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Mixed emotion in this drama
I watch this for Zhang Jinyi because the makeup, hairstyle, clothing and filter are pretty good and it was the one the best Zhang Jinyi looks for me. The chemistry between her and Zhao Zhendong are satisfying but the plot is not for me. I remember Wang Kaimu-Ye Xinxin version which acclaimed the best adaptation is not for my liking too.First episode inexplicably froze on the scene where the FL looks at the ML , and he suddenly takes off his glasses, turns around and glances back, and there's a long slow-motion shot, which made me a little awkward. There is mismatch fact on this drama which i annoyed they want to bring 70's-90's vibe and people using smartphone? this is not fantasy drama.
Maybe fans of both actor could enjoy this drama.
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Love, money and danger in Macau
Eh, this one didn't do much for me. The drama is gorgeous : gorgeous actors, sets, costumes (her wardrobe is to die for, so elegant), even the music is good, direction is pro-level, I was taking screens all the time. They nailed the atmosphere. I like the story, it's about a rich heiress whose throne is threatened by the search for her dad's secret son in Macau (not named but it's clearly the reference), and by an arranged marriage with a lame family friend (she's in love with his older brother). She escapes to Macau, finds herself in dangerous situations in the gambling world, and gets involved with the shady mobster her dad hired to find her brother. They make a pact : he will give her some intel so she can get to her rival before her dad, while she will pose as his new girlfriend to escape the control of a powerful family who wants him as an in-law.I don't know why I was so lukewarm about it, the pacing was perfect, the hero's story was about redemption and escaping the mafia's claws, themes I adore, the drama didn't overrely on cliffhangers every two minutes to hold our attention...maybe I'm just not a big Zhang Jin Yi fan ? She's perfectly fine, even good, it's just that I didn't find she had much chemistry with Zhao Zhen Dong, she looked distracted in their scenes, not fully there, and too often I saw the actress, not the character. I'm also not sure about the way Wen Ning was written, the drama wanted her to be this powerful princess of Beijing circles out of her element in gambling dens, but truth to be told, she feels more like a brat most of the time, not really grasping the danger she's in, making impulsive decisions. Her motives and the way she wants to accomplish her goals felt very selfish, down to the way she flirts with the hero, oblivious to consequences. I guess it's supposed to be part of her charm, but I didn't find it very endearing. The fact that she's in love with her fiance's older brother does give her a bit of dimension, but it's revealed way too late to have an impact. As a result I wasn't that invested in the main romance, even if it had all the usual delicious trappings of forbidden lust (and ZZD crazy charisma). I wonder if the other versions of this plot have a better written Wen Ning, and romance. It's a shame because I love the drama's direction, subtle sensuality, and luscious visuals. A beautiful drama, but somewhat hollow.
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A better version
İ remember watching the Wang Kaimu-Ye Xinxin version of this, and I liked it very much.I remember I had a few things I didn't like the production quality and a few plot holes here and there, but I gave it a solid 8 which means I enjoyed it very much since I barely rate VDs over 7.
And this by far is a better version, I kinda disagree with everyone on this because I LOVED the chemistry and the romance here more than the other version, to be fair I only saw those two versions so I don't know about the rest, I plan to watch another two (Yao Guanyu-Hou Chengyue ver. And Wang Yige-Zhang Zilin ver. Well, If I could find the latter anywhere)
Story:
Well, the story is complex and has a lot going on, wether it's good story or not, I don't think a few hours will be enough, it needs longer episodes and larger budget, because no matter how long the version, it still has plot holes and a few things that wasn't explained well or they just dropped it altogether, I remember a few things that were explained better in the WKM-YXX version and others were explained better here, and I mean significant scenes and events.
Acting:
While I don't think the "sad and emotional" scenes were very convincing, I loved the flirty and intimate scenes, they were not explicit or anything, but I LOVED the push and pull here than in the other ver. I loved how they looked at each other, their smiles, their small gestures and little touches... Just everything, I wish I can see Zhao Zhendong and Zhang Jinyi again together in a more romantic drama because I genuinely enjoyed them together, I maybe the only one and it needn't all that excitement on my behalf but that's how much I loved them. ZZD was so good, I loved the scenes where he wanted to scare the FL and when he was holding himself back, he was just amazing.
Production was much better compared to the other version, you can clearly see that in the locations and the final product, HOWEVER one thing ruined everything for me, I literally saw the camera or part of it in 4 scenes... IN 4 SCENES!!! One, I'll call it a mistake, but 4?? That's just someone being lazy doing his job.
Aside from that, hair make up clothes, all is ok, nothing to write home about.
Final thought, the story has a lot going on so if you don't like the story you won't enjoy it as much, but personally I believe this is the better version, I don't know yet if it's the BEST but for now it's the better.
I may (may not) edit this review after watching the other two to say which is my favourite.
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