Chapter 195 Motive: Triggered by "The Magic Eye Detective"...

Chapter 195

Lin Yuan had already witnessed the phenomenal success of "The Storm" breaking 900 million yuan at the box office on its opening day, so he wasn't surprised at all that "The Detective" had broken 300 million yuan.

In any case, he still has some box office appeal, right?

But for the "Magic Eye Detective" production team, the 300 million yuan figure was somewhat unexpected.

"The Detective" is a typical drama film. In other words, if it wants to achieve good box office results, it must first let the audience see the complete plot before making a judgment.

It is different from "The Storm".

All "The Storm" needs to do is show the audience magnificent special effects, and the audience will naturally be attracted.

Under these circumstances, the fact that "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was still able to rake in 300 million yuan at the box office clearly shows that Lin Yuan's appeal was at play.

By this point, "The Detective with the Magic Eye" will no longer be losing money.

"That's pretty impressive."

The reason why netizens think "The Detective" is amazing is that, to date, "Vacuum Crisis" has only grossed 370 million yuan.

For a Hollywood blockbuster, this is a decent start, but compared to the follow-up "The Eye of the Demon," "Vacuum Crisis" seems... weaker.

For a long time, Hollywood blockbusters with high production costs have entered the domestic market with a sense of overwhelming force. However, Vacuum Crisis does not feel scary at all.

"What else could it be? Lin Yuan is too fierce."

[Box office savior! A shot in the arm for the sluggish film industry!]

[“The Detective with the Magic Eyes” leads the summer box office, grossing 300 million yuan on its opening day, and is expected to compete for the summer box office champion!]

Following "The Storm," Lin Yuan returns with "The Detective with the Magic Eye" to sweep the summer!

"The phenomenal success of 'The Storm' has demonstrated Lin Yuan's box office appeal to moviegoers. Without a doubt, Lin Yuan is not only the number one male actor among the new generation, but he is also in no way inferior to the older generation of male actors."

"...This shows just how popular Lin Yuan is."

"Fans have a kind of 'Lin Yuan faith,' which is specifically manifested in..."

Lin Yuan, upon seeing the report: "..."

Go ahead and brag.

The box office of "The Detective" is not even as high as that of "Vacuum Crisis", so how come it is leading the summer and sweeping the summer?

Lin Yuan only saw one compliment after another being placed on his head, the wording of which he himself did not believe.

Everyone knows that director Fang Qi played a role in the immense popularity of "The Storm," accounting for over 90% of the credit. Fang Qi has an aesthetic sense and knows how to properly use special effects in the plot.

Although Lin Yuan is the lead actor, objectively speaking, it is the special effects and the efforts made by the main creators to make this movie that moved the audience.

As for "The Detective with the Magic Eye"—the media is hyping it up now, but once the plot of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" is proven to have illogical aspects, or if it steps on a landmine for the audience, Lin Yuan will definitely be the first to be criticized.

Having dealt with media marketing accounts for so many years, he's long been used to their tactics.

But to be honest, Lin Yuan wasn't surprised by the media's praise.

In his agent's words, Lin Yuan is too conspicuous right now.

With box office success, awards, and a fairly good reputation and popularity among audiences, Lin Yuan himself is relatively low-key and doesn't like to make a big splash on social media, so he receives relatively little negative attention.

If the media constantly praises him and says good things about him, and he becomes all over the audience's sight, from the audience's perspective, they will find him very annoying.

Audiences are like that. They are often kind to celebrities who are not famous enough for various reasons, calling them hidden gems. But when celebrities who are too famous in the public eye go to great lengths to promote themselves, even with lies, their dislike for these celebrities will deepen.

Lin Yuan is now on the fringes.

There are just too many people who dislike him.

At least among male actors of his generation, he is currently showing a trend of dominance.

This is not something that others would like to see.

Sure enough, after some media outlets lavished praise on Lin Yuan, some sober voices emerged, saying that actors should be humble and that the success of a film depends not on the actors, but on the efforts of everyone in the crew.

Lin Yuan: "..."

I suggest they fight each other, but don't involve him.

"What a disaster," Lin Yuan sighed. "I'm really experiencing the competition during the summer movie season now."

“This has nothing to do with competition during the summer vacation,” He Xun pointed out. “They just don’t like you.”

"Is it my fault that I'm handsome and rich?" Lin Yuan said nonchalantly.

He Xun muted his microphone; he didn't want to talk to Lin Yuan right now.

...

In fact, although "The Detective" has achieved a box office of 300 million yuan, industry insiders believe that whether the film can maintain its momentum depends on the story itself.

Sang Zi was among the first group of viewers to buy pre-sale tickets and go to the cinema.

She readily accepted "Bloody Past," so "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was naturally no problem for her.

Her only concern was that the logic of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was flawed.

Probably not... She still has a lot of faith in Lin Yuan's ability to choose scripts.

She arrived too early; there aren't many reviews of "The Detective" online yet.

Never mind, she'll just be the one to try it out first.

The movie begins with a group of reckless adventurers.

As a viewer who grew up watching Detective Conan and was exposed to other detective works, Sang Zi was already used to this kind of start.

First to appear were two college students from the club, followed by a family of three, and then Lu Zhuo, who acted as a detective.

Sang Zi: "..."

Green-haired forest.

Isn't this way too anime-like?

The last time Lin Yuan acted this way was probably when he sang a song. Sang Zi hadn't seen him act this way in a long time.

In the movie, detective Lu Zhuo has a pair of very sharp eyes, which can discover details that ordinary people cannot notice.

Does this mean that the "Magic Eye Detective" was actually referring to Lu Zhuo?

It was only at this moment that Sangzi realized this "astonishing" fact.

She couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The surroundings were quiet, which made Sangzi's voice seem especially loud, so she quickly apologized to the person next door.

Sorry, she couldn't help it, this was just too cringeworthy!

His hairstyle was one thing, but Lin Yuan also had cringeworthy gestures and verbal tices. As for his T-shirts, Sang Zi was speechless.

What kind of character does the director want to portray the detective as?

Although... she kind of wanted those T-shirts.

Sangzi decided that after watching the movie, she would search online to see if any merchandise related to "The Detective" had been released.

Buy one of these FamilyMart T-shirts, and the next time you go to McDonald's, she'll be the brightest star in the room.

The movie starts off quite lighthearted, with a group of people going on an adventure and gradually arriving at an abandoned building.

The building has a rather peculiar structure, as if it had been used before, exuding an eerie feeling that is unrelated to modern architecture.

Because it was getting late and the exploration site was relatively remote, and it suddenly started raining outside, the group decided to spend the night in the building.

This was a fairly standard start, but among the group of explorers, Lu Zhuo's green hair and his nonchalant way of walking attracted particular attention.

Sang Zi strongly suspects that Lin Yuan took on the role in "The Detective with the Magic Eye" because he had played too many dark and cruel characters, which made him rebellious. Coupled with his burning chuunibyou spirit, this led to the creation of Lu Zhuo, a character very unlike Lin Yuan.

Sang Zi was able to concentrate on her thoughts because, based on her experience watching similar domestic films, it would take a long time before the first suspect officially appeared.

However, this time, her judgment was wrong.

The first murder occurred after the group had only stayed one night.

This group of people did not know each other before.

And... on the first night of staying there, the building was temporarily closed due to ground tremors, and the emergency exits were blocked unless someone was willing to be the sacrifice and give their own life to allow others to escape.

The snow-covered mountain lodge has been formed, and everyone's life hangs by a thread. They are being chased by the murderer in front of them, and trapped underwater in a deadly predicament behind them.

We must find the murderer, put him on the gallows, and let him sacrifice his life to save others.

The plot suddenly became exciting.

The first murder came suddenly and without warning; one of them was killed right under everyone's noses.

Sang Zi had no time to think about anything else. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and her brain was constantly working along with the plot.

The person who was killed was a hiker, but on the surface, he had no interaction with the others. Why was he the first to be killed?

The story gradually unfolded.

In this enclosed space, the crisis is magnified infinitely, and people's true nature is exposed at this moment.

Everyone was wary of each other, regarding each other as the murderer. Even friends who were also members of the association would have moments when they suspected each other.

This was unavoidable.

The green-haired detective was even the first to be suspected; judging by his appearance alone, no one would think he was a detective.

Lu Zhuo carefully searched among them.

The first body was found dead cleanly, having been strangled, and the murderer left no evidence.

Lu Zhuo had a premonition that there would be a second victim.

To prevent anyone from being harmed, everyone closed their doors and lived separately.

However, once a rule is established, there will always be people who don't follow it.

They still haven't found the killer, but the second person has already been murdered.

Compared to the first case, the second murder case left behind more information.

Everyone expressed their opinions and took their actions, while also revealing their true colors.

Who is the real culprit?

What are his purposes and intentions?

Sangzi's mind raced. To be honest, she was starting to have some doubts about the father that He Xun was playing.

The other party claimed that he came here by chance, but after entering the building, he showed an unusual sense of familiarity, as if it was not his first time here.

Moreover, in terms of the actors' status, He Xun is considered a relatively big name. Only by having him play the murderer can the plot twist be highlighted.

The thought had barely crossed Sang Zi's mind when the character He Xun was playing suddenly changed, and then... was killed.

She was at her wit's end.

So who is the murderer?

She now feels that everyone is the murderer, and although her pig brain is still functioning, it is useless.

She couldn't help but suspect that Lu Zhuo's detective identity was actually a facade, and that all his seemingly eccentric behavior was a cover for his crimes.

Lin Yuan is very good at playing brutal characters, which is one of the reasons, and... given Lin Yuan's status, isn't it perfectly normal for him to play a murderer?

Detective novels love to emphasize this kind of plot twist; Sangzi herself has read several.

But the case is still ongoing.

The murderer was eventually caught, but Lu Zhuo discovered that it was a seemingly weak and harmless girl whom Sang Zi had never suspected from beginning to end.

The other party naturally became a willing sacrifice to open the safety exit and let others escape.

She could open an escape route by simply pulling down the controller of the steel cable.

Just then, Lu Zhuo received a message from the other party.

She had long suspected she would be arrested, or rather, this was the moment she had been waiting for.

After entering the building, she checked the equipment and discovered that the only emergency exit could only accommodate two people at a time.

This means that the others must die, which will inevitably lead to a tragic infighting. She is the weakest among them, and if the conflict breaks out, she will surely die.

So she changed the image position.

In other words, the only safe exit right now is the side with the steel cable that she currently controls.

When she controlled

"So many people were killed for this reason?" Lu Zhuochang sighed.

The first incident stemmed from personal grudges, while the second was driven by the instinct for survival.

Seeing this, Sangzi felt her eyelids twitch.

She didn't expect that the story would take a sudden turn at the end.

Everyone thought they would escape, but they were actually pushing the murderer step by step into a position where he could survive.

She suddenly remembered that not long after the story of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" began, everyone mentioned, as if playing a game, their least favorite way to die. Among them, one person said that he hated drowning the most.

He is the murderer.

Sang Zi had a sudden realization.

The killer might not have necessarily wanted to kill the person with whom he had a personal grudge at that time, but he did it anyway.

She was making herself the murderer, pushing herself towards an opportunity to escape.

How clever!

How can Lu Zhuo break this deadlock?

Will I die any second now?

On the screen, Lu Zhuo dropped the letter the murderer had given him. The letter fell into the water and quickly became stained with mud.

In a way, this was a provocation from the murderer.

Lu Zhuo ignored him and continued forward.

Light gradually appeared before his eyes, while someone else was locked in purgatory.

The moment "The End" was displayed in "The Detective with the Magic Eyes", Sang Zi was not only impressed by the smoothness of the plot, but also had a question in her mind - how did Lu Zhuo know that the path he took was safe?

He did indeed know the killer's method of committing the crime, but how did he discover the killer's motive?

The two questions are actually the same question.

Sang Zi vaguely felt that if she watched "The Detective with the Magic Eye" again, she might be able to find the answer.

The moment Sang Zi stepped out of the movie theater, a brilliant idea flashed through her mind.

Lu Zhuo is, after all, a "magic-eyed detective," so could he have been observing from the beginning? At the same moment they entered that building, everyone was very relaxed, including the audience.

Perhaps the production team seized this opportunity, found a blind spot in the audience's field of vision, and then smoothly advanced the story.

Sang Zi continued her old habit—every time she watched a Lin Yuan movie, she would inevitably go to Weibo to find like-minded people and learn about other people's viewing experiences.

Now when she searches for keywords, movie reviews are starting to appear one after another.

Many netizens add the words "contains spoilers" under the title "The Detective with the Magic Eyes," and their analysis of the movie is indeed similar to Sang Zi's.

Her doubts were successfully resolved.

The biggest impression she got from the whole story of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was its smooth flow. The plot unfolded naturally without any dragging. The tense atmosphere was evident in the moment when the body of the first victim appeared, which gave Sangzi a big fright.

The film is also full of suspense, with suspicion and distrust between the suspects, their initial separation, their forced reunion under the torment of death, and the killer's methods of murder... all of which greatly exceeded Sang Zi's expectations.

She originally thought that "The Detective with the Magic Eye" would be a very simple story, or rather, just a repetition of the formula that predecessors had repeated countless times.

But the movie had a twist at the end, which made all the difference.

Sangzi has read several classic detective novels. Although she can't claim to have read countless books, she still has some understanding of the tropes of detective novels.

The plot twists in "The Detective with the Magic Eye" are quite interesting, the reasoning is solid, and the connections between the beginning and the end are impressive.

Just like a mystery novel, the details are all in the plot; it's up to the audience to see if they can grasp them.

Sang Zi found a chair and sat down. In the live chat, more and more netizens were discussing the plot of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes".

Regardless, this is definitely a decent commercial film.

...

Sang Zi quietly found a movie forum, which became especially lively during key movie seasons like summer vacation and Chinese New Year.

Anonymous forums are known for their harsh and unforgiving comments. Some movies that have received good public reviews are considered utterly worthless by forum users.

"Storm" has been criticized before, not for its technical aspects, but because Lin Yuan is a celebrity. Niche enthusiasts dislike all celebrities in the world, so Lin Yuan naturally became the target of criticism.

During this time slot, "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" naturally attracted attention.

One of the posts that was featured on the forum's homepage was, "Doesn't anyone think Lin Yuan's acting in 'The Detective with the Magic Eye' is too greasy?"

"Her hair is also unattractive, it looks like seaweed."

"If it looks like a yellow eel, let's call it a green eel."

The villagers were furious.

Do you even know what "chuunibyou" (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) means?

She never imagined that one day Lin Yuan would be labeled as having greasy acting skills; it was simply unbelievable.

While others looked down on Lu Zhuo so much, Sang Zi thought he was incredibly handsome. She certainly had a bit of a chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) streak, but how rare it was to find someone as handsome as Lin Yuan who wasn't tainted by deep-seated hatred!

The moment the murderer handed her that letter, she almost thought Lu Zhuo was going to die.

This is a psychological trauma left by reading too many of Lin Yuan's works.

but! !

Green-haired Lin Yuan is handsome, and there's no arguing about that. She won't allow anyone to disagree with him, nor will she allow anyone to go against Lin Yuan's wishes.

However, while the forum users were harsh, they still gave "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" some credit. In their opinion, "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" was a decent mystery film up to the middle, with few logical flaws, and the actors' performances were quite strong. And the final twist—

"It brought a movie that originally scored only 70 points to 85 points."

Sangzi initially felt that 70 or 85 points were too low.

Then she discovered that "Vacuum Crisis," which was released at the same time, scored 60 points, while the popular Japanese animated film received the same pitiful 65 points.

The reason for Vacuum Crisis's low score is that it's a low-budget version of Storm, with inferior special effects, cast, and plot. It's hardly a crisis.

Sang Zi: "..."

If she remembers correctly, "Storm" had been criticized before.

That Japanese animated film, because its original work is actually a relatively peaceful movie, it does have some battle scenes, but they are only touched upon briefly. The TV version didn't spend much money on special effects, but the story was exciting, otherwise it wouldn't have become a mainstay of X-series.

But when it comes to the theatrical version, the production team piles on special effects, making it look like a Saiyan vs. Ultraman battle.

But the plot is a piece of crap.

Furthermore, it is suspected of fraud. The previous one was touted as "the best theatrical version ever," and this one continues to claim it as "the best theatrical version ever." The promotional slogan is so stingy that it only changes "best" to "greatest," making it the ultimate fraud.

Fortunately, the original TV series has a large fanbase. While cursing it as garbage, fans still flock to experience just how outrageous this piece of crap is.

Honestly, I'll be going to try it soon too.

She won't watch "Vacuum Crisis" anymore. Now she feels that any movie with special effects below the level of "Storm" is not worth her money to go to the cinema.

The reason is simple: Hollywood has the technology.

Everyone knows that Hollywood blockbusters have better special effects than domestic films. Despite this, Hollywood still keeps producing blockbusters that look like cheap imitations to fleece its audience.

This is a stain on film, a desecration!

...

Currently, the most common reviews from audiences about "The Detective" are its fast pace, smooth plot, and strong suspense. In other release periods, "The Detective" might not be competitive enough, but in the summer season, especially during the week of its release, it is more than capable of competing with other films.

In the reviews of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes", many viewers added the comment that "Lin Yuan chose the script".

This percentage of viewers may not be very high, but in a sense it represents the audience's trust in Lin Yuan.

Even if "The Detective" is just an ordinary commercial film, in terms of quality, it has fully met the audience's needs.

Since it's a drama film, the plot is always the most important thing.

In this respect, "The Detective with the Magic Eye" is above average.

Therefore, by the next day, when the industry thought that all the movies were about to reveal their true colors, "The Detective" had risen in the rankings.

It rose from second place to first place.

Netizens: "?"

Netizens remember clearly that after yesterday's box office results were released, many people said that the box office figures were manipulated by Lin Yuan's fans, and that "The Detective with the Magic Eye" would face a significant drop tomorrow.

The box office revenue did drop, but the ranking rose by one place.

Moreover, compared to the dramatic drop in the price of "Vacuum Crisis," the drop in the price of "Magic Eye Detective" was very small.

On its second day of release, "The Detective" grossed 223 million yuan.

It's important to know that the first day's box office figures already included pre-sale data. If pre-sales are excluded, the actual box office for "The Detective" on the first day was 200 million.

"Now we can't just say it's Lin Yuan's box office appeal, can we?"

"The plot of 'The Detective with the Magic Eye' is quite original. Actually, if everyone else is dead by the end and the story unfolds according to the murderer's plan, it would be amazing. I guess there are also issues with censorship involved. This kind of ending is a bit too much for the detective himself."

"Ahhhh, I never expected the murderer to be them!! But thinking about it later, there couldn't be anyone else but them. Lu Zhuo's logic is perfect. He's really good at switching the murderer midway through the process."

"This is also what makes 'The Detective with the Magic Eye' so great—it creates a very distinctive detective. Lu Zhuo is quite unique and smart enough. Once his character is established, 'The Detective with the Magic Eye' can start the next installment at any time."

"+1. Whether it's Western mystery or Japanese mystery, novelists are keen to create a vivid detective character, and Lu Zhuo certainly has a strong presence."

The next day, "The Detective" not only stabilized at the box office, but also gradually gained positive word-of-mouth.

Whether "The Detective with the Magic Eye" is a drama or a detective thriller, it is destined to have points worth discussing.

If the audience isn't even willing to discuss it, then the movie is essentially a waste of time.

When "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was first released, many bloggers in the field of suspense and mystery paid attention to it, but not many bloggers dared to try it.

However, "The Detective" grossed 500 million yuan in just two days after its release, even pushing "Vacuum Crisis," which had a higher screen share and investment, to second place, which cannot help but attract attention.

Moreover, the box office of "Vacuum Crisis" plummeted. It grossed more than 300 million on the first day, but was halved on the second day, dropping to more than 100 million, or even less than 100 million, only 140 million.

Its daily box office was nearly 100 million less than that of "The Detective".

That only shows that "The Detective with the Magic Eye" does have something that can attract viewers.

"Deduction Rabbit" is such a blogger.

"Detective Rabbit" has read countless mystery novels from Europe and America, and reads at least ten new mystery books every month. In his opinion, even established authors have had their share of bad books, not to mention those authors who seem to have hired ghostwriters and whose books seem to be published without any thought.

Online reviews say that the plot twists in "The Detective with the Magic Eye" are interesting, but for a mystery enthusiast like him, that might be an exaggeration. He wants to check it out for himself.

When Lu Zhuo guessed the murderer, "Deduction Rabbit" also guessed who the murderer was.

The evidence is there; you can notice it by paying close attention to the details in the film.

He was simply curious about the killer's motive.

That letter just happened to appear.

At that moment, even "Detective Rabbit" felt a chill run down his spine.

He now understands why so many netizens think a plot where everyone except the murderer is eliminated is better.

The reason "The Detective with the Magic Eye" made this plate of dumplings was precisely because of this dish of vinegar.

Of course, the ending isn't wrong either. At least when watching the movie, "Detective Rabbit" was quite attentive, but still didn't consider the motive in that direction.

The camera is misleading the audience, pushing them towards themes of revenge and crime of passion, when in reality it is not.

"Detective Rabbit" couldn't help but recommend "The Detective with the Magic Eye" on her homepage, believing that the movie was "worth watching".

Every time he opened a new book, he would challenge the author, guessing the murderer, the method of the crime, and the motive.

Every time it guesses correctly, "Deduction Rabbit" will explain in advance.

"We guessed the murderer, but we guessed the motive wrong." — This is how "Detective Rabbit" describes "The Magic Eye Detective."

That alone is enough to attract a large audience.

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Author's Note: It's here!!! [doge][doge]