Hopeless romantics will fall head over heels in love with Love Destiny: The Movie and its charming leads.
Overall Score: 8/10
Image: GDH 559
Ah, romance films. Who doesn’t love them? They evoke so many different emotions from us. Some put a smile on your face. Others make you bawl your eyes out. Regardless, I’m a sucker for anything romantic. Romantic dramas, romantic comedies, I’ll watch them all.
Set in the early Rattanakosin era, Love Destiny: The Movie serves as a sequel to the hit Thai TV show Love Destiny and revolves around the love story of Bhop and Gaysorn, the reincarnated versions of the original series’s leads.
As a time travel film, Love Destiny: The Movie is… okay. Certain things about it don’t make all that much sense and sometimes don’t even add up. Nevertheless, this is one of those cases where I’m fine with saying, “Who cares? It’s just a movie.” As a love story, however, it’s beyond perfect. Sure, it doesn’t exactly do anything we audiences haven’t seen before, and yeah, I think that it does have its fair share of romantic clichés, but it does what it does well and it makes you feel invested in the main characters (and want to see them end up happy together).
Of course, the film would’ve in no way worked without its leads Ranee Campen and Thanavat Vatthanaputi because ultimately it’s the two of them who make the viewing experience worthwhile. As Gaysorn, Campen gets to play a character who’s strong and independent, while as Bhop, Vatthanaputi portrays one who’s caring and devoted. Both, I think, are really likeable and do a great job of acting out their respective parts. Furthermore, they complement each other extremely well. When put together, they produce on-screen chemistry that’s so intense that even those with the coldest of hearts will find it hard or even impossible to resist falling in love with them. Believe me, they’re that good.
The movie itself is also shot exceptionally well. Everything looks incredible, especially the scenes that are set in broad daylight, and it really adds to the overall cinematic feel and experience. However, I do take issue with the CGI. I mean, I get that the Thai film industry isn’t quite there yet in terms of visual effects. It’s just a shame that given how great the cinematography is, a handful of scenes with CGI don’t look nearly as good as the ones without.
Oh, and the score… Oh, the score… For the love of me, I can’t find it anywhere! Nonetheless, I can still remember it because it’s just so beautiful. My favorite part is the recurring love theme, which does wonders for the movie’s romantic scenes by making them feel even more — for the lack of a better word — romantic. Later on during the credits, we’re treated to a lovely sung version of the same theme, called “ถ้าเธอรักใครคนหนึ่ง.” It does a very good job of summing up the essence of the love story between the two main characters, and listening to it always takes me back to how good I felt watching their shared scenes.
On a more negative note, I’d like to point out that the third act is both too long and far too goofy for its own good. What I mean is that instead of wrapping everything up quickly and efficiently, it continues to chug along slowly in favor of throwing in jokes left and right. Look, I get it, comedy is often used to cut the tension in more dramatic moments, but seriously, you don’t have to go for every single gag just because there’s an opportunity for you to do so. It takes away from a film’s third act’s sense of urgency, and that’s exactly what happens with Love Destiny: The Movie. Granted, everything does eventually come to a close rather nicely and satisfyingly, so depending on how forgiving you are, this issue may or may not be that big of a deal to you.
Anyways, if you’re like me — a hopeless romantic looking for a new, feel-good film to, well, fall hopelessly in love with — look no further than Love Destiny: The Movie. It’s got everything you need: a good story, lovable characters, and an abundance of romance. And although I feel that it can get too silly at times, it mostly does its job effectively and it ensures that you care about its story and its characters. Usually, I’m not someone who — for various reasons — gravitates towards Thai films. But in this case, I’m glad that I checked this out, and if you haven’t already, I’d recommend that you do the same.
Comments