It's a decently well-polished spectacle of Chinese mythology structured like a Dragonball Z/Shonen anime. The plot is relatively shallow, but it serves as solid vehicle for the fight scenes. The writing is very exposition-heavy, though as a newcomer to Chinese mythology, the hand-holding was welcome. It allowed me to (barely) keep up with what's happening as the film weaved through its extravagantly ridiculous plotline at a decently fast clip.
The scale and execution, particularly for the (many, many) fight scenes, are grand. Despite the long runtime, I found myself repeatedly surprised and delighted. I can see why China is going crazy for this movie.
