An Highly Overrated Trashy Piece of Nonsense Paired With Absolute Cringe Acting of The Female Lead.
This story was so cringy that it forced me to question the high ratings of this show. I forced myself to watch it till the last due to its high rating, thinking it would get better. The female lead was absolutely irritating and dumb to the point of making my blood boil. I liked the female lead only in the opening scene, where she showed me that she can act. But later, all she did in the entire drama was Seon Jae this and Seon Jae that. She had no life of her own. I absolutely hate such female leads who have no life of their own other than thinking about the Male lead. I lowkey felt like the creators of this show hated the FL. Because otherwise, you can not write such a dumb female lead. The over-the-top acting of the actress made the drama unbearable as well. The male lead was far better in terms of acting and as a character. Though the music of the drama is very nice but it couldnot save this cringefest. Though the last episode was bearable, the experience was spoiled for me due to the uncomfortable expression of the FL which felt like the ML was the only one in this relationship. She looked visibly uncomfortable to me in response of the ML's affection, which made no sense to me as she was risking everything earlier for the ML. Overall, this was an absolute torture of a drama that can be recommended to others as a punishment.Was this review helpful to you?
Pursuit of The FL Whom The Screenwriter For No Reason Suddenly Turned Into An Background Wallpaper
This drama started brilliantly. The entire 1st half and world buildup in Lin'an was done perfectly to the T. I was really invested in the story, and Changyu was brilliantly portrayed and written. She had nice fighting scenes and her character progressed nicely. The cinematography was just breathtaking. The main leads had natural chemistry and companionship. Later as the story progressed and Changyu found out about the real identity of the male lead, the writing became rushed and Fan Changyu's character was compromised. The screenwriter spoiled the consistency and character progression in FL's character for the comedic relief and that is something I am utterly disappointed with. Furthermore, her own journey towards becoming a female general was absolutely butchered. Her character regressed and as a viewer, I could not relate to her becoming a general at all. It did not feel natural to me due to the writing. The writing and character progression of her character was sidelined and towards the end, I felt like she was just a general in name only and was reduced to an wallpaper who is the love interest of the ML. The screenwriter gave too much time in the first half and later rushed to compress everything together. The casting though was brilliant and everyone performed brilliantly. Overall, the first half was a beautiful watch and the 2nd half was a decent watch only due to the mindblowing cinematography of the director.Was this review helpful to you?
An Underwhelming Story With Great Acting
The story is not bad, but it definitely lacked, in my opinion, especially in terms of the character growth of the ML. Bai Lu in terms of acting, did great. I absolutely did not like how the character was written. In the entire story, I felt it was based on the poor communication between the ML & FL. Neither of them understood each other, nor did they try to. Each felt their own pov was the right one. Also, towards the end, I did not like how the writer turned the ML stupid for whatever reason. Overall, I did not like the drama much.Was this review helpful to you?
Either Make A Live Adaptation Properly or Don't Make One At All!!!
The title of the drama itself is misleading. The title promised to be a dark military drama promoting women empowerment, but instead it delivered an underwhelming romance drama of the suppossed to be Female General. The story is lacking in many senses, and even the excuse of the scene cut by censors cannot save it. The entire cast seemed to have delivered the worst performance of their entire career. All of their emotion seemed superficial. But this seems to be the problem mostly of the director instead of the actors, in my opinion. I hope that both Zhou Ye and Ryan Cheng will not work with this director in the future ever. Sorry to say, the FL did not look like a general to me from any angle. She is supposed to be a general, but she was only doing stunts in fancy costumes while delivering empty, big dialogues of women empowerment. There is no coherence in the character of the FL. As a general who is well-versed in warfare, FL should be proficient in making strategies that show her brilliance. But all those nice scenes from the novel were NOT in the drama. Nor is there any character development of both the ML & FL. While it gets a bit better in the middle but gets completely ruined at the end due to the writer's obsession with the 2ML. The 2ML had better character growth in the drama. The overdose of the 2ML ruined the drama for me. The original novel was so nice and beautiful, which was utterly ruined by poor script and direction. As a viewer, I could not connect emotionally to any of the cheracters especially the FL's. The show is seriously overhyped in my opinion.Was this review helpful to you?
A Cinematic Feast
This drama has the perfect balance of Angst and Comedy. The story and acting were brilliant with top-tier cinematography. Cheng Lei especially looked majestic in his gorgeous robes and styling. By far, he has had the best styling among all the characters he played. His acting was the icing on the cake. He perfectly portrayed the role of a mad king. Wang Churan also did great. The entire cast did a great job. The flow of the story was great and well-balanced. Overall, it was such a visual feast, and I absolutely loved it.Was this review helpful to you?
This Is How You Do A Revenge Drama
This drama is one of the best Chinese dramas I have ever watched. The acting, cinematography, music, and direction; everything has been top-notch. The chemistry between the ML & FL was so good and natural. The adaptation from the original novel has been really good. Though I had read the novel, the drama did not disappoint me at all. I loved watching a different version of the novel. What I loved the most was how this drama treated the women. No matter if it was the protagonist or the antagonist, all were written beautifully. Their flaws, pain, and sufferings were handled with dignity. You cannot like them, but you cannot hate them either. The acting from the entire cast was top-notch. Their pain, emotion felt deep and complex. The pacing was really fast, and though it slowed a bit in many places, it did not feel boring to me. The story did not lose its main focus, which is the revenge of the FL. This drama was an absolute visual treat.Was this review helpful to you?
A Beautiful Xianxia With Great Visuals Working As A Healing Ointment For Princess Agents Fans
This Xianxia was beautiful with gorgeous visuals. There is nothing to say about the lead's chemistry. The story was good, even though not great. The ending was very beautiful, and I loved that there was a whole episode of the leads leading a leisurely life. This was a healing ointment for the Princess Agents fans like me. The story started a bit slow, and I felt it dragged a bit in the middle. It could have been a bit short. The cinematography was absolutely beautiful, and the CGI Chicken (Phoenix Bird) was a bit too cute. It was a great one-time watch.Was this review helpful to you?
A Healthy Portrayal of Enemies To Lovers
This drama had a nice, healthy relationship portrayal of the Enemies to Lovers trope. I felt the character of Wei Shao was toned down a bit too much from the novel, almost making his character a bit unrealistic. The drama version was a lot better, though I felt the writers toned down the novel's dark vibes a bit too much. But still, the casting, visuals, and OST were great. I loved that the leads had a respectful and healthy relationship. They always talked things out between themselves. It was a very nice change. The cinematography was gorgeous. I enjoyed watching this drama.Was this review helpful to you?
A Drama Ruined By Badly Written & Poorly Casted FL
The story itself is not that special, but the drama tries to portray a healthy relationship. The relationship dynamics between the characters were written well. The music and direction were nice as well. Yang Yang was nice, but the Actress completely spoiled the drama for me. Sorry, but I did not find any chemistry between the ML & FL. Their romantic scenes looked awkward to me. The FL was not written well, and the actress did not act as well on top of it. She was totally stiff and expressionless. Overall, the story fell flat due to the FL for me.Was this review helpful to you?
A Laughter Riot With Solid Story & Acting
The comic element in this drama was absolutely amazing. The entire cast has done a nice job. The actress has absolutely nailed her character. I loved watching her perform. The screenplay was done smartly, so it did not get repetitive and boring. The suspense element was maintained until the last episode. Though I felt like it could have been shortened a bit, it was not a major problem. But I am not satisfied with the ending at all. The chef coming back to the present spoiled the experience for me quite a lot, as I personally felt like the king got cheated. Nevertheless, it was a very nice watch.Was this review helpful to you?
A Overdose of Gore Action Scenes
Though the prospects of the drama were good but it was ruined by the overdose of violent scenes. I understand it was an absolute crime drama but the action scenes could have been toned down a bit. Moreover, the story was not emotionally rich enough for me to connect with the characters. Despite the heavy action scenes something felt missing for me. Overall, a decent watch for people who only want gore action scenes.Was this review helpful to you?
A Karmic Justice
This story is self-explanatory by its title, as the story nicely navigates among its characters to establish karmic justice in all senses. The fate of the villains feels absolutely satisfying at the end as everyone gets their karma. The story feels nice without any dragging. The story is presented smartly and it does not feel dragging at any point. This was a nice, enjoyable drama in all senses.Was this review helpful to you?
A Decent Romcom With Healthy Friendship & Nice Chemistry
This is a nice romcom that actually feels like a romcom at the beginning. The chemistry between the 2 leads was off the charts in my opinion. I would love to see them together in other dramas in the future. But the drama was too rushed, and I felt like it ended abruptly. This could have been a 16 episode drama, or the Bangsu track could have been shortened a bit. That track felt dragging to me later. The female lead has done a nice job in my opinion, by not making the character overly bubbly. Otherwise, it would have become irritating. I absolutely loved watching Choo Young Woo switching between 2 characters simultaneously. It was a fun ride that could have been better if it was more focused on the leads' relationship instead of their separation. The 2nd ML was a very nice friend, and I am glad the writer did not turn him negative. Overall, this is a nice one-time watch.Was this review helpful to you?
One of The Best Xianxia Drama With Electrifying Chemistry Between The Leads
Though this is basic Xianxia drama, I was pleasantly surprised. It had great visuals, acting, ost and absolutely insane chemistry between the leads. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. It's been a long time since I watched a good Xianxia drama. Arthur Chen as Sima Jiao was absolutely brilliant. He suited the character really well. Wang Yinglu was great as well. The flow of the story was good as well. The only problem I had was that the Mortal Realm track was too short, while the Demon Realm arc was dragged a bit. They had followed the novel pretty well, and though I would have loved to see the original ending of the novel, they could have shown one more episode of the Mortal Realm. But still, I am happy that they gave the audience a happy ending. I absolutely loved this drama. I would love to watch Arthur Chen and Wang Yinglu together in another drama in the future.Was this review helpful to you?
This Is How You Do A Revenge Drama
The first season started a bit slowly, and later it was a rollercoaster ride. I binged the whole show on Netflix within 24 hours. The acting, music, cinematography, and direction were just brilliant. Song Hye Kyo was the star of the drama. I just could not take my eyes off her. The casting of the teenager and adult versions of each character was spot on. The only drawback I felt was that FL did not have enough chemistry with the ML. I felt Song Hye Kyo had more chemistry with the actor playing Park Yeon Jin's Husband (Just my personal opinion). Other than that, the story and the revenge plot were brilliantly executed. The villains all got their appropriate karma. I felt very satisfied as a viewer. Overall, I loved the drama.Was this review helpful to you?
