How is the "reboot" of "Tomb Raiders" going?

Cong Yi

"Restarting the Thunder in the Extreme Sea" (hereinafter referred to as "The Thunder in the Extreme Sea") has been very popular since the filming started. This drama is very important to Nanpai Sanshu and Zhu Yilong, as well as to "Daomi" (fans of "Tomb Raiders") and "Xiao Long Bao" (fans of Zhu Yilong).

For Zhu Yilong, "The Sound of Thunder in the Deep Sea" is his first major male lead drama since the popularity of "The Soul" in 2018. "Do You Know" and "My True Friend" that were aired after "The Soul" were all filmed by Zhu Yilong before he became famous. He urgently needs another masterpiece to prove and consolidate his top position. "Ting Lei in the Extreme Sea" is his "restart", and Xiaolongbao fans have been waiting for it for two years.

For the third uncle from the Southern School, the story is even longer. In 2013, when the concept of IP in the film and television industry was still relatively unpopular, Nanpai Sanshu sold the 6-year TV series adaptation rights and 7-year game rights to "Tomb Raiders" to Huanrui. In 2015, Li Yifeng and Yang Yang's version of the online drama "Tomb Raiders" was broadcast, ushering in the paid era of video websites and the IP era. The third uncle of the Southern School naturally regretted it, not only because the six-year copyright was sold for a cabbage price, but also because the subsequent online drama versions of "Tomb Robbers" were accused of "magic modification" by rice fans. He turned to developing derivative stories of "Tomb Robbers Notes", such as "Old Nine Gates" and "Sand Sea". Due to copyright restrictions, his creation was somewhat constrained, and the results were not ideal. In the past six years, without the support of high-quality film and television works, the IP value of "Tomb Raiders" has been continuously consumed.

In May last year, the copyright of "Tomb Robbers Notes" finally returned to the hands of the third uncle of the Southern School. "Tihai Tinglei" was the first work after the copyright was recovered, and was led by the Third Uncle of the Southern School. . The "restart" in the title of the play is not only a "restart" after the ten-year agreement of the Audio-Technica, but also a "restart" of "Tomb Raiders". Success or failure depends on this.

The novel "Tinglei in the Extreme Sea" is an extension of the main universe of "Tomb Raiders Notes". The story of the novel is that Wu Xie was terminally ill. In order to save Wu Xie, his third uncle and others set up a scheme to take Wu Xie to Jihai Tinglei for treatment. The third uncle from Nanpai serves as the chief screenwriter, and the main plot of the series will not deviate much from the novel: Wu Xie (played by Zhu Yilong), who is suffering from a "terminal illness", after receiving a mysterious text message from his third uncle, sets out to find his third uncle. Whereabouts, he restarted the "Iron Triangle" with Zhang Qiling (played by Huang Junjie) and Fatty Wang (played by Chen Minghao), ventured to the legendary Tomb of the South China Sea King, and gradually revealed the secrets about "Ting Lei"...

So, how was the quality of the premiere of "Ji Hai Listening to Thunder"?

This mainly depends on three points. The first is the restoration of the tomb world.

A fundamental reason why tomb robbery novels have become popular is that they create a tomb world that is different from the real world. In this mysterious space that is both true and false, readers can get rid of reality. You can follow the novelist to let your imagination run wild, and you can also unleash your own desire for exploration and curiosity. There are treasures and monsters under the tomb. The description of the text is free, so it can be extremely luxurious or extremely terrifying, which is both shocking and fascinating.

The first challenge after the tomb robbery novel is adapted into a film and television drama is the level of industrialization of production - to what extent the scenery can be achieved and to what extent the special effects can be achieved. These are related to the restoration of the tomb world. On this point, there is not much to criticize in "The Sound of Thunder". The tomb scene did not cut any corners, and it can be seen that the budget is burning everywhere.

At the beginning of the chapter, entering the tomb with the ancient coffin was regarded as an "appetizer";

After that, Wu Xie and Fatty Wang went to the Yang family's old house buried underground by mudslides. A strange treasure cave was discovered there. Not only was the scenery realistic, but the sudden appearance of the underwater monster with its bloody mouth could make people tremble;

The highlight is under the coastal tidal flats The underground palace of Nanhaiwang currently has 40 minutes taking place in the underground palace, which is eye-opening and ups and downs... the audience's curiosity can be satisfied.

Secondly, whether the plot elements are rich.

Since "Ghost Blows Out the Lamp" opened up the theme of tomb robbing, there have been thousands of tomb robbing novels, but only "Tomb Robbing Notes" became a big hit.

This is mainly because the tomb robbery novels that follow the trend are very stereotyped and clichéd. Almost all of them are "the protagonist has special skills, teammates never cheat, brothers are in trouble and gangsters, they work together to fight monsters, and finally make money and go home." One of the things that makes "Tomb Robbery Notes" stand out is its colorful description of "non-grave robbing incidents" of various characters. In other words, it not only uses tomb robbing as the main element, but also mixes conspiracy, suspense, legend, legend and other elements on this basis, making the narrative of the tomb robbing novel richer and more watchable.

The drama version of "The Sound of Thunder" also has this feature. Although the tomb exploration occupies the main part, the secret about "Ting Lei" and the huge conspiracy behind it are the driving force. The plot is peeling off the cocoons and advancing layer by layer. No matter how good the visual spectacle is, it is easy to get tired of aesthetics, but good suspense can always touch people's hearts.

The narrative rhythm of "The Extreme Sea Listens to Thunder" is not sluggish, and it also achieves relaxation and relaxation, slowness and urgency. Appropriate touches in the plot can reconcile the "heavy taste" of the tomb and make the plot lighter.

Furthermore, the creation of characters.

"Tomb Robbers' Notes" says, "What is more terrifying than ghosts and gods is the human heart." Good-looking novels ultimately focus on character creation and human hearts. Without the vivid "iron triangle" of Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling, and Fatty Wang, the success of "Tomb Robbers Notes" would not have been possible.

The novel unfolds from the perspective of Wu Xie, who is the first protagonist and has the strongest fan base among the "Iron Triangle". This is a perfect character: kind, gentle, stubborn, brave, loyal, etc.; but he is also a tragic character, as the third uncle of the Southern School himself said, "The characters in my novels are all entangled in the above. The shadows of a generation are using their abilities to resolve these ugliness and struggle out their destiny... This is his only strength, small and insignificant but extremely sharp. "If Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling were just perfect, it would be easy. "False", but if a perfect person is trapped in fate, it will not only bring a certain sense of tragic sublimity, but the "beautiful, strong and tragic" character can also inspire the readers' love.

As far as the drama version is concerned, Zhu Yilong's acting skills are fine and his emotions can be interpreted well. However, due to the script, Wu Xie's complete personality has not been clearly reflected, or in other words, he has not "taken the lead." ". The setting of suffering from lung cancer is suffering, rather than the noble sense of tragedy in aesthetics. At present, it is Fatty Wang's character that is the most vivid and vivid; the deep friendship between the "Iron Triangle" is also unspoken.

For Nanpai Sanshu and Daomi, they can breathe a sigh of relief first. Now it seems that this is a better version of "Tomb Raiders". Because the tragic color of Wu Xie's personality in the novel "Hearing the Thunder in the Extreme Sea" is only reflected in the middle and later stages. How it will be reflected in the drama version and how Zhu Yilong will interpret it, we will not make any judgments and continue to watch.

Editor of this issue Zhou Yuhua