Waisted opportunities - but good enough for a light hearted in between snack

The whole idea of switching two brides to be, of people with a double identity, of a couple from different social statuses, of solving crimes, uncovering past wrongs & identities, of atonement, of a wholesome friendship between couples and of them saving the world... is of course nice but you might notice, a bit full as well. Or, it would have have to be implemented in a way more clever way to make sense and be satisfactory.

There were just too many storylines and they didn't bring them to a good end or if there were, most were rather shallow. Basically a description for the whole show, it was really shallow. That's why I wrote it is a no brainer and you might enjoy depending on what you are currently craving.

I sometimes had the feeling, that the writers placed this story originally in a modern world and then switched to period drama in-between. I never had the feeling that they really tried to portray a story in the past. The actors were just wearing nice costumes to underline the story but did not necessarily adhere to any rules from "the past" - like they never really are really accurate but this was like they didn't even try XD

The fighting scenes were ok to nice.
There were a lot of filling in episodes which could've been used for other things. e.g. character development.

And yes, the female leads characteristics were nonsensical as well. Again like the writers started of with a strong independent female lead and then decided "naah, let's make her childish, dumb and euh... weak". But, as good as the male lead might've looked, he also had no real character.

The actors made the best out of this. They at least portrayed convincingly what they were supposed to be.
The last 5 episodes were the best :D

Leia Mais

True (comedy) wuxia with great actors

Slapstick with a serious undertone and great fighting scenes.
The path is the goal could be the underlying message.

The story is a patchwork of different peoples stories in different times, their desires and motivations. Glued together by He Anxia (Wang Baoquiang), the young monk, asked to leave his monastery to experience the world and kind of make his own mistakes to understand all of it.
It's like a theater play with really great actors, infused with some comedy to make it lighter.

I'd recommend it for a Sunday evening watch.
And because of Chang Chen, Aaron Kwok and Danny Chan Kwok-kwan :D

Leia Mais

Do not take it seriously

Aight, it's entertainment if you can bare absolute nonsense. I do wonder, if the writers of these movies research more than 1 min about, well, anything.

But, the cast indeed is great and gives it their all - and they are the reason that I watched the movie till the end.
In short: lost treasure. Several parties want to find it, due to different reasons. Adventure follows. Small romance plot. Kick-ass fighting (that indeed was good).

Now, because I have to say this:

Who in their good mind, any mind really, loads a ship's cargo onto the deck of a sailer (without securing said cargo in any way?!). Loading that much gold onto deck means, yes hon everyone can see it, isn't it shiny?! and, oh guess what, there are waves on the ocean. Wave good bye to that gold as soon as you leave port. And I am not even starting on the weight of gold and the freaking impossibility of a ship of that size holding that much weight (if there also is gold below deck that is, maybe the genius who put it on deck just left the whole treasure up there). And with that they got through all the turbulent sea stuff all till the island? Are you kidding me? Guess most of the treasure got lost on the way. Told ya, wave good bye to those gold bars. Ha.

Penguins are not animals that A want to cuddle. B can pull an adult sized human that struggles along with them in the water. C they smell like really really bad - you do not want to cuddle them actually. Exception might be if you smell like fish, and lay around patiently for a long time, they are quite curious.

AN ICE CAVE ON A TROPICAL ISLAND AT SEA LEVEL?????!!!!

Forget the story with a lot of holes in it, but this at least the writers could have gotten right. Thus my annoyance really, because this is basic stuff that's not that hard to read up about.

Anyhow, again, the cast was good. Really. I don't know why and how they kept me watching, and even got me to smile now and then, and yes, pine a little bit for certain characters, but they did. Kudos to them. NOT the writers. Gee.

Leia Mais

Such a good idea

but so many clichés and prejudice. And the slapstick was sometimes a bit too much for me. It is supposed to be a comedy however so...

In short: A blind detective gets help from a young cop (he's the brains, she's the muscle). He works on cold cases, she tries to solve the disappearance of a childhood friend. Sounds good so far right? Because the foundation for this plot actually is not bad.
The actors are great too and their chemistry is there (not special but believable).
Solid watch for entertainment with a note of detective story so far.

BUT, and those are things that are big issues in my eyes:
- self harm presented as something done to get attention
- being gay presented as a "normal phase for a teenager" (the issue here is the "phase" thing, like if it was a choice)
- crossdressing presented as something people who rape and have a mental disease do (look at silence of the lamb, same issue)
- Jealousy being portrayed as a female trait and a mental illness that can be passed down via the female line of a family... ouff.

And, quite frankly, replaying the crimes (in real) to solve them might've been part of the comedic part, to make fun of all the Sherlocks and their ridiculous brain power, but seeing Ho Ka Tung (Sammi Cheng as the female cop) being beaten off again and again was uncomfortable.

So, to round this up, I don't know if I can recommend this. I certainly hope that they take up the plot idea again in the future and leave out the unnecessary jokes and prejudice.

Leia Mais