Love of Thousand Years (2020)

Before I go into the review of this series. I have to absolutely express my frustration and irritation towards the directors or those people who pick the casts. Whoever thought it was a bright idea to change the initial female lead did not do the show any favor. Rosy Zhao is a great actress but seriously. For the cast change simply to have a familiar face (maybe for publicity) I can’t give it a perfect rating especially since I feel the first actress would have been a better fit. So far Rosy Zhao has been in mostly romantic comedies. Her acting is sweet and unique but I don’t feel she was not suited for this.
They change the initial female lead due to script saying she change her appearance. First of all, there are so many shows that have characters change their appearance but actually keep their same face.
Our initial female lead is clearly a new young actress but appears to be a superb actress who did an amazing job portraying herself as a princess in every aspect. Her demeanor, appearance, character, communication and expression were flawless. I know whatever she stars in she’ll be great. .

Now to the review:
The show starts out at a really decent pace. Episode one was full of mystery and action but by episode two things somewhat slow down quite a bit and it becomes somewhat slow. What I like most so far about this series is that it appears to be about loyalty, and friendship and love. The character development was good.
WhatI did not like about the series is that at times it can be a bit slow and sometimes the male lead was just too suggestive. Fights scenes were unimpressive. The ending was cliff hanger and didn’t make sense.

If you’re looking for romantic comedy this is not it.
if you were looking for a historical drama you may like this one.
If you’re looking for a happily ever after you may not want to watch it although it is not awful.
If you’re looking for something overly romantic I don’t know what to tell you.

Overall decent show. Not a rewatch for me though.

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I don’t hate it but I don’t love it

Nothing wrong with the acting, the leads are great, supporting cast did their thing. The story or perhaps the execution, Mehhh!

I just really couldn’t get into the story. Lots of unnecessary things going on or a few episodes could of been condensed into one. It felt drawn out and stale. I’m a Lusi fan so I felt inclined to finish it even though I was struggling to keep interested. I ended up skipping episodes and just jumped to 29 and 30. I even skipped the romantic scenes. That’s how frustrated and disinterested I became.

With that said,. This series could be your cup of tea. It just wasn’t mine. But give it a go, maybe 5 episodes and see if it’s for you.

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Drama with beautiful OST.

This drama is really beautiful and full of magic. The shot, espicially until the first 10 episodes (imo) are lovely and i feel like watching movie. The color and setting, also CGI don’t bother me much from enjoying the drama.

The selling point of the drama is absolutely ZYC (male lead). Something about his acting really make me fell for his charm and he can carry off of different type of characters to live (as Hao Mei in love2o2, Xue Yao in sleepless princess). He is not just pretty face, but he can act. Also, he has a deep and low voice that i as a viewer, really love (first heard in sleepless princess, wonder who the voice actor is and suprised when knowing that it is his own voice :)). I wish he can involve in a bigger project and still maintain his humble personality. Wish you all the success!

But, unfortunately this drama is suffering from its storytelling. Sometimes, it’s confusing if you don’t know the whole story from the original novel. Also, there’s too much screetime for the supporting characters that makes the leads don’t have much time to really develop their characterization and get understanding from the audience (some viewers see FJY for being creepy T_T).

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I love Zhao Lusi and a big fan. She was excellent in her acting skills. The story didn’t amuse me and get my attention. I saw the trailer and was excited but it turns out the opposite. Story line was a little boring and little action. I was dropping in and out the entire drama. However, because of Lusi, I managed to finish the entire drama. The ending wasn’t quite what I expect, wish it was more happier and simple. I like the love side of the story, though-sincere, truthfully sacrifice, typical love story. The costumes mirror Korean mix Japanese styles. Love the music... I enjoyed Love is better than immortal more than this. I don’t think watching a second time is worth the effort.

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I love this drama very much. I only had one hiccup and that was trying to understand the last 3 episodes. I had watched them like 4 times to get what the story writers were doing. I finally did. I hope that whoever watches understands the ending as well. The acting and the romance were livid. Zheng Ye Cheng who played Fu Jiu Yun did excellent with this character. I want to see more of him. Zhao Lu Si who played Zhao Lu Si Di Ji/Qin Chuan, I just love this actress, she is just incredible with her acting skills. Every time I see her perform in a drama, she works hard to turn into the character she is playing. This actress had me so emotional. This will be a rewatch for me. The fantasy and the martial art were good. The two main leads had me not so focused on the fantasy world which I love but my focus was on the story this time. I thank all the supporting actors and actresses as I always do because they also worked hard. The visuals were also good. Do not skip episodes are you will find yourself going back to watch them and understand what happened.

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How To Sabotage A Wonderful Story

Story is more important than casting, CGI, acting, setting, or directing

This original story was special, unique, fantastical, and everything I would want in a Chinese fantasy costume drama. It had a bit of everything, comedy, tragedy, romance, fantasy, adventure. It had the potential to be the best Xanxia drama ever made. Unfortunately, some choices were made that really spoiled things.

Firstly, the FL started off strong and looked every inch like the beautiful and capable princess FL we all hope for when watching a costume drama, only to be literally AND figuratively defaced by Zhao Lu Si. Zhao Lu Si being an actress that either has no desire to embody any character that isn't a comic one, or she just doesn't have the skill to be a serious actress. Either way, the FL went from being a cultured, beautiful, intelligent and complex princess character, to being a reckless and overexaggerated character for the sake of comic relief. The ML, Zheng Ye Chen, is perfectly cast here, however, the director pretty much ruined his character for us, as in one scene he is seen full-on groping the FL, and she barely even knows who he is! He sexually harrasses her like a perverted creep, even using other female attention in order to gain the FL's attention. I don't know in what universe the screenwriters or directors thought this was OK, but it isn't!

The rest of the series is basically the FL being a rash idiot, and the ML has to come bail her out if every situation because she is too stupid to work with him instead of against him.

Also of note, is one of the secondary characters said something the Chinese government didn't like, so they had to replace that actress's face with a superimposed face of another actress using horrific CGI.

Truly, it's a so sad that such a great storyline had to be ruined by bad scriftwriting, CGI, and casting of the FL, but it's all really a reflection of the industry. A place where not very attractive actresses get cast out of popularity alone, sexual harrassment is written into a script for absolutely no reason, and an actress becomes a political victim and gets replaced through bad CGI. It's all in there.

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Long review with details and my rants ahead. Do not judge.

I want to begin by saying how eager i was to watch this drama but it wasnt available anywhere. Only recently has it been released on viki so i am finally able to watch it. I just had to vent my anger after watching till 20 else I'd have waited till finishing it to give the review.

Characters and acting: Not gonna lie, for me Zheng Yecheng carried the entirety of the drama like i watched it just for him. He was way too sweet, charming, loyal and devoted and selfless. And i think he deserved a better lover than the princess. I've seen 3 of Zhao Lusi's dramas, and tbh i like her, but she is not a good choice for these serious tragic characters, i felt like she didn't fit the role of Qin Chuan well. She was so busy portraying her anger and sadness that i couldn't see any chemistry with the ml. The original princess was better for the role i guess.
To me the most pitiful character remained Fu Jiuyun throughout, it's like nothing he does is ever enough. Imagine loving someone for thousand years, witnessing her death through ten lifetimes and then when you finally come close to her you end up dying for her without even getting her(well this is something that i found for myself when i read the reviews.)
Zichen was straight out annoying. Ermeng was a complex but good character. Liyuan was despicable. Meishan and Xiaobai were fun to watch. Xuanzhu remained the same selfish and greedy princess throughout.

Story: Idk if its because i spoiled the drama for me by reading reviews beforehand or it's because of the story itself but the drama couldn't keep me invested or addicted. It started off so well with everything. But as the story progressed, i couldn't see minimal love in the FL for the ML. She was like still in love with Zichen idk why i felt so. I kept feeling that she just abused MLs love for her by taking him for granted and rejecting him everytime. She was too cruel to him. The ML was so good to her like i can't even explain in words. The story is so much about the FLs revenge motive that the FLs love for the ML can't even be seen. In the last 5 episodes she was suddenly in love with him but they never showed how and when she started loving him. I admit that with all the constant love and care from him anyone would fall for him but they should have shown a little more of that part. She is like all about fighting her own fate and revenge and pushing the people that love her away. I haven't read the original novel so i don't know how it goes, but i heard that it is a lot more detailed with a happy ending but don't expect all that from the drama. I don't know how exactly it is in the novel but in the drama it's all there is. A lot of parts were abrupt while some parts felt draggy because of the 2nd couple and the FLs constant anger and indifference.

Music: The music is truly so beautiful and soothing. I loved the music.
From what I read from other reviews, there was a lot of key information missing and a confusing ending and dramatic modifications from the original story. The script could've done a better job at explaining the backstory of the ML instead of wasting scenes on the 2nd couple. Overall once i am done with this drama, I'm not gonna rewatch it because I'm already preparing myself for a heartbreak at its end. But I'm going to finish it till 30. Might change my review after i finish it.



P.s i have finished it now and my opinions didn't drastically change, instead i am left confused about what exactly happened in the last episode.

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Just average for me

I honestly started watching this series because of Zhao LuSi and I really watched majority of her shows - except movies so far. However, sadly I have to say.... this is one of the series I am not really fond of nor found the energy to go through a 2nd time. I wouldn't say her acting is stiff or bad in this series - like some of the comments / reviews left for this series. But I feel that it is kinda lacking of something. Firstly, I had a slight confusion moment at the starting of the series because LuSi wasn't playing the princess from the get go. I had to pause, re-read the synopsis a couple of times to better understand the series and then continue watching.

However, I (personally) find that this series is too much jumping here and there, too much petty fights etc. The "2nd female lead" or also known as LuSi's cousin in this series is abit too much with her insecurity"ness" and her "I need to be better than everyone especially the main female lead then only I am happy" attitude. The chemistry between LuSi and Zheng Ye Cheng (the male lead) is somewhat stale and not "sparkly" like many of LuSi's other series. There are many sweet moments or funny moments throughout the series that helps brighten the mood but I feel the negative parts are just too overwhelming. Although the lack of interest for the series, I have to say that all of the casts did a good job making this series become a reality.

I, personally, will not fully recommend this series... unless you have read and take a liking to the synopsis of this series yourself. But the music / soundtrack paired for this series is amazing. I really love the songs in this show! <3

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Very typical Zhao Lusi

To give credit to this drama, I really did enjoy it... after I filled in all the holes.
It's a good story but has too many things unexplained. Things just happen without reason just to make the story move forward.
The cast and acting was pretty good too. I would have enjoyed Zhao Lusi more if she departed from her typical character. Granted, she is a good actress, but this drama did not call for a silly FL; so it would have been better if she left behind the silliness that characterized her in all her previous dramas. The ML was ok good, not superb.
It was fun, but I would not rewatch it.

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