5
1
ChineseDramaFan
USA
扮猪吃老虎 Bàn zhū chī lǎohǔ -- Pretend to be a Pig and Eat a Tiger
This drama is a very unusual rom-com; action packed, it is without the usual fluffy romance nor the love at first sight stuff. In fact, it’s rather dark despite a rather hilarious male lead with a Mr. Bean type of character, on the surface that is. Within the first 10 minutes of the first episode, I was absorbed into the story because it is both serious and funny. As the story unfolds, the plot becomes deadly and a hidden antagonist looms.
Liu Qing (Zhu Yawen) is a soldier for hire. After a mission where he is wounded and lost a few of his comrades, he becomes despondent, feeling guilty of his role in causing his friends’ deaths. He is approached by the father of Mu Wanqing (Yang Zishan) who proposes to him to marry his daughter because the father wants someone with Liu Qing’s quality, and can be trusted, to protect his daughter in the company she has taken over as the Chief Executive. Liu Qing has been in love with Mu Wanqing since childhood so he immediately agrees to the arrangement. Having being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, Mu Wanqing has lost confidence in any marital relationship, but only agrees reluctantly when her parents plead with her.
After marriage, Liu Qing is treated like one of the employees, from a car park attendant to a bodyguard, until he begins to rescue Mu Wanqing from all kinds of predicaments, and even from danger, again and again, without letting her know he has helped her. In front of her, he is just a dumb guy good for nothing. Mu Wanqing figures out his real background eventually and begins to fall in love with him.
Zhu Yawen’s Liu Qing is simply amazing, exhibiting his wonderful acting skills. Either in his tactical gears or in his office suits, he is very convincing. Without a present day’s effeminate face, many young viewers have not realized how good Zhu Yawen is. Here, he can look very silly, comedic and humble like a dork, the next minute, he is commanding and lethal. And he is so believable in both of these personalities. Indeed his acting as a pig eating a tiger is so enjoyable to watch because everyone underestimates him.
Yang Zishan’s acting is fine here, with a lot of inconsistencies as attributed to the poor script writing and mediocre directing. I’m also not particularly impressed with the side couple’s and other supporting characters’ scripts. Some actors seemed to have used their own voices. Zhu Yawen has a magnetic deep voice and with his professional dubbing skill, he makes his character come alive. Unfortunately this doesn’t apply to the other main characters, in particular He Junxiang’s Lei Shuo; his dialogues sound stiff and unnatural. One of the biggest complaints among viewers is the mouth motions don’t quite synch with the words spoken, as if the dialogues have been rewritten. Though not in his own voice, Zhu Yawen’s English dialogues are some of the best spoken English in Chinese dramas.
The drama shifts from office politics to kidnapping, to flesh trade in Indo China, to arm trade in Russia, involving company trade secrets, rescue missions, snipers, heavy machine gun fights, explosions, all unfolding in a story of adventure, thriller, murder, police, military, criminal organizations, and more. From episode 20 onwards, the story escalates into a Hollywood Rambo style of story telling.
The ultimate villain turns out to be rather disappointing and anticlimax with no compelling objective other than greed, and even with greed, he flip-flops, giving the viewers a cloud of questions, “huh?”
My Verdict
I have really enjoyed the beginning of this drama, in particular with Zhu Yawen’s pig-eats-tiger acting. Unfortunately as the plot unfolds, it deviates, making the story feel like a potpourri of multi genres. As a viewer puts it succinctly, “The first half looks like a poet, the last half looks like a hobo.”
If you’re not into rom-com and prefer watching some actions, this drama is action packed. But be warned, it is not consistent and plots holes are blatant. Some props can even look very fake too. The writing is wild, the directing is on and off, the editing is inconsistent.
This is an 8.0 from me, but I really like Zhu Yawen’s acting which I think he could deserve a 8.5.
Liu Qing (Zhu Yawen) is a soldier for hire. After a mission where he is wounded and lost a few of his comrades, he becomes despondent, feeling guilty of his role in causing his friends’ deaths. He is approached by the father of Mu Wanqing (Yang Zishan) who proposes to him to marry his daughter because the father wants someone with Liu Qing’s quality, and can be trusted, to protect his daughter in the company she has taken over as the Chief Executive. Liu Qing has been in love with Mu Wanqing since childhood so he immediately agrees to the arrangement. Having being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, Mu Wanqing has lost confidence in any marital relationship, but only agrees reluctantly when her parents plead with her.
After marriage, Liu Qing is treated like one of the employees, from a car park attendant to a bodyguard, until he begins to rescue Mu Wanqing from all kinds of predicaments, and even from danger, again and again, without letting her know he has helped her. In front of her, he is just a dumb guy good for nothing. Mu Wanqing figures out his real background eventually and begins to fall in love with him.
Zhu Yawen’s Liu Qing is simply amazing, exhibiting his wonderful acting skills. Either in his tactical gears or in his office suits, he is very convincing. Without a present day’s effeminate face, many young viewers have not realized how good Zhu Yawen is. Here, he can look very silly, comedic and humble like a dork, the next minute, he is commanding and lethal. And he is so believable in both of these personalities. Indeed his acting as a pig eating a tiger is so enjoyable to watch because everyone underestimates him.
Yang Zishan’s acting is fine here, with a lot of inconsistencies as attributed to the poor script writing and mediocre directing. I’m also not particularly impressed with the side couple’s and other supporting characters’ scripts. Some actors seemed to have used their own voices. Zhu Yawen has a magnetic deep voice and with his professional dubbing skill, he makes his character come alive. Unfortunately this doesn’t apply to the other main characters, in particular He Junxiang’s Lei Shuo; his dialogues sound stiff and unnatural. One of the biggest complaints among viewers is the mouth motions don’t quite synch with the words spoken, as if the dialogues have been rewritten. Though not in his own voice, Zhu Yawen’s English dialogues are some of the best spoken English in Chinese dramas.
The drama shifts from office politics to kidnapping, to flesh trade in Indo China, to arm trade in Russia, involving company trade secrets, rescue missions, snipers, heavy machine gun fights, explosions, all unfolding in a story of adventure, thriller, murder, police, military, criminal organizations, and more. From episode 20 onwards, the story escalates into a Hollywood Rambo style of story telling.
The ultimate villain turns out to be rather disappointing and anticlimax with no compelling objective other than greed, and even with greed, he flip-flops, giving the viewers a cloud of questions, “huh?”
My Verdict
I have really enjoyed the beginning of this drama, in particular with Zhu Yawen’s pig-eats-tiger acting. Unfortunately as the plot unfolds, it deviates, making the story feel like a potpourri of multi genres. As a viewer puts it succinctly, “The first half looks like a poet, the last half looks like a hobo.”
If you’re not into rom-com and prefer watching some actions, this drama is action packed. But be warned, it is not consistent and plots holes are blatant. Some props can even look very fake too. The writing is wild, the directing is on and off, the editing is inconsistent.
This is an 8.0 from me, but I really like Zhu Yawen’s acting which I think he could deserve a 8.5.
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