So when Noble Aspirations (drama version) came out, to the time when I just finished the Journey Of Flower and was a HUGE fan of Zhao Li Ying , I was super looking forward to that drama. I can't recall at what exact point I decided to drop it but I remember being annoyed by the witlessness of Li Yi Feng's Zhang Xiao Fan and the expressionlessness of Yang Zi's Lu Xue Qi. I didn't even make it to the scenes where Zhao Li Ying's Bi Yao was getting important as a role before I dropped the whole series. That being said, the only character I really felt and a reason why I watched to where I watched was Tina Tang's portrayal of Tian Ling'er; so I was very happy to see that the movie version casted the same actress. As it turned out, all the actors and actresses of this piece did a really really great job with the roles they were given. They were just so believable and really lovely. I loved all of them.
And that's why I am beyond furied that the script does them and their acting ability no justice at all. The script really didn't manage to tell a convincing and coherent story about either character development, including their relationships, or the actual plot. The first half of the movie worked for me because I enjoyed how Xiao Fan's background was built. So with the help of Xiao Zhan's acting I quickly bought into the whole premise (which is not a extraordinary one but another typical wuxia drama set up; I won't complain though because I know what to expect when picking these movies and dramas to watch) and as I said, in the movie, Zhang Xiao Fan as a character was very believable. However, when I realised that half of the screen time has passed but nothing major has really happened yet, I knew that I was in for no good. Because there was just no way the movie would be able to show all the conflicts, action scenes and character development in mere 50 minutes. And I was right. After the middle part everything was super rushed and gave the viewer no time to follow emotionally or plot wise. The scenes between Xiao Fan and Lu Xue Qi as well as Bi Yao were good and cute but they were just not enough to feel / see both of these female characters falling for him or to understand why they did what they did in the end. Suddenly, after several attempts to kill Xiao Fan, Bi Yao cared for him as she was defending him against her father and even sacrificed her life? Where was all of that coming from? As for Lu Xue Qi, their relationship was a tiny bit more convincing but still confusing because they literally just bumped into each other twice and it was only that scene where he saved her that they had a one and only proper interaction (but not even looking at one another). I guess it was in that scene that Xue Qi realised how good of a person Xiao Fan is and she started to sympathise with him. But again, this is not a good enough foundation for her to go against her Master's words when we have learned how important she considers her loyalty to her Master, saying "My life belongs to my Master". Thus at the end, when Xiao Fan went crazy and all the people who were caring for him were sacrificing themselves in different ways just to save him, there was little emotional impact, because you didn't feel their bond (to that extent) in the first place. And then the movie just ends.... I have no problem with open endings as long as it's done properly but this movie just doesn't. Just because there will be a second part, doesn't mean the first one doesn't need to have any kind of closure or to explain some of the open plot points. If you can't manage that....then produce a drama instead? At least that's what I thought at the end of the movie. Just imagine 30 or so episodes of this beautiful cast and their relationships played out properly; with the same costumes because i thought they were really well done and beautiful, especially our female leads' <3 I even loved all their hair even though some people thought they were weird ....ah and not to forget 30 or so episodes of Xiao Zhan..... kekekekeke

But nevertheless I don't regret watching this, because i'm just head over heels for the whole cast (if you're not, I guess it's not really worth watching) and I'm kind of intrigued about the story (not so much about the evil bead part but more so about the romance...because i'm a sucker for romance and i reeeeaaally want to know who Xiao Fan ends up with; so I might be giving the novel a go :)