Netflix: Review of THE YINYANG MASTER: Frenzied Fantasy

March 20, 2021

A mystical red gemstone called the Scale Stone had been stolen from its Sealing Chamber in the Yin Yang Bureau, by evil spirits under the control of the Snow Queen (Cici Wang). However, the stone was intercepted by the magical ferrets of exiled half-human, half-demon Yin Yang Master Qingming (Chen Kun). Current Bureau Chief Baini (Zhou Xun), Qingming's old friend, led the recovery efforts.

Along with impish street urchin Shenle (Shen Yue), disgraced City Guard Captain Yuan Boya (Qu Chuxiao) was also looking for Qingming to recover the imperial tribute which had earlier been stolen from him by the mischievous master and his animal minions. The three meet in the Red Tower in the Monster Realm where the legendary Tushan Sword had been hidden away by the Port Master. 

Earlier this year, there was just another film with a very similar title, "The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity," directed by Guo Jingming. This was based on the 1986 Japanese novel series "Onmyoji" by Baku Yumemakura. This new one directed by Li Weiran, entitled simply "The YinYang Master" is a totally different film, and was based on a 3D RPG strategy game also called "Onmyoji" by NetEase Games. Both had protagonists named Qingming and Boya, but that was just about all they had in common. 

There were some notable actors in the cast. Regarded in the same level of acting excellence as her contemporary Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun achieved a rare grand slam as Best Actress for her role in "The Equation of Love and Death" (2008). Chen Kun has also had an acclaimed film career behind him, with films like "The Knot" (2004). Among the younger cast members, the most popular is the pretty and charismatic Shen Yue, who played Dong Sanchai in the 2018 reboot of "Meteor Garden."

Like the previous Yin Yang Master film, this film was also a rich showcase of the progressive state of special visual effects in China. The main locations, namely the Yin Yang Bureau, the Red Tower and Qingming's garden, were all beautifully designed and executed. Most remarkable here were the Disney-approximate computer-animated three-dimensional creatures which were in close interactive scenes with the human characters, particularly the naughty ferrets and the delightfully cute Red Ghost. 

The climactic battle on the bridge across what looked like the natural stone pillars of Zhangjiajie was also a breathtaking spectacle, even if the designs of the grotesque multi-tentacled giant hand monster and the bizarre make-up of Cimu (William Chan) were not too well-done. It was just a bit of a disappointment for me that the special effects of Qingming's encounter with the head demon Xiangliu felt rushed and was not at par with the rest of the film. However, overall, it was a colorful and engaging fantasy entertainment for all ages. 7/10.