1
Trying Subject Matter nearly PERFECTLY EXECUTED
I used to help young screenwriters back in the day and there was a tip they found useful: each page should read a little faster than the last. So if the story starts out just okay, that's okay, if each minute gets better and -- by the last pages -- it's a real page turner.
This is the experience of WAR OF FAITH. Starts okay, but you get a little antsy about the pace. Don't. Each episode gets a little better. It never goes down in quality, only up. I must confess the series takes off like a runaway train when Lan Xi Ya joins the cast around the midpoint.
(Personally, I'd have added scenes about her in the beginning to pep up the slowest part of the show.)
The main cast is great. Faces you've seen everywhere. Wang Yi Bo is his usually measured self, and although not a dynamic actor, his Wei Ruolai is more than just a idol drama cutesy guy.
Li Qin is also from the LESS IS MORE School of Dramatic arts. This actress isn't my favorite, but she has a way of showing up in one great show after another. I've enjoyed her most in RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE, SNOWY NIGHTS/TIMELESS LOVE, and THE YOUTH MEMORIES. Here she may be the weakest of our leads. In the first half of the series I suspect she's not exactly sure how to play her character, but perhaps she isn't given enough to do. It's like the story holds her back from shining until the second half, where she shines indeed.
It seems every C-Drama I see holds a gem. An actor I've never seen before who shines -- and for me that's the banker Wang Yang. He doesn't appear to be acting. He simply is Shen Tu Nan and offers a flawless award worthy performance.
And as mentioned earlier, the gem of SHE AND HER GIRLS (Lan Xi Ya) explodes here with charisma and adrenaline.
The entire cast is great but worthy of mention is Zhang Tian Yang, the clever Captain Lin who has more lives than a street cat. What blew my mind is that only halfway thru did I discover I already knew this actor as a nerdy henpecked husband also from SHE AND HER GIRLS. Is acting chops are so good it's impossible to see he's the same actor in both series. His romance in this story is quite excellent, because it doesn't really belong here -- but he and his belle Zhang Yi Jun have the chops to pull it off.
Of the story itself, I'm torn. As my title suggests, I find these political revolution stories as 'trying'. Meaning it's not a genre I really like. I enjoy the Republican era for it's look and feel, but it's stressful watching people get tortured mercilessly and people in hospitals in great pain. Of this tone, I'd have taken it down a notch. Watching our lead be tortured and then immediately followed up by some GOODFELLAS kicking in prison was over the top. No one would survive that.
Yet the writing quality of this series was as sharp as the production values. So of the subject matter I'd say 7 but of the execution 9. So I think the story lives around 8.5.
In comments people get all upset about the 'propaganda' in this story. I hear you, but the actors and story and production values are so top notch -- just ignore the 'good guys' and 'bad guys' aspects and enjoy the ride. It never gets painful or overbearing, and frankly many sides of this issue are presented reasonably well and fair.
I had two nitpicky things about this series (which I haven't completed yet but I'm nearly there)
1. It was never properly explained why the rich powerful banker wouldn't dress up his assistant in a decent suit immediately upon hiring. People in the comments told me to be patient and await the explanation, but there's no reason why the explanation needed to be withheld. Literally the assistant is told "Don't embarrass the big boss!" and yet he looks like a homeless dude for way too long. Either dress him up sooner or clearly explain why he isn't in exposition.
2. Similarly, the title of this series isn't explained soon enough. You have to get DEEEEEEEEP into the series to get it, and in this case, I'd have preferred the explanation towards the top. Which by the way was perfectly possible.
3. The last quarter of the series seemed rushed. I thought they were saving a huge reveal of Big Sister, which never materialized. Also, they planted that under emotional stress one character could almost pass out, but during the last episodes they seemed to have forgotten that. Also, the shootout on the train at the end was sort of a lazy way to resolve stories. Instead of having characters talk to each other, bang bang.
This is the experience of WAR OF FAITH. Starts okay, but you get a little antsy about the pace. Don't. Each episode gets a little better. It never goes down in quality, only up. I must confess the series takes off like a runaway train when Lan Xi Ya joins the cast around the midpoint.
(Personally, I'd have added scenes about her in the beginning to pep up the slowest part of the show.)
The main cast is great. Faces you've seen everywhere. Wang Yi Bo is his usually measured self, and although not a dynamic actor, his Wei Ruolai is more than just a idol drama cutesy guy.
Li Qin is also from the LESS IS MORE School of Dramatic arts. This actress isn't my favorite, but she has a way of showing up in one great show after another. I've enjoyed her most in RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE, SNOWY NIGHTS/TIMELESS LOVE, and THE YOUTH MEMORIES. Here she may be the weakest of our leads. In the first half of the series I suspect she's not exactly sure how to play her character, but perhaps she isn't given enough to do. It's like the story holds her back from shining until the second half, where she shines indeed.
It seems every C-Drama I see holds a gem. An actor I've never seen before who shines -- and for me that's the banker Wang Yang. He doesn't appear to be acting. He simply is Shen Tu Nan and offers a flawless award worthy performance.
And as mentioned earlier, the gem of SHE AND HER GIRLS (Lan Xi Ya) explodes here with charisma and adrenaline.
The entire cast is great but worthy of mention is Zhang Tian Yang, the clever Captain Lin who has more lives than a street cat. What blew my mind is that only halfway thru did I discover I already knew this actor as a nerdy henpecked husband also from SHE AND HER GIRLS. Is acting chops are so good it's impossible to see he's the same actor in both series. His romance in this story is quite excellent, because it doesn't really belong here -- but he and his belle Zhang Yi Jun have the chops to pull it off.
Of the story itself, I'm torn. As my title suggests, I find these political revolution stories as 'trying'. Meaning it's not a genre I really like. I enjoy the Republican era for it's look and feel, but it's stressful watching people get tortured mercilessly and people in hospitals in great pain. Of this tone, I'd have taken it down a notch. Watching our lead be tortured and then immediately followed up by some GOODFELLAS kicking in prison was over the top. No one would survive that.
Yet the writing quality of this series was as sharp as the production values. So of the subject matter I'd say 7 but of the execution 9. So I think the story lives around 8.5.
In comments people get all upset about the 'propaganda' in this story. I hear you, but the actors and story and production values are so top notch -- just ignore the 'good guys' and 'bad guys' aspects and enjoy the ride. It never gets painful or overbearing, and frankly many sides of this issue are presented reasonably well and fair.
I had two nitpicky things about this series (which I haven't completed yet but I'm nearly there)
1. It was never properly explained why the rich powerful banker wouldn't dress up his assistant in a decent suit immediately upon hiring. People in the comments told me to be patient and await the explanation, but there's no reason why the explanation needed to be withheld. Literally the assistant is told "Don't embarrass the big boss!" and yet he looks like a homeless dude for way too long. Either dress him up sooner or clearly explain why he isn't in exposition.
2. Similarly, the title of this series isn't explained soon enough. You have to get DEEEEEEEEP into the series to get it, and in this case, I'd have preferred the explanation towards the top. Which by the way was perfectly possible.
3. The last quarter of the series seemed rushed. I thought they were saving a huge reveal of Big Sister, which never materialized. Also, they planted that under emotional stress one character could almost pass out, but during the last episodes they seemed to have forgotten that. Also, the shootout on the train at the end was sort of a lazy way to resolve stories. Instead of having characters talk to each other, bang bang.
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