3
3
Fortunately its charm outweighs its clumsiness.
Any writer can only bow their heads in the face of a good plot. Even when that plot is a contortionist that twists itself up in knots so convoluted that it frequently farts in its own face. Look, it’s not that the plot isn’t riddled with holes, like a machine gun just ploughed through it. It’s rather that the resilience, ingenuity and convenient co-incidences just keep on coming—relentlessly. The stakes gradually climb higher and higher and the twists keep pace. Until the last few episodes that is. It needed a better run to the finish line, but I’ll forgive it that, it had provided much along the way. The outlandish is at such a delicious level that it is impossible to look away. Your mouth simply drops open to consume the next morsel. Expect the ridiculous and you won’t ever be disappointed.
If the overall plot was good, the structure and flow of it was lacking. The story really comprises two parts. Set in different places with different characters and could easily have been split into two series. Whilst the connection between them was tied up by the end it was not the most satisfying experience and the set up was in anticipation of a continuing story. A viewers interest in a character is directly proportional to the screen time it gets, and when they are not seen for long stretches they begin to seem increasingly irrelevant. Some characters were on very long leashes and I was left wondering where the hell they were and what were they doing in the gaps. There was an annoying sense of convenience at times.
The drama comes complete with a wonderful set of unlikely characters . A hero whose life everyone (friend and foe alike) ends up saving at some point. He jolts along like a rumbling coach magically acquiring fighting skills/powers and poisons, all whilst keeping his clothes pristine. Swoon-worthy side kicks abound, of particular note is Uncle Wu Zhu (Tong Meng Chi) and The Second Prince (Liu Duan Dan) and there are plenty of older examples for the more mature amongst us. Caught up in the abundance of flying, floating, fighting men/women (like half the population), there’s a sibling to Darth Vader who can take on a thousand and win, and who was so incognito he didn’t even appear in the cast list. Plus a wheelchair that surely should have been made of light, comfortable, flexible bamboo, not solid oak. Really, the props department let us down there. And I am thinking Wu Gang must have had bruised buttock bones for most of the shoot.
Sadly, however, I can’t say that the female characters were much to write home about, aside that is from the delightful Haitang Duo Duo (Xin Zhi Lei). Be prepared for a female lead that can compete with a wet weekend and come out top, a sister who is very determined and totally ineffectual and an evil princess whose only redeeming feature was her headdresses.
To be honest the connection to the “otherworld” didn’t really work for me. I found it unnecessary and so infrequently referenced that when it did become important it stuck out like a business suit at a hanbok party.
Is it the most sophisticated, clever drama that I have ever seen? Well, no… Is it rollicking good fun, a hearty meal and a laugh with friends? You betcha!
If the overall plot was good, the structure and flow of it was lacking. The story really comprises two parts. Set in different places with different characters and could easily have been split into two series. Whilst the connection between them was tied up by the end it was not the most satisfying experience and the set up was in anticipation of a continuing story. A viewers interest in a character is directly proportional to the screen time it gets, and when they are not seen for long stretches they begin to seem increasingly irrelevant. Some characters were on very long leashes and I was left wondering where the hell they were and what were they doing in the gaps. There was an annoying sense of convenience at times.
The drama comes complete with a wonderful set of unlikely characters . A hero whose life everyone (friend and foe alike) ends up saving at some point. He jolts along like a rumbling coach magically acquiring fighting skills/powers and poisons, all whilst keeping his clothes pristine. Swoon-worthy side kicks abound, of particular note is Uncle Wu Zhu (Tong Meng Chi) and The Second Prince (Liu Duan Dan) and there are plenty of older examples for the more mature amongst us. Caught up in the abundance of flying, floating, fighting men/women (like half the population), there’s a sibling to Darth Vader who can take on a thousand and win, and who was so incognito he didn’t even appear in the cast list. Plus a wheelchair that surely should have been made of light, comfortable, flexible bamboo, not solid oak. Really, the props department let us down there. And I am thinking Wu Gang must have had bruised buttock bones for most of the shoot.
Sadly, however, I can’t say that the female characters were much to write home about, aside that is from the delightful Haitang Duo Duo (Xin Zhi Lei). Be prepared for a female lead that can compete with a wet weekend and come out top, a sister who is very determined and totally ineffectual and an evil princess whose only redeeming feature was her headdresses.
To be honest the connection to the “otherworld” didn’t really work for me. I found it unnecessary and so infrequently referenced that when it did become important it stuck out like a business suit at a hanbok party.
Is it the most sophisticated, clever drama that I have ever seen? Well, no… Is it rollicking good fun, a hearty meal and a laugh with friends? You betcha!
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