This review may contain spoilers
We don't need another hero.
This is a dark, intensely melodramatic classic wuxia about heroes. The Chinese title 说英雄谁是英雄 (Speaking of heroes, who is a hero?) asks the question who is a hero 英雄/yīngxióng? What is distinctive about this story is that there is no main protagonist. It is left to the audience to decide which character(s) are heroes. Although novelist Wen Ruian is not considered to be in the same league as Jin Yong or Gu Long, there is a cynical provocativeness that distinguishes this best work of his. The martial artists or 大侠/dàxià, featured in this are swordsman known for their legendary weapons. Despite 江湖/jiānghú lore about their great feats and relative prowess, 一山还有一山高, there is always a higher mountain so the outcome to any encounter between these fighters is not known until actually put to a test.Li Muge's brilliant camera work evocatively captures the essence of a wuxia from the wild vastness of the terrain, the spirit of adventure, the air of intrigue to finally, the profound sense of fatalism and impermanence. Yet despite the stunning aesthetics, the fast paced and bloody fight scenes are over choreographed and somewhat lacking. The action scenes mostly comprise of discontinuous slasher heavy shots that are stitched together to end in exaggerated fierce posing by the combatants. There seems to be a lot of slashing around without capturing the flinch inducing violence and intensely muscular swordsmanship seen in shows like Lu Yang's Brotherhood of Blades. The two final fight scenes are powerful and much more satisfyingly executed with the right mix of violence, emotion and intensity.
This drama's ensemble cast delivers nuanced and polished portrayals of memorable characters such as Chen Chuhe's charismatic Su Mengzhen and Meng Ziyi's heart rending Lei Chun. The diversity and eccentricity of jianghu's denizens from the flamboyant Fang Yingkan, the staunch and astute Yang Wuxie, the hilariously coquettish Zhao Xiaoyao , the fanatical Lei Mei , the wily Lei Sun and the enigmatic Di Feijing anchors this wuxia. Naturally the performances of the three young idol actors who represent the next generation of martial artists, suffers by comparison in such formidable company. While both Zeng Shunxi's Wang Xiaoshi and Liu Yuning's Bai Choufei struggle visibly in more complicated scenes, they deliver credible performances overall. Besides, Bai Choufei is a difficult role that would challenge many seasoned actors. As for Yang Chaoyue, her acting mantra must be "when in doubt, just pout" because besides crying, that is what she does best in every scene. Even though Wen Rou is a superfluous and archetypal character, she has many well written comedic moments with the advisor that disappointingly fall flat in execution. I won't lie, the idol actors failed to convince me of any of their relationships or make me care much for them. I find Su Mengzhen's bond with Yang Wuxie far more compelling than Wang Xiaoshi's with Bai Choufei.
The story opens with the young and decent Wang Xiaoshi's first foray into jianghu, tasked by his shifu to deliver a mysterious box to Su Mengzhen, the young master of the House of Golden Wind Drizzle (House Drizzle). Along the way he forms a fast friendship with the deadly and ambitious Bai Choufei and the well-born, pouty and marriage evading Wen Rou. Together, they head to the capital, seeking fame, fortune and adventure. Near the city, Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Choufei save Su Mengzhen from an ambush and the three become sworn brothers. Thus they find themselves allied with House Drizzle and pitted against their arch-rivals, the Six-Half Hall. The high-minded and valiant do-gooders are drawn to House Drizzle while the less scrupulous, commercial and profit minded converge at Six-Half Hall. There are formidable martial artists and yes, heroes at both sects; neither is completely good or bad they simply live by different ideologies.
All too soon, it becomes clear that Bai Choufei's unrestrained ambition and world view is incompatible with that of Su Mengzhen and House Drizzle. This man has a massive chip on his shoulder and his ambition tragically exceeds his ability. Thus his bottom line is flexible and he is willing to get what he wants by fair means or foul making him better suited towards Six-Half Hall. His desire for Lei Chun, a woman who only has eyes for Su Mengzhen, further fans the flames of his resentment. It is inevitable that Bai Choufei succumbs to his worst instincts to become the kind villain I love to hate; one that I can ultimately somewhat empathize with and understand. Sadly, this is where the screenwriter inexplicably decides to whitewash Bai Choufei and rob him of his free will. What follows is one of the worst character assassinations ever. Bai Choufei, a strong minded, unapologetically ambitious and arrogant character is reduced to a mentally unstable puppet of a corrupt government official. He becomes so unhinged, despicable and pathetic that he is little more than a rabid dog that has to be put down. What a waste. None of the other villains really step up; both Thirteen Doom and Fang Yingkan had potential but are too cursorily dealt with at the end and their motives and some of their actions not satisfactorily explained. That said, Thirteen Doom will always be a bit of a hero to me just for gagging Wen Rou.
The ending bloodbath between the sworn brothers is predictable and inevitable. At this point, Li Muge gives in to his love for melodrama and sprays dogs blood over everything with wild abandon. I was nonplussed at the tragicomic drawn out twitching after going splat death scene that eventually just made me laugh. I expected Su Mengzhen to play a more active role in the finale but his decision was already foreshadowed. He explains himself with his parting words 独立三边静 轻生一剑知 which Tencent simply translated as "The fearless brings peace for many but dies a death that's lonely." Those are incredibly fitting parting words for Su Mengzhen that those who love him can understand and must accept. It is actually a beautiful, famous ancient Tang poem with deep meaning that I will hide in a spoiler in the comment section of this review. The ending was good albeit overly melodramatic for my taste.
Which comes back to the conversation about heroes or 英雄/yīngxióng. When all is said and done, a hero does not have to fit the conventional wuxia hero in terms of righteousness or chivalry. It is enough that they are true to their own ideals and thus the hero of their own story. For me, Di Feijing is unambiguously the hero of this story. In his own way, he is no less chivalrous than Su Mengzhen and between them, they maintained a stable balance of power in the capital. He is the one character that is consistently true to his ideals and lives to protect those he loves. I find his chemistry with Lei Chun to be the most natural and moving in the drama. He is the only character who truly and only loved Lei Chun. Tragically Su Mengzhen is the only one that Lei Chun loved even though he did not love her quite as intensely or as selflessly as Di Feijing did. They are the three characters I cared the most about in this drama. I still don't forgive Li Muge for short changing me of Di Feijing's and to a lesser extent, Thirteen Doom's ending combat scenes. It is not enough for me to know that justice is served, I wanted to see it happen. As for Wang Xiaoshi, he is at best a work in progress. Even though he did his best to fix things, he also ineptly set in motion many of the events that led to among other things, Lei Sun's downfall which snowballed into this giant, tragic mess. If he is a hero, we don't need another hero. In any case, as Lei Chun discovered, heroes are not there when you most need them. Best be your own hero.
I have very mixed feelings about this drama. I think I am mostly disappointed because it could have been so much more had the scriptwriter and the director stuck with the novel and not succumbed to whitewashing and dogs blood melodrama. Thanks to the substance and depth of the original works however, it still a good watch if for nothing else, the stunning aesthetics. This feels like a 7.5/10 for me but I bumped it up to an 8.0 because Di Feijing (Yang Tong) is such an unforgettable character, he stole the show as far as I am concerned.
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Beware: Sexual Assaults Uncut
Yes, this drama consists of some sexual assault scenes of one of the main characters, and viewers be warned to decide if you want to pursue this story or not. It's very rare to have a Chinese costume drama that has the women being violated. Nonetheless, aside from those rather upsetting scenes, the overall drama is consistent with how wuxia dramas generally play out: adventure packed, revenge, pride, justice, brotherhood, friendship, self-sacrifice etc.Wang Xiaoshi (Zeng Shun Xi aka Joseph Zeng) leaves the mountains where he lives, and begins his journey of exploring the world. He meets Wen Rou (Yang Chaoyue) and Bai Choufei (Liu Yuning) and they become best friends and travel together. Wang Xiaoshi is upstanding, easy going, truthful, kind, positive and always sees the best in another person, whereas Bai Choufei is ambitious, ambiguous, cruel and has a shade of darkness around him. As Wang Xiaoshi just wants to see the world, Bai Choufei wants to make a name for himself. Just as they are going from places to places, they unwittingly embroil in the politics of “jiangfu” and meet Su Mengzhen (Chen Chuhe aka Baron Chen) who is the leader of the House of Sunset Drizzle, a powerful upstanding organization helping jiangfu by bringing justice to the poor and weak. Su Mengzhen is sickly and he needs talents to help him. The three men become sworn brothers and vow to stand by each other. However, as the story unfolds, Bai Choufei becomes dissatisfied to come under Su Mengzhen and he strays; he wants to be the number one.
I really like Joseph Zeng. He has an irresistible charisma that attracts viewers. As Wang Xiaoshi, he has really brought alive the character as a positive and unsuspecting personality, and later becomes mature and solemn. His transformation is great and Joseph Zeng has successfully executed the role convincingly. He is a wonderful actor.
Liu Yuning’s acting is equally amazing, from a cold, rather selfish character, to a half crazy, power-crazed lunatic, Liu Yuning has had a great performance. Every snicker he makes sends chills down my spine, that’s how good he is.
Chen Chuhe’s Su Mengzhen is painful to watch. Every time he coughs, my heart goes out to him. Despite being sickly all the time, his character is strong and amazing to watch when he fights. The acting is simply authentic and convincing.
Though she doesn’t, every time when Wen Rou is around, I dread she messes up other people’s plans. Yang Chaoyue’s acting here is a lot better than she was in Dance of the Phoenix and I hope she continues improving her acting skills.
My Verdict
This is a through and through wuxia drama. However, the screen writing is less than desirable with rather childish logic at times, multiple plot holes and tons of inconsistencies. This is supposed to be a story about brotherhood, that's why Wang Xiaoshi is guarding so protectively over their relationship, and that's why he's so devastated when he loses his brothers. The script writing has not really brought out the brotherhood essence strong enough but just bypassing it. What an opportunity lost. The story can get very slow as the love triangle develops, and the replacement of the “lou zhu” at the end feels very random. As in most Chinese costume dramas, almost all the characters that appear at the beginning of the story perish by the end. Having said that, the wirefu acting, martial art sword fighting are all very well executed and convincing.
All these shortcomings become trivial as we dwell deeper into the message of the story: it questions the purpose of life, the difference between living and surviving; it advocates for freedom of ideologies, and denounces authoritarianism; it is very political. The story seems parallel to today’s world in politics: power blinds as in Bai Choufei; government corruptions hurting its own people as in Prime Minister Cai (Lo Ka Leung). And we need heroes like Wang Xiaoshi and Su Mengzhen to clean up the rot, one by one.
This is a great drama for wuxia fans. Great watch!
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This review may contain spoilers
Will the REAL Hero Please Stand Up!
This was the first real wuxia drama (not a romance) I have ever seen and I've always been very interested in what a traditional wuxia would be like. Because every drama is marketed as one but really isn't. Other than that, I was watching primarily for Liu Yu Ning and secondarily for Meng Zi Yi as they're two people that I follow. I also knew of Joseph Zeng from previous works. As I'm not a novel reader, I can only review from a viewer's prospective.Pros: My favorite character was Su Meng Zhen, followed closely by DFJ because both were complex albeit totally different characters. One was righteous from the moment he appeared on screen to the last breath he took while the other was very morally grey but fiercely loyal to his loved ones and went out like a champ on his own terms. I loved the brotherhood when it was formed and all those at Sunset House that surrounded them. Just about every character was complex and evolved in their own way; some took longer then others.
The story was more dark though they definitely had their happy moments. The fight scenes that were shown were pretty good though I wish there were more of them. Another fantastic point that many dramas fail to do is gradually introduce characters so the audience can understand what their purpose is. More often then not, characters are thrown in and no one remembers their names or why they're there, but here it was a very nice and even keeled introduction of each.
LC played by MZY was done fantastically; she went from sheltered flower to losing just about everything and everyone she had ever known overnight. She had to grow up fast and figure out how to survive without losing every part of her soul. She never gave up on SMZ until the end and left with him in a sense. Their love was just that strong. XY was another terrific female character; the woman wore many faces but she had a strong iron will and loyalty. Plus a much more realistic connection/chemistry with the ML than the FL. Other favorite characters were SMZ's advisor Wu Xie and other members of Sunset House, WXS' Master, the guys from the North like Big Beard, official Liu, and Martial Uncle Zhang.
The lead of the drama was a younger version of SMZ but it took him a while to grow into his own. Still, WXS did end up being one of the heroes of the series as the writers wanted him to be. For me, personally though, though he was a hero he wasn't THE hero, that title would have to go to both SMZ and DFJ as together they made the perfect hero. But that's just my personal opinion.
Now, to the man for whom I was watching this series; BCF was a great character in the beginning. He never hid his ambitions nor his true intentions. The problem was that everyone around him chose to ignore them or thought they could change him. When he whiplashed into a complete maniacal nutcase (that I'll talk about below), LYN was still very convincing as one so I cannot stick him into the cons, though I do wish it was done totally differently.
I really loved the OSTs, they were incredibly powerful especially the hard rock one and the one sung by LYN and Joseph. Costumes, sets, all of that was very detailed and beautiful. The ending was a complete surprise from what I had expected and for once I actually didn't look at spoilers before watching. But even though it wasn't a blood bath or a copout like many different sides theorized, I actually do like the way it ended; I'm glad every evildoer got their comeuppance even though some took it upon themselves to finish the job. But the flashback to all characters come and gone as the group of travelers ride through mountains and waterways was a very nice touch to the end. And even the person coming to run Sunset House, made the right kind of sense.
Cons: Let's start by saying that hair department was smoking something heavy because most of the leads and some of the support ended up looking like animal control K9s; it was a hot mess and looked absolutely horrible. Truly wish they had just kept things typical costume drama simple and didn't need to over complicate things with some avant-garde Westminster applicant do. If they wanted to show that a character had matured or changed, a simple edition of an extra braid down the back or something like that would have sufficed. It just made the person look comical and it threw the entire look off.
Whatever the hair department was smoking rubbed off on the screenwriter because she turned a great potential villain into a nut job. Now while LYN did a great job playing the nut job, he could have just as well been given an actual villain to play. That's why I solely blame the screenwriter for this unmitigated debacle that took the majority of the score away from this drama. Furthermore, instead of gradually developing him, the switch was flipped and he just lost all of his humanity. There was no rhyme or reason for how or why it happened so quickly and this was done within the last 8-10 episodes; the excuse was flimsy and didn't hold much water. Afterwards, when he was on screen be it for his bizarre as hell wedding or killing innocent people out of spite while he would cackle maniacally (that evil cackle belongs only in witches in Halloween shops, not dramas), felt like a completely different series. How can an antagonist with so much potential be so epically screwed up?
If that wasn't bad enough, we had an FL that spent more than half of the series pouting, crying, whining like a self-entitled spoiled brat. Most of her scenes up until the time she and WXS got married I had to ffw. I questioned the necessity of even having her in the series because it was about a sworn brotherhood after all. Every other woman was there as needed and powerful and this character was almost like an afterthought. Even when she was helping save WXS' life, it was like if she just kept quiet, things were a zillion times better. If she wasn't in the scene or episode, she wasn't missed in the slightest. Even in the last episode when SMZ got his wish and died, everyone was crying and it was such a raw, powerful moment and yet as soon as she opened her mouth to pitifully cry, it made one cringe because it sounded like one of those windup old dolls. Why couldn't she just cry silently like XY was doing? WXS was howling with grief as was Wu Xie and they deserved to do so. By letting us hear that baby-cry in such an overwhelming moment was a real shame.
Slimy playboy dude was a real psychopathic villain; the trouble with him was that he spent too much time talking and bragging though his depravity was evident until his dying breath just like Hannibal Lecter and his brother. It was also obvious that he was the rapist from the moment it happened. I stick him in the cons because though he ended up being the most disgusting villain that everyone hated, he still didn't have enough proper screen time to showcase who he was. It was like he had multiple personality disorder but even he didn't understand it. Also really wish the battle between him and DFJ was shown. That was a real miss by production. I understand their whole thing was to make WXS be the "hero" to kill slimy playboy dude in order to get the paper, but the majority of the damage done to him was by DFJ and we, as the audience, deserved to see it. A lot of fight scenes were either copouts or just not shown. I'm going to guess that it's because production didn't have a large budget but they could have definitely figured out a way around that since this was a wuxia after all.
Would I recommend it? For novel readers, probably not because there's a heavy diversion and not a lot of cohesion between the two. But for people who like wuxias, have never seen one, like a story of brotherhood that goes wrong, I would. This was my most anticipated drama of the year and though it had a lot of pitfalls and massive shortcomings, I still enjoyed it very much and therefore have no regrets.
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A true Wuxia hero
Wang Xiaoshi is such a great, classic hero of the Wuxia genre: pure, selfless, moral and righteous. Joseph Zeng does a solid job portraying his earnestness in the beginning, his sense of duty and justice later, and the pain that comes with the losses and sacrifices encountered by all the greatest Jianghu heroes.The heart (and heartbreak) of this story is in the bond between the three sworn brothers. Romance is secondary, maybe even tertiary. The female lead is admittedly pretty underdeveloped as a character, but she is not the main focus (to me, she is almost a supporting character, with the 2nd and perhaps even the 3rd FLs carrying more weight). Despite that, and despite her seemingly fluffy and somewhat spoiled personality, I still found her quite likable and very sensible. It's a healthy and supportive relationship with no annoying misunderstandings.
Like most Wuxia stories, our main character is but one of a large ensemble cast of important supporting characters who get a ton of screen time (but not in a boring, draggy way, IMHO): friends, family, respected elders, and powerful villains. Some are simple and somewhat one-dimentional, while others are compelling and intriguing from the moment they are introduced. Yang Tong, especially, is perfectly cast as the mysterious and complicated Di Feijing, and definitely a favourite. I'd love to see him in more leading roles. This is also my first period drama with Baron Chen, who was great as a revered hero and martial arts master within the Jianghu world.
I haven't read the novel, so I have no source material to compare it to. On it's own, I found Heroes to actually be one of the better Wuxia dramas I've seen, especially recently. It is visually well done, and the actors convincingly pulled off the respectable martial arts choreography. Nothing more distracting than obvious wirework and overdone slow-mo-fast-zoom effects! There is a bit of unevenness in the storytelling and some of the character developments, but in my view, none of it is as messy, convoluted or hackneyed as some have suggested. I have a Gold Standard for egregiously butchered storytelling and endings, and this one doesn't even come close! While it won't be high on my rewatch list, it was still worth my time. Don't let the 7.8 (at the time of this writing) fool you. While imperfect, Heroes deserves a much higher rating. (It's a 6.6 on Douban, which is a lot higher than Douban scores for other dramas with much higher ratings than Heroes on MDL (5.8 for Who Rules the World, for example) , in case that helps.)
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This review may contain spoilers
Director Li's aesthetics value is praiseworthy, but the storyline had gone haywire
Just my 2 cents, each for their own thoughts....Pros:
-Beautiful colour grading which emphasizes a lot on red, suitable for the jiang hu atmosphere
-The world setting was very good, costumes are well thought of for different characters where different people have their own colours based on their personality, weapons are also uniquely created for each individuals, overall setting successfully depicted a wuxia world
-Beautiful cold location in the grassland during winter, as expected of Director Li who is famous for his beautiful sceneries
-Actresses are all beautiful, my favourite in terms of looks are Meng Ziyi who played Lei Chun and the actress who played Lei Mei
-Acting is fine across the board, with one or two exceptions, Meng Ziyi excels as Lei Chun, I haven't noticed her before
-OST is very well done
-Some nicely crafted characters such as Di Feijing and Su Meng Zhen, Di Feijing is my MVP
-Di Feijing's true brotherly love for Lei Chun, I feel it!
Cons:
-The story was interesting in the beginning and shouts 'wuxia!', but it went haywire soon
-This is a wuxia drama adapted from a wuxia novel, while the fighting is commendable for not having excessive slow-mo effect, the choreography is also not good enough. It's fine for typical action, but feels flat for a 'classical' wuxia action, besides why are some important fights skipped? I'm talking about DFJ's final fight against FYK, did Director Li forgot to bring his action choreographer to the field?
-Many things feel forced without development making it only on the surface and not deep enough, the main trio's friendship feel sudden and it feels like WR is always on the sideline, her affection with WXS also feels forced to be there instead of smoothly brewing, the three brothers brotherhood was said to be the main force for the novel but something is lacking about their bromance in this drama - it makes their ending not as impactful to me, other than that BCF turning bad feels forced too just for the sake of it
- Yang Chaoyue's acting is still weak and it didn't help that her character has the least importance in the main plot too among the main cast, she's always forgotten on the sidelines
-The romantic lines are not naturally written, as mentioned before, I feel forced
Overall, this is not a bad drama, it's still watchable especially for fans of the actors and if you miss wuxia, just keep your standards low for the plot and the wuxia choreography and it will be enjoyed better, the production values and picture quality are among the better ones in Cdrama these days, however I still feel the storyline is a bit out of control and this is coming from someone who haven't read the novel.
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I guess the main criticisms are too much talking and not showing some important duels/fights. For many, wuxia is mostly associated with fight scenes, but for me it was a big plus that not all problems in this drama are solved with the sword. This doesn't mean that there are no fights. On the contrary, there are and they are very well, very interestingly shot. However, the characters also try to use reason and heart, not just fists. As for the omission of certain fight scenes, specifically one, that fight certainly would have been spectacular, but not showing it was an aesthetically and emotionally graceful move. It also gave a bit of tension due to the uncertainty of the fate of the combatants. This is one of the elements that made this drama extraordinary.
Excellent set design, beautiful costumes, good camera work, shots that convey the atmosphere of the scenes and their tension, plus good filters, appropriate lighting and perfectly fitting music make this drama a good one to watch. The plot is okay. I personally wasn't particularly interested in it, but it's interesting and logical.
As for the acting of the main three characters, you can see that they're trying, but you can also see that they're still lacking in experience. They did a good job for their level and may become good actors sometime in the future.
My admiration and great respect went to Baron Chen as Su Meng Zhen. I have to say that the dignity, power, and prowess of his character really resonated in my perception of the drama. He was great at playing with his eyes. This actor deserves to come to the forefront because his Su Meng Zhen was absolutely perfect with all his weaknesses. Actually all the background actors were excellent, but Baron Chen was like a maestro.
Overall I have excellent impressions about this drama. It has some minor flaws but I easily forgive them. My rating grew from a 7 on the first episode to a 9. The drama is technically superbly done, beautifully aesthetically pleasing, has an interesting storyline, and a very good cast because although the main three were not perfect, they did their job. I will definitely return to this drama as it is one of the most beautiful, best shot and best acted dramas in recent years.
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The Real Hero is the Defender of the Powerless
At last, I'm done watching the complete episodes. I have enjoyed watching the martial arts performance of Baron Chen (Su Meng Zhen), Liu Yu Ning (Bai Chou Fei), and Joseph Zeng (Wang Xiao Shi). The post-production team is doing an excellent job! The lighting effects are fantastic, and martial arts performances are well choreographed. Everyone involved in this action pact drama series is well-deserved of praise and rewards. The director worked immensely his best to make the story alive on screen. Fantastic job!The only downside I have noticed from this drama is the huge missing factor of romance that safeguard the beauty of the story. Normally, you feel at times some dryness while watching and observing the plot because we're looking for the right emotions that every episode will deliver. For example, the love story of Meng Ziyi (Lei Chun) and Baron Chen (Su Meng Zhen), is a beautiful portion but lacks the intensity to hammer the viewers' emotions. In addition, the love story of Joseph Zeng (Wang Xiao Shi) and Yang Chao Yue (Wen Rou) is supposed to be an excellent way to produce a thrill but it drifts away. We don't see the flowers blooming at the end.
Love and romance are indisputable that well blended to make the story great and memorable. Yes, I agree that this drama is purely wuxia, but we live in a world that has full of expressions of love. The balance of martial arts and romance is the perfect combination to eliminate the story's dullness. However, there is no perfect drama, everyone has its pros and cons in mind. The most important you deliver the content based on its original narrative.
I've watched some previous wuxia dramas that blended well the romance and action but had a terrible ending. The "Heroes" drama sticks to its originality and uniqueness despite of criticism. The director and cast fulfill their best to what the script dictates. All positive and negative you see in this drama are based on your personal opinions. This drama fulfilled its purpose in defining the true hero.
Why? Because the story focuses more on the face of a true hero rather than the selfish ambitious hero. Evil will not thrive in this present world even how powerful they are. God will raise the humble and dethrone the proud. Therefore, the real hero is a true defender of the powerless not abusive and deceptive.
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Waste of potential
The ending was better than the sceond half of the show but this drama definitely lacked identity.Even their promotion was all wrong. They promoted this with the two male lead and the main female lead friendship but it was more about the 3 male leads being friends and enemy.
The females character were poorly handled. Main female lead had zero plot going on and second female lead had a baffling plot going on. I still don't understand what Lei Chun's rape did to her plotline. Such a wrong thing to keep from the original source. The director and writer are so stupid. They changed everything but kept the most disturbing part. Argh!!!
Overall super dissatisfied.
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Strong Wuxia theme but lacks chemistry and good fights
Completed - 8/12/2022 - 7.75“Heroes” has a very strong pugilistic world theme that is rare these days. Most recent wuxia dramas have elements of the martial arts world but then would be overshadowed by palace politics or fight for the crown. Luckily, the politics in this drama is minimal and the drama does focus on the power struggles between different sects and clans.
What I Like:
1. Overall Plot - As mentioned earlier, this drama has very minimal court politics and I like that the focus is on the struggles and the rise of our heroes. This is the primary reason I want to watch this drama because I was hoping for a true wuxia drama.
2. Smart Characters - All 5 main characters are pretty intelligent in their own ways. They don’t easily fall for others’ tricks and are oftentimes schemers themselves. I was initially worried that Wang Xiao Shi would be naive and dumb, but glad to find out that he’s just inexperienced. I have the same concerns for Wen Rou. We really don’t need another spoiled, annoying and dumb female lead. Though she was sidelined as a supporting character most of the time, at least she’s smart in her own ways, and didn’t really get into too much trouble and need saving.
3. OST - Instead of noticing the songs first, I actually was impressed with the background music this time. There’s this particular piece that sounds like a movie score. It’s beautiful and I am not sure the name of it. But whenever it’s played, the word ‘movie’ comes to my mind. I really like the BGM in “Heroes”. This drama also has several songs played throughout (and not overplayed) and I enjoy them all. My favorite song is probably 《奈何奈何》https://youtu.be/2VbFPoZgR8s
What I have Mixed feelings about:
1. Brotherhood - Plot wise, I really enjoy the brotherhood between Wang Xiao Shi, Bao Chou Fei and Su Meng Zhen. This is usually a plot that I enjoy in wuxia dramas. However, I feel that the chemistry is lacking, or there isn’t enough time spent on the development of their friendship to create such a tight bond. I did not read the novel, so maybe more time is spent on the friendship than the drama.
2. Romance: Su Meng Zhen + Lei Chun - I am usually a sucker for a tragic romance like theirs. It reminds me of the romance between Dugu Ban Ruo and Yuwen Hu in “The Legend of Dugu”. Both romances are forbidden because they were on different sides. But the chemistry between the Dugu pair was off the charts. In “Heroes”, I don’t feel any chemistry between Su Meng Zhen and Lei Chun during their secret rendez-vous in the chess house. Their quiet moments together should be loving and heartbreaking, but what I get is quiet and boring. They were much more interesting when Lei Chun changes in the latter part of the drama.
3. Su Meng Zhen and Di Fei Jing - Two of my favorite characters in this drama that are mysterious and complicated. Su Meng Zhen has the sexiest gaze but I wish he was just a little less sickly so that I could see him fight more. I wanted more screen time for them, especially for Di Fei Jing. He would have a much bigger role in the latter half of the drama, but we barely saw him. I was hoping to see his big fight with Fang Ying Kan but got nothing.
4. Acting - Decent acting all around for the main characters. I think it started a little rough in the first few episodes, but then it got better. I wasn’t sure how Liu Yu Ning would do in this role, as it’s very different from his very popular role in “The Long Ballad”. I think he did fine, but not as nuanced as he could be. Out of the 5 main leads, I’ve enjoyed Baron Chen’s role as Su Meng Zhen the most. But I think the veteran actors are the ones that shine.
5. Production quality - There are times when I noticed the weird CGI and green screens. Same goes to the set designs. But then, other times, I would think to myself that the sets are pretty nice. Either the drama’s quality is inconsistent, or I was (LOL). As much as I dislike the men’s hairstyles (see comment below), I quite like the female characters' costumes, hairstyles and accessories.
What was most disappointing:
1. Fight Scenes - This has to be my #1 disappointment. This is a wuxia drama and it comes with the expectation that there should be great fights. Our three male leads and the supporting cast are all martial arts experts. I understand if they’re fighting regular soldiers that the fights are quick and easy - one slash and you’re done. However, we don’t even see long fights between the main characters. The camera cuts away after a second or two, and adding to this, is the annoying slow-motion camera. Moreover, I was hoping to see the big fight between Fang Ying Kan and Di Fei Jing, and see how Di avenges Lei Chun. Well, we saw the aftermath but not the actual fight. The same situation happens between the two Masters.
2. Romance between Wang Xiao Shi and Wen Rou - Their romance is the most boring romance I’ve ever seen between two main characters. The drama basically tells us that they like each other, but doesn't show us how they really fall in love. There aren’t any longing gazes, fluffy scenes, or romantic banter. Their bickering seems to be between friends or siblings. The lack of chemistry and the lack of romantic development make it hard for me to like this pair, or to suffer with them.
3. Male Hairstyles - Someone in the costume department must not be feeling well. All the male characters have horrible hairstyles. Just look at the pictures and you’ll see. Thank goodness the ladies still look good.
4. Wen Rou - I wanted Wen Rou to have a more prominent role in this drama. She is not a bad character. She’s smart, brave, somewhat sensible and understanding. But she’s only always on the sidelines being a cheerleader.
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Oh My, What a Show
I had waited for this show since it started filming. I was super excited that we would see Zeng Shunxi and Liu Yuning in a drama together again after Ultimate Note. As well, I am a huge fan of Liu Yuning and I LOVE the journey he has been going on with his acting.Story: I-..do not have many words for this plot line. It was so all over the place sometimes that it left me confused. (if you know the Jackson Wang meme face from when JYP performed that was my face). The plot seemed simple in the start, three besties, encounter another bestie. And live a domestic life in the capital. When the show got dark...it got dark fast. And it remained that way. I knew nothing good was going to happen with the foreshadowing of the first scene with the storytelling in the show. I knew that Bai Choufei essentially is the villain. But that did not prepare me for the utter pain the show had. I am disappointed in the treatment of Lei Chun. I think that *scene* was a cheap way of making her a villain, even though she would be a villain with just the death of her father. I also did not like the cheap romance between WXS and WR. It felt rushed and just did not fit with the plot of the show. The show tried to force us to understand why BCF loved WSX so much, and why he hated SMZ so much but they focused so much on WXS and WR that it felt. Even in the last episode, WSX shows that he loved his brothers more then his wife. "I have nothing now" as he burns his two brothers and his sword while is wife stands behind him. I know she can not die because she was the daughter of the Wen family (by the way, a huge PLOT HOLE) but she was in a sense...useless.
Acting/Cast : I did not doubt the acting of ZSX before coming in at all. He is a fabulous actor and his wide, doe eyes really just played into the innocence of his character. I do not have enough words for LYN. I know he really downplays his acting skills since he was a singer first, but his acting towards the end of the show was insane. Not many people can do the crying while laughing while also appearing unhinged. He had so many pivotal scenes where he was alone and his acting made them amazing. I am proud of him. Chen Chuhe was someone I knew from Lost Tomb: Reunion and he did amazing in Heroes. His coughing felt so real, and you can just tell the emotions he was feeling with just his eyes. Yang Tong (Di Feijing) and Yu Bin (Yang Wuxie) were AMAZING. Every time they appeared on the screen I wanted to just hug them and give them love. They are stand out actors. Meng Ziyi in her role was effective. I am not a fan of her acting (I have never been since it feels one-note) but I did appreciate the scenes where she emoted more. But I also know this may have been a decision of the director to make her more one note, since she was the daughter of the leader. I was disappointed in Yang Chouyue. I did know anything of her before I watched the show, and I just could not handle her scenes. Her crying was not good, and I think I skipped over them a lot. She was very one note and acting wise it fell flat at times. I do know people said she was better in this role then in her past roles. The rest of the cast were great, and they pulled together the story. It was a large cast of people. But they all acted well.
Music : If you put Zeng Shunxi and Liu YuNing in a ost I will love it no matter what. The ending theme now makes me so upset because I am used to watching the show end with tears in my eyes and hearing the first couple of notes.
Rewatch : no. I will not do it. This is one of those shows that leaves you defeated. All shock value on who is who, and knowing who is still alive is gone. I might only rewatch for certain scenes but I can not see myself watching the entire show again.
Overall: It disappointed as a wuxia. With more glamour shots and cutting the fight scenes to one move. I was expecting strong fights but it did not happen. I really wanted to see the fight between Fang Yinkan and Di Feijing and I am so angry the show gave us stupid musical montages of WR and WSX all the time but not enough fight scenes. The plot was a bunch of twist and turns that let me disappointed in the end. The show is full of plot holes, and un-glamorous deaths. I know the show is called "heroes" and I think who is the hero in the end. I think only Su Mengzhen and Di Feijing are the only heroes in this story. I have thought a lot of about this show after it ended, and while I love the show, I also hate it.
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Nice treat
I like the story. It didn't deviate too far as an wuxia unlike the other one hahaha. Sorry got so very disappointed in the other one.This felt like jianghu. There is a sense of peace and mystery. I also love the hairstyles (my bias). Each character has their own style so they don't look the same. Every character is well written so far except for Wen Rou. I don't understand how she became the third lead. Su Mengzhan/ zhen or Lei Chun is even more crucial to the story.
Story is ok but fight scenes are bad too. Not well choreographed especially the first few episodes. But towards the end, it did have some improvements.
Not bad. Didn't felt cheated.
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