The Witness review (mostly with audience's thoughts):
Souce
The witness starring YangMi, LuHan, ZhuYaWen, WangJingChong etc. will be in theatres across the country on Oct. 30. At the pemier on the 28th, the writers did an investigation of the people’s thoughts on the movie. During the investigation, even though majority of the audience felt the movie was very exciting, thrilling and griping, but the most talked about topics were the main actors’ acting. YangMi, LuHan and Zhu Yawen along with the guide dog “congcong†all received plenty of praises. Among these people, YangMi’s character as a blind person even received praises even from blind people, who stated that they could connect with her even from her voice alone.
Since this is the premier, there were obviously many fans who attended, many of Lufans stated that they are seeing the improvement in Luhan’s acting. “From the details in his acting, you could tell that his pathway (to becoming a good actor) is a very steady one, it’s possible in the future he won’t just be an idol who acts, but he’s progressing towards the side of actors with true acting ability to become a strong acting idol,†says a female fan who could already picture Luhan’s future.
When talking about the details in Luhan’s acting, many fans stated that during the action scenes, there were many tiny details that Luhan emphasized for example, when he was thrown down by ZhuYawen, his forehead was twitching and his expression portrayed his unwillingness to give in. Also, the Lufans present stated that when he was being questioned at the police station, he acted very down to earth (note: I think this means relatable).
BaRong and LiuXunZiMo (two actors), who claimed they are a membrane of Luhan’s fan club, said compared to “Miss Granny,†Luhan’s character exhibited more growth and changes in emotions. However, when asked what characters they wanted to portray, they both picked Zhu Ya Wen’s.
Now let us see how YangMi’s fans rated her acting. A female fan pointed out that she purposely removed her eyes, which are her most favourable traits, in her acting: “If you didn’t know her, you would have really thought she was blind, because her most extraordinary trait is her eyes and this movie removed that aspect and she had to use her body language and expressions; her acting was very on point.†Many audience thought, YangMi’s acting, especially when giving ZhuYaWen the last strike, were very ground breaking.
Apart from fan’s praises, one little fan born after 2010 thought “the blind person and little dog acted very well.†The little dog refers to the guide dog congcong, who apart from the three main leads, received lots of praises and attention. The audience felt this dog actor lived up to it’s name and is very smart. (Note: Congcong is short for congming, which means smart).
This time, the blind person that YangMi portrayed also received the praises of the blind audience. One blind audience stated, although she could not see, she felt YangMi already entered a state of sublimity, “I felt that Yangmi almost became a blind person, just by listening, I felt like I was personally there.
Now let’s see what the stars are thinking. LiangJin (an actress) who YangMi invited, said she felt like YangMi really grew “her acting skills matured.†Even though the movie is a remake, LiangJin felt it was done well and widened the market for a new style of movie.
Regardless of whose fans they are, whether they are fans or not, almost all of the audience stated that ZhuYaWen’s acting as a psychopath killer was very good, some were even scared by him.
An audience born after 1950 said “When ZhuYaWen came out after the movie, no one dared screamed (cheered). Not because he didn’t act well, it’s because the meaner he acted, the more everyone hated him. I think his acting was very successful, the ruthless feeling and conflicting emotions exhibited after committing a crime were all portrayed.â€
Although many audiences stated ZhuYaWen made their hands sweat (from nervousness and fear), even some said “when I see him in the future, it would be hard to get over my fears.†Still, one young women audience said ZhuYaWen was “very handsome,†“even though he was a handsome psychopath but still very handsome†Another female fan who originally came for Luhan stated, “I really want to be tied up by ZhuYaWen.â€
Although most of the audience gave good reviews to the actor’s acting, there is another female audience, a movie fanatic, who took her 10 year old son and thought “The Witness†is more of a fan’s movie.
“For a dark, mystery movie, the Chinese version didn’t place emphasis on the case they were trying to solve. I felt that it’s more of a fan’s movie, which uses Luhan and Yangmi to bring in money at the box office. The plot had plot holes, mystery movies' most important aspect is the the plot and not who the actors are.†This audience also compared “The coffin in the mountainâ€(another Chinese movie with a similar theme) with “The Witness,â€The former movie has an excellent plot where the actors generate less attention. On the topic of actors acting, this audience said very harshly: “It’s a fan’s movie, they are idols, there is no acting to speak of.â€
Apart from that, this mother also said the movie is not appropriate for children. Because on an international standard, this movie has some aspects that could be R rated, and is quite scary.
Translation by me. It's rough so sorry for the spelling and grammar errors. I couldn't find any legit press review yet but I will try to translate one or two once I do find them.