The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)

Link: The Sorcerer and The White Snake

Summary: Based on an ancient Chinese legend.  A man’s love is doomed when he falls in love with and marries a demon (who, in her true form, appears as a giant white snake).  Meanwhile, a demon hunter tries to save the man by capturing the demon.

Thoughts: The premise was interesting (explaining why it survived as a legend for hundreds of years).  There’s a lot a good writer can do with a man who unknowingly falls in love with a demon.  You know the relationship will not work out, but you know neither party will give it up willingly.  So the foundational story is a strong and timeless one.  Unfortunately this particular interpretation of the story was rather boring.  Everybody overacted as if they were in a cartoon, and the dialog was far too straightforward; hardly ever any subtext or style.  I can forgive cheap CGI when the story is compelling enough, but the story was not compelling here, so the effects just made me feel a bit sad.  The fighting scenes were choppy and bland, and the cartoony film score just made everything worse.  Felt like I was watching something made for five-year-olds.  Maybe I was?