Fatal Journey (2020)

For the Fans

I went in knowing this was going to be more for fans of the show but I was about 45 minutes in when I realised that this whole film, 1hr 20 mins, is going to take place in a tomb LOL Damn, I was so excited hearing the Untamed theme song play as they marched off on their horses LOL.

Consider this film being more like 2 cut episodes of the Untamed rather than a stand alone movie. It pretty much just gives a little bit more insight into why Huasung does what he does in the Untamed series. I imagine most people get the point anyway but this just gives a little extra information, with a ton of computer game cgi. The brothers were close and the elder brother wasn't such a tough guy, he genuinely cared about people, which is why he kept sparing Yao. And we all know that Hua trusted Yao, so the hurt runs deep.

Alas, again, I was robbed of the Ghosts. The film opened with some promises of giving me what I didn't get in the Untamed and then just resorted to this cgi fight.

Since it's depicted as an extra episode, I would have loved to have had it end with some sort of throw back to the original series like Hua meeting Mo or lingering outside the Mo Manor while the sacrifice ritual begins, or even how he came up with his revenge plot to start with, but it just sort of ends with Hua realising he was tricked by Yao. Revisiting the sets might have been difficult but I would have liked something like that.
Overall, it's really just something for the fans to enjoy esp with they loved the Nie brothers.

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Just done watching the untamed
"fatal journey" It's a 5 stars for me, a must watch! All I can say is.. bravo! to the lead characters. You guys made me cry again. I have the untamed songs playlist) Feels like I'm watching the untamed series again..the untamed feels is there.

Just like watching the untamed. (I love the story) it's about family, friendship, brotherhood. Being a hero. (Love and romance is getting over rated.) Haha family first!

#theuntamed #fataljourney #theuntamedfataljourney #jili #wangyizhou #zhuzanjin #tubs

we love you Ji Li!!!

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Unlike The Living Dead, this film actually expanded on the story in 'The Untamed' series and answers the question about why Nie Huaisang released the sword spirit that Wei Wuxian asked at the end of the show. Why are the powers of the characters in the films so much more elaborate than the series? Like if I remember correctly, Huaisang has never used magic in the series, but he is able to use it in this film. Also, what is up with that random spirit incarnation power that Red Blade Master showed at the end? And why didn't he use it when confronting the Wen Clan or at the Nightless City? Overall, it was slightly entertaining though there were a bunch of questionable plot points just like the series...

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Nice addition to The Untamed but doesn't work as a standalone

This is for fans of The Untamed--not in the sense that it is so bad that only die-hard fans will like it, but in the sense that those who have not watched The Untamed or know the story in some other way will not be able to appreciate it. It will seem like a random story with a perplexing ending to those who have no idea what The Untamed is about, so it's not a good standalone movie, At 80+ minutes, the movie isn't exactly long, and there is room for more scenes, especially at the end.

I suppose one difficulty of having more scenes if that it will inevitably involve more actors from The Untamed who may not be able or willing to commit to filming the movie, (Or maybe there simply isn't enough budget.) Also, even if there are more scenes added, there may be overlaps with the series (so is the solution then to re-film some scenes?).

The focus on Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue in this movie offers an interesting addendum of sorts to The Untamed. It gives insight into the character of Nie Huaisang and why he may be motivated to orchestrate the downfall of the villain in The Untamed. The ending of The Untamed does give the sense that it is to take revenge, but it remains ambivalent as to whether Nie Huaisang is another ambitious person trying to gain power or he simply wants to see the villain's downfall.

Some questions that one has after watching The Untamed remain though. For instance, how does Nie Huaisang know about the range of the villain's misdeeds? In this movie, he discovers that his brother's death is caused by the villain, buthow about all the other evil deeds? Of course, to reveal more will require the inclusion of characters like Wei Wuxian (is there enough budget to get Xiao Zhan into the movie for a role that isn't the focus?).

One may be happy enough with The Untamed's fifty episodes. We do have a strong hint that Nie Huaisang isn't really an evil person even though he has enough intelligence to be a frightening villain if he wants. (Contrast it with the anime version of the story in which Nie Huaisang may be the next villain rising to a position of power.)

Ultimately, perhaps a better story can be told about the Nie brothers. As it is, we have flashbacks to the past with the brothers as kids, showing how close they are. We also have Nie Huaisang being shown to be clearly uninterested in power--he is rather cowardly but he also has a strong sense of righteousness, so much so that he would admonish his brother for doing questionable things. Why not include how he discovers the way to bring Wei Wuxian back to life and why. Why not show whether he has ruthlessly made use of Mo Xuanyu (who sacrifices his life to resurrect Wei Wuxian) or whether Mo Xuanyu is a willing party? (He starts off being a really good person, but does the quest for vengeance change him?) Instead of protracted fight sequences that don't do that much for me, I wish there had been effort to make the story a good standalone movie that can even serve as a good introduction to The Untamed for those who still have not watched the series.

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