This review may contain spoilers
Arthur Chen is a rockstar!
As Ever Night Season 1 began, my first impression was that the visuals were stunning. The cinematography, scenery and costumes were obviously screaming a huge production budget. With the number of cast members in this drama, one can only imagine the sky high figures that it took to get this show on the road.The fight scenes were some of the best that I have seen anywhere. My favorite is that of Ning Que and Chao Xiaoshu going up against a number of opponents. In the over ten minute scene, Chao Xiaoshu enlists the help of the young Woodcutter of Shubi Lake.
I skipped a lot of political scenes. I felt that I would still be able to understand the gist of the drama without quite a number of dragging scenes. I would focus more on Ning Que, SangSang and the Academy. By the end of Season 1, after Ning Que defeats Xia Hou, I felt that my actions were justified. Perhaps I would not be able to explain the smallest details in the show but I still am able to understand that Ning Que finally got his revenge with the help of Sangsang.
Please see some more of my comments here: https://thislifehappened.me/the-two-ning-ques/
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Memorable wuxia drama
This is one of the best xianxia series I've ever watched, action packed with court conspiracy (which I love to skip though). Best thing is Main Character is not quite the best in cultivation but can survive each battle cause he's witty and intelligent. No mushy-mushy love scenes so you can forget this series if youre looking for one, and not quite the harem type too. As for me, this is definitely my cup of tea.Arthur's Ning Que is so on point and adhered to the novel's Ning Que. His air and antics are truly spot on and I cant really see anyone else playing this role. Song YiRen's Sangsang is superbly played, she really looked and behaved like a teenager, I was shocked to see that the actress is already 27yo! Thats truly a wow!
I love the action sequence. This series gives off particularly special air which made it stand out compared to other series. The plots are unique and unpredictable. Real nice adaptation indeed.
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This review may contain spoilers
I must say that I found the drama to be quite disappointing. While I did watch the full season 1, I jumped to the last episode hoping for a happy ending. Unfortunately, I was left unsatisfied.
The cultivation scenes with the sage were excessively prolonged and dragged on for far too long. Additionally, there were way too many characters to keep track of, and I found myself getting lost and confused several times throughout the show. Many of the episodes could have been shorter and should have shown some real progress from the hero, instead of the same old storylines with the princess or the sage. The whole thing was just repetitive and boring.
Season 1 of the drama lacked any love story, except for a brief glimpse of the Princess. Therefore, it can only be termed as a NO romance drama.
The inconsistencies and bad edits in the show were alarmingly prominent. For instance, the characters walk past an alley covered in fake blood (probably a previous scene of the show left there), yet they continue their conversation as if nothing is wrong. Another example includes the protagonist achieving a talisman when he is almost at the bottom of cultivation.
The scriptwriters had major issues in grasping the age gap.
- The Princess left for two years to marry, and upon her return, she had a 5-6-year-old child.
- If the hero was around 10 when he saved the baby and 18 when he became a disciple, the child should have been 8 years old, not 12-15 lookalike
- the princess was a bit too old to fall for an 18 years old
The age gap didn't make any sense, and it was utterly frustrating to watch.
The martial arts choreography in the movie was outstanding and deserves an award. The special effects were equally impressive and the music kept me engaged throughout. While the costumes were good, they were not exceptional.
I must say that the actors and actresses did a great job, especially the master of the talisman. The bond between the master and disciple, which was akin to a father-son relationship, was very moving. The brotherhood portrayed in the movie was also well done. Overall, it was a fantastic drama with amazing martial arts choreography and touching character relationships… except the script.
I was thoroughly unimpressed and disappointed with the show. The repetitive episodes in season 1 made me lose interest in watching season 2 and I only watched the final episode out of curiosity. It was a letdown with no satisfying conclusion. To me, it seemed like a setup for season 3 which never materialized. Moreover, I strongly dislike when shows change actors mid-series. Therefore, I'm glad I skipped season 2 altogether.
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Wuxia at its best
Well, I have to admit that this drama is the wuxia that made me start to follow Chinese drama. Everything was perfectly done in the drama for this first season. I would say, it was a perfect drama. Each actor gve his best to it and it was a complete success. The editing, effects and everything were done flawlessly. It is worth rewatching. In fact, anytime I talk about watching a Chinese drama, I literally mean, ever Night or Vincent zhaos *heroes *. The chemistry between sangsang and ning que, and the loyalty between the students of the tang academy, even though wasn't expressed much as in the second season, it was still made to appear when it was needed.Was this review helpful to you?
A light shines in Ever Night
It has taken me a while to get to this series and admittedly, it was Yuan Bing Yan that attracted me to the series.The development and growth of both the ML and FL roles were well thought out. The chemistry between ML and FL is good. The transition from brotherly love to one of husband/wife is good though somehow I still feel that the marriage relationship between ML and Fl is still... mm a bit lacking.
The chemistry between ML and Yuan Bing Yan is spot on. YBY is well cast as the Book Manic. As is Zoey Meng as Dao Manic, both playing the role to point.
The story pops along fairly well but there are parts where the story drags along a bit too much and it bits too monogamous and draggy. But the final battle, I must say, was worth the FINAL BATTLE. The two pulled out every trick in their arsenal to get the up-hand.
The music is good and matches the storyline, with the occasional flashbacks, explaining the little gaps in the storyline.
Overall, it is worth watching. Definitely worth a rewatch.
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A very interesting story
This is an drama is excellent on most measures: story, acting, computer graphics, costumes, fighting scenes etc. The story is very interesting as the drama keeps you wondering who is the Prince of Hell and is darkness going to overcome the world.But as with a lot of long dramas, there are a lot of time fillers to lengthen the story, which spoiled the excitement and suspense as parts of it becomes boring and dull. Trim 5 episodes of these off and the momentum of the story would have been very exciting.
Synopsis of the sequel however spoiled the ending for me as I know whether the hero and heroine would die. However, I look forward to the sequel as there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
It is one of those generally good pieces - you enjoy it but it leaves very little recollection of any impressive scenes where you may wish to re-watch and re-capture, or music pieces you want to listen again. The actors and actresses did well but there were no intense expressive moments like those you see in Nirvana in Fire, Journey of Flower or The Untamed.
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I am Canadian and this "Ever Night" I've only discovered in viki.com on the last week of March, 2020. Out of curiosity - I watched it and then I went to its Season 2. And I was hooked on it, even my family members were interested in it.
"Ever Night" then was our First Chinese TV Series on Epic, Adventure, and Fantasy which we have watched. And this is our Favourite of all Epic Chinese Films. When we're watching it, it seems we are reminded of the themes and sequences of the Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Harry Potter, and Frozen.
And we discovered that "Ever Night" won the Best TV Series in Canada-China International Film Festival . . .And that John Bruno, a famous American Visual Effects Artist did the film's visual effects - the more we came to love it and re-watched it on Viki. com - as we are also new in viki.com . .
I don't think we could go on further watching another Chinese TV Series on Epic. Our hearts were fully captivated with the acting roles of the lead characters, namely Arthur Chen, Dylan Wang and Ireine Song; and also we are impressed with the roles of the other secondary characters.
For me and for my family, relatives, and close associates here in Canada; "Ever Night" is our only Favourite Chinese TV Series on Epic. We could not have asked for more.
Thank you so much for giving me a chance to write here. Have a safe and pleasant days ahead.
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This review may contain spoilers
didn't like it at all.
I found the relationship bit weird and they had NO CHEMISTRY AT ALL as a romantic couple. I liked them as brother/father figure and sister a LOT more. The chemistry with the princess was good and I wish he had ended up with her instead. I don't remember anything about the story since their relationship distracted me too much.Was this review helpful to you?
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Quality Production
What an amazing drama this is. When it was first released, I wasn’t very sure if I wanted to watch it; it has all the big names like Adam Cheng and Leon Lai. I was thinking, maybe it was going to be like one of those crappy dramas trying to use big stars to prop it up. How wrong I was.Ning Que (played by Arthur Chen) and Sang Sang (played by Ireine Song) are adorable. They have the purest love for each other. The care and concern for each other are so heart-warming. The fighting scenes are so well executed that they look very authentic, with elegant postures showing the gracefulness and beauty of Chinese sword fighting and martial arts.
Arthur Chen is definitely a heartthrob that it’s hard to believe he is only 18, still a teenager. But he has a physique of a man in his 20s. In contrast, Ireine Song looks like a little 12 year old girl despite her actual age of 25 (or so). My only qualm is, since Arthur Chen is a relatively new actor, his inexperience does show on his facial expression. In the drama, he is arrogant when faced with people he dislikes, but mischievous when he was with people he cares about. So far, he looks almost the same on his face when he faces both types of people. The arrogant part is fine, but he lacks the mischievous expression; had he used a bit of his eyes or edges of his lips to achieve his mischievous look, that would have been perfect. I love everything about Arthur, but he hasn’t given us a convincing Ning Que. Until the end of the drama, I still couldn’t make out Ning Que’s true personality. On one hand, he seems very devoted to Sang Sang, but on the other, he flirts around with other girls. He wants to take Sang Sang as his wife, but at the same time, he wishes he could marry the others. I could never tell when he was trying to be playful, serious, or angry. In the final scene when Ning Que was supposed to be heartbroken with Sang Sang's death, he didn't come across as in pain and despair (I wasn't even crying myself - which I normally do when it comes to scenes like this). I was not moved at all! Despite this deficiency, overall, he melts my heart. I love seeing the duo together, one tall and handsome, the other little and humble but with an unyielding charisma.
This drama also touches on Chinese calligraphy and learning, making it somewhat, cultured with a lot of finesse. Like most Chinese epic dramas, the costumes are immensely beautiful. The attention to details deserves our kudos.
I was disappointed with the later episodes, the whole thing felt like a let-down, with a disastrous final episode. Sang Sang ‘died’ in the last episode. Though I know she will come back in Season 2, that’s not why I felt the last episode was disastrous. I’m talking about the building up of the whole story to the supposedly ‘climax’ in the final episode, which then played out like a deflated balloon with a ‘whiff’. There was no catharsis. The so-called climax felt more like an anti-climax instead. The drama finished leaving everyone feeling like, “What???????? That’s it??????” There were still so many loose ends. It feels like the director(s) simply wanted to pack everything up and go home. It’s a shame that they had such a good start but finished so shoddily. It is not surprising that the rating went down to the current 8.9 from 9.5 earlier.
Pretty good drama with no ending.
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Beautiful drama
I loved everything about this drama. The main lead actor n actress. The music was also v good. Lastly it keeps getting more interesting and love the fight scene. Just too good. Wanted to write review long time finally did it.The best word to describe is you will get addicted while watching. I’m not into drama with all kinds of games and stupid task to finish. Here it’s done so beautifully and every episode is worth watching.
I give 10 points because the story was v good. I love the male lead he was so good looking. I love the music it’s v modern type n plus n v soothing. I cannot pick any negative so I gave it 10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Western styled C-Drama?
Excellent production, great acting & cast, lovely costumes & set, superb cinematography, interesting soundtrack.I did not read the book, thus my impression is solely from the drama.
Story
It is a bit like Harry Potter. A young man who lost his family, hunted by people who wanted him dead, accepted into the prestigious Academy, received guidance and tutorship from so many experts along the way, received many interesting artifacts/ magic gadgets, meet and made many good friends, and then defeated the bad guys.
Characters & acting
I love how Arthur Chen portrayed Ning Que: good-looking, smart, adorable & lovable by everyone who knew him, including the Emperor. Song Yiren (24 y.o. during the filming) is amazing in portraying a child-like girl. Sang Sang looks like a 12-13 years old girl. At first, I wonder what trick they use to make her body looks so small, but then I realized she is indeed very petite. Their relationship feels more platonic than romantic though. I like how Ning Que gave up his crush on the seemingly perfect Mo Shan Shan and choose the ever-loyal Sang Sang. After all, Sang Sang has supported him from the time he was a nobody, while Shan Shan only gets to know him after he was well-known as Mr. Thirteen. This is like choosing your plain Jane companion of many years over a pretty and smart new colleague.
The Tang Emperor is likely the wisest emperor I had ever seen in a C-drama. He is kind, loving, faithful, and made many wise moves and decisions. I truly like how he tried to revert the injustice done to the General Lin family to avoid the life & death duel between Ning Que (whom he liked very much) and Xia Hou (for the sake of his Queen). Also when he decided the send the Academy students instead of sending troops to the badland when Xiling demanded so. He was also very kind to his brother, despite his brother being so wicked. I felt short-changed when I found out that Leon Lai was replaced by another actor in Session 2, his wise character seems disappeared.
The Academy is so unlike any school ever depicted in wuxia/xianxia movies. It sought to develop each person uniquely according to their passion and talents. There is a such strong sense of brotherhood. I love how Fuzi is depicted as a food-lover, almost every scene showing him eating or waiting to eat something. And the food is so interesting! There are pepperoni pizza in the Victory House (eaten by Sang Sang), Japanese-Italian fusion unagi pizza, instant noodles (in the badland), satay, and the most interesting juicer invented by the one and only Chen PiPi. In Session 2, Chen PiPi even introduced the self-heating hot pot! Everyone loves Chen PiPi, of course, the way he walks (shuffles), talks, eats and his cute facial expressions.
I can't stand all the fanatics and hypocrites in XiLing, especially Long Qing (but he has amazing six-packs!), Flower Addicts, and the various priests. Thankfully Wei GuangMing turned out to be a nice old man, though eccentric. Ye Qing (XiLing Universe Traveller) seems like a very wise person. I love the scene where he was told by a Tao priest in the Tang Kingdom how to spread the message of Tao to the common people. The conversation and the building in the background really reminded me of how the Catholic missionaries spread Catholicism to the world.
I also love the scenes where Ning Que was tutored by Yan Se.
I pity Princess Li Yu for her determination to get the throne for her brother (despite knowing the poor characters her brother had displayed), just because her late mother made her promised to do so. Parents should just wish their kids to live happily (like the Tang Emperor had told Li Yu) and should not leave a burden to their kids.
Costume & Set
Even though the story is set during the Tang dynasty, the costumes and set are somewhats Romanesque, especially for the West Temple/Xiling. The costumes of the priests resemble the robes worn by Catholic priests, the facade of the temple with tall pillars and triangular roof reminded me of the Roman buildings. The armors worn by the soldiers are similar to those we see in movies that depicted the Roman Empire. The headgear worn by High Templar Lou Kedi is certainly a Roman soldier headpiece. The way Xiling tried to control everything reminded me of the time Catholic Church tried to control Europe. The way they pursue the supposedly barbarian & demonic Huangren tribe and the Son of Hades reminded me of the witch-hunt. The Temple in the West could be a reference to the Church?
Qu Ni from YueLun looks like a gypsy, and the building where her son laid to rest looks like a catedral!
The Princess and Queen costumes and tiaras are also very Western-oriented.
Soundtrack
At first, the ballad-like soundtrack startled me, but then it started to grow on me, and in the end, I found myself humming it! Too bad they don't use it much during the last 10 or so episodes.
Cinematography
It is just wonderful!
Production
All in all, it is a really superb production. The pace may be slow in some episodes, but they were also beautiful, so I kind of enjoyed them.
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