473: Chapter 473 Never Forget Your Roots

August 17th.

The Douban rating for "the mission" finally came out—8.9!

Mainland movie fans were telling each other the news: As expected of the "Director Du Qiyu + Lin Chuyan" combination, it's a sure thing, as solid as it gets.

But looking at this 8.9 rating, and then seeing countless five-star short reviews... What assassination? What bodyguard? What affair with the boss's wife? What fake death? They had no idea what these people were talking about!

It was really painful not being able to watch the film.

What was even more painful was that, to ensure no one misunderstood the significance of this score, the official "the mission" team released a rating poster.

The poster featured The Five-Man Group from "the mission," all wearing suits. From left to right, they were Ah Fei, Ah Gui, Ah Lai, Xin Zai, and Ah Mike.

Above the five of them was a single line of large text: Douban debut score 8.9, the highest-rated domestic film of the year.

The highest score... A high score is obviously a good thing, but it just made the fans yearn for it even more...

The Haters were also yearning for it, but for a different reason.

This group was mainly unconvinced: 8.9? It hasn't even been released in the mainland, how many ratings could there possibly be to get an 8.9! Is it botted? Why is it so hard to believe?

Especially those film critics... The Haters scrolled for ages, only to find that the film critics had actually given it all positive reviews...

That was absolutely ridiculous!

The positive reviews from film critics included but were not limited to: superb acting from the entire cast, a pinnacle of ensemble acting, a gangster film with a unique flavor, master-level camera work, crisp and clean pacing, the paper ball kicking scene as a brilliant character-defining touch, an extremely quirky and eccentric soundtrack, the director's stylish and flashy style, and a classic in the history of gangster films.

Haters: "..."

Damn it, they definitely got paid! Unanimous positive reviews? Who are they kidding!

In short, with keywords like "Douban debut 8.9," "highest-rated domestic film this year," and "classic in film history," "the mission" didn't need any marketing at all; it was all organic word-of-mouth.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for it to start streaming on Bilibili.

Finally, August 21st.

Film critics: The mall shootout scene was too brilliant; I'll definitely watch it a second and third time.

Movie fans: We waited for seven days, and we've been spoiled for seven days, but we can finally watch it.

Haters: Don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors. Opening Bilibili to watch "the mission" just to debunk the rumors!

At this moment, countless people flooded into Bilibili.

Los Angeles. Lunchtime. Lin Chuyan was watching it with Ruan Xingyu, Wen Qi, and Xia Zhi.

He was so looking forward to this film, especially since several friends had been congratulating him over the past few days. The content was more or less the same, and it could be summarized in one point: his acting was excellent, and he definitely had a chance to win Best Actor.

It made Lin Chuyan grin from ear to ear.

84 minutes passed quickly. How to put it, 19 days... one has to admire Director Du Qiyu's masterful craftsmanship.

Also, he specifically replayed a few parts where he thought he had performed well and watched them repeatedly.

Before he could speak, Ruan Xingyu spoke first.

"You're so good at acting."

"Likewise, your talent is much higher than mine."

This was true. He was going to win awards for "la la land." Watching his girlfriend's performance over these past few days, Lin Chuyan was already imagining whether she could win Best Actress, or at the very least, Best Newcomer.

Ruan Xingyu just assumed he was teasing her, so she ignored him and turned to look at the latest reviews for "the mission."

Mainland audiences actually had mixed reactions. Those who liked it really liked it, and their reasons were many, basically consistent with what the film critics said.

What was discussed the most and praised the most was the actors' performances, and... the fake death scene at the end. Because it was dramatic enough.

Regarding the former: Ah Lai's arrogance and imperiousness, Ah Gui's restraint and calmness, Xin Zai's youthful spirit, Ah Fei's cold exterior and warm heart, Ah Mike's loyalty and righteousness, Brother Nan's shrewdness and capability, Brother Wen's craftiness... each character had a different personality, but the actors portrayed them all very well.

Especially Lin Chuyan. Movie fans had just seen him on TV last night portraying the Judicial God, commanding respect without anger, and today they were watching the buzz-cut Ah Lai swearing on Bilibili... The contrast was too great, an absolute visual shock.

Regarding the latter, from planting the fake gun to switching the guns, from everyone's tension to Xin Zai's fake death, many people had quite a few questions in their minds.

For example: Did Ah Gui intentionally lead Ah Fei to give him a fake gun from the beginning? Why did Ah Gui replace the fake gun and load it with blanks? Why did Xin Zai pretend to be drunk? When did Ah Lai realize Xin Zai wasn't dead? Who exactly said that final "Thank you"?

Lots of questions? Then watch it again! Many people had already started their second viewing.

However, "the mission" couldn't please everyone. There were quite a few people who didn't like the film, not to mention the mix of Haters, who said all sorts of things.

[Big Brother Zhou Shuren and his 5 little friends holding guns for a photoshoot.]

[Never seen such a slow-moving gunfight... Is this even called a gunfight...]

[The soundtrack is annoying and very mediocre...]

[Pretentious and affected. A simple story, if you have nothing to film, you don't have to film it.]

[One word: Fake. The gunfight is fake, the infighting is fake, and the fake death ending is also very fake.]

[Men's romance? Pan Jinlians have been accompanying the Liangshan heroes for centuries. Men's dramas are idealized men's worlds, women's dramas are realistic women's worlds. Two words: Disgusting.]

Xia Zhi read them to Lin Chuyan one by one, but eventually, she couldn't bring herself to read any further.

"Are there more?" Lin Chuyan was getting into it.

"Yes, but they are all insulting you, so I didn't read them."

"You have to cherish it. There aren't many Haters insulting me anymore. Read! Read them to me."

How did we get our start back then? Wasn't it by provoking the nerves of the Haters? A person shouldn't forget their roots.

"This Ah Lai has exposed Lin Chuyan's true nature, hasn't he? He hits people at the drop of a hat; I'm afraid he might have some domestic violence tendencies."

"Even if the hitting was scripted, his swearing was way too fluent. Who knows what his character is like in private or how he swears."

"Birds of a feather flock together, Ruan Xingyu..."

When the insults reached the boss lady beside them, Xia Zhi stopped again.

Ruan Xingyu smiled and said: "It's okay, Xia Zhi, I'm used to it."

Lin Chuyan chuckled: "Birds of a feather, that's what we call being of one heart as a married couple."

"Exactly! Brother, the Haters are also very miserable. They have never encountered such a strong opponent, so this is all they can do to attack you."

Lin Chuyan acknowledged Xia Zhi's flattery skills.

"Brother, there's another piece of good news. You were filming just now, and Director Du asked me to tell you that the "the mission" team will submit your name to compete for Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards."

"What else did they submit?"

"They said they submitted everything they could: Best Director, Best Film, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Action Choreography... Oh right, they submitted Brother Xue for Best Supporting Actor."

The Brother Xue that Xia Zhi mentioned was the character Ah Fei. Actually, it didn't matter which one they submitted for Best Supporting Actor, as they all acted very well. It's just that the character Ah Fei was indeed very outstanding, and he was also one of Director Du Qiyu's own people, so it was reasonable to submit him.

However... "I just feel it'll be tough for him, the competition is too fierce. Director Mu Sheng told me that "a moment of romance" also submitted for Best Supporting Actor—Uncle Da."

If he couldn't get it at the Golden Feather Awards, he would keep trying at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Hmm, he had to attend that when the time came, Lin Chuyan instructed Xia Zhi to make a note of it.

How to say it, surely either "the mission" or "a moment of romance" would be able to win an award, right?