How long? 20 episWhen & which tv stn? 2007 (overseas)/TVB
Who's in?
Sunny Chan ~ Tu Si Hai
Bernice Liu ~ Huo Qian Yao
Michael Tse ~ Shui Ru Chen
Angela Tong ~ Pan Ji Yue
What's it abt?
During Ming dynasty, executor Tu Si Hai met Sui Ru Chen, who helped him to conquer his fears of executing people. They became sworn brothers and went to Chang Long Town, a town which is full of superstitions. Unknown to them, the town has a hidden secret. Both of them met a wealthy & powerful man Huo Tian Ming & his daughter Qian Yao. Chen was in love with her at the first sight. Unknown to Hai, Chen has ulterior motive to come to this town. Weird accidents started to occur after Hai chopped off a figure's head, which turned out to be another executor. Hai started to find the clues and found Chen & himself involved. To plot his revenge, Chen gave up on Yao and later Hai & Yao got married. Just as Chen finally thought he has revenged for his dad, the real truth behind the 2 men's secret revealed....
Love & Hates:
Plot-This drama tries to be mysterious with a mix of superstitions. Sadly, the storyline didn't quite meet my expectations. It wasn't very mysterious to begin with, and it started to drag somehow. There's more focus on the relationships b/w the cast, and of coz' the evil-doings by the baddies. The twists were kept to the back, just as we sort of think that we knew what's gg on, the final twist changed everything. That's a nice one, but not enough to keep me interested throughout the show. And of coz, we all know that those superstitions, and what devil are all made up by men...not much kick la.
Cast-Though Sunny Chan is the main lead here, Michael Tse totally outshined him. Sunny's always stuck with a super nice guy role, and he's really too nice here. How i wish he wld stop sacrificing himself. Btw, he won't be looking that weird (see pic) throughout the show, it's only when he needed to execute ppl. Chemistry with Bernice was lacking, but I wld say it's becoz' of Bernice's weaking acting.
I think this might be the 1st drama I've seen with Bernice leading as female lead. I watched the canto version, and she's too modern in her expressions and way of speaking (maybe it's becoz i watched the canto version...the conversations weren't 白话 enough). Her acting was slightly better after Yao got married, but I cldn't see any sparks b/w her & Sunny. Perhaps, she's better with modern roles...Also, Angela Tong definitely did a better job here...It has been quite sometime since i last commented on how weak the main leads were...
Michael Tse is well-known for his evil roles, and he has been gaining recognition during recent yrs. I gotta say Chen is someone full of development, he's not someone u can easily read through, and I think Michael did pretty well in portraying Chen. His chemistry with Angela was great...though he loved her, he still gotta sacrificed her. You can see his agony, but wanna humptump him for his evil deeds. He's the guy who's controlling the storyline from epi 1 till the end. (Thus, making Sunny like a supporting role..)
Same goes for Angela...she's really great. I like how she portrayed Yue, a contradicting character...she fell for someone she shouldn't love, but her love didn't make her blind...she's always ready to sacrifice herself for Chen. The scenes when Yue was suffering from internal poison were nicely done too.
The other characters were alright...nothing too spectacular.
Themesong sang by Bernice...not very nice to me.
Worth watching?
It's not a must-watch, and it's not abt those crime solving case, since there's only 1 big case here.
