This military drama killed it, as did Yang Yang

Glory of Special Forces opens with a bang with a team of 7 elite soldiers mounting an assault on a drug lord’s stronghold. Bullets and grenades are flying fast and furious in all directions as the soldiers’ attack are met with fierce opposition. The scene cuts to protagonist Yan Po Yue [YPY] as he takes a hit and plummets into the water. The sequence ends; the next time we meet YPY again he is entering the military academy as a recruit. The bulk of the drama charts YPY’s journey as an arrogant, selfish man-child who transforms into a first-rate soldier through grit and determination.
From the onset, drama creates a military training setup that is expansive, realistic and gritty — the sense of being in a war zone and getting caught in cross-fire gave viewers those ‘oh-sh**’ moments. As for the training that the soldiers must undergo, there is no let-up in pacing as the soldiers are relentlessly challenged and tested. Only the best, in terms of physicality and aptitude are accepted; and of course, that includes not pissing off your commanding officer. And that’s where YPY finds himself, constantly at odds with his superiors.
About Yang Yang who plays YPY. In here, he’s shed his pretty boy image, and turned in a performance that’s committed, believable, even psychotic at one point. No easy task since this role appears to be more emotionally and physically demanding than his previous ones. Seeing him scaled walls, traversed hard terrains, and dodged bullets made viewers cheered him on. We wanted him to succeed however hard the tasks were, and however much he was side-lined by his superiors.
The world of YPY would have been one dimensional if the director had just trained the spotlight on Yang Yang. Accompanying him is a supporting cast that’s strong and effective in adding layers to the story and YPY’s character. The perfect foil for the stiff and stubborn YPY is platoon mate Wu Xiao Tian, played by actor Jiang Long. Previously seen in The King’s Avatar as funny motormouth Huang Shao Tian, Wu Xiao Tian is wonderfully irreverent, cowardly and in the end, a much-needed catalyst that transformed YPY. Actress Jiang Lu Xia’s turn as sharpshooter Guo Xiao Xiao is brilliant and her pain become ours as we watched her struggle to accept her friend’s death. Unfortunately, lead actress Li Yi Tong’s role as Captain Ai Qian Xue is less effective, and didn’t come across as being relevant to the plot. At best, she’s an attractive injection in a testosterone-filled military environment.
As with most military genre, jingoism as subtext is inevitable. But the director has deftly tempered it with powerful action sequences and tight storytelling. Its annoyance quotient is nothing compared to watching non-Chinese actors bombed at carrying out a simple English dialogue. Perhaps they've run out of budget to hire someone to edit those lines.
Overall, this is a rare instance where I didn’t fast-forward a 40-odd episode drama to catch the best moments. I stayed throughout to watch a protagonist’s simple quest to be the best, and the love of brotherhood that helped him achieve that quest. And yes, those ‘oh-sh**’ action sequences were one of the best hooks in TV-drama land.

Read More

10 Best in Show

I was going to write a review and thought better of it as reviewers like PeachBlossomGoddess and HealerHanzi have done a fab job of it . So here are my 10 reasons why Sword Snow Stride is one of my fave dramas of 2021.
10. Best Arm Candy. Period. Cat with pure white fur coat had no function other than to appear on the arm of Yu You Wei [Princess Jiang Ni’s companion]. Cat also takes “Best Bosom Buddy” title. I hope they paid the animal handlers handsomely!
9. Best Mineral Water. Wang Chong Luo and Hong Xi Xiang taking a piss in mountains…guess where it goes…
8. Best Lashes. The envy of every woman — thick eye lashes that beckons — and my oh my, the director had to plaster it on Pu-Sa, the mythical tiger.
7. Best Skincare Model yet. Ok, Jiang Ni [Teresa Li] the princess didn’t seem to endear herself to viewers in the discussion thread, but her skin, her skin! That radiance, when she beamed at XFN, puts SKII models to shame. Someone, please, sign her up already.
6. Best Sword Scene. It’s the Matrix, but in Chinese.
5. Best Groom. Lao Huang — “Old Yeller” — gone too soon.
4: Best Dirty Old Man: Li Chun Gang. Drama has the god of sword picking his nose, and his toes. Dude does not care. Neither do viewers mind, I guess.
3. Best Line: 我还是一个孩子. Finn Han [Zhao Xuan Su] — same precocious kid in Joy of Life — uttering that same line in JoL. Those of us who grew up watching wuxia dramas, the kid in us never left — we still love the genre.
2. Best Dad: Hu Jun, the tragic antihero in Ever Night, who did evil for the love of country and family, drops the nefarious role and plays Xu Xiao, the ultimate political schemer and pussy-whipped dad all at the same time. Salute.
1. Best Procrastinator. Zhang Ruo Yun. He started really late into the sword-learning game. But dude is late for other appointments as well! Like, when can we have season 2 of SSS? Don’t forget we are still waiting for JoL 2.

Read More