Great Leads
This was my first foray into C-Drama and I was not disappointed. The storyline was interesting with all the plot twists, however, it felt rushed and chaotic near the end. Despite this, I think the series was done very well and I was drawn to watch it in it's entirety.I was captivated by the 2 wonderful leads. Even though the story seemed to get worse towards the end, I continued to watch it because of the chemistry between the 2 leads and because they were also talented actors. I especially liked NiNi in the heart wrenching scenes. I felt in some parts that Chen Kun was a bit over the top, but in the more serious scenes, he shined.
I definitely recommend this series!
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Amazing Drama
I watched this on Netflix, and I was obsessed; I loved it until the very last three or so episodes, hated the ending, that said still worth the watch. What stands out about The Rise of the Phoenixes is atmosphere and attention to period detail – it's a big, complex, grown-up story, rich in culture and period flourish, delivered by a talented creative team and performed by an exuberant cast. Military Academy Headmaster Xin Ziyan (Zhao Lixin), Prince Ning Yi (Chen Kun), and Feng Zhiwei (Ni Ni) were amazing. And sleeper star (Hai Yitian), he was brilliant in every way, does an excellent job showing the Crown Prince as the weak weasel he was.It was twisted and complicated yet very well acted, directed, intellectually written by far one of the most beautiful dramas. I enjoyed the character development throughout the 60+ episodes and the lengths to which the prince went to protect the ones he loved and, of course, to get his revenge was extremely enjoyable. I am not much of a Chinese drama watcher as they tend to be quite long, especially the historical ones, but this one was great, and the music just amazing. I highly recommend, despite not being a fan of the crazy ending or how the romance or what there was of it got so tangled and convoluted, but I guess that's what made it very real.
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This review may contain spoilers
I am really disappointed in Netflix for how they handled the ending of this story. I don’t understand why directors with great material that is the novel change it to suit their own sadistic needs. Yes, those of us who are fans of historical Chinese dramas know that tragedy and angst is a common of this genre of dramas. BUT if the author writes a happy ending, don’t change it to a sad one when you know it will upset your real target audience. We always read the novels and we always are mad at you. Maybe in China they have to give them sad endings because they are communists but if you’re producing a show for Netflix and it is going to reach American consumers, make us happy. I don’t know if they were trying to pull out another season but it is so hard to get all the actors to come back.Other than that I think whoever selected these characters did an amazing job. The leads were all unconventionally beautiful, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Ning Yi’s actor but I did. He is very talented and he played his part well. I loved his character and he made me feel attached to the drama. The chemistry between he and Zhi Wei was amazing and that’s why I’m still bitter about the ending that was drummed up by a sadist. My other favorite actor was the one who played Gu Nanyi. First, he is gorgeous. I want to marry him, please make him the lead of another drama. Second my favorite relationship in the entire season was the one between him and Zhi Wei. He was so devoted to her and all they ever had was each other. They were their own family. Their relationship wasn’t romantic but it touched me a lot. Gu Nanyi is the definition of a best friend becoming family.
If you want to see for like the first time ever what a historical Chinese drama looks like when it has well-done American cinematic effects and elements, you should definitely watch this. If you don’t like sad endings, don’t watch.
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I watched the final 3 episodes today and I was heartbroken to bid farewell to my new favorite power couple. You know you have created something special when you grow to care deeply for the characters so much that they feel like family.
Ning Yi is the sixth prince of Tiansheng Empire, set in 11th century China. When he is set free from an 8 year imprisonment by his father, the Emperor, Ning Yi slowly begins his very calculated revenge on those who framed him and his favorite brother. The race to the throne, among his conniving brothers, is a game Ning Yi plays masterfully.
In this race to win the throne, Ning Yi's plans don't always go accordingly due to a young woman by the name of Feng Zhiwei, She is intelligent, funny and proves to be a perfect pawn and ally in Ning Yi's plans. Feng Zhiwei has tragic secrets, however, that might tear down the empire if found out.
Well written, beautifully directed, with an equally dramatic score makes this an epic worth getting lost in. The actors are talented and beautiful to behold and all deliver outstanding performances. If you don't mind the 70 episode storyline, give this one a try. (How could I mind when each episode was an aesthetic masterpiece?)
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This review may contain spoilers
With the very first episode I was immediately drawn in. The description for this series on Netflix does not do it justice, so, after first I wasn't sure if it would be my cup of tea, turns out I it was.The characters were so well made, so real that it often felt like you were participating in the story with them, like you had a close encounter with each difficulty or accomplishment they felt or created for themselves. I give high praise to the creators of their characters.
I don't speak Chinese, but I do understand a very small amount, courtesy of my job and my love for Asian dramas, so, I often felt drawn in into the series, as if I wasn't reading the subtitles, I felt like I could understand how they felt without that language barrier being there. I must admit, I did shed some tears, I am in no way a crier when it comes to dramas (or anything for that matter, including real life). So, the fact that remains is this moved me to my core.
There were a few times where a few times where I went ahead and spoiled myself by looking up specific characters because the first ten episodes at least, are kind of confusing. I needed solid information to determine whether I could fall in love with these characters or not.
I love how Zhiwei was portrayed, a rebel. Though, she did not know of her own history or her actual bloodline, they way she chose her own path, even though it frequently collided with Ning Yi's, it was still hers to choose. The actress who played her, did a magnificent job in portraying the characters personality. Both character and actress are favourites now.
Ning Yi, though I found him unbearable at first, and his role had confused me greatly, I came to find his character endearing, even if he had ulterior motives throughout the entirety of the series. His actor did a great job of portraying him as well.
A few of my other favourite characters were:
-Headmaster Xin ( I was able to guess that the actor has mixed blood, I usually am able to tell this...it's a weird ability): I found his character amusing, and his actor was phenomenal, I hope to watch other shows or movies with him as either a support role or main role. I often found myself laughing aloud with Xin's antics or how he and Ning Yi acted with one another.
-Hua Qiong: It's hard to describe why I liked her so much.
-Ning Chen: While his actor is very attractive, he played Ning Chen with finesse, it was as if it came naturally to him. I feel his character was a little underrated at times, but liked how he was developed, even toward the end where from his perspective he was doing the right thing.
-Gu Nanyi: Such a young actor to portray him, though his age certainly couldn't be told while he was acting. I liked his child like demeanor when it came to Zhiwei, and how this character was so determined to protect Zhiwei, even to the end, though he would not be able to follow her anymore. I was saddened that she left him behind.
For the last episode, I honestly was not okay with it. There was so much left unsaid that I had more questions than answers, not even looking it up online helped. I understand the path Zhiwei chose, but I was also really hoping that she could stay with Ning Yi, and with her counseling they could change the empire little by little, with as little bloodshed and the sacrificing of innocents as possible to that time frame. I would love it if they made a sequel, so we could all know how Ning Yi's rule went, how he moved past his love for Zhiwei, how he felt on the wind that he knew she was no longer with the living. I was so touched, so sad at what had transpired.
I also really enjoyed the music, and if there is a soundtrack for it, I will go and hunt it down for purchase.
I will also probably rewatch this series later down the road, or at least my favourite episodes.
I give and will forever give this entire series 10/10 on everything.
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a Masterpiece of beauty and elegance
I score 8 on Story just because it doesn't end the way I wanted, which is how the majority of C-dramas ends: there is this willingness to sacrifice ( either something important to you or your own life!)- after watching nearly hundreds of C-dramas, i get it, Chinese audience seems to love the drama/sad ending- I normally read how a c-drama ends to avoid disappointment, and i knew i wouldn't have like the rise of phoenixes's end, so I fast forwarded the last few episodes just because i wanted to finish it.regardless of this, I would definitely recommend it to everybody, especially to c-dramas beginners because it was my first c-drama , the first that got me hooked to the point that since then i have been watching c-dramas only, paying for Asian streaming channels/app, and only watching costume/historical c-dramas....!!
i have appreciated the beauty of costumes, the elegance of body movements, the slow scenes, the subtle romance going on between the 2 main leads, the fact that for once the wigs worn by the actors didn't look ridiculous nor fake ( a weakness in historical/costume c-dramas!!) . c-dramas are known to have hell lot of episodes; with its 70 episodes, this drama didn't make an exception to this trend; but at any point, it never get boring or too slow but , the many episodes were simply taking you deep down into the character development.... you get very deep into the story, you understand it better, and you don't want it to finish.... but then of course the finale might, to some viewer, leave you unsatisfied and wanting for more...
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Asian tv shows have many weakness, cliche moments, unnecessary slow motions and other silly things; this is one and only show where everything is perfect, characters are interesting, realistic and multilayered, there are many things (in relationships, in characteristics) that will make you think about human phsycology. story, music, every detail is great, every relationship and character is interesting.
Female lead is really smart, strong, interesting and funny girl, she is independent, strong woman and same time sweet childish wild girl.
romance is great slow burn, relationship is so reach and multilayered that even without/before romantic interaction it is greatest romance, they are soulmates, friends, partners and many other thing.
but I think the best thing in "The Rise of Phoenixes" is male lead, his character and his acting skills, his charismatic performance is perfect.
I would recommend to watch this later, if you watch The Rise of Phoenixes, after that you won't like many other shows ))))
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This review may contain spoilers
I always have interest in political palace story. Hence why I started this series though it's like long way to finished (70 ep, OMG!) And I expected a good one since the actors are most likely veteran and experienced actors. This series no doubt has fulfilled my expectation Story: The political plot are very tense, made me unstoppable from binge-watching every episode. Yet it also made me feel exhausted, because of the cruelness and evil intentions of most of the character in this series. Negative ambiance of the relations between characters indeed deep that effected my feelings. However, some of the episode had side stories that I found irrelevant and just added to this series as dramatic side, and I do fast-forward them many times. Specially the last episodes. Although the ending isn't what everyone wished for, but I happened to feel logically satisfied. And yes, the last episodes felt too rushed, because many unjust cases didn't revealed by investigation and proofs, just given the punishment instead.
Acting: Chen Kun is interesting actor, some of his acts as Ning Yi are exaggerated, but it shows the complexity of his character. His acting is so good you can feel his love and pain with his expressions. Ni Ni as Feng Zhiwei also nailed it. Before I watched this drama, I actually had seen her acted in other drama, and all are satisfying. She is very expressive, as a free will girl who won't cover up her feelings to others, and yes she lived up the character who is easily loved by others. And the veteran actor who acted as the emperor made me melt with his soft spot as a father and leader. He made me questioning what step he would take every time he had to solve a case.
Music: The music score is beautifully arouse the calm yet thrilling ambience of this drama. The emperor palace is always a calm beautiful palace yet it kept danger in every side of it. And the song of Ning Yi - Feng Zhiwei love is sad and sincerely depict the deep feelings between them.
Rewatch value: Because this is a political drama, I don't think I will rewatch it, moreover there are 70 episodes of it. However, maybe I will watch the clip of love story in the OST video as the song is too good to forget.
Overall: It is one of the most impressive political drama for me. I recommend it for everyone who like politics and smart plot, and won't feel tired for those long episodes
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Great chemistry between lead actor and actress
I watched this drama a long while ago. All I could remember is that it is a great production. Chen Kun and Ni Ni acted well in the drama. Acting was excellent, period costume was beautiful, scene setting was great. It was interesting to watch how the pair fell in love in the story although they continued to 'fight' throughout the plot. Scheming in the palace for the position of the crown prince is the theme. Story was convoluted and baffling. I could not wait to get to the final episode to find out who eventually seize the throne.I thought some parts were a little juvenile and the sudden switch in people's personalities were not quite realistic - for example the hero upon finding his mother and the decision of the heroine in the last episode. I could not remember much of the music - likely because it was not great.
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