
On the way back, she’s attacked by the Snow Queen and her master Ci Mu, who’s very much alive but has been faking his death all those years. Although they succeed in their mission, due to the interception of the Yin Yang Bureau minster, Bai Ni ( Zhao Xun), they fail to deliver the stone, which ends up in the hands of Qing Ming who returns it to Bai Ni. Meanwhile, the Snow Queen sends out her raven demons to steal the Scaling Stone. Yuan, on the other hand, even with his rank being stripped off is still keen to arrest Qing Ming. As it turns out, he has set up a forest safe house where he takes in demons and teaches combat skills to animals and everyone seems happy and content. However, he reemerges seven years later and with the help of his gang of animals, robs a convoy containing gifts for the Emperor under the watch of Caption Guard Yuan Boya ( Qu Chu Xiao). Unfairly blamed for the death of Ci Mu and other masters, Qing Ming has no choice but to escape from the Bureau, therefore making him a fugitive. One night, while guarding the Scaling Stone, they’re attacked by the Snow Queen. Moreover, with the aid of a powerful weapon, the Scaling Stone, they are able to retain peace.Ĭi Mu, played by William Chan Wei Ting and Qing Ming ( Chen Kun), a half-human and half-demon are two such masters and they’re best mates. They also establish a Yin Yang Bureau in which young men are trained to become Yin Yang masters to further safeguard the city. However, the humans manage to defeat him and all demons are driven out to live in the Monster Realm while humans remain in Ping Jing city. In the fantasy world of ancient China, humans and demons live in harmony until Xiang Liu, an evil demon emperor, a serpent with nine heads decides to take control. An adaptation of this video game into a feature was soon on the drawing board resulting in “ The Yinyang Master”, nonetheless, with collaboration between the Huayi Brothers Media, CKF Pictures and NetEase Games. This novel was so popular that the Chinese game developer NetEase Games decided to further adapt it into “Onmyoji”, a 3D role-playing video game set in Japan and it also became a massive hit.


#The yin yang master movie#
There’s a splurge of excitement to make the production value full of fireworks, but without substance, it’s an empty shell.Don’t confuse this movie with “ The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity” directed by Guo Jingming, although they’re both adapted from the same Japanese novel series “Onmyoji” written by Baku Yumemakura. The wooden performances and static script really lets it down. However, for something as grandiose as it sells, The Yin Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity does not have a re-watch value despite the production efforts. While the director has gone ham on the CGI, the concentration on action sequences makes up for it. I enjoyed the final act it really secured the serpent’s importance, tying in the mythology, and entangling the characters in a whirlwind of spirituality and power. The Netflix film is essentially a dry action-fantasy, propped up with an aggressive urge to reach the finale. It’s the dullness between acts that is the issue - there are not enough strong performances or an interesting script to keep you engaged, and this is a two-hour and twelve-minute feature. There’s such an over-reliance on the visuals and the keen costume design that the dialogue falls at the side.Īnd that’s not necessarily a disaster with cool choreography in fight scenes, and a constant rummage to make it to the third act, The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity provides good action to engage the viewer’s brain after a period of lull.

In many respects, Qingming is a coy demon-sympathizer, with his acquaintance Master Boya in disagreement with his methods.īut it’s evident from the first second that Netflix’s The Yin Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity attempts to be a visual treat, with its fantasy realms and representation of powers it uncannily brings back memories of Doctor Strange, with its interpretation of portal travel from one location to another. The Netflix film makes a thematic choice to question the morality of shunning them. The Imperial City is blessed with humans and demons, and there’s a strange imbalance of dislike towards the demons. The serpent is resting in a host as a shell, and there’s a clear suspicion of who this character is from the first act.

In a nutshell, the story follows Qingming, also known as Yin-Yang master, who vows to bring down the evil serpent in Imperial City after causing havoc. There’s plenty of story-positioning in The Yin Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity, and that’s a slight issue because it doesn’t need the exposition as much as it thinks.
