Not Satisfied
If your looking for a wuxia drama, I would not bother watching. My first dislike is that this drama has an old feel to it, which for some people is a plus but it dosen't work for this re make.Storyline: Its not exactly spectacular - Duan yu, Qiao feng, Xu Zhu don't really cross paths and the reason they are sworn brothers happens because they bump into each other. Another problem is that the story in general dosen't leave you excited for the next episode - I find that sometimes I just watch the episode for the sake of watching it. There's no intense suspense as all. Duan Yu also basically has like no skills in this version as well. The fights are average, the CGI was a little weird with the tibet monk guy and it seemed like there was no modern cgi at all. The romance is not there at all, so if your looking for romance, yeah there's none at all. Im not a big romance fan, but it seemed like Duan Yu didn't have chemistry with lady wang at all. The ending of the story was lackluster and had nothing to it.
The acting is decent, but the storyline ruins the show in general. Would not watch again. If you thought that the novel could be bought to life, wait for the next re make. I usually don't leave negative reviews but this one was so bad that I had to.
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Mediocre. Nothing stands out.
My insignificant 2 centsPros: beautiful landscapes, quite faithful to novel contents, acceptable use of CGI
Cons: Xu Zhu and fight with MRF appear too early, uncompelling plot, bad casting, mediocre choreography, lack chemistry between the casts, unflattering film texture(esp the filter), bad costume designs and some that I might missed.
In short, it is a mediocre adaptation that nothing stands out except getting attention for it's abysmal casting and depiction of the characters. Certain characters are tainted with unnecessary rendition(i.e.*cough*Duan Yu's urine.... *cough*). Although I don't enjoy this as much, in my POV it's not that flopped to get 3.5/10 in douban rating, but it's also not a good enough adaptation to stand up to such a big, big IP. If I were to recommend classic wuxia in the past 5 years, there are better works from Jin Yong IPs such as LOCH2017, HSDS2019 and for Gu Long IP HS2020.
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The worst remake ever
Background music, CGI, fight Scene and anything you can name sucks. Duan Yu and Xu Zhu's acting are so bad that i had to endure all the way to watch.Nothing stands out in this series apart from bad acting. I also hoped for better fight scenes since this was made in 2021. But in fact it can't even hold the candle to the one which was made almost two decades ago. They just randomly remade without putting any effort into this.
2003 version is so much better than this crap.
This is literally the worst remake ever.
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Watch the 1996 version instead (unless you love Janice Man)
StoryDemi-Gods and Semi-Devils is such a good storyline, but this 2021 adaptation ruins it with some weird scene orders and logic. Some examples: one scene where Jiu Mozhi appears out of nowhere and steal the Yi Jing jing from You Tan Zhi when he left it on the table, or the dried well scene with Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan where she was supposed to finally accept him but they still act weird after that and not to mention they left Jiu Mozhi under the well and doesn’t pull him up. Xu Zhu’s storyline was also a mess. During the contest to select a prince for Xixia princess, there was no combat phase, and after Xu Zhu met the princess and she pulls him out to have sex with him (he tells her all kinds of stuff about Tianshan Tonglao and Li Qiushui , which doesn’t make sense because she doesn’t know them at all) and then we never see her again. And many more.
Music
Uninteresting themesong and weak bgm.
Actors/Actresses/Acting
The main actors (Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu) are average. Xiao Feng doesn’t give me the impression of a hero. Xu Zhu is just scratching his head over and over, which is annoying (and he looks kinda evil in some scenes). Duan Yu is ok but could be better. The actresses, however, are pure eye candy and is the only good thing about this adaptation. Everyone of them, from young to old and main to minor characters, are incredibly attractive (especially Wang Yuyan by Janice Man). Their acting is also very good and believable, compare to the male counterparts.
Combat
This adaptation has one of the worst, if not the worst, combat in wuxia series. The constant zoom-in and slow-mo every 5 sec is extremely frustrating. The wire work is also cringy, especially when Duan Yu uses his Minute Steps skill to climb walls, or the constant sliding and looking at the enemy's weapon in slow-mo from literally every single fights. Also, the lack of (or horrible) special effects to differentiate each of the special skills is equally bad. They try to be “realistic” by having the internal energy be transparent, but it made all the skills look the same and boring. This is fiction! They should have made each skills have unique special effects and colorful like the 1996 version.
Ending
One word: BAD. ...........INCOMING HUGE ENDING SPOILERS........ Xiao Feng's prison breakout was supposed to be an epic scene with everyone fighting alongside him against the Liao army, but they cut the whole thing out (no more budget?). So it’s bad enough that they try to make Wang Yuyan try to be a nun, but they didn’t explain anything when Duan Yu walks out the temple with her. They also ruin Mu Wanqing and Zhong Ling ending because they are nowhere to be seen at the end. As for Xu Zhu, so he just left his beloved princess and travel the world? WTH. And many other annoyances.
Overall
This is a watchable series if you want to see beautiful females. But prepare to endure through horrible fight scenes and bad storyline logic. If you want to see a good adaption of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, watch the TVB's 1996 version (awesome themesong and bgm, good fight scenes and special effects for a 1996 series, and superb storyline and acting by everyone).
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English subtitling issues start in episode 33.
I am really struggling to get past episode 33 in this mediocre drama. English subtitling started out normally in episode 1 but by episode 33 there were serious problems. It is so bad that it is better to shut off the sub titles and try to get what you can from watching the actors. The words used in episode 32 are repeated in episode 33. How confusing is that? I started watching this drama in Amazon prime and switched to Viki hoping the sub title problem would go away but it did not. Needless to say, this is as far as I'm willing to go with this drama and we'll move on to something else.Was this review helpful to you?
I mainly followed the monk's growth as an underdog and also found myself enjoying the main lead who played Qiao Feng.
Tony played an exceptional Qiao Feng and I now have the biggest crush on him. His acting was superb, solid. Qiao Feng's character was so tragic and Tony was able to portray all the expressions to the very end.
The storyline was easy to follow and the action scenes just gives a less than enough satisfaction.
Overall, I enjoyed the drama. Don't go in with high expectations, sit back and enjoy the ride.
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DGSD 2021 Review
This new version of Demi Gods and Semi Devils 2021, like the latest version of The Deer and the Cauldron 2020, is very divisive. That's because we are trying to compare past versions to the new versions. I stopped comparing The Deer and the Cauldron 2020 with past versions and I ended up really enjoying the 2020 version. For Demi Gods and Semi Devils 2021, I did the same and enjoyed it.Was there a need for a new version, no and yes. No because we liked the old versions and thought they were perfect. Yes because this new version might have been better than previous versions if it was done better. When the 2003 version was announced I was like again, but I ended up liking it more than the 1996 version. I didn't like the 2013 all that much, but it was only because of the casting. Kim Ki Bum as Duan Yu and Zhang Meng as Wang Yu Yan were badly miscast. Mao Xiao Tong as Zhong Ling was perfect, very sweet and cute. So new versions being made isn't a bad thing. You might end up liking the new version more than previous versions like I did.
So now that the rant is over, let's move on to my review.
As for the positives of the 2021 version of Demi Gods and Semi Devils, Mu Wan Qing was one of the bright spots. I never really liked past actresses portrayal of the character. Liu Mei Tong had the perfect look and mannerisms to portray Mu Wan Qing. Other positives are the locations and music used for the show. The locations used were nice looking and the music was fitting.
As for the negative, it was the cuts. Like Duan Yu knowing Mu Wan Qing's last name before she even told him. I thought I missed the scene but nope, Duan Yu just miraculously knows it. Another cut that was bad was after the fight between Xu Zhu and Xingxiu Lao Guai. Xu Zhu's master tells him to listen to his orders, but how the hell can he when they were not in the same location. Xu Zhu just magically teleports back to his master.
A second negative is the expanded story for A Zi. Like why? No knock on the actress He Hong Shan as she was very good as A Zi, but the extra story bits for her I could do without.
A third negative was the ending. Zhong Ling and Mu Wan Qing leaving and never coming back was such a big "what the" moment. And Wang Yu Yan almost becoming a nun but not in a matter of seconds was also confusing. If they were going for an original ending at least give us a more satisfying one.
Again look pass the fact that this is yet another version of an old series and you'll enjoy it to some degree. If this is your first version and you didn't like it all that much, I recommend the 1996 HK TVB version or the 2003 version.
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A simple saying this very satisfied series
Full of laughing, emotion, twist
I really like it and I enjoyed every episode
Even just a little part of scene boring for the 1strp-10th episode
But i still love it
Set under the reign of Emperor Zhe Zong of Song, the story revolves around the experiences of Qiao Feng, leader of the beggar clan, Duan Yu, a prince of Dali and Xu Zhu, a Shaolin monk. The three protagonists become sworn brothers during their journey in the pugilistic world.
Qiao Feng is the courageous leader of the beggar clan. Many look up to him as a hero for defending the people of Song. When Qiao Feng is accused of being of Khitan descent and labeled a traitor, he is shunned by his fellow martial artists. In Qiao Feng's quest to clear his name, he comes to learn the truth about his identity and meets the love of his life. He also crosses paths with Dali Prince Duan Yu and Shaolin Monk Xu Zhu.
Duan Yu is a cheerful and bright young prince of Dali. Because of his peace-loving tendencies, he runs away to avoid being forced to learn martial arts but ends up inadvertently mastering powerful martial arts techniques. Successively, he meets Mu Wan Qing, Zhong Ling and falls deeply in love with Wang Yu Yan and her godlike beauty. However, Wang Yu Yan only has eyes for her cousin Murong Fu which complicates their relationship.
Shaolin Monk Xu Zhu is innately pure. After being guided by a martial arts master, he also becomes a powerful martial artist. It starts the kind-hearted monk on an adventure he never imagined for himself. Caught in the conflict between Song and Liao, three intertwining stories are brought together in a story about their heroism.
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I actually like the idea on how they arranged this drama and gave the main characters the screentime they deserved. I was confused at the first episodes because I only saw one protagonist all the time, I later realized the intention and somehow enjoyed it and it actually made me understand each main character better.
I understand why they make the color grading this way, I didn't like it at first but my eyes have adapted
to it later on.
The acting are good especially when they act angry and have their veins showing, you can literally feel the tension (the crying scenes are a bit off but it's still fine).
That's all for the drama review but I have question (or concern). Why does the Wang Yu Yan character belong to Main Leads? I don't see this character fit as Main Lead if there's one character that should belong to Main Leads it should be Murong Fu.
That's all, enjoy watching.
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Good Film Bad Ending
I remember watch this movie but with different actor and version, the series i watch at the past the actor star is jimmy lin, and after i watch this movie, i feel i hate the ending where is duan yu actually married with three girls and xu zhu married with xixia princess but in this version of series the ending is like a $h*t, it make me regret wasting my 5-6 day for watch this movie, it's still far better jimmy lin version than this $h*t version, and i hate bao bo tong actor, too loud and too much mouth but useless, and if you watch carefuly this movie still has too many fail like when duan yu and wang yuyan in hole, there is story where is finally wang yuyan accept duan yu as her boyfriend and in this version there is no such a moment and duan yu suddenly call wang yuyan as yuyan but yuyan call duan yu still using young master duan, don't kidding me, and where is gaibang bad sect leader quan guanjing? If want make different version then let Xiao Feng live at the ending, lol i myself regret to watch this and thats why i hate remake series like condor heroes have 1001 versionWas this review helpful to you?
A Mediocre Remake That Taste like Plain Water
I am sure many who had watched this should either have watched the hong kong or early china remakes. I personally had watched the 1997 remake where we have Felix Wong, Benny Chan and Stephen Fan as well as The 2013 version from Wallace Chung, Kim Kimkibum, and Han Dong. Both of these are pretty good remakes though I lean more towards 1997 version but hey...2013 is not bad either, but not perfect.So, acting.. The Qiao Feng of this remake seems really lack of leadership energy, and he seems to more like...he was paid to do what he is supposed to do..nothing more, nothing less...thats the actor for Qiao Feng. As for Duan Yu, he is supposed to be comic relieve of the story, due to his playfulness but this version makes him more childish and really weak as well. The one who played Xu Zhu is fine, I would say. Wang Yu Yin of this drama is kind of a hateful character and I felt that this role has always been challenging for any leads before Janice Man. Dont see her excel in this, which is a waste. Special Shoutout to A-Zhi. I never think that I will dislike (99/100) the character in this remake, damn annoying to the brim. Based on previous remake, they should have learn to make more likeable but nahhhhh its a competition.
Now, what I see apart from acting is how storytelling is done because lets be honest, you want to tell a story that satisfy your audience and leave them hanging like a loose branch. I like how they give audience a glimpse of all the characters at the first episode. In fact, its really cool to see Xu Zhu and Duan Yu very early in the series and slowly brings them into the bigger picture. What really triggered me was truly the last episode. OMGawd! they could have taken the last episode to fix a few more of their issue like fixing Duan Yus remaining story arc and give him that sweet ending he has been earning. 2013 failed to do so, and 2021 would happily followed suit. Come onnn, I heard that one of the version where Duan Yu married all three of his love interest...but if not, why not have that episode to have all his other sisters reunite and live happily ever after as a family....oh well, suspense ehh...not a good one.
Also, special complain. Fighting scenes...sucks unless youre a fan of slow motion martial arts, then you will like it.
Overall, its a remake that boasts nothing, just like an ensemble of more pretty faces with no hallow inside...but yeaa.
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