This review may contain spoilers
Lost in adaptation?
The setup limps along fine at first.......she restores relics, she paints, she meets a taxi driver at the police station because he threw hands with her brother. Hmmmm okay,
Then her car disappears from existence, she grabs a taxi ........of course it’s HIS.......the car gets stuck, and she discovers he is an amputee.
The source material says she’s an acrotomophile. Fine. Niche Kink happen.
But hauling a total stranger into your house at night because he happens to trigger your specific attraction? And then immediately going to sleep with said stranger wandering around your home? That’s not a kink girl......that’s a missing self-preservation instinct.
I can’t comment on the power level of acrotomophilia, but I’m f*king sure it doesn’t override basic survival instincts.
They could’ve crafted any sane, organic meeting. Instead they went with
“random taxi guy + unlocked door + vibes.”
Blaming it on “movie logic” doesn’t save it.
Then we get the undercover madness. He’s “hiding,” “playing dead,” dodging… someone. The movie refuses to specify who or why. And how he became an amputee? Apparently nobody in production thought that was relevant to the plot(???). But the police sending him back undercover into the same drug lord’s territory again......despite him having one leg.....isjust unbelievable . And the cherry on top......his supposed absence explanation is never addressed.
What exactly did he tell his drug-lord boss? ........ “BRB, faking death, don’t wait up”?
And then he strolls back in later like, “Yeah, I stepped out.....anyway, what’s next?” And the drug lord just rolls with it. No questions, no suspicion, just immediate buddy mode.
Then out of nowhere they “realize” he’s a cop, with zero explanation for how that info surfaced. No slip, no spy, no clue. It’s doesn't feel like a plot twist..... it’s an entire chunk of story that never got filmed.
Structural integrity: ZERO.
Then he dies. She decides to end herself. No thematic foundation, no emotional buildup, just… collapse. Maybe the message is “not everything needs meaning dwagg”
The constant flashbacks make it worse. Scenes replayed minutes after they happened, as if the film thinks the audience collectively has a goldfish brain.IRRITATING.
See, I only sat through this MESS because I adore Roy Chiu with my whole delusional soul. And the upcoming drama was supposed to have Bai Yu, whom I also adore on a spiritual level (until they swapped him out, traitors). But no, the movie gets zero bonus points just for casting Roy Boy.
Pretty scenery doesn’t save anything either....though yes, I’ll admit it doubled as an accidental travel brochure. I didn’t read the book, but I refuse to believe the source material was anywhere near this sloppy. Hoping the drama will be better.
Endnote: it’s not some acrotomophile comprehension gap or cop plot comprehension gap either. It’s just SHODDY writing.
Then her car disappears from existence, she grabs a taxi ........of course it’s HIS.......the car gets stuck, and she discovers he is an amputee.
The source material says she’s an acrotomophile. Fine. Niche Kink happen.
But hauling a total stranger into your house at night because he happens to trigger your specific attraction? And then immediately going to sleep with said stranger wandering around your home? That’s not a kink girl......that’s a missing self-preservation instinct.
I can’t comment on the power level of acrotomophilia, but I’m f*king sure it doesn’t override basic survival instincts.
They could’ve crafted any sane, organic meeting. Instead they went with
“random taxi guy + unlocked door + vibes.”
Blaming it on “movie logic” doesn’t save it.
Then we get the undercover madness. He’s “hiding,” “playing dead,” dodging… someone. The movie refuses to specify who or why. And how he became an amputee? Apparently nobody in production thought that was relevant to the plot(???). But the police sending him back undercover into the same drug lord’s territory again......despite him having one leg.....isjust unbelievable . And the cherry on top......his supposed absence explanation is never addressed.
What exactly did he tell his drug-lord boss? ........ “BRB, faking death, don’t wait up”?
And then he strolls back in later like, “Yeah, I stepped out.....anyway, what’s next?” And the drug lord just rolls with it. No questions, no suspicion, just immediate buddy mode.
Then out of nowhere they “realize” he’s a cop, with zero explanation for how that info surfaced. No slip, no spy, no clue. It’s doesn't feel like a plot twist..... it’s an entire chunk of story that never got filmed.
Structural integrity: ZERO.
Then he dies. She decides to end herself. No thematic foundation, no emotional buildup, just… collapse. Maybe the message is “not everything needs meaning dwagg”
The constant flashbacks make it worse. Scenes replayed minutes after they happened, as if the film thinks the audience collectively has a goldfish brain.IRRITATING.
See, I only sat through this MESS because I adore Roy Chiu with my whole delusional soul. And the upcoming drama was supposed to have Bai Yu, whom I also adore on a spiritual level (until they swapped him out, traitors). But no, the movie gets zero bonus points just for casting Roy Boy.
Pretty scenery doesn’t save anything either....though yes, I’ll admit it doubled as an accidental travel brochure. I didn’t read the book, but I refuse to believe the source material was anywhere near this sloppy. Hoping the drama will be better.
Endnote: it’s not some acrotomophile comprehension gap or cop plot comprehension gap either. It’s just SHODDY writing.
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