case settings, is also shrouded in a mysterious "big conspiracy". Compared to how to reveal the truth, who is the real murderer, and what the core trick is, the so-called prosperous Tang Dynasty seems to attract more attention from the audience.
In terms of character setting, Lu Lingfeng, one of the male protagonists, is the best martial arts in the world, is also the Shaoqing of Dali Temple and the General of the Central Guard of Jinwu, and his biological mother, Princess Taiping; another male protagonist, Su Wuming, is a close disciple of Di Renjie and a guest in front of the princess's mansion; Fei Jishi is a disciple of Sun Simiao, ; Lu Lingfeng's girlfriend Pei Xijun is the only daughter of Pei Jian, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and is an ancient version of the crime portrait master. Pei Xijun's servant Xue Huan is born with divine power, and is a descendant of Xue Rengui, ; Su Wuming's girlfriend Li Yingtao is the daughter of the pseudo-governor, good at sleeve arrows and drugs. The "high configuration" of the Avengers is destined to face a more powerful and terrifying opponent, and this huge, magic-like "big conspiracy" in the play obviously does not provide enough dramatic stimulation. Some of the "fist products" that attract audiences, the efforts of "fantasy" and "detective" are gradually weakening. If the transformation from audience to fans cannot be completed, the future path of "Tang Gui" may not be smooth.
When the mainstream types in the film and television market cannot provide novel experiences, the niche themes that have been silent for a long time have always brightened the eyes of viewers who yearn for freshness and receive new stimulation. "Tang Gui" performed well in the quarter, not only because of its high degree of completion, but also the heroes of the times. It successfully integrates the exaggerated and curious visual elements of established propositions in previous commercial film and television works, conforms to the "Chinese horror" trend that has returned in recent years, stands out among a group of film and television types that tend to be "exquisite mediocrity" and homogeneous, and attracts the attention of a considerable number of viewers, but it seems that it will not be as easy as the villains in the play exert illusions.
