1
Meh
I had full expectations for this drama going in but now I fail to see the genius. the characters seem very forced to me. It feels like they had certain traits they were determined to convey but forgot to add the little things that make characters come alive. And really Liu Tao is such a bore to watch. The writing is also very basic, I don't follow the logic. They're trying to set up this really clever strategist protagonist but his setup is unrealistic. For lack of a better example let's say this really smart guy predicts there'll be a rainbow in the morning following the long and hard downpour at night, according to this drama there's always a rainbow in the morning. But we all know it's possible it doesn't stop raining throughout the next day and there might be no sun and the real prove of ability is being able to quickly change course under such circumstances. Things like this aren't only unrealistic but they're boring to watch because everytime something comes up you know the ML has "foreseen" it and planned accordingly, so the balance is lost and there's no climax. The emotional aspect is also lost on me. The story revolves around very tragic events from the past and the ML's revenge, however, the writer didn't deem it fit to reveal the thoughts, feelings and emotions of the villains surrounding their wrongdoings. They also skipped all the complex emotions you'd expect from the protagonists considering all they've been through. For example how did it feel to not be recognized by loved ones or to live with the realities of a new and fatal illness as a former soldier. Hu Ge is also not very good at conveying this hidden anger and boiling need for revenge while maintaining a facade upfront. The fire is just not there. There are no engaging devices employed in this drama, no real chemistry between the main characters ( be it bromance or romance) and no interesting plot twists. Events just unfold one to another, the next being more boring than the former. To summarize my feelings by the end I'd say it ended without ever starting. There's really no outstanding aspect to this drama for me and it'll always be mystery why it's so highly rated but to each their own.Was this review helpful to you?
STOMACH CHURNING
I enjoy slow burn movies, especially mystery, but this one just takes it to a whole new level. Previous comments are right, it's not for everyone. I just felt there were a lot of unnecessary scenes spent peeing, masturbating and doing god knows what. It's really sickening and hard to watch. There's so little dialogue and the BGM is so dull. Everything is so quiet that you could fall asleep even though a murder was taking place or there was an explosion. It took me three days to finish this movie bcoz everytime it starts I fall asleep. I was willing to continue bcoz I'm familiar with the pace and I know it requires attention to pick up details but an entire hour+ to wait for things to pick up in a movie of 2+ hours is just too much. As for the climax, I know that it's a trend to leave a lot of questions to be answered by the audience themselves but unfortunately I couldn't really connect the dots in the end and still had to go look it up to understand, really sad.I should have known better since "old boy" was also recommended by the same blog.
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