5
41
2
1
3
1
1
1
Three Female Generals walk into a bar
--Review--
I sampled this drama for 2 episodes because it's Chinese Zodiac Year of the Female Generals, and I had to honor the tradition. While I won't be continuing--ancestors only deserve so much respect/disgrace--I'm happy to acknowledge there are quite a few positives about the beginning episodes.
For one, Li Qin was stellar here, slicing her way through the battlefield with an icy blade and colder glare. While CDrama will never make the FL not look pretty, and she looks great here, I'm impressed by her willingness to do the physical scenes, suffering scenes, and get some actual makeup wounds applied. While I had only really seen her in JoL, I'm not surprised that she had the demeanor and screen presence to do well in this role. But still, I was surprised by how much ass she kicked and how much assassin energy she mustered.
I'm also happy to commend Chen Zheyuan for turning in supposedly his best performance to date. He has successfully graduated from playing a heartthrob groomer of underage girls to smacking around a wounded female general, without getting emasculated in the process. Let's be clear, as this is no small feat. Li Qin is still the better warrior and out-generals him. But he did better than expected given his previous resume, and was only a few steps behind.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the cinematography was so normal, so normal that I couldn't even tell Zhu Rui Bin Laden was the director. This was the least radicalizing use of camera from him to date. Perhaps he's moved onto more profitable things like plagiarism. Perhaps looking like 65 yro post-menopausal lesbian grannie has finally mellowed him out. Or perhaps he's laying low like it's Tora Bora because viewers are ready to drone strike his ass. Whatever the reason, this show survived the CDrama Bin Laden far better than Building 7's concrete-steel structure to an office fire. And that's commendable.
It's enough to make the Highlander showdown of female generals a no contest. I don't need to watch the other 2 to know Li Qin wins this in her sleep. Put Zhou Ye and Song Yi on a team and Li Qin solos them using only her right clavicle. The next time the Year of Female Generals rolls around, there better first be a gladiator selection match, and only the winner get to play the role.
So the first 2 eps are around a 7, the whole drama is probably in the 5.5 to 6 range. It's not that bad, but with so many other dramas more aligned with my taste, I won't be continuing.
--Category Ratings--
- Overall - 7 (first 2)
- Plot - 6
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 7.5
- Acting - 7.5
- Visuals - 7.5
- Audio / Music - 7.5
- Rewatch - 5
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 8
- Subtitle quality - 8
I sampled this drama for 2 episodes because it's Chinese Zodiac Year of the Female Generals, and I had to honor the tradition. While I won't be continuing--ancestors only deserve so much respect/disgrace--I'm happy to acknowledge there are quite a few positives about the beginning episodes.
For one, Li Qin was stellar here, slicing her way through the battlefield with an icy blade and colder glare. While CDrama will never make the FL not look pretty, and she looks great here, I'm impressed by her willingness to do the physical scenes, suffering scenes, and get some actual makeup wounds applied. While I had only really seen her in JoL, I'm not surprised that she had the demeanor and screen presence to do well in this role. But still, I was surprised by how much ass she kicked and how much assassin energy she mustered.
I'm also happy to commend Chen Zheyuan for turning in supposedly his best performance to date. He has successfully graduated from playing a heartthrob groomer of underage girls to smacking around a wounded female general, without getting emasculated in the process. Let's be clear, as this is no small feat. Li Qin is still the better warrior and out-generals him. But he did better than expected given his previous resume, and was only a few steps behind.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the cinematography was so normal, so normal that I couldn't even tell Zhu Rui Bin Laden was the director. This was the least radicalizing use of camera from him to date. Perhaps he's moved onto more profitable things like plagiarism. Perhaps looking like 65 yro post-menopausal lesbian grannie has finally mellowed him out. Or perhaps he's laying low like it's Tora Bora because viewers are ready to drone strike his ass. Whatever the reason, this show survived the CDrama Bin Laden far better than Building 7's concrete-steel structure to an office fire. And that's commendable.
It's enough to make the Highlander showdown of female generals a no contest. I don't need to watch the other 2 to know Li Qin wins this in her sleep. Put Zhou Ye and Song Yi on a team and Li Qin solos them using only her right clavicle. The next time the Year of Female Generals rolls around, there better first be a gladiator selection match, and only the winner get to play the role.
So the first 2 eps are around a 7, the whole drama is probably in the 5.5 to 6 range. It's not that bad, but with so many other dramas more aligned with my taste, I won't be continuing.
--Category Ratings--
- Overall - 7 (first 2)
- Plot - 6
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 7.5
- Acting - 7.5
- Visuals - 7.5
- Audio / Music - 7.5
- Rewatch - 5
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 8
- Subtitle quality - 8
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