This review may contain spoilers
The story of drug lord Liu Zhao Hua
An ambitious large scale production. The story moves across 4 different locations and sums up to be quite a journey. It tells the real life story of drug lord Liu Zhaohua. The drama follows the real events, his life and personality fairly closely. (e.g., the real Zhaohua did have 3 wives) (seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Zhaohua)The sheer amount of cast made me confused at times, especially as regards the villains. But this is something not to miss, as the artistic level is quite high. The story becomes more solid and exciting as it progresses. Overall the director had free hands in making this and many scenes are just irrationally and unexplicably good. Like the one in which Lin Qiang Feng free style raps with his musician female friend, or when the normally restrained drug police Li An and Lin Qiang Feng sit down together for a beer in their trip to Myanmar. I wish I had written down the lines, they were so good. And the heads of the drug police force decide on their their two teams' next moves and strategies whilst playing ping pong.
The acting is remarkably good. Duan Yi Hong portrays a very unusual hero as the senior police officer tracing Shao Hua for 5 years, many times almost catching him but not quite. Our hero is a very quirky character, who almost never seems to take anything seriously but laughs his a**s off when there is nothing to laugh about. And who likes to sing a lot. But deep down he's very shrewd and above all persistent.
Qin Hao does yet another fantastic role as Liu Shao Hua. Shao Hua turns out to be a chameleon who sheds his skin and becomes a new person blending in and upgrading himself and his operation in every new environment. When we are shown glimpses of Shao Hua as he was in the beginning of his journey in the first episodes, in the final episode, when his brother watches him in TV from jail, the difference is so big it made me dizzy.
The actors who portray Shao Hua's wives are all exceptionally great in their roles. Others that deserve special mention are Shao Hua's 2 drug manufacturing mates. They have many great scenes, especially in the Myanmar location.
For avoiding the confusions I had, it's best to first read about the real life story of the drug lord Liu Zhuo Hua. The essence of the drama is in highlighting the difficulty of fighting drug crimes. The manufacturing mostly takes place in the Golden Triangle, where lawlessness and local armed gangs rule and Chinese police do not have full jurisdiction to operate. The police teams in Narcotic Operation sacrifice quite a lot in going full in the chase of Liu Zhao Hua. The ending shows glimpses of what appears to be real life film shots of police doing drug raids.
Why I give 8/10 to this instead of a higher rating:
- the background music is immensely irritating, mostly
- lots of characters, most of whom we get to know only superficially
- first 5 episodes are quite difficult to follow and to get into
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1One of the Best Crime Dramas I’ve Seen in a While
This is probably one of the best crime TV shows I’ve seen in a long time. The plot isn’t 100% perfect, but it’s still really good and engaging. The camera work is unique, and the acting is amazing. There are a lot of veteran actors, and I was floored by how good they are, so smooth, so down-to-earth and natural.If you’ve watched Breaking Bad, this show gives off a very similar vibe, and they definitely borrow quite a few elements from it. That said, this is actually based on the real-life drug lord Liu Zhaohua, who manufactured something like 30 tonnes of meth. Qin Hao's done an amazing job portraying him.
The ending wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but it feels like the right one considering the overall tone of the show. 10/10 would definitely rewatch this again.
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It's been a long time since I've seen something so intertesting
The plot makes sense. It is fast paced. It is gritty, dark, suspensful and cruelly truthful about several aspects of its topic. Although it doesn't go too deep, it shows a more realistic aspect than most of its kind in cdramaland.The characters make sense. Their decisions and mistakes are logical and they are explained through plot points, but the viewer has to pay attention. The script is tight and it assumes we can put two and two together. Thanfully for once, the writers don't assume that the viewers are stupid.
The focus is not on the actors' and actresses' looks, makeup or clothes. The heroes have romantic entanglements and serious problems in their love lives, but we don't waste our time with dating sequences and lover misundrstandings . Only when it makes sense within the storyline.
The actors are very very good. They are experienced and they can act. Even when the director films them from a distance or with weird lighting, they can act with their posture and positioning.
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