Falling Into Your Smile is perhaps the most notorious work among the films exploring the theme of esports in China right now. Aside from the stunning looks of the cast, every other element of this film has left Chinese audiences “unable to love it.”
Plagiarizing and Distorting the Image of League of Legends Players
The original novel of Falling Into Your Smile was previously heavily boycotted by the LPL community, as its content was believed to be based on stories from the biggest League of Legends tournaments in China.
The problem is that these stories are completely baseless and have no verifiable evidence. Team WE – the team that inspired the main characters in the novel and film, is portrayed as a collective steeped in drama.
This film even turns into a laughingstock when players are shown calling for fights while counting down “3…2…1,” leaving LPL commentators disheartened when mentioning a film heavily promoted as “an esports-inspired work.”
Accused of Plagiarizing Riot’s Music Products
Recently, the author of the song More – K/DA accused the crew of Falling Into Your Smile of plagiarizing up to 90% of the melody that belongs exclusively to Riot Games, to create a version “translated into Chinese lyrics” used as the OST in episode 9 of the film.
The story of idea theft is not a new issue in Chinese cinema; however, due to being “already disliked,” Falling Into Your Smile has also taken this opportunity to face a barrage of criticism, including bricks, TVs, refrigerators, and scrap metal… from fans.
Player Drops Out in Front of Thousands to… Comfort Girlfriend
While claiming to be a film about esports, it seems that both the director and the screenwriter of Falling Into Your Smile are completely “clueless” about the most basic concepts of esports. It’s unclear what they were thinking when they continuously presented scenes of players dropping out, throwing games… in front of thousands of watching fans.
In a scene that went viral on Weibo, a character in the film blatantly throws down his headset, tosses his mouse, and leaves the competition area to go down to the stands to protect his girlfriend, simply because she is arguing with some other female fans. This scene left the audience wondering whether to laugh or cry because, ultimately, what kind of esports spirit does this film present, with the side characters match-fixing to impress their crush while the main character acts as if he “spits in the face” of the fans. Not only is he unfocused on the match, but he also sits on stage eavesdropping on the conversations below, then just walks off. This attitude deserves a global ban.
Playing on PC but with a Mobile Game Interface
One rather ridiculous truth is that after 10 episodes, the audience still does not know what type of esports game is being referenced in Falling Into Your Smile. The set is arranged for PC gaming, players are typing and clicking as they should, but the game’s interface is… from a mobile game.