Despite its period setting, Shadow Magic doesn't seem terribly exotic. In a nice reversal from what Western films have shown us, the Chinese are contemptuous of Western gadgets and consider themselves far superior to the barbarians. But there's far too much emphasis on the idea that the world as Liu knows it is in on the brink of change -- in retrospect it's easy to say that, but the movie offers no evidence of impending upheaval.
Liu is a tremendously appealing character -- independent, insatiably curious, inventive -- and Yu Xia was about the only part of the movie that engaged me. The rest of the cast is just fine, but unremarkable. I expected this movie to fascinate me, but I was fairly bored throughout. The costumes are sumptuous, the focus is on the power of cinema, the story is unique and the setting unusual... yet it never came togther for me.
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