Fabulous Acting, Great CGI, Great Story
This is one of the very few dramas that I find so relaxing and enjoyable. It is very funny and yet not comical. The humors come mostly from the marvelous acting, the dialogues and the dynamics between the characters. As this is a drama revolving around supernatural phenomena, the CGI here is simply top-notched. This drama is the third season of the Wu Xin series. Despite this, the timeline is a lot earlier than the previous two series, setting in the Tang dynasty period. One doesn't need to watch the previous two seasons to understand this one; everything is explained clearly and flows nicely. This drama stands alone as a complete series.Elvis Han (plays Wu Xin) is a marvelous actor. He has an air of maturity and provides stability in every situation he's in, and yet he doesn't lack that humorous and playful demeanor. I really enjoy all his scenes. As a man with no heart, (his name Wu Xin literally means no heart in Chinese), he's an immortal. The use of homophone and puns with his name is hilarious as the phrase wu xin can also mean "unintentional". But Wu Xin is so fed up with living forever that he contracts killers to kill himself as he has not been successful in doing so himself. His journey in seeking his own death is simply so outrageous and funny. I really enjoy the parts when Wu Xin is possessed by Liu Xuan Hu making him taking opposite actions and bickering within himself. The scenes are so funny and Elvis Han is fabulous in acting out both characters at the same time.
Comes the girl that falls for him, and eventually he for her. Chen Yao (aka Sabrina Chen) plays both roles as a twin girl in Liu Qing Luan and her twin brother in Liu Xuan Hu. With a slender physique, Chen Yao's portrayal of Liu Xuan Hu is amazing as she looks like a weak, sickly, feminine boy who excels academically. No one knows the talented scholar has an identical twin sister who helps settle scores for him. One really cannot tell if Liu Xuan Hu is a boy or a girl, even Wu Xin is confused; he has treated Liu Xuan Hu as a boy when in actual fact it's Liu Qing Luan's disguise. The discovery process is so funny, and Elvis Han's expression of surprise is an outstanding acting. Switching in and out of her role as a male and female character, Chen Yao has done a fantastic job. Bravo to her amazing acting.
In their quest to seek death for Wu Xin and cure for Liu Xuan Hu sickly body (what an irony), they encounter mysteries and crimes. Every event is related to another and unfolds nicely over time, usually through medium and "fa shu" delivered by the Taoist master. The initial unseen dark force that seems to mastermind everything turns out to be a previous acquaintant of Wu Xin. Their relationship, dynamics and dialogues are just a joy to watch. The seemingly unseen fearsome and mysterious character suddenly becomes a person with a cartoonish looking mask. Many of the characters that seem to be sinister in the beginning turn out to be harmless. One of my most enjoyable moments is watching Elvis Han handling a baby; he's such a pro and the scenes where both powerful fa shi, Wu Xin and Bai Liu Li, rendered helpless by a crying baby is just hilarious.
As expected, when an immortal falls in love with a mortal, how the ending would be. As Liu Qing Luan ages and finally dies in Wu Xin's arms, Wu Xin is still as youthful but the pain he is suffering is immeasurable, though this is the umpteenth time he is going through it. Each time, the pain of loss of a loved one is new and unforgettable for him. The only way to relieve himself from all these pains is not through death (which he can't die) but through letting go. Finally, Wu Xin realizes that he needs to forget after every life that leaves him, and to start afresh. That's the only way to continue living to eternity.
Oh, have I mentioned the sound tracks (OSTs)? They are very good. Love them!
Don't be misled by the low rating. This drama should have received a much higher rating had it not because English subs are not available at the moment of its airing. Many non-Chinese speaking viewers are unfortunately not able to enjoy this fine drama.
For me, this drama is unexpectedly good. If you can understand Chinese, or able to find English subs, do watch it. It's a drama that would make you laugh because of the funny dialogues and human to human dynamics. The mystical supernatural phenomenon is intriguing, and most importantly, great acting and great story telling make this a must-watch drama.
Two thumbs up!
Was this review helpful to you?
Nostalgic watch for fans of the series
Ugh so many things to say about this drama and I've been putting off this review for far too long.First off, I'm a fan of the first season, so it's sad to see how the sequels haven't done as well as the first one did. It just lacks something no matter what it tries to do. One thing we see obvious improvement in though, is the CGI. The production value also seems to be a lot better than it was before. So yay to advancements in tech!
Onto the plot... where to begin? I think the biggest issue is it's poor control of the pace? Too little things seem to be happening in one episode and the plot isn't engaging enough to keep me invested in the story, and the abysmal placement of music certainly makes this problem a lot more evident than it should be. (More on this later) I also don't quite understand the actions and thoughts of the characters? There are some reactions I find puzzling coming from certain characters even when a big event has happened, like, that shouldn't be the reaction of a normal person? Also, the demon hunting aspect of it seemed not as exciting as before and feels very subdued and watered down.
And what's with the night time dark filter that makes everything sooo much harder to see? It removes so much clarity and it became such an unpleasant watching experience.
Characters/Cast
Oh how I miss the original cast, things just feel so empty now. The relationship between each character and their chemistry was what took season one to the next level, and sadly, none of that cast chemistry is left. Realistically speaking, it's ridiculous to expect characters that have moved on to appear in this season, but what a dream it would be to see the orignal cast again.
Wu Xin this season is wayyyy better than the Wu Xin we saw in S2. This season, he's humourous, caring, decisive, smart... basically everything S2 WX isn't lol. Han Dongjun is charming as per usual and I like how he changes his portrayal of WX each season according to WX's "age" at the time the dramas are set. And how does he look the same he did 5 years ago?? Its the complete opposite for Chen Yao lol, she changes so much every season I swear it's so hard keeping up with her. I thought she did pretty well in giving the twins distinct personalities, by the end I could tell who was who just by the slightest change in expression, but I also thought the connection with Yue QiLuo and the twins was done a bit forcefully. As for their chemistry, I don't think it's the best, especially not when I keep comparing them to their S1 pairings hahahha, but I buy their romance so that's good. And Ding Qiao's Bai Liuli was surprisingly fitting! Mike's portrayal of Bai Liuli served more as comic relief with his animated expressions, but S3's Bai Liuli was a lot darker and I liked it a lot too!
Music
Undoubtedly the worst aspect of this show. The standalone songs are really nice to listen to, but the BGM placement was a mess! At times when the scene was supposed to be lighthearted and humourous, sombre music would play. When the scene has a solemn and dark atmosphere, the bgm would be upbeat and playful. Just why? It just stuck out like a sore thumb. The drama lost so much of its appeal because of this and it's such a major problem that is easy to spot. What a pity.
All in all, you might want to check this out if you like historical dramas and have an attachment to S1's characters. The plot moves slowly, so please be patient while watching this. The actors also do their characters justice so that made it more enjoyable to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
unexpectedly good
I was looking for a Chinese historical drama to watch at that time, not necessary to be a big budget one. So while searching through, I came across Chinesedramafan's review. She had very good comments on this drama which I had never even heard of. Initially, I was not sure because there were so few reviews which probably mean also few people watched, but I trusted Chinesedramafan, so I tried out.And the conclusion was, as my headline says, unexpectedly good. In fact, I do not have negative comments to make about this drama.
The first few episodes were just small cases whereby Wu Xin simply solved them quickly most of the time with the help of the female lead, Qing Luan. Those few episodes were also where they got to know each other and where their liking for each other gradually started. At first I was not impressed with those first few episodes, I kept wondering, oh my god, is the story going to just continue like that with small cases and insignificant side characters, Wu Xin solved them with Qing Luan, then moved on? There was nothing significant happening at all. But no, I would say the story really began and made for a turn when Qing Luan and her twin brother decided to go home upon hearing their mother passed away. It really became good from there and that was when I wanted to continue watching more. That was about episode 20ish if I remember correctly.
The acting of the entire cast was good, no complains about any of them. I will just specially comment only on the main leads. Elvis Han's acting was spot on. I think no other person can replace him to be Wu Xin. I liked his character. I did not watch the previous two parts, just based on this part 3. Kudos to Sebrina Chen as well. Her acting as both Qing Luan and her twin brother was convincing and good. Not easy to act two different characters, what's more one female and one male.
I want to mention especially the ending. I was moved to tears when Qing Luan passed away in the arms of Wu Xin in her old age. I think the whole premise here was that Wu Xin was an immortal, so he had to witness the death of many of his loved ones centuries after centuries. I felt touched and sorry for him, it was that hard when you could live forever. Humans usually try to live for as long as they can, but to him it was a torture it seems in the drama. And this ending was especially touching with the OST, I have to mention this OST, the longest journey sung by Li Qi. It is one of those songs which I continue to listen even after I finished watching the drama. Not all dramas have OSTs like that, at least for me, I usually do not listen to the OSTs of the drama after I have finished watching the drama, unless the songs are really touching and meaningful to me and this is one of them. The lyrics and the vibe of this entire song are good. That feeling this song give really aptly describe Wu Xin's feelings in his 'long journey'.
Overall, I absolutely do not regret picking this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It is a good thing that Season 3 of Wu Xin: The Monster Killer is actually a prequel, set centuries before Seasons 1 and 2. It is somewhat predictable, but Season 3 eventually explains why Wu Xin goes into a deep sleep every 100 years, (it's not something inevitable although he might not realize it) after which he forgets (almost) everything. It is not directly stated, but this memory erasure is probably also why Wu Xin does not have any magical powers except for using his blood to kill evil beings--he actually used to have some magical powers, but his memory erasure may also mean that he has no recollection most of his powers. The beginnings of Wu Xin's friendship with Bai Liu Li, alluded to in Season 2, is also explained. Of the three seasons, Season 3 probably has the best romance plot, which is quite nicely integrated into the main story. Sabrina Chen (the villain in Season 1, and another character in Season 2) plays Wu Xin's love interest in Season 3. For reasons unknown, Sabrina Chen gets to play a male character again (like in Season 2), though it makes sense in Season 3 because there is a pair of male/female identical twins in the story.
The supernatural aspects of the story, on the other hand, doesn't turn out to be as strong. Like a detective series that moves on from one murder case to another, Wu Xin Season 3 moves from one supernatural case to another before finally getting to the central supernatural antagonist. Then in the final episode ... I'm not even sure how the villain is defeated.
On the other hand, beyond the supernatural villains, the human characters are interestingly complex. Some of the most detestable characters have rather poignant moments in the series. The male twin played by Sabrina Chen is also morally ambiguous in a convincing way. Chen's performance is excellent as she not only manages to play both the male and the female twins well but also manages to pull off some scenes when the two twins inhabit the same body (and the personalities get a little mixed).
Elvis Han is simply be playing Wu Xin yet again without much room for him to impress us with his acting. However, the pathos in the character of Wu Xin is surfaced quite well--his immortality brings him misery as he is doomed to repeatedly experience the agony of being separated from people he has affections for no matter how long he lives happily with them: he can have both happily and ever after, but he can't have happily ever after.
Season 3 can either be a satisfying end to the Wu Xin series or pave the way for a Season 4, which I won't mind. Perhaps one set in the contemporary era?
Was this review helpful to you?
