Tran Thanh is under suspicion.

Tran Thanh's Lunar New Year movie trailer has received mixed reviews. Viewers fear the director might take a step backward after the resounding success of "Mai".

"Records are made to be broken." Tran Thanh wrote on his personal page after Tomorrow (2024) surpasses another work by him. Mrs. Nu's house (2023), to become the highest-grossing film of all time. Before that, Mrs. Nu's house usurpation Godfather (2021) - a project also directed by Tran Thanh himself, comfortably sitting at the top of Vietnamese film revenue.

Having set box office records three times with just three films, Tran Thanh has become a billion-dollar director – an unprecedented achievement. Since then, his films have consistently received significant attention from both audiences and box office observers. Many even expect him to continue breaking records, as he himself has stated.

However, that hope is now being questioned after Tran Thanh released the trailer for The Four Revengeful Spirits - my next brainchild.

Tran Thanh has received high expectations.

In an article on In Deadline , writer Liz Shackleton discussed the overall picture of the Vietnamese film market. She stated that the recovery rate of Vietnamese cinema after the pandemic is the second fastest in Asia, after India, and its box office revenue growth (10%) even surpasses that of Thailand.

Also in the same article, Liz Shackleton mentions Tran Thanh in connection with two of his works. Tomorrow and Ms. Nu's family considers him a key figure in the recent impressive resurgence of Vietnamese cinema. It's clear that not only domestic media, but also international press seem to recognize the 37-year-old director as a prime example of Vietnamese commercial filmmaking.

Ly Hai needed 7 installments of "Lat Mat" to reach a trillion-VND revenue, while Tran Thanh only needed 3 works to achieve that milestone.

Besides achieving box office milestones, director Tran Thanh's skills are also considered to have improved over time. In his debut project, he collaborated with Vu Ngoc Dang to create... The Godfather . The film is considered to have a television feel to it, yet it is rich in emotion and suits the tastes of Vietnamese audiences. For Tran Thanh, this can be seen as an impressive debut, instantly elevating him from a rookie director to the owner of the highest-grossing film of all time.

His second work - Mrs. Nu's house - considered a step backward in quality compared to The Godfather . However, the film was still a huge box office success, generating much discussion on social media. The film also marked a new turning point for the director personally, as it was his first time helming a film project on his own.

And finally, Tomorrow This is the culmination of many years of accumulated experience by Tran Thanh. The project shows a breakthrough in the director's skills. He has toned down the noise, which was a major drawback of his previous works. Mrs. Nu's house ; the characters in Tomorrow It also has a clearer itinerary, without getting bogged down in lengthy, rambling descriptions like in The Godfather . Despite its limitations in script and editing, the film is still highly regarded for its attempt to explore a variety of cinematic languages in its storytelling.

Rapid progress in both filmmaking skills and box office revenue has propelled Tran Thanh to a leading position in Vietnamese commercial films. Not to mention, with Mai , the male director, also expressed his desire to bring Vietnamese cinema to the international stage.

Against the backdrop of the region's film industry achieving impressive results, with Thailand having a shortlisted Oscar film and Indonesian horror films making an increasing mark internationally, this vision has led audiences to have high expectations for Tran Thanh's next works.

New movie trailer sparks suspicion.

With his involvement in two-thirds of the projects, the 2025 Lunar New Year film race is witnessing Tran Thanh's dominance even before it begins. Besides having his own works, the director is also investing in and producing several other projects. Falling in love with the wrong best friend. - Another Lunar New Year film. Recent developments show that the Lunar New Year film market is fully capable of having at least two films reach the 100 billion VND mark. Tran Thanh has clearly demonstrated his ambition by releasing both of his "trump cards".

The portrayal of the "four vengeful spirits" in Tran Thanh's latest work.

In fact, directing Godfather Continuing to create hit projects was entirely predictable. Previously, Mrs. Nu's house Even if not highly rated for quality, he can still achieve new revenue milestones. However, audiences now clearly expect more from him than just breaking box office records.

However, after the trailer The Four Revengeful Spirits - A project directed and written by Tran Thanh himself has been released, but many viewers have expressed disappointment, even doubting that this will be a step backward in his career.

According to the trailer, the film revolves around the young couple Quoc Anh (Quoc Anh) and Quynh Vy (Tieu Vy). After dating for some time, they get married. However, trouble arises when Karen (Ky Duyen) appears. Furthermore, the lives of the young couple are turned upside down by a quartet: Kieu (Uyen An), Aunt Bon (Le Giang), Uncle Muoi Mot (Tran Thanh)...

The Four Revengeful Spirits It was supposed to be a film with a strong comedic atmosphere, the genre that made Tran Thanh famous as an actor. However, judging from the trailer, many viewers commented that the film lacked the necessary charm of a comedy. Tran Thanh's comedic moments were criticized as bland, uninteresting, and deliberately aimed for laughter through exaggerated situations.

Furthermore, the story that Tran Thanh tells is not new compared to the common comedy motifs on the market, and therefore fails to create an impression in terms of ideas. The interactions between the characters in the trailer feel noisy, especially the roles of Le Giang and Le Duong Bao Lam.

Finally, acting is the element that sparks the most debate among viewers. Except for Tran Thanh, The Four Revengeful Spirits There's a lack of highly regarded faces in the film acting field. Uyển Ân, Lê Dương Bảo Lâm, and Quốc Anh haven't had any impressive roles before. Even for Tiểu Vy and Kỳ Duyên, Trấn Thành's project is their first film experience.

Many viewers are concerned about the lead role played by Tieu Vy. Her expressions are not very varied, and her delivery feels unnatural. The interaction between the female lead and Quoc Anh lacks the necessary "chemistry" to convince viewers of their love. The acting of the four main actors also fails to create a positive impression due to too many noisy scenes.

Tran Thanh's Lunar New Year movie trailer has received mixed reviews for its noisy and over-the-top humor.

In 2017, I'm not 18 yet. It was also underestimated before its release, but later became a huge phenomenon in terms of both revenue and entertainment value. The same thing could absolutely happen with The "Four Vengeful Spirits" troupe , especially with Tran Thanh at the helm. Furthermore, at this point, it's probably too early to conclude on the film's success or quality.

Nevertheless, given the obvious shortcomings in the trailer, viewers have reason to doubt the box office success and quality of the new film from the billion-dollar director.

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