The CGI and artistry of this movie was beautiful but the build-up and reasoning behind the villain's actions were completely lost.

The villain did not have a compelling or relatable backstory and he was portrayed as completely evil without a thread of humanity, which doesn't draw any sympathy or connection with the audience. The triumph against evil was at a great cost that didn't justify anything. They try to portray the main character as the one in the wrong at the beginning, but the audience can immediately tell he was framed and misunderstood. There's no reason for him to be the one to have to fix everything. The supporting side characters were all there just to help fight a little and take up time. The other side characters were there to show humanity's ignorance and contrast with the main character and also didn't do much. If you took out everyone except the main character, his teacher and the villain, the story would still move forward. The whole plot was very predictable. that is not to say the acting was bad, just the storyline wasn't well developed.

The female lead's role was very weak. She doesn't get to show her skills much and is pretty much gone for most of the group action scenes. The second couple had more screen time than she did! She's there purely as a romantic interest and to shed some tears, which Zhou Xun is very good at, but it's still boring.

Overall, because of the poor build-up and character development, the ending wasn't satisfying either. I would recommend a one-time watch because the production is high value but the story doesn't evoke a need for a second watch.