Ash (2026)

De fumée et de cendres…

On dit qu'il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu, mais Ash montre que le feu ne prend pas toujours. Cette histoire est une combustion lente qui ne laisse que des cendres froides, faute de mieux.

La romance est plutôt chouette. Les acteurs possèdent une bonne alchimie, offrant des scènes romantiques sympathiques et une complicité agréable. Mais dès qu'on ne se concentre plus sur l'arc romantique, l'histoire peine à décoller.

Comment prendre des truands au sérieux lorsqu'ils agissent avec tant d'immaturité ? Ils passent leur vie à magouiller, menacer et tuer. Puis, ensuite, ils agissent comme des adolescents en mal d'amour. Même le fait de les voir fumer ne les endurcit pas, au contraire, cela renforce le sentiment de jouer un rôle. Certes, les acteurs ont de belles gueules, mais leur charisme est si différent d'un truand d'Infernal Affairs, par exemple. Ce décalage m'empêche de vraiment croire en eux.

Le rythme est aléatoire avec parfois une mise en scène étrange. L'épisode final mélange déception et fadeur, dégageant aucune émotion ni tension.

La photographie est jolie, bien qu'assez neutre avec une ambiance très générique. La musique est oubliable. De plus, je retire un point pour l'usage de l'IA (*).

En bref, Ash est un tas de cendres avec quelques braises, mais qui ne s'enflamme pas vraiment.

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AI is doing too much heavy-lifting...

We all know why AI is used, but in this case, it was used too much. Of course I can't read chinese, but they state in the credits "AICG" and more people work for AI stuff then actors on set, which is a shame. When AI is used not to assist the creative process but to replace human actors/musicians/whatever it breaks a barrier it should not.

The story starts fine, but breaking down when Kingston has to shoot Leo. If a pistol is set on your heart, I doubt a lighter can stop you from dying. That was as unbelievable as it gets. The finale was also lackluster. I also expected a more action oriented finale with a big fight scene, but nope there was nothing. because the cute baddy has to kill himself. Maybe the script was also done by AI or the writer could not imagine another solution. I don't know if "Shawns" body makeup was also done with AI or not, but it did also not look quite right. Production lacked in cinematography and in the audio department. Of course I do not need to rant that some subtitles lines where only shown for a second or two and sorry, I can't read that fast. It's annoying when I have to go back and stop the video to read a damn subtitle, because it breaks immersion.

So while the chemistry and tension between Kingston and Leo are the highlight of this series, the rest is "meh". And because they use AI that much, the series itself is "meh". If you read reviews giving it a 10, because the reviewer can't put away his/her pink glasses and is not able to think about the consequences when AI does replace human actors, it's really a shame. Regardless if I like the use of AI this way or not, it will happen more and more to cut costs and optimize profits. The question is, should we consume such media? Everyone has to answer that question for her/himself but I might research first if a series uses AI in a heavy way. AI will constrain human creativity, because AI can't create something new, it can only combine things that already existed before. We have already too much AI-slob everywhere.

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