1. The romance. It really is one of the most achingly romantic stories out there.
2. The acting. I may be completely wrong, but the two ML seem a lot more intelligent than their characters were written. Perhaps that’s what added nuance to what would probably have been like watching the quarterback and head cheerleader hook up. (Pretty to watch, but really…) The entire cast was brilliant and I’m always happy to see them show up again in dramas. To me, this is part of what marks a stellar production.
3. This made me understand what Second Lead Syndrome was. Poor Night Immortal. So damaged, dark and deep. Leo Luo brought him to life in a pavane of delicate fragility, with a core of tempered steel.
4. Beyond anything else, the set, the music, the cgi, pretty much everything about this drama was gloriously aesthetic and made my dreamy artist’s heart sigh. I still have some of the OST on my playlist. It was a feast to the eyes and ears.
5. It wasn’t particularly intellectual, but it was entertaining and memorable. Certainly something I could find myself going back and rewatching in a few years, especially since I have seen so many others of the same genre now.
I would definitely recommend it to you if you’re looking for something to sweep you away for a little while into a dreamworld. Don’t expect it to challenge your mind, and it will truly get your heart engaged.
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This review may contain spoilers
A disappointment
This is actually hard for me to write. I'm struggling because I've spent the last three years immersed to the teeth in Chinese history, culture and mythology, which has been absolutely fascinating and delightful. Needless to say that's involved lots of artistic and cinematic treasures. I love Chinese dramas, their flaws as well as their beauty. It doesn't have to be perfect or scholarly for me to enjoy it as long as it gives a way to explore.This had me and my husband saying what the heck? Seriously? and me taking a step back, feeling sick to my stomach. (He just shrugged and fell asleep afterward, I'm jealous.)
I was so puzzled from the start after reading a couple of the reviews on one of my favorite drama sites. Why was it so hard for people to get invested when they had a handful of the best actors in the industry headlining? Eddie Peng, a brilliant Taiwanese guy who won my appreciation for being able to go head to head with Hu Ge in Sound of the Desert (and winning, sort of, that show was bittersweet). Xin ZhiLei who so often plays a powerful female role and is one I'd like to see more of. Ian Wang, who is terrifyingly convincing as a villain and disarming in comedic roles. Such a great cast! And it seemed a simple enough thing, an undemanding action drama with lots of flash and bang, something to settle down with and distract yourself from the every day. You can't even expect a whole lot from that sort of thing. I also have a keen appreciation for those that sacrifice their time and lives for others, as it's something I've retired from myself.
So what was it?
Sadly, this movie seems to be little more than a propaganda vehicle, and the underlying message is rather chilling. It took me halfway through to see it, because I wasn't even looking in that direction, but once I saw it I couldn't ignore it. The theme reads as: forego even the most devastating personal demands and needs in order to fulfill your duty to the state, and you'll be your most valiant self, bringing hope to the people. Underlying that, there's the not so subtle inference that trouble and pain is brought by westerners. The two most tragic events that happened in the movie were both led by foreigners speaking English.
The culmination has him leaving his child alone and on the brink of tragedy to go to a rescue that no one, in reality, would send more people into. While I get altruism is rare and awe inspiring, this wouldn't be the responsible way to get it done.
This is not what I want to see things coming to. Art, including cinema, ought to be for transcending the lines between people and sharing openly, saying this is who we are, just like you, full of hope and joy with the same worries and troubles. And while parts of this movie does that, it shouldn't also be used to subtly foment resentment. It left me depressed, and getting my thoughts on it out there is my way of expunging it now. Life is too short for this.
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What it has going for it:
1. Dilraba. Gone are the vapid expressions and cheese (Sweet Dreams) or dull, lifeless characterizations (Flame’s Daughter). She has blossomed into the epitome of elegance and grace in this. Well done, lady, I knew you had it in you.
2. The funny moments. For instance, the SFL calling the SML a misogynist. Let’s be honest, how many times have we wanted to hear a girl just say it???? (As an aside, there is only a token love triangle in this, so tbh I consider the SFL/ SML to be the MFL’s bff and her boyfriend. They really didn’t need a love triangle at all, but if they can interject a cliche, well goddammit you just know they’re going to.) Johnny’s woebegone expression when he’s ostracized during dinner. There are a few, those are just my two favorites.
3. It’s just ….watchable. So far there’s only one cringy “I can’t look at the tv right now” moment so far. Which brings me to...
What it does not have going for it:
4. The choices.
From the ringtone that absolutely everyone has on their phones (what the actual eff?), which gets monotonous to the point of wanting to throw all their cells to the ground and destroy them in a stomping fit of agonized rage.
To my cringe moment: the first kiss. Which had me run the gamut from being avidly interested in seeing how this romance would hit its flashpoint, to desperately wanting a literary, cinematographic and directorial do-over. It was so. Very. Horrifying.
5. Now I realize I have to take culture into account. After 50+ Asian dramas, that’s just a given. And really, Asia seems only 50 or so years behind in the women's equality movement, which just goes a a snail's pace anywhere. However. It seems glaringly obvious in this particular show that Chinese women are being actively encouraged to think of little more than clothing, jewelry, kids and their love lives. For instance, reading between the not so subtle lines, it seems it’s ok for a woman to be rich, but only if it's left to you by your parents... and you’re not particularly good at business anyway. It’s better for you to be more concerned with getting a worthy boyfriend, or taking care of the kids. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a confident, alpha male kind of man. But I want to see one that can handle having an equally capable woman at his side without demeaning her. I will say that I noticed the writing seemed to change periodically. It’s as if it was written in a committee, and there was one lone frustrated woman determinedly trying to write a semblance of independent feminine spirit into the otherwise male-dominated script. It comes, and then it goes.
Otherwise, this is a fun, cheerful and easy to watch show as long as you don’t get sucked into the subliminal messages, or are having fun analytically observing them.
Edit: Taking this down a star for the increasingly obnoxious and excessive product placement. It starts to become one long advertisement after a while :(
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2. The acting was soooo much more than I expected in this. From the machiavellian ML Yoo Jung, who skirted the edge of darkness brilliantly, to the thoughtful FL HongSul, the batshit crazy InHa (I watched weightlifting fairy not long ago and it was the antithesis of her character in this one), to the SML InHo, who was a mood in and of himself.
3. It had a lot of funny and entertaining moments which had me rofl. I love how the ML got into the FL’s head in the beginning. I honestly don’t know if a ML has entertained me more from the very start. He is not angelic. He is not the stereotypical bad boy. He is so not boring.
4. The characters are varied and real. None are perfect, they all have flaws. Towards the end it went on a sort of psychological bender with a deep dive into that dark and twisty. Again, not what you’d expect.
5. The ending is not as satisfying as I would have wanted though you have to pay attention- it isn’t a bad or depressing ending. It just leaves you wanting more. I really enjoyed this one, and I’m seriously considering watching it again much sooner than I anticipated. Like, maybe right now.
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