Freespirit1221

A good series about found family, mother issues and realistic adulthood. Not a good romance.

This is a good series with found family tropes. I quite enjoyed it, especially the first half. I love the interactions between the brother-sister trio when they are teenagers, the bickering interactions between the two dads, the father-daughter relationship between our female lead Jianjian and her father Li Hai Chao, and the father-son relationship between Li Hai Chao and He Zi Qiu.

My two most favorite characters are Li Hai Chao and He Zi Qiu. I like He Zi Qiu the most among the trio. I love to see him bickering with Jianjian. He truly loves and cares for Jianjian as an older brother, and always tries his best to protect his family, including Jianjian and her father. He always wishes to become a real family with them, and that's why he mistakes that feeling for romantic love. I love how he asks for Li Hai Chao's permission before making a move on Jianjian. He's one of the lights that I've found in this show. I also love to watch his journey on healing the relationship with his mother. Out of the mothers in the series (I don't include the mother of Zi Qiu's best friend as she is a very side character), she is one of the two mothers that I empathize with and deserves to be forgiven for her mistakes towards her children. I love her happy ending with Zi Qiu and Jianjian's father.

Another light is Li Hai Chao. He is the best dad ever, and the kindest man I've seen. He treats other people, including women and kids with respect. He's so loving, caring and patient towards his children. I love every scene with him in it. He makes my heart feel warm. I've never had a father like him, and have serious father issues, so I always have a soft spot for a nurturing father, and a loving father-daughter relationship.

I also like how the show implies messages about growing up and how difficult adulthood can be, and the relationship between Asian parents and their adult children. I love the friendship between the 3 girls Jianjian, Mingyue, and Tang Can. I think their bonding is beautiful and realistic. I love how they care and support each other through different hardships in life. There are some conflicts between them sometimes but that's how best friends treat each other in real life. They are straightforward towards each other and don't let any boy get involved and ruin their friendship. That's another good thing about this series, that there is no toxic love triangle.

I feel that "Go Ahead" is a series about mother issues. All the characters in this series, excluding ZiQiu's best friend, have serious mother issues. Most of them have toxic mothers that lead to a lot of trauma and shape their personality when they grow up. I relate to Mingyue the most. Some people may find her character annoying but it's realistic when she grew up with her parents. I used to be just as annoying as her. My father is an absent father like her father, and my mother is too controlling towards whatever I do in life. She's never satisfied with whatever I do. I was a model student, but I used to be so unconfident and never thought I'm good enough. I pushed away the people that liked me because I was scared that they would stop liking me after knowing who I am. I see myself in her a lot, and I felt so proud and emotional at the scene when she confronted her mother and expressed her suppressed feeling for a long time in front of her. Mingyue's mother is the other mother besides Zi Qiu's that I empathize with. She's a lot like my mother and I understand she just wishes the best for her daughter, although her method is wrong. I was also touched at the scene where Minyue stood up for her mother when her father confronted her and blamed her mother for an unhappy marriage between them. My absent father also did that, and I also stood up for my mother.

That's a few things I love about the series. Now there are things that I dislike. The first thing is the romance between the leads. They got together so quickly after treating each other like siblings for a very long time since they were kids. It feels so forced to me. I don't feel any chemistry between them either. Plus, I feel like Ling Xiao was forcing Jianjian into their relationship. He did a lot of toxic things. He wasn't satisfied when Jianjian had a boyfriend and tried to break them up. He met her boyfriend secretly and asked him to break up with her. This is different from Zi Qiu, because the reason Zi Qiu didn't approve of her boyfriend is that he was worried about him being a pervert and betraying Jianjian. Zi Qiu is just a protective older brother and wishes the best for her sister. Another toxic thing Ling Xiao did was confessing to Jianjian but didn't give her time to think, but kind of forced her into the relationship, and he kissed her without her consent!

Another thing is that they don't seem to consider mental illness as a serious issue in this series. Ling Xiao was severely depressed, but he never went to therapy and relied on Jianjian for his comfort. That's not a good way in the long run. I had depression for years and I know how burdensome and exhausting it is for people around me to be around me for a long while. That's not a healthy relationship. Also, it’s painful to see how Chinese people think of mental illness. It's considered something embarrassing. My Asian mom thinks so too, and she always tries to hide other people about me going to therapy. I know they care about me but it still hurts me a lot.

My biggest issue about this series is about the concept of family. What I love about this series at first is the concept of a found family. However, later the kids forgive their toxic parents after terrible things they have done for them, just because 'your mother is your mother'. I feel like it's somehow against the series' initial concept. Ling Xiao is forced to take care of the selfish biographical mother who abandoned him and never cared about her children, including Ling Xiao and her 2 sisters. I think the best ending for Ling Xiao's mother should be that both Ling Xiao and her sister cut her off.

Next is Tang Can's mother. She's also one of the worst mothers. It appears to me from the beginning to the end that she only cares about her own pride. When Tang Can was an inspiring young child actress, her mother forced her to do a lot of commercials to earn money, and such a young kid has already earned enough to buy her parents a house and a supermarket to make a living. Who loves their kid that forces her to do that? Later it was her who destroyed her daughter's acting career because of her pride. And then she became embarrassed about her daughter and not satisfied with whatever she did, no matter how hard she tried. She never noticed how exhausted her daughter was at every family gathering, but how much her daughter embarrassed her. Then in the end, Tang Can somehow still tried to please her mother, because 'it's your mother, and mother always wishes the best for their children'. In my opinion, this is not a good message for young people nowadays.

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A light and fun drama with multiple leads, if you don’t take things too seriously

“Perfect Math” is a light and fun Cdrama with multiple characters that take turn to be the leads. Each of them is the perfect match for their partner. My most favorite couple is the fourth lady and her husband. They are just so adorable! I also think they are the only healthy couple and can make sense in real life, while the others are too exaggerating and illogical.

My least favorite couple is the fifth lady and her husband, as compared to others, their story doesn’t make sense the most, and it’s the most dramatic one. They are still fun to watch with good chemistry, although they don’t really have any physical intimacy scenes together.

Don’t take anything too seriously when watching this series. I don’t think this is about women's empowerment or any serious label you want to call it. For me it’s just a pure lighthearted comedy and romance.

I also love the loving relationship between the sisters and their mother. It’s not common in a Cdrama to see this kind of family bonding. I enjoyed watching the son-in-law alliance too. It’s really fun and unique. I haven’t seen any historical drama with this kind of alliance!

I wish there would be more scenes to dig deeper into the relationship between the adopted sister and her husband. The ending feels a little bit rushed that makes me a little confused. I would like to see more scenes of the couples, and I wish to see their kids, not just mentioned.

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Pretty good

It’s funny that I watched this friendship sharing show one year after I had watched the drama. The show was okay, but I think it was a bit dragging sometimes in the middle. You can clearly tell it was made to promote the drama and boost local tourism.

What I enjoyed was the bonding between the actors and actresses. I feel like they treated each other like family. I also see that their personalities are very different from their roles in the drama. You can easily tell Wu Xuan Yi and Huang Sheng Chi are the older members among all of them, while Wang Xing Yue and Lu Yu Xiao are among the younger members.

I really liked the last moment when they expressed their gratitude and loving feelings to each other.

I also liked the extra episode of the fourth sister’s couple. Although it was just a short bonus, I’m so glad that they made it. They are my favorite couple of the drama.

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Hilarious

Silly story, but hilarious, like most of other Stephen Chow’s films. I enjoyed it a lot, and specifically found it so funny when all the villains in this movie are from the Chinese government lol. Obviously, it’s a Hong Kong movie.

I don’t know if I was a little biased when Anita Yuen was in this. She’s one of my favorite Hong Kong actresses that I grew up watching in a few Chinese series. She looked so pretty and funny in this movie. I love her short hair. And her interactions with Stephen Chow were great too.

One thing I didn’t like throughout the movie is that one specific scene in the shopping mall where a father was brutally murdered right in front of his toddler. I found this scene unfunny and unnecessary. The film would have been much better without it.

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A great black comedy about what’s happening in this world

“Sometimes the truth lies on the far side of the moon. But that doesn’t mean what’s on the near side is fiction.”
“It’s still the moon. It doesn’t need a name in order to exist. It also doesn’t need to be recognized to hold meaning on its own. What you did, in itself, was worthwhile.”
“Sometimes, even the truth lies and lies also tell the truth. Real events that happened, a little bit of creativity, and the willingness to suspend disbelief. If these three components come together, Reality turns into a story… and the story becomes the truth.”

In the world we are living in right now, I deeply connect with the storyline in Good News. It’s a reminder to not believe everything we see or hear. Every news in the media is designed to make you feel something and to lead you to the things they want you to believe.

Hong Kyung is at his best in this movie. Air Force First Lieutenant Seo Go Myung, you have all my heart!

I’m also surprised that I recognized every Korean and Japanese face in this movie, from the main characters, supporting roles to cameo appearances. They all did a great job with their performances.

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Amazing bromance, and a great blend of comedy, action and serious crime

I enjoyed this movie from the beginning til the end. It’s a great blend of comedy, action and serious crime. Park Seo Joon and Kang Ha Neul nailed their roles as 2 police students as well as close friends. They are a perfectly balanced duo, one is reckless but physically strong while the other is smart but weaker. Although this is the typical type of duo in every cop movie, it still felt very refreshing with Park Seo Joon and Kang Ha Neul’s great performances. The two’s bromance chemistry felt so natural that it didn’t feel like they were acting at all.

The only issue I had with this movie was the Korean useless and weak police system being portrayed. How come they had to follow so many protocols in order to start catching criminals for a serious issue like human trafficking? Also, as police students, our duo should have been praised and rewarded as excellent individuals in front of the whole school and nation for their bravery, instead of being punished and threatened to get kicked out. What’s going on with this world? Those poor girls would have been killed with their organs being taken and sold by those criminals already, if our duo Ki Joon and Hee Yeol ignored them for fear of being kicked out of the school, just because those so-called ‘professional policemen’ didn’t take action immediately. If I were Ki Joon or Hee Yeol, I would definitely drop out of school right after rescuing the girls, after learning how f**ked up the police system is. Who would want to become a police in that corrupt system? The school didn’t even need to kick me out or punish me if I were them.

That was my only issue with this movie. Everything else was enjoyable.

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I don’t understand why they make this drama. It doesn’t make any sense, and brings no value.

If you want to watch this series, don’t think. The moment you let your brain works, it’s over. This is a silly thing you would watch when you don’t think at all.

This series is so bad that I can’t even laugh. Both the plot and the characters are so stupid, and the most annoying character is the female lead. I can’t understand what all the guys see in her to fall for her, a 26-year-old adult who can’t even go around on her own without someone else’s help. She looks and acts just like a little kid, but she’s definitely not cute at all! She is a toxic person who always plays the victim and blame others for everything happening in her life. What has the male lead even done to her? He supports her wholeheartedly, and what happened in the past wasn’t his fault. Yeah, at least the male lead is a good guy and has a good friend. That’s the only good thing in this series. It’s too bad that that they couldn’t give them a smarter plot. However, he also appears as a manipulative red flag at first. He shows too much passion towards the female lead while barely knowing her and I find that kind of creepy. He could be a potential serial killer in another series lol. I mean it.

To be honest, I truly wished the male lead and his friend realized they were gays and ended up with each other and ditched the female lead. They have more chemistry than the leads together, and the male lead deserves better.

Seriously, who wrote this plot? My cat would write a better one.

The acting is not good either. I didn’t feel anything throughout the series. Oh, and don’t let me start on how fake the painting process looks lol. At least the artworks are beautiful and the background music is not too bad.

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It's a big mess! A disappointment!

As a fan of the original webtoon, I'm so disappointed with this adaptation. It's totally messed up! A lot of changes just don't make any sense. It's just full of cliché, tropes and dumb plot holes. I just couldn't stand them.

I got so mad how they even changed Ji Eum's first life. I really love the sibling interactions between Ji Eum and Do Yun in the webtoon and I really hoped they at least kept their past together, it would be so much fun, but it didn't happen. :(

Eventhough I really adore Ahn Bo Hyun and Shin Hye Sun, they are not Seoha and Ji Eum in my mind and I didn't see any chemistry between them at all. It's not because of their acting. They are great actors and actresses, but they just don't fit the characters. Seoha and Ji Eum are much more badass in the webtoon. And also, Shin Hye Sun is 10 years older than Ji Eum, a 23-year-old woman. That makes even less suitable for the role.

I just finished the drama just for the cast only. They did a great job in a bad drama.

Now I'm worried for another webtoon adaptation from the same author: It's a good day to be a dog. I really want to see it with the live-action version, and I also love the cast. But I lost hope after finishing this series.

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Not as great as Hospital Playlist, but it’s still a nice slice of life drama

I didn't expect much from this spin off but surprisingly I quite enjoyed it, not as much as Hospital Playlist though.

It's a good slice of life drama in a medical setting. It has funny moments and some realistic and relatable moments, and touching moments. I think we can all relate to the characters, as a fresh graduate who starts working at a new environment. We make mistakes, we are passionate but not recognized, or we work hard but our seniors take all the credit for it, etc.

Each of all the characters have their own colors and personalities, with both their strengths and flaws. One of the things that I love is that even though there is character development among the characters, they don't magically change completely at the end of the series, which is just one year later from the first epiode. They do become better and more experienced in their job, but still remain their strengths and flaws.

The romance is good enough. It's fun to watch the chemistry between the characters. Each couple has good chemistry and I love that their romance is slow burn, and it grows quite naturally.

I like most of the characters in this drama, except for the 2 bad senior doctors who keep bullying their juniors, but those kinds of people do exist in real life and in every workplace. Apart from them, the resident doctors have great supportive co-workers and seniors, and also build some special bonding with their patients. My most favorite characters are Pyo Nam Gyeong, Kim Sabi, Professor Seo Jeong Min, Professor Ryu Jae Hwi, Um Jae Il, Cha Da Hye, and Park Mu Gang. :)

One of the things I didn't like much in this series is that they seem to focus more on one character among the four main characters: Oh I Young. Actually she’s my least favorite characters in the series. I don’t dislike her like the two bad seniors I have mentioned above, but I just don’t like her as much as others. I don’t understand why they make a poster with 4 main characters, but she's the one who starts the first episode and ends the last episode. I also feel that her story is more focused than the rest. I wish there were more screentime for Pyo Nam Gyeong, Um Jae Il and Kim Sabi as well. I wouldn't mind watching if they make a season 2 for them.

By the way, it’s really nice to see our beloved characters in Hospital Playlist again as special cameos. Their appearances are fun to watch.

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How can I move on from this?

Under the Power is the best drama ever! The leads' chemistry is top-notch that I can ignore any other annoying characters or bad CGI. I can re-watch this drama over and over again.

This drama has excellent acting from the cast, especially Ren Jia Lun and Tan Song Yun as our leads. Just the way they look at each other already melted my heart and killed me. Seriously, if Ren Jia Lun weren't already married in real life, I would think the actors were really in love with each other.

I have so much to say about this drama but I'm not sure if I can thoroughly express it now. I just love it so much. It's a perfect drama. 55 episodes is not enough for me. Please give me more of my Jin Xia and Lu Da Ren! I can watch them forever. There is not a single scene of them that I didn't enjoy, from the beginning till the end. I burst with joy when they were happy and lovey-dovey together, and my heart broke into pieces to see them separated and suffering. There were a few annoying characters but the leads' chemistry is worthy to endure all of them.

Besides the leads' chemistry, this drama also has a unique plot and its storytelling is amazing. It's a great blend of romance, mystery, martial arts and politics, with great story and character development. The leads' romance grows very naturally through their adventures and the mystery cases they solve together. It's not a sudden feeling of falling in love at first sight or out of nowhere, but a slow burn romance built strongly by each episode. This is absolutely my favorite type of romance. It feels so real that somehow it even makes me wonder if Jin Xia and Lu Yi really existed in history. Who knows, maybe they are the ancestors of the novel's author?

My other favorite character besides the leads is Taoist Lan Qing Xuan. He's such a sweetheart! Along with Lu Yi's uncle he was one of the two biggest supporters of our leads' romance. He appeared to be a funny, chill guy at first, so I didn't expect to see him become so determined and serious in the second half. He treated Lu Yi and Jin Xia with sincerity and respect. He wanted to do the right thing for his country and the people, and was even ready to sacrifice his own life to side with Lu Yi and protect the country from the evil corrupt officials together. Although his death was quite predictable from the beginning and it made sense to the plot, it still broke my heart at that scene. His last words were to tell Lu Yi to cherish Jin Xia and never lose her again. Poor guy! And again Lu Yi lost another great friend in his lifetime. This is not so relevant, but one more thing that I like about Lan Qing Xuan is his name. He has the same first name as me, when it's translated into Chinese. :)

By the way, Han Dong, the actor who plays the main antagonist Yan Shi Fan is the one who plays the ninth prince in my other top favorite drama Scarlet Heart. He's also an antagonist there. And Ye Qing, the actress who plays Shang Guan Xi plays his lover in that drama. No wonder they look so familiar. I found it interesting to see them again in this drama, although they didn't have any scenes together this time. Their acting is obviously flawless, especially Han Dong. I was so pissed every time Yan Shi Fan appeared on screen.

I don't think I can move on from this drama, from our lovely Lu Yi and Jin Xia. I want to see more of their future, where they are a happy married couple sitting peacefully in the backyard with their adorable kids running around! Also, if Ren Jia Lun and Tan Song Yun have another project together in the future, even if it's a trashy romance plot, I will definitely watch it!

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Silly and hilarious

The plot is silly but hilarious until it gets messy and annoying at the second half. There are also some scenes that are bullying but then they were ignored afterwards, while some of those actions are just unforgivable.

Although our female lead Qian Qian is childish and stupid and makes a lot of bad choices throughout the show, the leads still have some cute moments together and their two male servants Zi Rui and Bai Ji are the best characters. Their actions alone are already so funny and their bickering interactions are literally the most hilarious parts of the show. The conversations between the female lead and three writers are so funny as well, and the tale of banana, orange, and apple is just iconic.

There are a lot of funny parodies of other dramas and movies and different tales, especially the Hua Mulan part lol. Han Shuo’s parents are hilarious, and their conversation with Qian Qian’s mom is gold.

I couldn’t help but keep imaging how the world would be if such a place like Huayuan City really existed.

Most of other characters are annoying, especially the second leads, and I couldn’t care less about the oldest sister’s story. They should have focused more on the romance between the leads instead of them, as their parts are so unbearable and unnecessary, in my opinion. I can’t understand why the screenwriters must create toxic love triangles and evil third wheels all the time. Why couldn’t they just be loving sisters and a supportive male friend? Seriously, I haven’t hated a second male lead like this in years. For the second female lead, I felt bad for her at some point.

By the way, despite cheap looking clothes and ugly hairstyles, the leads still look pretty and maybe that even makes the show more hilarious.

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Only Japan can make a drama like this

Only Japan can make a drama like this. They are best at bringing the most realistic aspects of human life that a lot of people can relate to, at least it's for me, and they do it so naturally. "Quartet" has a similar vibe with one of my other favorite Japanese series “Life’s Punchline”, which is also a great slice of life drama, with a little bit of mystery elements.

I relate to every character and their story. The series has brought to life the real people, without any filter. They are the people we can meet in our real life, with all their strengths and flaws. Four main characters are a group of oddballs with different personalities. Together, they form a found family under the name of a quartet. I really love their bonding. It is just so beautiful. Their daily interactions with a lot of bantering are the light of the whole series.

What I love the most about "Quartet" is its concept of a found family. As someone who grew up in a dysfunctional family, I always find comfort in the concept of a happy family or found family, and I got sick of the typical trope where 'family is family and we should stick together no matter what'. In this series, there are no toxic family members that we have to meet if we don't want to, just because they are blood-related family members and everyone says you should meet or take care of them. This message is directly implied in the conversation between Maki and Suzume at a restaurant near the hospital where Suzume's biological father is. People around Suzume kept telling her to visit her shameless father, while Maki just told Suzume to go home with her after knowing that Suzume didn't want to do that. She also said that the members of the quartet are family because they share the same house, use the same shampoo and wash their clothes in the same washing machine. How beautiful that is!

I think that one of the reasons why the members of the quartet meet each other and form a new found family together is that they all have problematic families, besides being weirdos. Maki and Suzume were also the ones who ran away from their biological families to start a new life. All of them are each other's home. They are the imperfect pieces in an imperfect found family, yet no pieces should be missed out. Just like how a doughnut can't be a doughnut without a hole, Quartet Doughnuts Hole can't exist without the flaws from its members. Their first meeting at the karaoke is really a destiny.

Another thing I love about this drama is that there is no romantic couple between the main characters in the end. Although it's painful to watch their unrequited love fail, I think it's very realistic. It happens in real life. Not everyone can be with the person they love.

I love that music and food are included in this slice of life series. It adds a lot to the story. I enjoyed every piece of music played by the quartet. I love how imperfect it is, as well as how imperfect and weird our characters are. I relate to them a lot, as I'm a weirdo myself and also someone who chose to stop chasing a dream as an artist and kept it as a hobby instead, with a quite similar reason. In my case, I grew up in an Asian household and was forced to study hard in academic stuff. I love painting but haven't had any proper art class. I don't learn any techniques professionally, and I think my paintings are not something people would want to buy. I also realized my love for art quite late and was stuck with regrets for a while, when I wanted to become an artist but also thought I couldn't live on my art skills. I didn't really want to learn properly either, as I love the way I paint. When I decided to keep it as a hobby, my heart became more relieved. I also met a friend with a similar situation, and we often meet and talk about arts and life. I will call her my quartet sister from now on. :)

At the moment I am still trying to figure out what I really want to do and what I can do well. I'm kind of in a career crisis, and I'm not at the position I really want to be. I haven't found my ikigai. I feel I've been stuck in a comfort zone for too long. I want to start over again, and there are a lot of things I want to try. Other people say I'm not that young to keep experiencing things, but I'm not okay with being stuck like this anymore. My quartet sister says I can do it. She also has things she wants to try. I think we will be fine. I think we might do some workshops together in the future.

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Best of the best heartwarming series!

I love every character in this series. There’s no unnecessary villain or toxic love triangle. They’re just kind-hearted and sweet human beings. And Kurosawa is the greenest forest ever!

I enjoyed the chemistry between Kurosawa and Adachi in this live-action series more than in the anime, which I watched recently. Adachi is such a cutie, and Kurosawa’s eyes and smile when he looks at Adachi just melted my heart. Also, Fujisaki-san is such a living angel! I love her character in this live action much more than in the anime. Her character is much deeper in this series.

The only thing is that I wish there were more intimate scenes between the characters, but it’s understandable in a live-action series and I’m satisfied enough. The second couple’s chemistry feels a little forced too, compared to the anime, but it’s fine as the series isn’t focused on them. The main couple’s chemistry is just top-notch!

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The story is lacking compared to the anime series

April is coming to the end. This year I finally decided to watch the live action movie of my favorite anime series.

I think it should have been produced as a drama instead of a movie. A lot of important scenes from the anime was cut off from this live action movie, which made the story very confusing and less emotionally connecting.

Overall, the music performances were nice, the movie has beautiful cinematography and visuals. Hirose Suzu and Yamazaki Kento looked great together, and the cast’s acting was also good. However, the story was very lacking. I didn’t deeply connect with the characters as how I felt when watching the anime. It didn’t really touch my heart.

I think I would probably enjoy it more if I haven’t watched the anime before. I couldn’t refrain myself from comparing it to the anime a bit.

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Tony Leung and Shu Qi

“You can mess with me, but not my hair.” — Tony Leung’s iconic line came back, and it was still as charming. It’s always nice to watch a chill funny Tony Leung.

This movie also featured one of my beloved actresses, Shu Qi. She was gorgeous as usual in this movie. And the scene where she disguised as a man was perfectly charming.

The plot was basically the same as the original movie, just with different characters as the same roles. Although it still had its moments, I found this one less entertaining than Tokyo Raiders. It’s probably because the storyline was already nothing new, and the fighting scenes also weren’t as good. I think I prefer Ekin Cheng as Tony Leung’s partner. I think they made a better duo. I didn’t feel any found family or partnership vibe among the duo or between Lin and the Korean girls who worked under him. And this was the most entertaining thing about the original movie.

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By the way, this is my first movie of 2026. Happy New Year! 🎉 Let's leave all the bad things behind in 2025 and may we all be blessed with good health, good fortune, and only happiness and great films in this new year. Cheers to 2026! 🥂I wish all the best things to everyone in this universe. ❤️

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