After reading a lot of negative reviews about this drama, I decided to give it a go and create my own opinion.
The scripts about this sad period in China are always filled with pain, disagreements and struggles (which are usually not victorious). Although the director emphasizes the protagonist's romance, the basis of the drama was not romance, but a man's responsibility to defend his people and his country against a heinous aggressor. Dramas about the republic period, when at least one of the likeable characters survives, is already a big victory.
The script could be more of the same for those who are used to this segment of drama, but the screenwriter decided to innovate by creating an absolutely idiotic female protagonist (if it weren't for the character of Xiao Bei Chen, who was truly in love with her, I would have rooted for her if go wrong, because the level of stupidity of this character is odd). After more than thirthy chapters, the stupid character becomes someone super smart. Pff! this change made the female protagonist even less likable, but actress Chen Du Ling composed this difficult character, in all its phases, in a satisfactory way.
The screenwriter created several detestable characters and with varying levels of cruelty, but the real villain is not any character on the scene, but the greedy imperialism that wanted to dominate a Nation. The script also features many lovable characters and a lot of emotion in the farewell to each of them.
The cast performed extremely well. The protagonist Shawn Dou, as in all his works, had a consistent performance. Leon Lai is that supporting character (with enough charisma to be a protagonist), who always draws attention with the naturalness of his interpretation.
It's not the best story and it's far from an excellent drama, but within the context of the writer's chosen era, it's quite acceptable. The direction made mistakes in the editing, forgot to age the actors (the takes place over several years, but most of the actors have not visual modification), but managed to produce good scenes, thanks to the acting ability of the cast . In my opinion, one of the best scenes is the goodbye to that chaotic world of the master character Zhao, lived by the actor Yao An Lian. He was a minor supporting actor throughout the drama, but at the critical moment, he led the opera's actors and ended his participation in with a beautiful message of friendship and devotion to Bei Chen.
The open ending as the directors' choice is really not the most pleasant, but each one can let their imagination travel towards the outcome that suits them best.
The costumes are adequate and the is good soundtrack.