Ne Zha (2019)
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Ne Zha Movie Review
Ne Zha is a 2019 Chinese fantasy film directed by Jiaozi. It’s such an epic spectacle of a movie that is flawed, but frequently great.
Ne Zha is the child who is born with a devil seed inside him owing to a set of bad circumstances. His parents conceal that from him and they try to somehow contain him, but when he finds out, he is of course infuriated. Needless to say, I have seen such storylines before, especially in anime, but this one benefits so much from its Chinese mythology roots which lent it a lot of authenticity and a mythical quality.
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This is very much a high fantasy feature, but it’s also an action film as it has so much high-octane action in it. I personally loved a lot of it, but I did not care for some, especially the third act which is way too overwhelming in spectacle and action scenes. But the training scenes I loved, and some of the previous fights were quite entertaining.
But the movie is at its best when dealing with the mythology. I loved the dragon, and that introduction to the dragon scene is by far the most spectacular and intriguing of the bunch. The same goes for that epic opening which is a great set-up. I ultimately wanted more of the dragons and the overall conflict and the creatures, but still we got great character development for the protagonist which is fine from me.
Yes, Ne Zha himself is excellent. He is pretty much a brat at heart, and I loved his interactions with everyone else, and the examination of his loneliness and outcast status in the village. I also found his relationship with his mom so endearing, and she is such a wonderful figure for him.
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The heart of the movie is at the end of the day Ne Zha’s friendship with Ao Bing who himself has an interesting magical history, and the two bonded through many heartwarming scenes. These characters are so great that the rest suffered as a result, especially the overly goofy comic reliefs who are fine, don’t get me wrong, but far from terrific.
Ne Zha is very well executed in its action scenes, but it was a missed opportunity to feature so few fights and one-on-one duels as I prefer those, but find the spectacle crowd fights and destructions too boring, which is ultimately what happened in the third act. That really disappointed me, but oh well, it was to be expected from this type of movie.
Yes, this is certainly a Chinese blockbuster that grossed over 700 million dollars just in mainland China alone, which certainly constitutes as a smash hit by any parameter. And I was most definitely pleased with such development as I want China to get on board in the animation industry, and they are certainly getting there, which is quite exciting.
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The animation here is absolutely splendid, and at times nothing short of miraculous. The character designs are terrific, a lot of the imagery is instantly recognizable and the film’s effects and mythological/fantastical creatures are rendered beautifully. The world building is so fantastic, and the visuals so colorful that the movie becomes an epic feast for the eyes. The score is also pretty good as is the dialogue, but the pacing needed to have been better.
While undeniably annoyingly overwhelming in action sequences in the third act and messy in pacing, Ne Zha is terrific in the entire first half, very intriguing in its fantastical mythology and so gorgeously animated with spectacular visuals. It’s a fantasy epic that is very engaging to watch and so stupendously mounted on multiple fronts. It truly is exciting seeing China finally get on board in the animation medium with this high-quality blockbuster.
