This review may contain spoilers
First of all, I have not seen the original movie and my main motivation to watch this drama were Krist and New.Let's start with what I did not like about Love Beyond Frontier (and sadly, there is quite a lot):
- The chemistry of the main couple just did not work for me. Maybe I am too invested in Krist from SOTUS, but that whole love story (even with the final proposal in Hong Kong) did not convince me at all.
- There was too much comedy (and probably it was not even intentional). It's okay to throw in some silly characters for comic relief, but here we had way too many of them, like the landlord, Pat's father, Ple's coworker, the totally unnecessary "secret agent" in Hong Kong ... More importantly, even the main characters often were laughing stock (mainly Win), which ruined the dramatic moments.
- Overall, the actors were not convincing. To some extent that was certainly the fault of the screenwriting and directing, but the actors did little to save it. Krist's naivety was cute in the beginning, but when things got more dramatic he was just not up to the task.
- Just looking for and finding one person in a big city like Bangkok or Hong Kong seems highly unlikely to me, but okay, it's a melodrama.
However, I found enough positive aspects to save this drama for me.
- Some of the actors did a decent job. Among the four mains that was certainly Namtan, even though in the last couple of episodes her role was getting more and more passive. Also the mother was very convincing most of the time, her inner conflict seemed very realistic. Even New was getting better towards the end.
- It was interesting to see how the lives of the main characters got more and more interwoven, even through their parents.
- The comedic sidekicks were fun (but mostly out of place).
- I liked the melodramatic plot very much. The whole love square got boring quickly, but the mother-sons relationship and the really long tease and foreshadowing of the final revelations successfully kept me watching.
- The locations were really nice; the guest house is beautiful and their trips (including the one to Hong Kong) provided enough variety.
- While the music was over the top in certain scenes (when the actors can't convey the right emotions, let's just steamroll everything with music), the motives and songs were beautiful and fitting. I heard some Lion King references, not sure if that was intentional.
In summary, the negative and the positive aspects are well-balanced. The story and the actors had much more potential, so the final result is disappointing, but it was still a good watch for me (preferred it to Boy for Rent). Re-watch: not so much, there is much better material out there. But maybe I will check the original movie out.
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The story has potential really. Wang's father dies so he goes to Thailand to find her mother, he meets a couple of people which help him through his quest and they become his friends and Ple, his girlfriend.
Then now you might ask, what's the problem? The problem is that it was too flat.
All the main characters were a little bit too heavy to bear. I started watching this because of Krist and New but yea it didn't save it. Krist's character, Wang was too weak and sensitive. Of course, it was cute and all but 13 episodes of a grown-up man behaving like that is a little bit... meh. The same goes for New's character, Win was a little bit too baby-like, however, it got better by the end of the drama so it's okay. We got character development at least. Ple was too clingy. Pat was okay.
Other than the characters (script) and okay acting, you'll notice that the whole story is kept going for too long. Yes, of course, it takes a long time to find a person in a big city. Yes, it's hard to bear such events but I don't know maybe it was just me but I knew who the mother was from episode 2 so yeah it was really boring for me.
The comedy part didn't really entertain me so it was a little bit unnecessary?
All in all, it's okay. nothing wow. just something i would watch if i was REALLY bored and didn't have ANYTHING else to watch.
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The dialogue and relationships were also quite good. Good chemistry within the cast.
The plot while ok at the beginning the longer you watch the more frustrating it gets and when the truth is finally revealed it is almost nonsensical. The plot is easily the weakest point. There were a ridiculous number of 'coincidences' that seemed to happen for no other reason than to prevent the plot from moving forward. I am not easily frustrated and I found it so annoying.
If I had not been watching with a friend I probably would have watched a lot of this on 2x speed and just stared more at Krist and New. They whole cast is sooo pretty.
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I'm glad, however, that the characters of the two lead actors are different from their usual roles. It's something fresh to see. Happy to see New playing a character who is a complete opposite of himself. I also love Krist's acting here. I would say that Krist truly is one of GMMTV's gems. He deserves projects with better directors though.
As for the chemistry, I kinda like Namtan and New's chemistry than Jane and Krist. I like Jane but her chemistry with Krist did not work for me. I ship TayNew but I also would like to ship NamNew from hereon.
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My favorite characters were Newwiee’s Win and Namtan Tipnaree’s Pat but for very different reasons. Where Pat was consistently good and likable and sweet and understanding - Win was the character who went through the most obvious change: he started as a spoiled, selfish and rather entitled brat and throughout the drama he learned to be kind and considerate, to apologize for his mistakes and right the wrongs he did. It was a truly fascinating journey.
After several Thai dramas that felt like candyfloss - sweet but empty - this one was a good change of pace. Yes, it was still silly but I loved the family arc and many of the emotional scenes really hit me, they were so well acted I honestly bawled. I’m very glad that I watched this drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
I started to watch this drama because of Krist, for me the drama is very light, easy to expect what will happen next..no plot twist..only at first i thought Wang will couple with Pat..but it change in the middle..but i think the drama story flow kind og slow but still oke..So if you are looking drama that have romantic,comedy,friendship, and family you can watch this drama..I also like this drama because they show to us some place in Thai that we can go nxt time, its very beautiful..kredit for the some information about the history of the place..i like the ost its good..after watch this drama i like Pat and Win couple..they are cute even they get couple at the end of epsode.. Was this review helpful to you?
Story about LOVE, Friendship and Family
Ive been watched Krist in several series and he never made a different attack from this series ,New as WIN is a surprise for me because, I saw different NEW in this series .
I saw New in DARK BLUE KISS a tame guy. Different NEW and yet sometimes annoying. A spoiled brat mamas boy, foul mouthed guy. It will ask yourself is that really NEW ???
NAMTAN AS PAT is very good in this series she will be loved by his character shes beautiful and so sweet. Beatifully registered in camera. Im looking forward to watch her in another series.
Jane as Ple is there were times over acting but its kindda cute.
Krist as WANG as always a good actor he will make you smile and cry by his acting ability.
The series that you will fall in love,
Friendship and FAMILY.
And touches you before it ends. ???
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This review may contain spoilers
The story is about a Chinese-Thai man whose name Wang. He tries to find his mother in Thailand by going to the old house since he knew the address of that old house. Unfortunately, she moved out and had another family. During the time he tried his mother, he happened to meet a lot of good people that willing to help him. (Ple, Pat and Win) However, it was complicated love story moving on from Win fall in love his girl best friend. Then, her best friend had a crush on Wang. Then, Wang is confused at first whether he liked Pat or Ple but in the end, he knew for sure that like Ple. And what's about Pat? hmm, Pat and Win were like Tom and Jerry. Pat had a crush on Win but got rejected...:( BUT WAITTTTT hehe there's more. WATCH IT YOUSELF haha.The actors: They are good for their roles.
The directors: For me, I think they edit and make every scene flow so well.
The Ost: It was good!
Moral of the story:
-Never give up on your dream, even if it's gonna take you some time to achieve it.
-Love has no boundaries. LDR can also work if you both shared the same loyalty.
-It was good to have good friends, because they will stay by your side whenever you need someone to talk to.
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if we are analyzing the characters then i would say pat was my favorite . she genuinely stole my heart .
win was the one whose character kept on improving from the beginning to end . he made me laugh a lot through out . i loved all the scenes of win and pat together they had amazing chemistry.
but as for the main leads ple and wang i didn't really like their chemistry that much in comparison to patwin . wang was a baby literally from start to end but that's how he is . he is too kind an sweet to everyone but he knows to defend himself when needed. ple was kind of annoying in the first half but she was okay towards the end.
i would say this is a one time watch drama. but for patwin scenes i can watch them over and over without getting bored.
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Honestly, I watched this because of 2 BL Stars - Newwie of DBK and mainly because of Krist Perawat. Krist is a very good actor and his little nuances especially in Sotus S made me adore him even more. But as I've said, we can't compare other shows with this one because it's totally different. Let me explain my ratings then...
STORY (8.5)
As I said earlier, this story would be a hit for Filipinos. We have been into this genre of romantic-comedy to something bordering physical comedy because of the funny things that happen to the characters and their gestures. The involvement of family drama is also something very evident in Filipino series so this plot would be appreciated as well. Without giving spoilers, let's say the plot has been used and interpreted in so many ways in a lot of shows and I personally liked that this story still offered twists that I didn't expect at all!
ACTING / CAST (8.0)
Again, since this is a comedy in my eyes, they all did well in acting even when it needed to be exaggerated. Comedies tend to do this anyway. Krist would be the perfect choice to portray a half-Chinese young adult. I mean he looked the part! And his acting as a naive and timid man was really effective, to the point that he would blend in the background to give time for the other actors to shine. His dramatic scenes were always on point that I always end up crying with him. Newwie is such a big jealous baby in this show and it's so cute and refreshing to watch as well. Even when he's mad, he still looks cute that you can't stay mad at him for being bad, which is both a blessing and a curse I guess. Namtan has proven she is indeed a very great and versatile actress to the point that she can play a high schooler in "Who Are You" and play a young adult here that's both strong and soft, depending on who she interacts with. Lastly, I think this is the first time for me to watch Jane tho I'm not sure. She's also a good actress but I guess she just didn't quite get my attention, probably because I know the other 3 leads better or maybe because her performance was overpowered by the other leads? A big scene stealer would definitely be Mama Rose. She may just be a support cast, but her appearances would leave a mark especially during the last 3 or 4 episodes.
MUSIC (6.5)
I honestly don't have much to say about the music because as a non-Thai speaker, I had to focus on reading the subtitles so I would understand what they are talking about. I still give a decent rating tho because if the musical scoring wasn't okay, I wouldn't have felt the emotions that the show wanted me to feel.
REWATCH VALUE (7)
To be honest, I already knew the plot before even watching this that's why I give it a 7 in terms of rewatch value. But what shocked me were the twists and turns that the story had to take. There are certain episodes I would definitely go back to but I guess as a whole, there will be some parts I can live without. Haha. One thing's for sure, I will rewatch this at some point of my life (since I still have a long list of series to watch) just to understand why many have been saying negative things about this.
OVERALL (7.5)
I LOVE THIS SERIES! But according to the ratings I gave it, it just falls somewhere in the I LIKE IT section, maybe because it's not a BL. So to my fellow Filipinos who might be reading this, give this show a chance. I know a lot have just started watching Thai series during the pandemic so you might want to add this to your list. You'd love it like I did! If you guys want a light and fun show with a kick of tears, then this is for you! And just a piece of advice to anyone who wants to watch this, it's a COMEDY that needed that little EXAGGERATION to make it a bit distinct from other DRAMA series available. Watch it in that light and you'll surely enjoy it! Hoping they make a remake of the Season 2 of this one as well! Khàawp-khun ná khráp!
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This review may contain spoilers
so, what do we have here? amazing (maybe) actors with a painfully boring plotline.sure, this was interesting at first... a man goes on a journey in search for his mother... i love you krist i really do but i feel like the story was so sloooOoooW that all the characters became uninteresting and annoying
i don't understand why they dragged the "oH where is my mama??" issue when they could've showed wang and his mom meeting in the middle and not when the series is close to its climax.... that is if this even had a climax lol
you just have a bunch of cliches thrown and a side couple with no chemistry...
omggg a breakup in the final episode???????? :oooo i haven't seen that before
oh? this guy falling in love with his best friend and the best friend gets pissed... for some reason??? ahAHA classic comedy
oh this idiotic friend being idiotic because he doesn't have other personality traits than being idiotic???? wow, how refreshing
did i watch this because i'm a fan of the actors? yes. do i regret it? yes and no.
do i recommend it? sure. whatever fits your boat.
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