Watches
July 15, 2023
Mojin is one of the most prominent tomb-raiding franchises, an immensely popular subgenre in China. With Dai Yilin behind the camera, I had some expectations, the problem is that his style isn't particularly fitted for longer films. When things get a bit more serious, the appeal starts to wither fast.
In the 80s, Hu Bayi and his friends travel to a small mountain village in the north of China, where they gather to attend the wedding of their friend. There's some strange folklore in the neighborhood involving weasels, and it's not long before Bayi and his companions are drawn to another tomb mystery.
Yilin's films are fun because they're short and punchy. The added 30 minutes of runtime is spent on pointless conversations, bland character development, and build-ups that lead nowhere exciting. It's still a decent enough genre film, it's just that he's made better films with far less effort.