Directed by Huang Jingfu and starring Ruan Jingtian, the crime action film "Eliminate the Three Evils Around the Week" defeated the major films in the Spring Festival stalls and went from the third place in the box office list to the first place in the list in only three days.
As of 14 o'clock on March 4, less than 4 days after the official release of "Removing the Three Evils Around the Week", the box office has exceeded 1400 million yuan. Maoyan Pro continues to increase its total box office in the mainland**, coming to 37.8 billion yuan. If this number can be reached, then the film will surpass "My Girlhood" (35.8 billion), becoming the box office runner-up of Taiwanese films in the mainland film market.
The film tells the story of Chen Guilin, a wanted criminal, who was told that his life was coming to an end, so he decided to go to the police station and turn himself in, only finding that he was only third on the wanted list. Chen Guilin, who vows to become famous and known to the whole world, regards himself as a contemporary Zhou and is determined to "do a big job" to investigate the whereabouts of the first two wanted criminals and eradicate them one by one.
The allusion of "eliminating the three evils in the week" quoted in the film is taken from "The Book of Jin: The Biography of Zhou" and "The New Language of the World". According to records, the young man was burly and strong, but he ran rampant in the countryside and suffered from his neighbors. Later, he killed the tigers and dragons that caused disaster to the world, and he also changed his evil and returned to the right, so that the three evils were eliminated.
"Removing the Three Evils of the Week" was released in Taiwan, China in October last year, with a box office of 46.64 million (New Taiwan dollars), equivalent to about 1062 yuan30,000, ranking fifth in Taiwan's local Chinese films of the year. On March 1, the film was released in Chinese mainland and launched on Netflix on the same day.
In view of the fact that the film is a relatively rare collection of gangster revenge, crime action and violent aesthetics among Chinese films in recent years, the big-screen viewing experience is better than that of the stream**, and is highly sought after by the fan group.
Plasma flies with bullets.
When "Removing the Three Evils Around the World" was released in Taiwan, China, it played the slogan "The Most Evil Movie in Taiwan's Film History". On a poster produced by the filmmaker for the film's mainland release, "minors should be cautious about watching the movie". The rhetoric of these marketing is exaggerated, but it is also in line with the reality of the film. Among the many movie-watching messages, "large-scale" is a high-frequency word that has been widely mentioned, which in turn mobilizes the curiosity of more audiences and goes to the theater.
Prior to "Removing the Three Evils of the Week", Taiwanese films that performed well in the mainland market tended to be romance films, and the top three films on the box office list all belonged to this genre, namely "A Sad Story More Sad Than Sadness" (95.8 billion) "My Girlhood" (35.9 billion) and "When a Man Falls in Love" (26.4 billion).
"Eliminate the Three Evils Everywhere" allows the audience to see the other side of Taiwanese commercial films. In addition to romance movies, there are constantly new works in suspense, thriller, crime and other genres, and the themes are bold and creative. "The Thing About Me and the Ghost Becoming Family", which won the box office championship of Chinese films in Taiwan last year, integrates fantasy, comedy and other genres. "Removing the Three Evils Around the World" has played a new twist on the genre of crime action movies.
Of course, the visually striking action scenes in the film are also related to the fact that Huang Jingfu is a Hong Kong director. In 2005, Huang Jingfu won the honor of new director at the Hong Kong Film Awards with the crime action film "Jianghu". This film gathers a group of Hong Kong stars such as Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung, and the audio-visual design of the film is exquisite and elegant, making the gangster action movie a romantic temperament and leaving a deep impression on Hong Kong film lovers.
"Eliminate the Three Evils Everywhere" has the tension of an action blockbuster. For example, the chase scene between Chen Guilin and the criminal policeman Chen Shen in the narrow alley at the beginning of the film, the fight scene in the cramped space using all props to fight close-to-hand, fists to the flesh, and blood dripping, reminiscent of the classic scenes in Hong Kong police and gangster films. The killing scene in the climax of the film made some fans dream of the crime thriller "Double Eyes", which was also directed by Hong Kong director Chen Guofu and featured Taiwanese actors.
"Everywhere to Eliminate the Three Evils" mainly revolves around the story of Chen Guilin's pursuit and eradication of the wanted criminals Aberdeen and Lin Luhe, and the pursuit of the two wanted criminals divides the film into two paragraphs, and the style changes significantly before and after. In the first half, the main attraction is hand-to-hand combat, and the second half focuses on showing psychological games, which is more absurd and thrilling. On a small island like a paradise, Chen Guilin was almost deceived by Lin Luhe, who had assumed the pseudonym Venerable, and his gang, and gave up his life and money. When Chen Guilin discovered that this organization that advises believers to let go of things outside their bodies and worldly worries is actually waiting for opportunities to accumulate wealth and do all kinds of evil. Chen Guilin decided, "do the right thing for heaven".
The climax of the film takes place in a spiritual hall that is superficially pure and good. After His Holiness was shot dead by Chen Guilin, his lover took his place and sang the lyrical song "The New Creation", which recurs in the film and has the effect of cleansing the soul. Chen Guilin thought that the people in the organization were aiding and abusive, and he had no intention of repenting, so he decided to eradicate the people who stayed behind one by one. So, on the one hand, there is an angelic chant, on the other hand, there is a killing of flesh and bullets, accompanied by some black humor, such as Chen Guilin's decision to let those who have the will to survive leave, and some of them are obsessed with death as home.
This combination of absurdity, violence and aesthetics brought the aesthetic style of the whole film to the extreme, which made some audiences addicted. What makes people feel enjoyable is not the yearning for violence and killing, but the moral concept of punishing evil and promoting good, and eliminating evil, which has been fully vented in the process of watching the movie.
Innocence is mixed with **.
After the Spring Festival is often the off-season of the film market, after the Spring Festival a number of comedy blockbusters, the alternative style of "Removing the Three Evils Everywhere" brings the audience a long-lost freshness, and also reflects the market's need for more films with novel themes and diverse genres to provide consumers with more viewing choices.
If you dig deeper, there are still many flaws in the narrative of the film, such as the emotional line between Chen Guilin and the rescued girl Cheng Xiaomei, which is depicted in a more outdated and stereotyped manner, and the portrayal of the relationship between Chen Guilin and Chen Gray, that is, the mirror image of the police and bandits, is also superficial, and these literary dramas drag down the overall rhythm of the film. However, the actors' performances still find a rationality for the existence of these diverse characters. The leading actor Ruan Jingtian broke the inherent impression of most audiences of the male protagonist of his idol drama, showing the progress of his acting skills in the past ten years.
Born as a model, he starred in the youth idol drama "Green Light Forest" in 2005 and was known to the audience, and three years later starred in "Fate I Love You" to create a historical idol drama ratings record in Taiwan. In 2010, Ruan Jingtian won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for the crime action film "Monga". In recent years, he has also honed his acting skills in suspense and action films such as "Pursuit" and "Angry Tide", and last year, he was shortlisted for the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for the role of Chen Guilin, and finally lost to Wu Kangren, who had a more amazing performance in "Fudu Youth".
In "Removing the Three Evils Around the World", Ruan Jingtian more accurately interprets Chen Guilin's naïve and mixed characteristics, and in a disordered environment, he has established his own way of existence. On the one hand, he committed countless felonies and was an unforgivable and extremely evil person. On the other hand, in the process of eradicating the wicked, he saved the women who were **, and when he saw the fraud organization mutilating innocent mothers and children, he risked his life. He treasures his grandmother's only relic, a children's watch painted with a pink pig. In the sinful soul, there is a kindness and purity, which also makes the audience sympathize with his fate.
Other supporting characters in the film also contributed commendable performances. For example, Xie Qiongxuan, who plays Zhang Guiqing, with his delicate and moving performance, has created the image of a doctor who has practiced medicine for the underworld for many years and has been tortured by the soul. Prior to this, she had created many roles that impressed the audience in popular Taiwanese dramas such as "The Distance Between Us and Evil" and "The Raising of a Vulgar Girl". Chen Yiwen, who has contributed excellent performances in Taiwanese movies such as "The Sun Shines", plays the role of the most wanted criminal Lin Luhe this time, and appropriately grasps the hypocrisy and greed of extremely evil people.
It should be noted that "Removing the Three Evils in the Week" performed well in the market, but it was also questioned by "plagiarism". A few days ago, Taiwanese director Qian Renhao showed some documents on Weibo, saying that "Removing the Three Evils Around the World" ** The original script "Lawlessness" conceived and created in 2015. From the information he showed, it can be seen that there are similarities between the film and the script in the names, lines, and some plots, and Qian Renhao said that he has filed a complaint against "Removing the Three Evils Around the Week". At present, the court has not ruled on the case. Huang Jingfu posted an article denying plagiarism in October last year, and said that the inspiration for the creation of the film came from his previous work. The filmmaker of "Removing the Three Evils Around the World" also filed a defamatory complaint against Qian Renhao with "one attitude".
Regardless of the outcome, creativity is always at the core of the script, and the protection and respect for originality is a prerequisite for the healthy development of the film market. Only with this in mind, a creative film like "Removing the Three Evils Around the World" can be created and produced continuously.