Left in the hands of the wrong people.

Rating: 3/10 (30 October 2012)

CG wise this film was stunning. Everything else is a hole different story. I may have forgiven certain plot holes, I could have forgiven the awkward pacing and editing, I even could have forgiven frustrating hill billy like language of the future. What I could not not forgive though (and I can tell you it ruined this film) was the horrendous make-up jobs on the actors. Every time I'm about to get caught in this intricate, twisting storyline, out comes one disaster of make-up after another. I just couldn't enjoy the film, because these actors (of whom are some the most talented in the industry) had there faces covered in uneven, putty knife applied, god awful b-movie prosthetic make-up. I can only assume 3/4 of the make-up crew must have been made from a directors niece, a producers girlfriend, and a D.O.P's brick laying brother in- law who happened to have putty knife.
Instead of hiring Asian actors, they covered Caucasian actors in large browed masks that made them look more akin to the Romulans of Star Trek, then the Korean facial features they attempted to portray. Seeing this example of "yellowface" make-up (Terribly done at that) in modern day cinema is both low-class and potentially insulting. I could have let some of it slide, if it was just that alone. But, the moment the award winning actress Xun Zhou, is revealed, on the screen, as a terribly rendered Blue eyed(cheap contacts), red headed(theater wig), Ginger Child of the 19th century version of herself. I didn't know whether to be upset, disappointed, or to LOL. I almost walk out right then and there. Because, at this point, I just felt they were doing it on purpose. It was a make-up calamity, and I cannot understand why it was aloud to get as bad as it did, on such a high budget film. Don't judge me for getting so upset about this. The make-up was just that bad. I'll probably get over it someday.
I found this to be a Big Budget film with fantastic CG and a Grade-A Cast. Unfortunately those are its only values. The multiple storytelling format, as seen in other films before it, was certainly interesting, but there was nothing that made the story feel interconnected (aside from the seemingly pointless "My Little Pony" shooting star birthmark, that keeps showing up in a failed attempt to be profound). The idea of reincarnation was never driven home, and it left me(if not the whole audience) feeling disjointed, dissatisfied and with a nagging sense disenchantment. There were no claps of applause at the credits. No hum and chatter of discussion. Just a filing of people leaving the theater, without any reason or ability to say "it was 2 hours and 52 minutes well spent". It's fantastic book, and it could have been a great film. It was placed into the wrong hands and, at no fault to the casts performance, was not translated well enough to screen.