7
77
3
Could be so much more with a bigger budget and better execution
Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75
At first I thought “A Moment but Forever” is one of those dramas that has been refrigerated for a few years, and only brought out to air because of Liu Xue Yi’s popularity in recent years. I was so surprised to find out this was shot in 2023! Why was I surprised? Because the production quality is horrible for a drama with actors of Liu Xue Yi and Tiffany Tang’s caliber. Is it because they are older and not young idols anymore, so advertisers are not interested?
If you are a drama watcher that doesn’t care much about costumes, color grading, CGI and poor voice dubbing, then you might enjoy “A Moment but Forever” a lot more than me. Unfortunately, these factors can annoy me to no end despite how good the acting or interesting the plot could be. They affect my overall enjoyment of the drama, even though they can’t replace good writing and acting. Therefore, I am not rating this drama any lower than a 7.75.
Let’s start with the negatives. The costumes look plain and low quality, the colors look faded and washed out, the sets and props look flimsy and cheap, and some of the actors' wire work could be better. The scenes in the heavenly realm blinds me with the white costumes with super bright and white background. Recent xianxias are so colorful with much better CGI and cinematography that it’s really hard to enjoy this drama. The drama also has some plot holes here and there. Most of the actors are dubbed, except for the leads. However, even with their own voices, they don’t sound very good.
Acting wise, there’s something about Tiffany Tang that doesn’t quite sit well with me. If you say she’s bad, she’s not really bad, but not good either. Her acting is a little inconsistent. During some scenes, the subtle acting speaks volumes, yet in others she appears emotionless. I feel the same way about Zhang Li’s acting as the goddess. She has this elegant fakeness to her, which is perfect for her role, yet in some scenes she seems wooden. The secondary leads, Cristy Guo and Wang Hong Yi, are OK but not great.
Luckily, Liu Xue Yi is excellent and I am watching “A Moment but Forever” because of him. So glad he did not disappoint. His role as the grey Yuan Zhong is interesting. Yuan Zhong can be reserved, snobbish, aloof, cunning, evil, loving, petty and adorable. Liu Xue Yi acted perfectly to showcase all these different personalities. However, I have to say, it is weird to see him act all cute and lovesick. He looks way too mature to act like that. Aside from Liu Yue Yi, Daniel Zhou, who plays Xia Qian Lin, is my other favorite character. I think Daniel Zhou acts so much better than Wang Hong Yi.
Speaking of Daniel Zhou, I really enjoy his fight scenes with his fighting staff. Many other recent xianxias only have the characters standing around, moving their arms/fingers and have CGI does the fighting. I am happy to see some actual fight scenes and that the actors actually have to move their whole body and use real weapons. Not saying these are beautifully choreographed or executed, but the intention is good, just execution could be improved.
I think one of the biggest positives of “A Moment but Forever” is the plot. Yes, we do have the 3 realms fighting and other common xianxia elements. But the main story is not about good vs evil, or the gods are the bad ones and the devils are the good ones. It’s actually about the retrieval of the special arm and romance between the leads. The two leads are unique characters, both are intelligent and strong, and our FL is not a damsel in distress but with special fighting skills and magical devices. The romance is slow burn with decent chemistry. It’s not a frustrating love triangle marred with misunderstanding galore.
Unfortunately, this is only an OK watch for me. Too many elements annoy me and the good parts are not good enough to overshadow the bad. I could only imagine what “A Moment but Forever” is like when it actually has a larger budget. It has an interesting plot, with some slowness in the middle, but with a decent last few episodes and ending.
Completed: 4/20/2025 - Review #567
At first I thought “A Moment but Forever” is one of those dramas that has been refrigerated for a few years, and only brought out to air because of Liu Xue Yi’s popularity in recent years. I was so surprised to find out this was shot in 2023! Why was I surprised? Because the production quality is horrible for a drama with actors of Liu Xue Yi and Tiffany Tang’s caliber. Is it because they are older and not young idols anymore, so advertisers are not interested?
If you are a drama watcher that doesn’t care much about costumes, color grading, CGI and poor voice dubbing, then you might enjoy “A Moment but Forever” a lot more than me. Unfortunately, these factors can annoy me to no end despite how good the acting or interesting the plot could be. They affect my overall enjoyment of the drama, even though they can’t replace good writing and acting. Therefore, I am not rating this drama any lower than a 7.75.
Let’s start with the negatives. The costumes look plain and low quality, the colors look faded and washed out, the sets and props look flimsy and cheap, and some of the actors' wire work could be better. The scenes in the heavenly realm blinds me with the white costumes with super bright and white background. Recent xianxias are so colorful with much better CGI and cinematography that it’s really hard to enjoy this drama. The drama also has some plot holes here and there. Most of the actors are dubbed, except for the leads. However, even with their own voices, they don’t sound very good.
Acting wise, there’s something about Tiffany Tang that doesn’t quite sit well with me. If you say she’s bad, she’s not really bad, but not good either. Her acting is a little inconsistent. During some scenes, the subtle acting speaks volumes, yet in others she appears emotionless. I feel the same way about Zhang Li’s acting as the goddess. She has this elegant fakeness to her, which is perfect for her role, yet in some scenes she seems wooden. The secondary leads, Cristy Guo and Wang Hong Yi, are OK but not great.
Luckily, Liu Xue Yi is excellent and I am watching “A Moment but Forever” because of him. So glad he did not disappoint. His role as the grey Yuan Zhong is interesting. Yuan Zhong can be reserved, snobbish, aloof, cunning, evil, loving, petty and adorable. Liu Xue Yi acted perfectly to showcase all these different personalities. However, I have to say, it is weird to see him act all cute and lovesick. He looks way too mature to act like that. Aside from Liu Yue Yi, Daniel Zhou, who plays Xia Qian Lin, is my other favorite character. I think Daniel Zhou acts so much better than Wang Hong Yi.
Speaking of Daniel Zhou, I really enjoy his fight scenes with his fighting staff. Many other recent xianxias only have the characters standing around, moving their arms/fingers and have CGI does the fighting. I am happy to see some actual fight scenes and that the actors actually have to move their whole body and use real weapons. Not saying these are beautifully choreographed or executed, but the intention is good, just execution could be improved.
I think one of the biggest positives of “A Moment but Forever” is the plot. Yes, we do have the 3 realms fighting and other common xianxia elements. But the main story is not about good vs evil, or the gods are the bad ones and the devils are the good ones. It’s actually about the retrieval of the special arm and romance between the leads. The two leads are unique characters, both are intelligent and strong, and our FL is not a damsel in distress but with special fighting skills and magical devices. The romance is slow burn with decent chemistry. It’s not a frustrating love triangle marred with misunderstanding galore.
Unfortunately, this is only an OK watch for me. Too many elements annoy me and the good parts are not good enough to overshadow the bad. I could only imagine what “A Moment but Forever” is like when it actually has a larger budget. It has an interesting plot, with some slowness in the middle, but with a decent last few episodes and ending.
Completed: 4/20/2025 - Review #567
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