Chapter 93: Fermentation

Chapter 93: Fermentation

"The Swordsman" hit major theaters on Friday, and within less than 24 hours of its release, various related hashtags were still trending. However, on major film forums, criticisms of "The Swordsman" were already flooding the forums.

The earliest post was from a user lurking on a film forum:

"So, did anyone actually get 'The Swordsman'?"

"I had plans in the afternoon, so I made sure to catch the earliest showing of 'The Swordsman' in the morning. I sat through all 144 minutes and still couldn’t figure out what the movie was trying to say."

The original poster's post was made too early, so there weren't many replies at first. It wasn't until someone sarcastically replied, "Another ZC hater, huh?" that the post started to gain traction.

"If you can't stand Zhang Che starring in a big director's movie, just say it. The jealousy is practically dripping. Sorry, but Zhang Che’s just that hot right now. Did it hit a nerve?"

"'The Swordsman' hasn't been out for long, and there are already so many hate posts. I'm really impressed. OP, can you back that up with some proof?"

The OP just wanted to have a rational discussion about the plot of "The Swordsman" because she genuinely didn't understand it. But after being branded a 'Zhang Che hater,' the thread exploded with over a hundred replies in less than half an hour, all attacking her.

What started as an ordinary post quickly blew up and hit the front page.

"'The Swordsman' has stunning visuals. The movie’s philosophical depth is beyond most people’s grasp. After all, not everyone has reached that level of cultivation. But dismissing the movie as bad just because you don’t get it is way too condescending."

"Agreed."

"Compared to fast-food movies, 'The Swordsman' has a deeper core. But I think what the industry lacks right now is this kind of movie. Our tastes have been ruined by fast-food movies. Take a look in the mirror first."

Criticisms of the OP came one after another. Some trashed her taste, while others accused her of being a paid troll bashing 'The Swordsman.' The OP eventually stopped responding, but the personal attacks kept coming.

However, after the post became a hot topic and floated on the front page, a user started replying multiple times—

"Zhang Che, come out on your main account!"

"No matter what anyone says, 'The Swordsman' is pure crap in my book!"

"Shit!"

"Shit Swordsman, Swordsman Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit!"

Not content with just homophones, this user discovered the forum’s emoji feature and started spamming [poop][poop][poop][poop], with one layer containing up to a hundred emojis. She completely changed the tone of the thread.

Later, anyone who even slightly hinted at being a "righteous passerby who just can't stand Zhang Che being bashed" would have their replies buried under a flood of [poop] emojis.

"I paid to watch garbage. Who gets my rage?"

"Zhang Zhizhen clearly didn’t use his brain for this movie. Did he use his dick instead? What kind of pretentious crap is this? Shit!!!!"

"Refund! Compensate me for my precious time!"

[I’m absolutely not wrong. Search for the keywords "shit" or "poop" on Weibo, and it's all about 'The Swordsman.']

"OP, it’s normal you didn’t get it—you’re human, not a beast."

"Zhang Zhizhen should just retire with this level of skill. Doesn't he feel embarrassed after watching the final product? And he's still planning to submit it for international awards? What, does he want the whole world to be covered in shit? Not a single place spared?"

[Hahahaha, well said! Does the plot of 'The Swordsman' even remotely relate to the word 'swordsman'? Honestly, even if 'The Swordsman' has already turned into a pile of shit, I still don't understand the purpose of Zhang Che's character in the movie. He's like a fly on that pile of shit. It’s fine with him, but it’s even better without him. What the hell is this!]

"The adopted daughter really hit the jackpot, huh? How did she end up with such a lunatic protagonist?"

"...Is 'The Swordsman' really that bad? I was planning to buy a ticket to watch it."

"No way! You’re better off getting a boba tea with that cash."

Zhang Che’s fans are incredibly aggressive, bashing the OP until they went silent. However, after the angry netizen spoke out, the entire thread was almost entirely filled with people trashing *The Swordsman*.

Zhang Che’s fans ganging up on the OP likely sparked outrage. Since then, posts about *The Swordsman* started flooding the forum, all without exception criticizing the film as terrible.

Marketers, always eager to repost forum content, had a field day. By evening, some had lifted the forum discussions straight to their pages.

"Is *The Swordsman* actually that awful?"

At first, Zhang Che’s fans were dominating the comments, saying it was normal for him to be targeted by rivals and haters since it was his first film role in a major director’s movie. But soon, the fans lost control.

"...Do Zhang Che’s fans really feel satisfied with his role in *The Swordsman*?"

"In a two-hour movie, does Zhang Che even get 20 minutes of screen time?"

"The terribleness of *The Swordsman* is objective, not subjective. Two hours of pointless drivel, the lead Lei Xiao feels like a decades-old zombie, completely rotten. I don’t understand the point of such a character."

Just as marketers were reposting various critiques calling *The Swordsman* "terrible," the critic’s 'shit' comment blew up.

So, 'shit' and 'terrible' defined *The Swordsman*.

Some netizens even commented that *The Swordsman* seemed to stink, reeking of old age.

...

By the time the crew caught on, it was too late.

Some bloggers bit the bullet and analyzed the whole movie, picking out a few passable points. But for viewers used to top-tier films, these were just crumbs.

Moreover, the number of people criticizing *The Swordsman* far exceeded those praising it. Zhang Che’s fans scrambled to save face, but deep down, they weren’t satisfied with *The Swordsman* either.

Zhang Che’s screen time in the film was pitifully short, and the only standout was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the trailer.

Who would have thought *The Swordsman* would turn out to be this bad?

Fans were everywhere pushing words like 'deep,' 'philosophical,' 'thoughtful,' and 'layered' about *The Swordsman*, all pre-written by big fans for them to post.

Honestly, they didn’t understand what the film was trying to convey.

Fans even sensed Zhang Che’s character was unnecessary—he could be there or not. The film gave Zhang Che almost no memorable scenes; in fact, the character had no real reason to exist.

But the problem was—since Zhang Zhizhen had shown great "importance" to Zhang Che before filming, Zhang Che scored a top magazine cover and an M brand deal. Fans had been hyping Zhang Che as a movie star everywhere, to the point where now, even as a supporting character in the film, Zhang Che’s presence was overwhelmingly strong, even overshadowing the lead, Wei Qiao.

Many people probably didn’t even realize that the protagonist of *The Swordsman* was actually Wei Qiao.

The film industry isn’t without bad movies. Objectively speaking, out of the hundreds of films released each year, only a handful can be considered masterpieces. Most are mediocre, with no standout qualities, and of course, there are those so bad they make you think the crew was laundering money.

Under the daily onslaught of these bad films, audiences' tolerance has actually become quite high.

Unless a film is so bad it’s beyond saving, the kind that will still be reviled ten years from now, audiences won’t be able to tolerate it.

Unfortunately, *The Swordsman* seems to fall into this category. In fact, one could say *The Swordsman* saved several film bloggers on the verge of unemployment—in a time when the film industry is mostly producing dull works, *The Swordsman* emerged, and that night, film bloggers came up with more jokes than a Spring Festival Gala.

"The memes are way better than the movie."

"Hahaha, I’ve been following *The Swordsman* jokes all night. From this perspective, Zhang Zhizhen did contribute something—he made me laugh stupidly."

"...So, is there really no movie worth watching this week? I was planning to go to the cinema with a friend tomorrow."

"The other two new releases are actually pretty solid. Even though they’re directed by newcomers, you can see they’ve put their heart into it, and the actors really gave it their all. They’re way better than 'The Swordsman'."

"+1+1, I’m not into martial arts, so I checked out a comedy instead, and it was better than expected."

...

Actually, this Friday, 'The Swordsman' did pretty well at the box office.

Theaters gave it plenty of showtimes, and Zhang Che’s fans went all-in on buying advance tickets. After the movie was released, fans even set up private viewing groups just to ensure that Zhang Che’s first film could achieve good results.

Before the buzz could build, 'The Swordsman' had already surpassed 60 million at the box office, ranking first on the daily box office chart, which put Zhang Zhizhen’s mind at ease.

Even though he’s considered a big-name director, his box office numbers have always been just so-so.

Zhang Zhizhen cares more about awards, but in recent years, if he wants to make movies on his own terms, box office success is a must. If the box office isn’t high, no one is willing to invest, and the director's own ideas cannot be expressed, creating a vicious cycle in the long run.

If 'The Swordsman' performs well at the box office, it would show he made the right call casting Zhang Che.

It’s not that Zhang Zhizhen is being practical, but the whole film industry is cutthroat. If he doesn’t produce good work, even with the title of a big director, no one’s going to take him seriously.

Zhang Zhizhen also admitted that the plot of 'The Swordsman' is a bit hard to follow, but he believes that those who really get cinema will grasp the ideas he expressed through this film.

Zhang Zhizhen was quietly waiting for 'The Swordsman' to hit the 100 million mark.

However, by the afternoon, the buzz around 'The Swordsman' took a nosedive.

Film forums, Weibo influencers, trending topics... it was obvious that posts about 'The Swordsman' were flooded with hate.

It’s clearly water army! Haters!

Fuming, Zhang Zhizhen fired off five Weibo posts accusing those "scheming" water armies of "undermining the development of the film market" and "suppressing the healthy operation of the market order."

He hoped that "real movie lovers" should not be "misled" by the water armies' comments but should actually go to the cinema to experience the beauty of 'The Swordsman.'

"Experience crap?"

As soon as Zhang Zhizhen posted a Weibo message, thinking he could gain the audience's understanding, the first comment was yet another negative review.

Zhang Zhizhen was truly furious this time.

He directly deleted this obviously premeditated negative review.

The next comment came, saying, "The beauty of 'The Swordsman' lies in the fact that ordinary people really can’t make it. It’s for the brain-dead and mentally challenged to appreciate, right?"

Zhang Zhizhen: "..."

Continued deleting comments.

What he didn’t expect was that the more he deleted, the more negative reviews poured in. His account doesn’t have many followers, and usually, only a few old fans and actors with good relationships in the industry interact with him. Suddenly, so many negative reviews appeared, and Zhang Zhizhen felt deeply humiliated.

"People who don’t understand art are simply not worthy of watching my films!"

In his next Weibo post, Zhang Zhizhen couldn’t hold back anymore, and his words became quite intense.

This was like stirring up a hornet’s nest.

How could the marketers easily let go of this hot topic?

#Zhang Zhizhen Deletes Posts# and #Zhang Zhizhen People Who Don’t Understand Art Are Not Worthy of Watching My Films# quickly soared to the top of the hot search list.

After a whole day of fermentation, 'The Swordsman' had already become a laughingstock, and Zhang Zhizhen’s Weibo posts only added fuel to the fire. Even if 'The Swordsman' could have been salvaged before, it was now impossible.

Besides, 'The Swordsman' was beyond saving anyway.