This review may contain spoilers
Slow start to a promising drama that I was looking forward to.
Ep 1 to Ep 8: The problem with the drama is Yang Mi's character Tushan Hong Hong's lack of facial expressions. It seems like her face is made of stone and doesn't move at all. In contrast, Gong Jun's Dongfang Yue Chu is quite expressive and fun to watch. I guess that they are trying to make her seem unattainable but it doesn't come across as that. Cheng Yi's Lord Ying Yuan did it better and still expressed emotions. Apart from that, the story is so slow and draggy. I hope it picks up pace soon. I'm watching the drama when I'm sick and it is already making me more sleepy. The chemistry is there between the two, I hope we can see it shine soon. It was good to see Wei Zhe Ming's character, I like him dressed like that. I hope the show gets better.Ep 8 & Ep 10: The story is so boring, Hong Hong's and Yue Chu's story is the only thing I'm interested in. They have such a beautiful and talented cast, but it fails to create engagement. I really want to like this drama, everything including the graphics are so beautiful, hope it gets better!
Was this review helpful to you?
Excellent and a must-see drama!
After a yearlong waited for another drama of Yangmi is finally here. I’ve seen so many Chinese TV series, but it's the first time I've seen such a top-notch lineup of handsome actors and beautiful actress in a single drama. Excellent and beautiful Yangmi paired up with marvellous, mischievous and funny Gong Jun, make the drama very strong, exciting and addicting love story we must see. With solid character and sophisticated acting from Yang Mi and Gong Jun, make them the best couple I have seen so far.At first, after watching the animated version, I thought Tushan Hong Hong would be a very boring person, because of her emotionless and monotones character, but it turned out the character can be played beautifully with Yangmi’s excellent and matured acting, combining with Gongjun’s much improved acting skill.
To add, every actor’s acting skills are very good and natural, backed with beautiful setting, make up and fantastic costumes, make this series a powerhouse drama which you can’t afford to miss.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A very exciting drama for adventure lovers
Okay first Tama I don't know many people say they don't like the chemistry between tushan honghong and yuechu. Many people also say that this drama is too far-right. Come on, adventure dramas won't be fun without humor, just like western travel. Full of humor and adventure!Basically this drama follows the animated series, in my opinion it has exceeded what I thought, more like a western film adventure that is light and not heavy.
As for romance, it looks like we'll see that in a bit. I like Gong Jun's acting, here he shows another thing, namely his active nature.
For Yangmi he looks Badas as a fox leader, and I really like his cool style.
Cinematography, oh, there's no doubt that Chinese dramas are already at Marvel level.
I think the OST would be more indulgent if there were elements of magic and fantasy in it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Very pleasant
I really like dramas that seem to invite us into a fantasy fairy tale world.In the midst of many dramas, I think it makes my head dizzy, because of the heavy plot and dialogue. Every now and then I want to be pampered and have fun.
I'm surprised that many people think it's too far-right, but you know, amidst all the heavy drama, they invite us to clear our minds for a moment.
I think it's all very beautiful.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Horrible
Because of the cast, I decided to watch the drama, but the poor script left me disappointed. Wei Zhe Ming and Zhang Ling He are my favorites, and they were also one of the reasons I decided to watch the drama. The last scenes of the drama didn't make any sense to me, even though it had a happy ending for all the couples except for Wei Zhe Ming's character.Wei Zhe Ming's character and his lover were the only ones who remained; the others either died, separated, or one person of the couple demised.
All I can say is that it was a fairy tale that teenagers might like.
Was this review helpful to you?
Expectations were set high but the drama did not deliver
I wanted to drop this halfway but I still watched, probably because of Gong Jun and Yang Mi... And because I want to watch the other two series although these dramas might not have anything in common. Anyways. According to the trailers, I expected 20% more action and fighting and a plot along the lines of "humans and spirits clashing one on another occasionally but with great casualties leading to an iron curtain between their worlds and yet Dongfang Yuechu and other people found their ways into the spirit worlds and fell in love with the spirits". I expected something more like episodes 31 and 32 - silly, goofy love on the background of an obligatory bad guys versus good guys. The storyline felt like a "hero of the week" style and I think they should've kept it this way instead of trying to make a bigger storyline on the background with smaller storylines. The smaller storylines of Bu Tai and Shi Kuan, Lyu Jianwen and Yan Rushan, Yueti Xia and Hu Weisheng were far more interesting and better than the main plot. As for the main plot, it was so boring until the half of the drama. Maybe because of how cold and unemotional Honghong and Rongrong were. The plot then tried to take off, I have the feeling that the writers added the black foxes halfway into filming. This plot line felt a little bit forced. Maybe if there was a mention at the beginning of the story, it wouldn't feel so not really fitting. I very much disliked Honghong constantly withholding truth from Yuechu and hurting him over and over again. Once or twice to protect him - okay, but all. The time. So annoying. Girl, let him off the hook or get some conscience. Despite all the critique, there are some things I liked - the headpieces and costumes. Especially Honghong's robes showing legs, very interesting. The casting saved the drama, as well as exceptional cgi. But it's not enough for me. I just hope that the other two series will be way way better.Edit To Add: reading all other reviews, I'm glad that many of us here agree that we expected a lot and got nothing. I hope iqiyi learns from this and will improve the other two installments from this series.
Was this review helpful to you?
Repetitive
This is the problem with C dramas (and to some extend, K dramas too)... if a person is famous for a role, she/he gets to repeat it as many times as there are fans to watch it.I was a huge fan of YM in Eternal Love ... amazing story, actors, chemistry, songs, ... everything... perfect 10+
But do I need to see it in re-iterations and in a plot that's so trite? Probably not, especially, the same actress playing a similar role.
I gave up after 3 episodes ... she acts very wooden in this drama. Side-by-side, she looks like his teacher or older sister. While mismatched age in itself is not a problem if there is chemistry, I just don't feel it ... story is predictable.
I guess what it is that the plot is not fresh - same old story that has been shown many times. And the intro doesn't make the story engaging ... I didn't feel invested in the characters ...
I guess I am NOT some one who watches drama because of an actor/actress ... I watch for content and acting. So even if my favorite idol is in the show, I am not going to waste my time. I rather rewatch the show that she/he was good in than watching new ones. Yes, I have rewatched Eternal Love at least 5 times. :-)
I am going to wait for better ones in June ... meanwhile, K drama is killing it this year with 2 amazing shows: Queen of Tears and Lovely Runner.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Snooze-Fest!!!
"Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact" sounded like it was going to be a blast, especially with Yang Mi in the mix and all that flashy CGI. But man, was I let down!First off, the story moves slower than a snail on a Sunday stroll. I mean, halfway through, I was still waiting for something exciting to happen! And don't even get me started on Shi Ji's constant resurrections. It's like they're trying to beat a dead horse... literally.
Then there's the chemistry between Yuechu and Honghong. Or should I say the lack thereof? I mean, come on, if I wanted to watch two planks of wood interact, I'd go watch paint dry.
Oh, and let's not forget about the side love stories. They were like tiny crumbs of romance in a desert of blandness. I mean, I couldn't care less about those characters because they were as flat as pancakes.
And get this: I could watch a whole 45-minute episode in under 20 minutes and still know exactly what happened and what's going to happen next. Talk about predictable! It's like they're not even trying to keep viewers on their toes.
I had such high hopes for this drama, but it just didn't deliver. Sure, the CGI and VFX were pretty, but that's about the only good thing I can say. Overall, it's a snoozefest that's not worth wasting your time on.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Similarity fairy swords love and protection of demons drama
The background CGI quality is awesome and as for the storyline is similarity of fairies' dramas protection of the realms etc.For the actors acting skill
Yang mi has stiff and stern facial expression regardless in any moment and interacting with male lead Gong Jun has no chemistry at all and i could see the age gap between them only causing some awkwardness.
Actor Gong Jun is optimistic, cheerful and expressive and another actor Wei zhe ming is witty and mystery
overall acting rating for these two male leads are 9/10
Was this review helpful to you?
It is just another xianxia. All is predictable from episode 1.
Good versus evil? Check. Of course. Simple good versus evil. Just some people want for power and domination versus some people want for peace and love.Decisive battle as prolog? Check. We can predict another decisive battle near or in the end.
The downfall of evil side? Check. Here we have team black fox versus good fox. We can predict a coming back.
A happy go lucky ML with sad childhood turned into a hero? Check. He is orphaned and predictably will grow to be a chosen one and do great sacrifice later near or in the end, I predict.
A heroic FL turned into a brainless lover? Check. She will be stupid somewhere in the story and lose her badass-ness out of love. Her ooold age won't make her wiser.
A peaceful like fantasy world where people idle and laugh and act like child everyday? Check. It will be destroyed.
An object with powerful magic that keep everything at place? Check. A powerful tree that needs to be protected? What else we got? It will be corrupted.
I drop this one. Finding that it will be 36 episode for a drama full of tropes is too much. It will be boring like hell. Either Yang Mi or Gong Jun won't save this one. If you like it, just go for its nice visual and maybe steamy romance (?), but if you have a bit more intelligence, the story will drought you down. The wardrobe is too beautiful for "fox" spirit clan. Looks too humane and too cute. The battle/ fight scene lack elaboration and complexity. They just shows "typical hand movements" (you know what I mean?) and the enemy is dead, turned into powder. Meanwhile, in other scene, other spirit is died with cut in his throat like a human. How bad is the internal consistency and worldbuilding. This drama celebrates love and romance too much and lacks exploration toward other underexplored themes like justice, self struggle, fight for destiny, compassion toward out-group/ fellow human/ other creatures, simple happy life, adventure and richness of life, etc. Just another xianxia. Watching or not watching this won't make your life better or worse. Sorry, if I am harsh. I'd be better re-watching "Till the End of the Moon" or "Love and Redemption" in the same genre instead of watching this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good Cast, Impressive Effects, but Didn't Keep Me Hooked
I was really looking forward to this series and watched up to episode 14, but I had to stop. The actors and cinematography are great, but the story just lost me halfway through—it started feeling a bit boring. Some scenes were good, but others didn't click. I’m not a huge fan of the male lead in this role either, even though I've liked his other work. Maybe I’ll come back to it later if something changes my mind.Was this review helpful to you?
Le pétard mouillé de Tushan…
Et bien, c'était sacrément décevant ! J'ai hésité un moment sur ma note. Idéalement, c'est un 6.8. En fin de compte, j'ai décidé de l'augmenter pour les CGI qui sont magnifiques. Quant au reste…Malgré la simplicité de l’histoire, il est tout à fait possible d’attirer le spectateur. Malheureusement, il n’y a pas grand chose qui vaille le détour. En temps normal, la romance est ce qui m’intéresse le moins dans un xianxia, car ce n’est généralement pas la thématique principale. Ici, l’amour est présenté comme ce qui peut vaincre la haine. Or, la romance n’existe pas ou seulement sur le papier. En réalité, les romances secondaires sont bien plus palpitantes.
Yang Mi est une actrice qui sait incarner des personnages aux destins tourmentés, mais son jeu manque toujours de vie pour moi. Si sa froideur est plausible, après dix premiers épisodes, ça devient pénible. Certains mettent son impassibilité sur le compte de la direction des acteurs ou sur le portrait du personnage. Je ne suis pas d’accord. Elle tirait déjà la tronche dans Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms et ça n’a pas changé sept ans plus tard.
De l’autre côté, Gong Jun. C’est un acteur à l’aise lorsqu’il s’agit de jouer des personnages solaires et espiègles dans les drames costumés (c’était notamment le cas dans Word of Honor). Son personnage est sympathique, mais loin d’être mémorable. Malgré son amour et ses sacrifices, c’est une romance froide qui ne fonctionne tout simplement pas. Comme beaucoup, je n’avais que peu d’intérêt pour le duo principal.
Les drames (surtout lorsqu'il est question de romance) aiment nous servir des personnalités opposées (le personnage sombre et ténébreux VS le personnage solaire et souriant à s'en décrocher la mâchoire). C'est toujours un contraste amusant, mais la mayo n'a pas prise ici. Le couple ne fonctionne pas pour moi. Même la controverse mise de côté, on ne croit pas à leur romance. Plutôt ironique dans un drame où le message est simple : l'amour est plus fort que la haine. À mes yeux, la production s’est reposée sur son casting (tout en misant sur le risque avec Yang Mi qui est une actrice qui divise facilement le public par son jeu stoïque).
Et puis, les personnages secondaires étaient mieux intégrés et amusants à découvrir. Tant dans leur intrigue que dans leur arc romantique respectif. Ils ont amené du dynamisme et du contraste à l’histoire.
En revanche, les CGI sont magnifiques et d’une qualité irréprochable. Plutôt qu’un fond vert, l’équipe de production s’est tournée vers un écran incurvé géant. Cela change complètement l’esthétique des paysages. Malheureusement, c’est bien l'un des rares atouts de ce drama.
Au-delà des héros, les antagonistes sont des stéréotypes du genre, au point que l’un d’eux pourrait tout aussi bien être prétendant au titre de bouffon. Plusieurs points de l’intrigue m’ont rappelé les dramas où les Immortels doivent passer par des Tribulations afin d’acquérir un savoir et se cultiver. Mais juste après, ils boivent un thé de l’oubli… Et bien, c’est exactement pareil, ici. On nous raconte l’impossible qui devient soudainement possible. L’intrigue repose sur la lutte du Bien contre le Mal, mais elle reste trop sage avec un tel univers déployé et sans effort pour lui donner de quoi y croire.
Bref, Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact est un xianxia riche dans ses visuels, mais pauvre dans son histoire. Le scénario est médiocre avec des facilités scénaristiques, les méchants sont ridicules tandis que les personnages principaux ne partagent pas grand chose si ce n’est un joli cachet.
Was this review helpful to you?
