tenoh27
Across the East Sea
This review may contain spoilers
A fine adaptation of a classic
Story:
Twins separated at birth due to a conspiracy, and their journey of discovery and growth will unfold towards a devastating end.
Characters:
The main characters’ arcs, relationships and trajectories of growth were written very well, in my opinion. Whether one will prefer or like a character more is a matter of preference, as I think writing and arc wise, none of the characters were shortchanged too much. Having a solid base of the original novel to derive from, and willing to be faithful to it had been beneficial.
Performance:
Performances by the veterans were solid. A bit of a mixed bag when it came to the younger actors. Personally, I thought some of the casts performed better than others. Still, in terms of character portrayals, nothing much was amiss, and each was executed brilliantly.
Pacing and subplots:
Pacing and action did pick up as the show progressed, but don’t expect this to be an action flick full of mind-numbing thrills. It is not. Expect dialogues and lots of expositions, as well as detours into other subplots and mini-stories, though all will be tied up with a neat bow by the end. The hallmark of a great WuXia-cum-mystery.
Cinematography:
Beauty and prettiness permeated the whole show, and it’s an entertaining romp amongst lofty architectures and sceneries (aided by copious amount of CGI), one worthy of our imaginary JiangHu. I also found the imageries to be more realistic and seamless than the ones I saw in Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017).
Choreography:
Quite blown away by the seamless action and elegance displayed in the martial art moves in this show. Most action scenes were amazing.
The main plot of this show was one already familiar to me, and I was finally willing to give it a try because I love Hua Wu Que as a character, and was highly interested in how they will develop him and his relationships, especially with Tie Xin Lan. The knowledge that this adaptation was relatively faithful to the source material was also a major factor. Even more of a HWQ and TXL fan now than before I started.
Jiang Xiao Yu, as in all adaptations, stood out.
This was a classic tale of “heroes vs villain”, less so a “good vs evil”, as both the heroes and villains exhibited various good and bad traits. What made one a villain and hero are also ideas one needs to ponder on. Spiritual lessons, if one is receptive, also abounded. What I love about WuXia has always been the fact that at its best, it adds to that debate and understanding. This adaptation, I think, is a worthy addition to the genre. I am just glad I loved it too.
Twins separated at birth due to a conspiracy, and their journey of discovery and growth will unfold towards a devastating end.
Characters:
The main characters’ arcs, relationships and trajectories of growth were written very well, in my opinion. Whether one will prefer or like a character more is a matter of preference, as I think writing and arc wise, none of the characters were shortchanged too much. Having a solid base of the original novel to derive from, and willing to be faithful to it had been beneficial.
Performance:
Performances by the veterans were solid. A bit of a mixed bag when it came to the younger actors. Personally, I thought some of the casts performed better than others. Still, in terms of character portrayals, nothing much was amiss, and each was executed brilliantly.
Pacing and subplots:
Pacing and action did pick up as the show progressed, but don’t expect this to be an action flick full of mind-numbing thrills. It is not. Expect dialogues and lots of expositions, as well as detours into other subplots and mini-stories, though all will be tied up with a neat bow by the end. The hallmark of a great WuXia-cum-mystery.
Cinematography:
Beauty and prettiness permeated the whole show, and it’s an entertaining romp amongst lofty architectures and sceneries (aided by copious amount of CGI), one worthy of our imaginary JiangHu. I also found the imageries to be more realistic and seamless than the ones I saw in Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017).
Choreography:
Quite blown away by the seamless action and elegance displayed in the martial art moves in this show. Most action scenes were amazing.
The main plot of this show was one already familiar to me, and I was finally willing to give it a try because I love Hua Wu Que as a character, and was highly interested in how they will develop him and his relationships, especially with Tie Xin Lan. The knowledge that this adaptation was relatively faithful to the source material was also a major factor. Even more of a HWQ and TXL fan now than before I started.
Jiang Xiao Yu, as in all adaptations, stood out.
This was a classic tale of “heroes vs villain”, less so a “good vs evil”, as both the heroes and villains exhibited various good and bad traits. What made one a villain and hero are also ideas one needs to ponder on. Spiritual lessons, if one is receptive, also abounded. What I love about WuXia has always been the fact that at its best, it adds to that debate and understanding. This adaptation, I think, is a worthy addition to the genre. I am just glad I loved it too.
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