Love Me If You Dare (2015)

CRIME FANS UNITE. HORRIFIC CRIMES IN AN ASIAN DRAMA? SIGN ME UP. TO WATCH. NOT TO DIE. PLEASE.

This was made six years ago, yet I've never watched any c-dramas like this. This is my first taste of a Mandarin c-drama with crime, horror, thrills, action and romance. Back when I was younger, I loved Hong Kong crime dramas. They were literally my childhood. I thought China usually stayed away from gritty things, but this drama completely proved me wrong. I never watch Asian crime dramas, but I always watch western crime shows. This was like both worlds coming together.

Yeah, it's been sitting on my "to watch" list for a while, I know. Do I regret letting it sit for so long? Yeah. I seem to let thrillers sit for way too long... *cough cough* like I did with Flower of Evil. I really should watch more of these. So far I'm two-for-two though!

This seriously is a hidden gem. Nice amount of everything. It'll make you smile. It'll make you cry. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you die. Well, I didn't mean for the rhyme, but you know what I mean. So many emotions. Even if you're not into this drama—I'll give this a recommendation. You'd be a fool to not at least try.

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How twisted do you have to be to profile twisted minds?

If I was just grading the plot on the first 2/3s or so, I would give the story a 9.5

On the surface Simon Bo, brilliant, troubled psychological talent from a wealthy, well-connected family, has nothing in common with Jenny Jian, a sweet gifted university student. But it turns out that they have complimentary talents - Simon Bo can get into the head of perpetrators, while Jenny Jian has a talent for getting into the heads of victims and their families.

But as the plot takes off in the second half, Jenny Jian largely gets left behind and the case gets increasingly convoluted and absurd.

The acting is top notch, I never even felt like the main characters or secondary characters were 'acting.' The old friendship between Simon and Fu Ziyu, and Jenny and Li Xunrun are realistic, friendly and comfortable. The tension and relationship between Simon and Jenny is slow moving while becoming increasingly more familiar. For all the seriousness, there are lighthearted moments and joy between the two.

The music is competent and works to set the mood. It doesn't have to much rewatch potential - as a lot of the tensions come from the mystery elements.

Complex Themes -9
(Where is the line between understanding the enemy and becoming him? What is your responsibility to use your talents for the greater good and at what cost? The show leaves a lot of this open ended but does explore it in detail)
Character Growth -8
(Jenny grows a lot over the first 2/3s of the series, as she learns her own strength and grapples with evil/horrors that can exist in the world. Simon Bo doesn't grow as much but softens a bit and becomes a bit more humble as well - but unfortunately as the plot gets more chaotic their growth/development stalls out)
Nuanced Women -6
(Jenny is really nuanced but she is practically the only female character who isn't just there to move the plot forward (the other two female characters being a US gov't agent and Simon Bo's sister)
Cinematography/Production Values -7
(Lots of filming in the real world, and good camera work. Costumes/settings etc. are competent. Major negatives for not recognising their limitations and attempting to set part of the show in the United States whilst not finding competent actors).

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I absolutely loved this series!! Wallace Huo was amazing in this. I've always loved his performances and he didn't disapoint me this time. The storyline for this series was well written and the casts made stunning performances to bring everything to life. The plot was edgy and intriguing. There was a lot of suspense in each episode with each case. It wasn't predictable at all and I was usually surprised. I also loved the supporting characters as well they were funny but they also had really good roles to play and I felt that the romance of the main characters didn't overtake the main plot or the cases that they were on.  

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Don't see this if you have read the book. Like every book adaptation, the show made amends. They changed the script a lot from what that was in the original story. Still the story depicted here is great. It was a little annoying for me at parts because I had already read the book and things are very different. But if you haven't read the book then it is really great. The actors did a really nice job. The personalities of the character were shown amazingly. ML's acting is too good, not to mention that he is extremely handsome ????. FL's acting is great too. But I still can't understand how does all the American in this show understand Chinese. That is a bigger mystery than the flower cannibal's identity????.

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I started watching this drama in between two 50+ episode Chinese historical period dramas and finished it in just a few days. Love Me If You Dare has been on my watch list for a while ever since it showed up on my recommendations after watching the drama Hello Monster. When I first started watching this drama, it gave me Sherlock vibes. The two main characters go around solving cases that initially seem to not connect. However, later on it is revealed that in fact all the cases that they have been solving have that common red thread that ultimately lead to the villain (just like Sherlock). Speaking of the villain, there is always a question as to WHO the villain really is. This question is consistent between all episodes and stays there until the very last one. If you like suspense dramas that focus on all the right elements and not things like love triangles and misunderstandings between the lead couple, THIS is the drama for you. I will not lie and say that there weren't parts where I was kind of bored and skipped a little to get back to the meat of the plot. However, these skips were few and far between. Personally, I do wish that there were a few more romantic scenes between Simon and Jenny as they had such great chemistry. However, the few scenes that they did have were really cute and romantic. The music was alright. It did its job and didn't distract the viewers from the story which was good. I will say that after watching this drama, I'm going to need to watch a comedy or something light and fluffy to recover. Overall, the drama didn't drag along too much and the episode length was a good one.

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Typical “criminal minds” series with a remarkable Wallace Huo

PLOT: the ML, a brilliant but tortured profiler, meets the FL who will become his assistant. Together they will solve cases and fight against twisted and evil criminals (of whom the ML is the target).

PROS:
+ excellent actors (Wallace Huo, Wang Kai, Sandra Ma, etc.)
+Efficient and rapid execution
+ Permanent suspense
+Excellent OST (well suited to the scenes)

CONS:
- some rather violent scenes
- the part located in the USA is not always credible, in particular the way of proceeding and the weight of the FBI
- Villains a little too Machiavellian and sophisticated to be realistic criminals.

=> Excellent series, which keeps the viewer glued to the screen.
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Série type "esprits criminels" avec un Wallace Huo remarquable

PLOT: le ML, un profiler génial, mais torturé, rencontre la FL qui va devenir son assistante. Ensemble ils vont résoudre des cas et lutter contre des criminels tordus et diaboliques (dont le ML est la cible).

PROS:
+ excellents acteurs (Wallace Huo, Wang Kai, Sandra Ma, etc.)
+Réalisation efficace et rapide
+ Suspense permanent
+Excellents OST (well suited to the scenes)

CONS:
- quelques scènes assez violentes
- la partie située aux USA n'est pas toujours crédible, notamment la façon de procéder et le poids du FBI
- Villains un peu trop machiavéliques et sophistiqués pour être des criminels réalistes.

=> Excellente série, qui tient le spectateur collé à l'écran.

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This starts off really atmospheric as we meet the main characters. Then the story goes into a couple of cases and then things get really twisted as matters get complicated and personal.

I really enjoyed the ensemble parts of this with the three main leads. All of them play their roles well and are a lot of fun. The super complicated second half with the big serial killer was a bit too much for me when I really wanted them to get back to the characters and less on the story. I like Wallace and Sandra so I was hoping the end story would also include them more, but it’s really plot focused.

People who love crime thrillers will undoubtedly like the second half more than I did.

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I think the main couple matched each other quite well because because the man is rather cold and the women is warm. In my opinion they match each other also quite well from their looks. From the first episode on I was so into the story that I didn't even want to stop it.
Up to now I've watched it over 4 times and I plan to watch it again soon because it was so nerve wrecking and I felt like this drama was real because the actors did such a great job with their acting. I also liked the mysterious part of the drama and also that you're able to think with them and also make your own thoughts about who the murderer is.

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Simply Brilliant!!!

Should you? Would you? Could you?

You should watch this one (YES! )
You would recommend this to others. (YES!)
You could watch this again. (Depends!)
Ending: Happy

This drama depicts the perfect balance of romance and mystery. What a great psychological thriller this turned out to be! One of the best I have seen. The performances by everyone are top-notch. The only disappointing factor for me was the revelation of the main villain but that's because I was expecting it to be someone else (duh, me). The lead pair is awesome. They share brilliant on-screen chemistry. I just love the fact that she has unwavering faith in him and vice versa. You cannot sit still from episode 18 onwards. It takes what a fab turn! The mystery is just brilliantly depicted.

Don't miss this one. It should be a must-see on everyone's list.

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This was a great show with some minor annoying and bad parts. Here is my detailed review:

The good:
It makes you addicted! After watching the first episode I got immediately hooked and literally couldn't stop watching, I stayed up all night just to finish it. The story is exciting, there are separate cases in the beginning while in the end we have one big case with an ultimate villain.
The acting of the main actors are also very good Wallace Huo never fails to deliver a complex personality and multi-layered character. Jabber Xie Han crazy character is also very interesting to watch, and Fu Zi Yu is the perfect side kick best friend character, super smart and funny. Andy the car is one of the best characters as well!
The music is superb, really helps to create the atmosphere of the show.
I loved the references to the Sherlock and Knight Rider and I even got a hint of Poirot in the show.

The bad:
The American actors were awful, except for dr Barnes. I don't exactly get why a native English speaker talks like a robot, I found their slow placed way of speaking to the Chinese characters offensive, it sounded like they were force-explain things to 5 years old and expect they won't understand a thing. It sounded very UNNATURAL! Susan was semi-bearable but the actress seemed to not be able to decide whether she wants to play a flirty hot blonde or a professional FBI agent. Also can't really get the scenes where they talk in English and the Chinese actors reply in Chinese? Like wtf, how does that make sense?
I loved Jian Yao character first, she is smart and brave, and a challenging character for Wallace Huo. However after mid-season, Sandra Ma started speaking in a very hollow voice, (as in the voice someone uses when they are on their death bed, high and overly soft), this annoyed me sooo much, she also had soo much crying scenes, her character was literally useless in the second half of the series. The only shining point was that she did act again smart and brave when she was abducted but that is all.
There are some useless overdramatizing in the show, what I mean is without giving spoilers is the continuous question of who is behind the crimes. The very last scene just simply pissed me off, it was unnecessary, the typical "we are shooting a horror so let's put a cliffhanger scene in the end so people can get confused what really happened. WHY??? There is no need for useless hints and such.

All in all I very much enjoyed the show, especially the first half. I preferred the individual cases ad the series had a bit of downfall after they started focusing on the main villain arch. The acting was mixed, the main chinese actors were good, the secondary characters especially the English speakers were horrible. Still the story was exciting enough to keep me watching, so all in all this is a very well delivered show with some annoying details.

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