Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre (2019)

This is by far the best screen adaptation for HS&DS that I have seen and read. The story line is very good, it was executed perfectly under a good Director. Scenery is also amazing, the choice of places are exceptional and highlighting all extraordinary places that you can only find in China. This include the choice of Wudang Mountain and the whole temple is just awesome to watch. The wardrobe are also worth complimenting. You can see Zhang Wuji, Zhao Min and Zhou ZHiruo in the most dashing clothes which in my opinion rise to the occasions. The music score were heartwarming and help with the mood as we watched the characters playing it. It helps us understand the emotion underwent in the characters during the particular scene. It is also helpful that the Main Theme is by Emil Wakin Chau. Perhaps this is the only series that I watched and listened to the opening theme every time I am watching.
The special effect are also exquisitely done, not overly doing it so still acceptable to watch but able to relay how good of a Wukong Zhang Wuji has, perhaps the best Fighter of the time. The character building was also very good, something that I have never see in any adaptation. So we can be in touch with the character struggles as well as understanding why they did it. I would like to make a special remark for the kid actor who played Zhang Wuji age 10 from the beginning he really stole the show! The relationship between Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo at that age was entertaining to watch to say the least. No wonder some people were hoping that this time Zhang Wuji will be with Zhou Zhirou, but based on the story line, it was not compatible. Zhang Wuji contemplated a lot on this, until he decided to be with Zhao Min for good. It took him a while to reached the life changing decision. In which Zhao Min knew all a long the hardship that they will endure. Imagine, the Head of the Rebellion against the Mongol occupation and the Mongolian Princess? These were pictured and played perfectly throughout the series, you can see details here and there.
Last but not least, the ending, ultimate test of their relationship was a bit too fast as I had hope but still acceptable. As for the end, I am hoping that we can see more of Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min realizing their dream as Zhao Min pictured during their travel.
My deepest thanks for the team behind this project, if there is anyway I can buy the whole complete series please let me know as that will be the least I can do to show my support.

Sincerely,
Hartanto

PS. I am 49 years old Wuxia lover from Indonesia and I have read almost all Jin Yong, Gu Long and Liang Yu Sheng

Read More

First off, I'd like to say that this is one of my favorite storylines written by Jin Yong. I absolutely love the 1986 HSDS version made by TVB starring Tony Leung and Kitty Lai. I'll be comparing this version to my favorite version of all time. Obviously I've seen other versions as well: 1997, 2000, 2005, etc. but I think it is best if I compare it to my favorite adaptation.

Story: This drama does a better job at spoonfeeding its audience on plot details and why things happen the way they did. The 1986 version was more guess work/piecing things together and didn't show/explain everything in a bunch of details like this one did. They also stayed true to the original storyline.

Some things were portrayed differently from the 1986 version, but had the same reasoning behind it.
A good example of this:
1986 version- Wuji was forced to put Zhao Min out in front of the Mongolian soldiers
This version- her dad sent a letter saying he didn't care about her
Honestly, I felt like the 1986 version was more short and sweet to the point. I preferred how they portrayed it in the 1986 version.

I didn't like the last few episodes at all because of the lack of interaction between Wuji and Zhao Min-- it just did not contribute to their chemistry at all and was just lacking severely compared to the 86 version. After ep 42 the show dragged and some scenes weren't necessary--- the war between the Mongols and Ming Sect and the amount of time Zhao Min had to wait for him was pretty ridiculous. They could've shortened it.

Acting/Cast: Honestly, I was hesitant to start this drama because of such a young cast. I watched the Legend of Condor Heroes 2017 and didn't like the cast choices so I was quite worried about this one. However, I've watched multiple dramas with Yukee in them and she's always been good. Yukee pulled off Zhao Min wonderfully well and is comparable to Kitty Lai's Zhao Min. Bambi Zhu was decent as Zhiruo, but Sheren Tang definitely was better. I've never seen Joseph Zeng before but he is great as Wuji. Yang Xiao stood out to me as one of the best supporting roles in this version. Everyone suited their roles in my opinion. The cast was definitely its strongest point.

Music: not anything I love but it's fitting for the drama.

Rewatch value: no. I would not rewatch this simply because it is 50 episodes long and the ending was unsatisfactory to me. I prefer the 1986 version a lot better.

Overall: If you have not watched the 1986 version and want to watch this drama with no knowledge I recommend it. If you have watched other adaptations and want to watch it, I would say it's 50-50-- worth it for the first 40 eps, last 10-- not so much. If you've watched the 1986 version before and are thinking of watching this one I'd say no. The 1986 version is much better. Rewatching the 1986 version would be better than watching all 50 eps for this. If you want to watch this for Yukee, check out Princess Weiyoung or Ashes of Love, she is also great in those.

Read More

The plot was lost somewhere along the road to redemption.

Heaven Sword is one of my all time favorite Jin Yong stories. While this 2019 adaption is overall done well and quite watchable, I am still disappointed because the story is so gripping and epic that properly executed it could have and should have been a 10. I feel that way about most of Jin Yong's stories and I am time and again disappointed with C-drama's inability to turn the gift of a fantastic storyline into a kick-ass 10.

The first problem is that riding on the gift of a great storyline, the production team was very sloppy with the cast and the casting of the key roles. It was obvious from the start that many of the lead actors struggled to get into character: Zhang Cuisan and Zhao Min notably. And while I think Zeng Shunxi is a very promising young actor, at 21 he is too much of a boy still to fully pull off Wuji. He wasn't bad but his chemistry with both female leads was little more than warm and friendly. That's just not good enough as Wuji's two main love interests are bad-ass, devious and willful women; a handful for any man much less a boy. To make matters worse, they saddled him with the worst man bun that highlighted an unflattering roundness to his features - many times I thought the Pillsbury doughboy was going to burst right out of him! It wasn't till the much later episodes they fixed his look in a good way. In addition to the main leads, poor chemistry between the couples is a consistent theme throughout this show. Whoever paired up the actors must surely be the matchmaker from hell. The initial flat romance between Zhang Cuisan and Yin Susu almost made me give up on this early on but it somehow clicked once the fantastic child actor playing young Wuji was brought into the mix.

While it seems I will still have to wait for a version of this epic story with the A-list cast it deserves, some of the roles were played by quite strong performances (Yangsiu, Zhou Zhirou, Xie Xun, Song Qingsu) while the others were good enough (Wuji, Zhao Min) that the uninspired ones (Xiao Chao etc) were drowned out and it still came together well enough to be quite enjoyable. And the action was quite good although they went a little bit overboard with the slow motion that made the many good kung fu scenes a lot less exciting. While it is definitely technically much better polished than my best loved 1986 version, the A-list 1986 cast wins hands down when it comes to breathing life into the main characters.

While this version broadly sticks to the original storyline, it digresses meaningfully from it in a very subtle way. This is a more politically correct version that dials down the cruelty of many of the darker characters and deals with them compassionately, offering them a path to redemption. In the case of Song Qingsu, it was well done because he is just a weak character that strayed off the wrong path. But in the case of Zhou Zhirou, I really didn’t see the point – this is an ambitious, selfish and cruel character that is innately much more bad than good, it is fundamental to the plot. Zhu Xudan is an actress that is naturally blessed with a mal-contented expression – she would have been an even more brilliantly wicked Zhou Zhirou if they didn’t try to make her slightly nicer. But what was even more criminal was they kind of tuned down Zhao Min, one of my all time favorite Jin Yong heroines by making her less sassy towards the end to the point of being almost like the clingy and pathetically devoted Xiao Chao (yuck). It was as if they were flirting with the idea of a shock alternative ending where Wuji ends up with the Zhirou and then thankfully chickened out at the last minute. Two thumbs down is all that I can say. And they didn’t stop with Zhirou and Qingsu, they pretty much made excuses for and/or tried to make all the bad guys slightly less bad. Boring and tiresome after awhile and it had the overall impact of diluting the passion and vehemence of Jin Yong’s characters both good and evil.

Of course all of this greater focus on character development and whitewashing comes at the cost of extra time focus on unnecessary characters. But again, another travesty – there are so many C-dramas with shallow plots that are dragged out over 60 episodes but this really engrossing story was all squeezed into 50? The natural consequence of this was they just threw the whole plot under the bus. They cheated by counting on the fact this is a well known story - after all it is one of Jin Yong’s most popular works. So it rushes through many cursory character introductions and transitions that didn’t make the most sense that I would feel much sympathy for anyone who didn’t already know the story in advance. This entire epic tale that tragically spans so many lives and events over such a long time is brilliantly tied together by a grand conspiracy. The complicated plot unfolds around the unraveling of this conspiracy that among other things led to the misunderstanding between the sects and Wuji’s parents tragic deaths. All of that was pretty much lost because the production team deemed it more important to help us empathize with Zhou Zhirou? Really? It came at the cost of rushing through many key parts of uncovering the intrigue. At the end I happened to blink and almost even missed the entire denouement it was dealt with so almost dismissively. The scriptwriters did Jin Yong and us a grave injustice in this matter. Shame on the production team. Really.

Overall this was still a very polished effort but it didn’t really live up to the heart of Jin Yong’s epic story. While the plot was lost along the path to redemption, it is still very watchable and one of the better efforts out there. And it is still Jin Yong and that beats a lot of the no substantive storyline 2019 new dramas I have skimmed through so far (as of June 2019).

Read More

Usually I don't have much expectation from these adaption because I've seen many of them and there is always something that fails. Like they use the same spot for every scene in a city or bad casting but this one did surprise me and I'm glad that I watched it through. It's slow at the beginning but once the drama really kicking in then it get a good pace,
The best adaptation so far imho. The acting and casting are really good. Character arc is really good as well, you can tell how they have changed over time in the series but there are exceptional characters of course. Too much time is put into the time when they were kid, they could have cut some of it out and too many time they repeat the same line as well, it could be annoying to hear it over and over again. The fight scenes is good but there are times that they use too much slow motions and not so believable cgi that makes you "meh wth" but overall it's still good. Really watch worthy and enjoyable with a good plot!!

Read More

Jin Yong was a master at world-building, so I always look for it when watching adaptions of his work. Because his writing was not always perfect, it’s up to the show to fix or at least hide the flaws.

A weakness of this story is its main character. Zhang Wuji had no real character development or internal struggles. He was a good guy at the start, a good guy in the middle, and still a good guy at the end. His main function was a tour guide who takes us viewers on a journey through the colorful world of wulin. You don’t need a very talented actor for that, just one who's likeable and earnest. He has to convince viewers that he has what it takes to make four women fall in love with him without even trying. As the hero, Zeng Shunxi was bland and a total miscast. He was so boring that I didn't care which girl he ended up with.

The biggest success here was the casting of Lin Yushen as Yang Xiao. This portrayal was iconic. He had just the right mix of brooding, arrogance, and tragic. The actor deserved to lead his own series. No more adaptations, they should just write a story just for him.

The show also boasted some of the best-looking cast, even down to the minor characters (to those who forgot who Yu Lianzhu was, you’ll remember him after watching this version). Most were solid in their acting, if not a little exaggerated at times, but I blame that on the directing.

Visually, the show got most of it right. The costumes were simple but classy in the spirit of hanfu, nothing outlandish or garish. Even the girls’ hair ornaments were elegant and tastefully done. The cinematography was breath taking, especially the shots of Wudang and Fire & Ice Island. The fight scenes were grand, and it was a good choice to keep the CGIs to a minimum. While I like the Matrix-esque slow motion, it was overdone here and made some scenes very draggy and tiring to watch.

Overall, not a bad series to check out if you’re a Jin Yong fan.

Read More

WARNING!!! Scathing criticisms in this review THE BAD NEWS.....Okay, first up front, I liked this series of the Condor Heroes BUT, and that's a big BUT?....being a westerner writing this Im reviewing this with what I believe is an open and objective opinion so dont take offence. When I clicked onto watch this series I was engaged, and I mean for 2 days it was my entertainment fodder, by day 4 and at about the 30's episodes it went downhill for a while. Here's why?

Some of the storyline absolutely went into stupids-ville for content and left me cussing and swearing at the tv asking WTF, use your head, or could have written in something better than that. It was little things I cant recall now, but I know it left me cussing. Writers be C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-T with your plots and subplots and dont assume we the watcher/audience are idiots cos we aren't. One of the reasons I watch Chinese Histo-dramas is for the history, the stories are sometimes great and the actors are gorgeous and handsome. That said, there's more to develop by writers in being consistent with logic, intelligence of the story, I guess a skill Western movie makers get right like Jerry Bruckheimer, he's the grandmaster of box office movie making and storyline development, anyway. I have had that gripe and offloaded. The disconnected and pace of the series quickened from ep 29 onwards that I felt like I was on a rollercoaster going in and out of plots and subplots so quickly, like OMG???...anyway by EP 40 there was a kind of settling down period and the seriees resumed its credibility.

THE GOOD news, YUP there is some good news really loved the series and enjoyed watching characters like Wuji and Xie Xun grow and reunite. There were some tender and endearing moments that almost removed all my growlies about eps 30-40 and so the series redeemed itself well.

This is a delightful and light viewing series about a young boy who is raised in an icy mountain region, is taken back to the mainland. He travels throughout the 'Central Plains' mainland meeting all sorts of people and learning all sorts of skills and knowledge to make him a leader of a cult. The content of knowledge he learns is especially interesting, like the 9-Ying or 9-Yang techniques, or the Heaven and Earth Shift Martial Arts moves. The presence of a Grandmaster made this show also as some kind of supervisor of develoment of the boy.

It's a slightly complex series with intricate and sometimes unnecessary sub plots that really took away from the main storyline,. like just when a baddie is going to get his comeuppance bam the scene goes totally the opposite, like WTF why do that????....made no sense really so got me frustrated.

Ultimately, tho he learned and understood what was best for him as a person and goes seeking out the love of his life, and they ride off on their horses across the Mongolian plains...mmm nice ending. The scenery was magnificent and beautiful in this series and added more appeal for me. In the end I am pleased I watched this series, I am broader for it.

Read More

Just finished watching this. Disclaimer - there are a few episodes that I watched without the Eng sub, but I've seen numerous versions, so I more or less know what's going on. First of all - this has to be one of the best version out there. I was very protective of the 86 version and had low expectations of this one. I also did not know any of the main cast. However, this exceeds my expectation. I really like that they put a lot of focus on the background story. You get to see why Wuji is so close to this Wudang uncles and his teacher. The bond they have is really touching. It's nice to see all the background stories kinda intertwined with Wuji's future role as the cult leader. I seriously think Zhirou character is a lot more interesting after she has gone bad and in my opinion, they spent too much time on her background story. Just my opinion.
Now, I was wary about Joseph's acting the first few episodes he appeared in, but that young man improved so much in later episodes. You can definitely see innocent face and eyes, but strong determination to do the right thing, yet torn apart by people wanting different things from him.
My favorite in this version has to be Zhao Min. She amazed me in this version. You see so many sides of her - the Mongolian princess with strong patriotism to the cause, the sly and calculated strategist, the strong-willed young lady who made a grand entrance in black to break up a wedding and face the wrath of all the Ming elders, but more importantly, a girl helplessly in love with the enemy. I have not heard of Yukee, but she did an awesome job, and I'm now watching Princess Weiyoung to see the Ninth Princess in action.
Now, my surprise favorite - Yang Xiao - how I wish there are more scenes of him. He's that suave kinda hero that your eyes are just glued to him. Love, love his smirks, the not-smile-smile. You just gotta watch him - seriously.

Read More

A beautiful love story amidst a turbulent time!

This is the series that elevates Chen Yuqi to a superstar status in the highly competitive and unforgiving Chinese drama circles. She may not be at the level of the Four Dan Actresses yet, but her portrayal of Zhao Min and the scores of ravishing reviews that she got from HSDSS mean she will never play second fiddle to any other actresses anymore. It does not hurt that this is a screen adaption of the final instalment of a highly popular Condor trilogy penned by Jin Long – a classical wuxia novel which every fan of this genre should be aware of.

There are plenty of gorgeous ladies in this drama, if that is your main reason for watching C-drama. Zhao Min, Zhou Zhirou, Xiao Zhao, Yin Li, Yin Su-su, Yang Buhui, Ji Xiaofu, etc are all beauties in their own rights. A feast for the eyes. Chen Yuqi’s portrayal of Zhao Min was the strength of the whole series, with his myriad of expressions ranging from her time as a mischievous and pampered princess until the end when she a helpless wanderer who lost her father due to a treachery by his lover’s hencemen. No two ways about it. She was the only reason why I would rewatch selected episode of HSDSS again. I don’t like Zhou Zhirou’s acting because she was basically wear a sad expression on her face throughout – maybe that was what was required of her by the Director.

To be honest, I can’t stand Zhang Wuji’s character and portrayal in this version. His acting was a bit stiff during the early part, but he gradually improved as the series progressed. His character was easily manipulated by his subordinates, and the pinnacle of this manipulation was the death of Zhao Min’s father and the ascension of Zhu Yuanzhang to be the 1st Ming Emperor. A very weak leading man - one who was invincible when dealing with enemies but extremely pliant and indecisive when dealing with his legion armies and supporters.

The ending was disappointing. Yes, it was a happy ending but it felt rushed. There were plenty of things occurring between the victory scene when Ming Cult entered the palace to the heart-breaking reunion between Wuji and Zhaomin, but all of these were covered within the last 20mins of ep50. The closing scene was beautiful with the two of them riding into the sunset.

The OSTs were great – love them. The opening track by Wakin Chau was lively, upbeat and set the tone for the series. Ci Sheng Wei Ni sung by Zhou Shen was hauntingly beautiful yet depressing, and the scene where Zhao Min and Zhang Wuji were at the beach on Divine Snake Island was very poignant. My favourite scene throughout the series, and the one where I would not get tired of re-watching – thanks to the song. It perfectly summed up the struggles and inner conflicts within Zhao Min and her willingness to sacrifice everything for her love with Wuji.

This is not a perfect television series, but one nearly at the very top of my list. I would rate Evernight and Evernight 2 as better series for overall enjoyment, but this one has a dejavu and nostalgic sense because I have seen the TV series before (albeit with slightly different ending) and read the magazines during my younger days.

I give this series 9.5/10.00 for overall enjoyment and Chen Yuqi’s performance was a perfect 10/10.

Read More

Multiple adaptations with slight twists

If you like period and costume series this is highly recommended
To starts of, there’s already multiple adaptations of this series and you can judge for yourself which you feel is the best one.
Things I like about this adaptation:
✔️the casts - except for couple of them like Yukee playing Zhao Min, and Xudan playing Zhirou, all actors fit the characters perfectly and played it well. Yukee to me overplayed the role with excessive facial gestures that half way through I started fast forwarding scenes that has her in it. Xudan just seemed not fitted for the role. I am thinking the actress who played Xiaozhao would have been more fitted for the Zhao Min role. This is just my personal opinion
✔️the small difference from previous adaptations made this more interesting
✔️the production truly did a way better job than pervious adaptations but that’s also because of advancement in technology and designs
✔️Costumes used are better
✔️Dialogue is simpler and better

It is 50 episodes only reason I lowered rewatch value.
I enjoyed watching the series and hoping more of this kind and value gets produced.
Joseph Zheng is a gifted young actor and hasn’t failed me yet in any movies or series he is in.

Read More

One of the best HSDSS series.

I love tv series from Jin Yong's novels since i was young. HSDSS is one of them. I used to watch the 2003 version. I liked the cast and its easy to digest story telling. I had watched the 2019 version because its trailer looked interesting with good production and good-looking cast. Once I started to watch I got hook by Jie Xun storylines, feel love and sad with Wuji mom and dad and the young Wuji fate. Once Wuji grew up I love to see his journey his practice of kungfu and gotta be an reluctant hero. Also love his reunion scenes with all his relatives in the past. I like Wuji character though he is not as smart as Yang Guo but he is kind and always look at the bright side of people. He can forgive everyone even his enemies. However his indecisiveness and unambitious showed that he is not suit to be a great leader.

Wuji romantic relationship with Zhao Min in this version is the best for me (the 2003 is very lovely but the 2019 is the best they had everything! up and down, love and hate) I laughed when they're bickering and tears up when they got apart. This Wuji is the most naive one. Both actors had great chemistry i wonder why some said they don't. All actors did perform very well especially the actors who play Jie Xun and ZhaoMin. Though the 2019 looked too much drama comparing to the 2003 which is more light heart. I prefer 2019 a bit more. The things I don't like in 2019 is its rushing to the end, some storylines look jump here and there not as smooth as the 2003.
After watching 2019 version I had searched to watch the 2009 version too. This one is good in production and the detail but lack of feeling somehow, not impressed me as the 2019 did.

Read More

This is a very good wuxia adaptation based on the third edition of the novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber by Jin Young. This drama has great special effects and it is packed with great action scenes; it gives the viewer revenge plots, two devious and willful women as the leading ladies, a righteous male lead character (Zhang Wuji) that is too naïve for his own good but, with the help of Zhao Min, he becomes more assertive by the end of the drama. Although the drama is also under the romance genre, don’t expect the romantic plot to come with a thunderbolt. Although there is a developing love triangle and lots of misunderstanding stemming from Zhang Wuji emotional immaturity and naiveté, the romantic chemistry is not there. The last episodes are rushed and the ending, although it is a happy one, is very anticlimactic. Even so, the drama is entertaining if the viewer is not expecting a great romance.

Read More

8/6/2021

I watched the HK version when I was young but I don't remember much about it aside from the main actors/actresses. I have also never read the book. So, my review is just basically how I feel about this particular show, and not in comparison to anything.

Negatives first:

In the first episode, I already dislike the fight scenes. For a wuxia drama, why do they use slow-motion on fight scenes? I want fast-paced, live action to get into the mood. Fortunately, they ease up on the slow motion as the show goes on. I still find the fighting to be not satisfying enough. (If you know of a wuxia drama with amazing fast-paced fight scenes, please let me know).

I also dislike the dubbing for this drama. This is a 2019 drama and it's not that old, I am surprised to see how the dubbing still doesn't line up. Additionally, I really dislike the voice of the female actress who plays the villainous Er Mei older disciple. It's like nails on the chalkboard each time she opens her mouth. I applaud the actress acting for making me hate her.

I don't like the character of the ML. He is so wishy-washy with love and he would make a horrible boyfriend. You can still be good to the ladies but set some boundaries. This is no fault of the drama, just the novel. I also don't feel the chemistry between the leads. I am not sure if it's the acting of Zeng Shunxi as the ML or what. It's my first time watching him, and I am not super impressed. I also felt the acting of Zhu Xudan as Zhou Zhiruo to be weak as well. She has this one face throughout most of the drama.

I feel that the last 5 episodes seem to be rushing a bit. There are events that I want more explanation but they are all glossed over. I was expecting more about the general in the end and how things might blow over for him, but it never happened. It didn't quite build up enough tension for a great finish.

Positives:

The child actors playing both the young and teen Zhang Wuji are great, esp. the youngest one. He is adorable and believable. When he cries, my heart breaks. I also enjoy the acting of our main female lead, Chen Quqi who plays Zhao Min. I like her sassy, feisty character and also believe her when she's sad and heartbroken. The acting of the supporting cast is great as well, esp. the veteran actors. I enjoy seeing Lin Shen as Yang Xiao. I thought I would see more of him since he's listed a a main character, but a little disappointed that he was missing for most of the last 5 episodes. I enjoy his cool and smart character and the subtle changes of emotions through his eyes. He is also pleasing to the eyes (but I think he's more handsome in "Dating in the Kitchen".

The costumes are nice. I enjoy seeing the wardrobe change of the ML from when he's young to when he became a leader, and then a successful revolutionary towards the end of the drama. The female leads also have pretty nice costumes and hairstyle change (for Zhao Min).

I think the pacing of the show is pretty good. I didn't feel bored or that it dragged in the middle. It's a slower start to build the plot and the upbringing of ML, so if you just want to watch Zeng Shunxi, you might have to wait a little bit. But I think there are enough happening to keep me engaged for 50 episodes.

As much as I complained about the fight scenes, I like there isn't a lack of fight scenes. Fighting is spread out pretty evenly throughout the show and the choreography isn't bad.

Read More