Best movie of this year hands down!

The Age of Commercialism

The first must-see film of the year.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Fun filled travel based comedy from China. This road movie was similar to 'Due Date' and 'Planes, Trains & Automobile'. Like those two titles, our protagonist from this movie must team up with a crazy man to accomplish the unexpected hurdles in his trip. Actually, in another perspective, it was like 'Rat Race' and 'Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World' where characters from the movie must reach their destination before one another. So they are ready to take any kinda risk to achieve their goal. Those wild journeys are what we are going to enjoy in this movie. Excellent pace and non stop engaging plot keeps you alive throughout.Two scientists invented a formula to increase the volume of any kinda liquid. So these Chinese scientists begin the quest to find their biggest shareholder who is in Thailand. But they got different agenda, one to get a funding contract to study further and another to sell it to a French company. In the race they encounter each other's trap which drag them a simple expedition to long lasting.This has been the highest gross movie ever in China and breaking all the previous records, including James Cameron's 'Avatar'. I have seen many similar movies from Hollywood and Europe, but not that many from Asia so I found it a nice one. The lead actor himself directed it for the first time and did a wonderful job. The movie had captured lots of beautiful places from interior Thailand. If entertainment is your top priority then it will fulfill your wish. If you are expecting good story, still it will convince but depends on the way you take it. Chinese and Hong Kong movies are famous for presenting martial art in it. That is how many from west know about movies from these places so if you wanna try other than that it will do a justice.

A typical "zany" Asian comedy, with the usual overacting and mugging... It does make a bit more sense and is probably funnier if you've lived in Asia awhile and grasp the archetypes and the social situations. But it's nothing special. Western comedies work more along the lines of playing it 'straight' - the characters in a comedy are not supposed to be aware that what they are doing is comedic. Only the main character, played by Zheng Xu, handles it this way - presumably because he is the 'straight man'. You can tell that he can actually act. The movie is an excellent travelogue for Thailand (though there are no actual Thai characters - apparently, Thailand is a landscape and a bunch of featured activities, and the people who inhabit it - indeed created it - are somewhat irrelevant.) It has sparked a craze of Chinese tourists coming to Chiang Mai in droves, wanting only to retrace the characters' steps and check the same activities off the bucket list... Thai media reports say that the influx of hacking,spitting, bossy, blunt and stingy mainland Chinese is driving the much more natty locals a bit nuts. In response to this distaste, the Chinese government recently issued a 64-page booklet of Do's and Don'ts (mostly Don'ts), urging Chinese tourists to represent their country better by not spitting out bones on restaurant floors and flushing the toilet after taking a dump.

Quite disappointed. It may because I over-expected this movie as its business success in the Mainland market. The previous chapter was very funny and with a meaningful main theme - spring movement. However, this chapter seems lack of a theme. The two main characters had no breakthrough . Even with a new character (Huang), it did not help a lot. The appearance of Fan was expected but it seems that it is the only attractive point of this movie. Interactions between two characters are all expected. The storyline is straight. The movie is not funny at all. Even considering the soft marketing purpose of this movie, Thailand is not look attractive and with its characteristics being captured in this movie.

Seeing as this is the number 1 Chinese film currently, I had high hopes for what this movie could bring. I also heard it was a comedic film, but most of the time, the thought that often crossed my mind was, "Why am I still here watching this?" The two main characters, Xu Lang and Baobao, have an interesting relationship, but every time they argue, it's something quite expected.For me, there wasn't much to the storyline of the movie. It was one argument, then the easy making up, and continuation of Baobao's Thailand checklist. Baobao is not a very intelligent character, yet he's kind and helpful. He's frustrating because he constantly messes up Xu Lang's plans, but he's very apologetic.Also, the resolution of the movie, although happy, was cliché and somewhat boring.In conclusion, take heed when you watch this movie. I suggest not going to the theaters to watch this, but if you really want to, wait till it comes out for rental.