This review may contain spoilers
A Hot Mess of a Drama
Alright, for starters, I love Min Guo Dramas. The romance, the danger, hot people in gorgeous period clothing - it's always a win. Except here. I was genuinely surprised to look it up and see that this drama has such good ratings here because... it is bad. Really, really bad. If you like it, I'm happy that you had a good viewing experience because this drama made me legitimately angry on a number of levels because the incompetence was just... staggering. There were moments in this drama that made me go "Oh, this is actually romantic" or "Oh, this is actually interesting", but most of it left me sighing, rolling my eyes, and wondering how I made it that far.Things I Liked:
- The actors weren't all terrible. They genuinely had some good moments. I have no idea how they convinced some of these veteran actors to be in this drama, but they were good and the leads weren't terrible.
- There were some genuinely good, romantic moments, but not usually between the leads. The side characters had more chemistry in their couples than the ML and FL had in the entire show and I was actually invested in the romantic plots for them.
- Guangyao. He and his friends were what kept me going through this shown, not gonna lie.
Things I Disliked:
- Costumes. They were cheap and looked awful. Period dramas need good, convincing clothing to help set the setting. These looked like they were picked up from a fashion shop and styled to try and look like they were out of the early twentieth century. The hair on all of the girls were obviously all cheap wigs that were styled pretty badly and didn't fit the setting in the slightest. The uniforms were alright and the men's suits are hard to mess up, but everything else was... Yikes.
- The cinematography. Lighting didn't exist in outside shots. There was no color correcting or anything to improve how exterior shots looked at all. It looked like they just used the raw footage and did no editing whatsoever. The editing that was done was something you would see in a university film project. The facial smoothing was so horrible that it made people's jaws invisible, their mouths and eyebrows had to be re-edited onto their faces in a few scenes, it took away laugh lines and other basic features from older actors who should have them and made their faces look really weird, and was all around done in a way that made it look like a literal Snapchat filter would have done a better job. It was incredibly amateur. That isn't even going into the horrible CGI, the badly choreographed action scenes, and the terrible out of period props that got used constantly.
- The setting. It was wasted. I've seen a few reviewers here say that you need to "watch for the plot, not the accuracy" and things of similar nature, but in a period drama, the historical aspect makes up a huge chunk of the plot and background conflict that helps shape the characters. The Min Guo era in China was filled with suffering, death, drama, and war. The drama needs to reflect that or else the background means nothing. Like how the background politics of the Manchu and their states can drive a well written Qing harem drama, the clashes between the revolutionary armies and the backbiting internal strife between the various Republican warlords is supposed to help drive a good Min Guo drama. At that point, just set in in modern times because it literally never mattered. They keep bringing up the revolutionaries and the southern wars, but nothing about that ever really affected the plot at all. Having it set during this era was pointless outside of aesthetics.
- The Plot. It was... bad. It felt very forced pretty much every second that it was moving forward. My biggest gripe was that at no point did Xuanlin or Wangqing ever seem like they were in genuine danger. Xuanlin was always six steps ahead of Xu Bojun to the point where I was sitting there rolling my eyes because it was obvious he had some secret plan. The first few times, it was alright, but the plot was rinse and repeat for all 36 episodes of this same plotline. It erased any tension that these scenarios might have had by using this formula: Xuanlin gets spotted doing something shady, Bojun's spies catch him, they report it to Guangyao, Guangyao busts in and catches the bad guys, but no Xuanlin, Xuanlin gets revealed that he set the whole thing up to get his army what they need or remove some bad actors, Wangqing is somehow tangentially involved in a way where she doesn't have to do anything worthwhile except talk to some dude who immediately gives her what she wants or sees things her way, Bojun gets butthurt because he couldn't catch him, and repeat every three or so episodes.
- The leading romance. Holy heck. The romance between Xuanlin and Wanqing was AWFUL. Xuanlin at no point ever had a meaningful moment with Wanqing outside of their shared parental death bonding moment, and Wanqing fell in love with him pretty quick considering this man KIDNAPPED HER AND THREATENED TO KILL HER. Xuanlin blackmailed her, threatened her and her family, and borderline emotionally abused and manipulated her, and then ten episodes in, they're head over heels? If the build up was slower, it would have been alright, but it wasn't. They rushed it in and forced it earlier than they should have. It's one of the dramas doing this trend I've seen in a few C-Dramas where the ML is a toxic, shitty person and for some reason, the FL has an unrealistic change of heart and gets all "Oh, but he's just hurting, he isn't that bad" and suddenly loves him. It isn't romantic, it's kind of gross.
TL;DR This drama is a hot mess, wasted its setting, and is incredibly amateur in it's writing, editing, and directing, and the actors and VA's suffered for it. 2/10, do not recommend.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Hidden Gem - LOVED this series!
This series didn't seem to gain popularity, and in my opinion it is underrated. I really enjoyed it, overall a well-rounded series with romance, comedy, historical relevance, action, mystery and intrigue.PROS:
- Lead couple had strong chemistry; mutual affection, respect, strength, devotion and comedy. It was refreshing to see a FL that isn't weak, helpless or gullible.
- Pacing was good, was not draggy. I found myself skipping because of the suspense, I was eager to find out what happens next.
- The ending was so good - perfect ending to the build up throughout the series. And they ended it appropriately without trying to drag it out for several more episodes
- No unnecessary characters or subplots to fill up screen time
CONS:
- There was definitely an underlying theme of communist propaganda
Characters/Acting:
- ML - he is one of my favorite actors, and he nailed this role as well. He was believable with the different dimensions that his character entailed: bravery, honor, loyalty, tenderness, coldness, heartache, poker face, etc.
- FL - this is the first time I've seen this actress in a series. She's adorable, and definitely looked the part. While her acting wasn't bad, she lacked the depth to invoke utter sadness and heart ache. At certain gut wrenching scenes - the male actors had more tears and facial expressions than she did.
- The 2nd ML who played Xu Guang Yao was actually very likable. Usually those characters are made out to be the antagonist that gets in the way of the lead couple. But you really empathize with his character and I found him endearing and so respectable. The only thing that bugged me was his hairstyle - the weird bangs being held back by a stiff strand of hair.
- All the support characters did an amazing job, their acting was on par with the main characters. Except the ML's little sister. She was kind of annoying and her wig was terrible.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Exciting, Intriguing and then, Hmm.
The first 1/3 of this drama was exciting. Plenty of things were happening and there was great excitement as to what would happen next! I thoroughly enjoyed the first 1/3 of this drama.The second 1/3 of this drama was intriguing. There was plenty of suspense and I kept guessing as to what would happen next. I am pleased to say that I truly enjoyed the second 1/3 of this drama.
The third and last 1/3 of this drama was ‘meh’ and ‘huh’ and ‘hmm’ for me. After the exciting ride at the start, the last part of this drama was quite a letdown. Despite the ‘happy-ish’ ending, the final part and very last episode felt rushed and abrupt.
What I liked:
- plenty of excitement and intrigue at the start and middle
- good-looking actors (though still young and not the most able but good enough)
- many lovely characters like Gu Yue Shuang
- the female lead was intelligent, shrewd and resourceful - I like that she wasn’t a pushover and that she had a good, strong backbone
What I didn’t like:
- plenty of bloodshed but I understand it’s a war drama so …
- patriarchal attitude from the oldies
- Pei Shao Jun and Tan Sang Yu were insufferably annoying - every time they appeared on my screen, I felt great angst
Verdict: Can watch. Much better than other dramas out there but, viewer may wish to fast forward the third and last 1/3 of this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Loved it!
I just finished watching this and I am writing this review with tears in my eyes. Not because it was a sad ending because I was so so attached to it. Honestly, I started this drama the day before my math test just for a break but here I am after finishing after 3 days. I have countless C and K dramas but I swear I have never seen anything like this.The chemistry, plot, visuals, and oh my gosh the OSTs, everything is just mind blowing. I promise no one would regret watching this show. Also where did they find so many hot boys?? Every side male character is crazy handsome.
OK now diving in the details, lets start from the FL Mu WanQing. She is so freaking smart, elegant and crazy beautiful. MWQ always figured out the Male leads every scheme and it was so satisfying to watch them scheme and act evil together. And about the ML, Tan Xuelin, he is basically a freaking genius. Not the typical High IQ low EQ though, he is a very thoughtful leader, brother, husband and commander. He is funny and playful even in the toughest situations. It was honestly so intense watching him have breakdowns cause of his superb acting. All actors including the Second lead deserve great things.
This drama was also a learning experience for me. I did not know anything about the 1920's China and how chaotic it was. After the Qing Dynasty's imperial rule ended, individual warlords fought for wealth and power while the revolutionist communist army tried to gain control. Countless wars and politics was playing. In this chaos, I loved the main leads efforts to protect each other at all costs. In a sentence, the girl has money, boy has military power, and they both have the brains to plot plots together.
Some parts of this drama remind me of DOTS. The OSTs are addictive and the romance is entangles with action. Also the fashion was so freaking on point.
Speaking of that, Tan Xuelin is so freaking handsome. His uniform is whole another level of beauty but his suits and leather coats with that hairstyle and smirk! Don't ask how many screenshots I took. That one blue coat he has is my favorite. He looks so ugh in that.
Wow thanks for reading this rant if you are still here! In conclusion, WATCH THIS!! You wont regret it, unless you mind shedding tears. If you like it, come to me and we can be besties <3
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I Felt in Love !!
I rarely write long reviews, in fact, I barely write reviews cuz I'm a lazy type of person!But as Fall in Love was my first watched Republican Era drama (I tried to watch Arsenal Military Academy, but I dropped. maybe I'll try again cuz I'm a huge fan of Bai Lu) and I enjoyed soooo much, I felt like writing!!
Why I enjoyed so much?! Well...
1- The costumes catch my eyes and I have a soft spot for it (I'm a fashion photographer)
2 - The soundtrack is really cool. The intro and outro songs got stuck in my ears and I found myself watching the end credits in almost every episode just to sing along (this never happened!)
3 - A strong, intelligent and - often - ahead of her time FL, which is a rarity in chinese dramas and surprised me even more for being a period drama. Okay, sometimes she was saved by ML, but that doesn't take away the merit. I was very impressed with the actress, who is practically a newcomer and managed to deliver all the emotions of the role!!! Hope to see her more often in other roles!!
4- The rhythm of the series caught me from the first episode!! Each episode had a plot and ML always managed to anticipate it, even with several plot holes and also with some predictable ones the story developed very well and caught my attention from beginning to end
5 - The lead's chemistry is impressive...the fun and intelligent dialogues and the way they trust each other and grow together throughout the story.
What I didn't like was that the leads are always deviating from the schemes and they don't have a happy time together...the last two episodes could have been written in a way to let them spend more couple time together (a time skip, maybe , already with children...) I missed it!
Another thing: when the production crew are going to learn how to make fake blood??? Guys, with gelatine and food coloring you make fake blood that looks real!!!! It's the easiest thing in the world!!! I can't stand pink blood in a series that has war and a lot of scenes that involve blood, right?! Also the war and fight scenes were pretty weak...
Overall I really liked it, it surprised me, I recommend it and, for sure, I will review it at some point!
Was this review helpful to you?
Great plot twist, to the point that will make you eyebrow furrowed
This is one of my favourite chinese drama. The plot twist in every episode is engaging.Pros:
- Girl powerrr!
Though this movie surrounding military situation, but the women are equally scheming! Both right & bitchy way.
- Not corny at all. The comedy parts are really laughable.
- The casts deliver great acting, hard to miss anyone even the supporting roles are impressive.
- The sad scenes are really tears jerking. That's back to point 3:impressive acting skill.
But to be honest, the Cons:
- some of the twists are lack of logics.
- a lot of scenes weren't smoothly edited into the background like the fireworks, strolling view from within moving car, and some fighting scenes.
- if you know a bit of military perspective, a lot of scene are poorly excecuted to the extent that makes your jaw drop and shake your head in dibelief!
The soundtrack are easy listening but not so catchy. You get the vintage feel, but...not really worthy as playlist.
I dont speak mandarin, maybe that could be one of the things that makes me tilting my head when it comes to military decision & explanation.
I gotta try reorganizing my mind into thinking that these what happened in China (Shanghai) military situation long time ago. But still...
An officer would be fired hundred of times for taking impossible dramatical unlogical acts like ones in Fall In Love. >.<*
Was this review helpful to you?
Unexpected twists, and a lot of love
My first drama of this genre, and despite being the first I see of Chinese Republican Era, I could understand and enjoy the drama a lot, I must admit that I started it because of Zhang Jingyi and I ended up getting attached to all the actors of the cast, even the second lead syndrome was present because of the great chemistry they transmitted on the screen with Chen Xing Xu and Yan Jun, maybe at the beginning the side stories were not so much to my liking because I'm honest I just wanted to know more about the main couple, however, I did like them, the unexpected twists during the story were more interesting, the ending was good and painful, although I would have liked a little more of what happened next. The main character is not the typical girl, she always proved to be very intelligent, independent and self-confident, and the male protagonist was quite a case from the beginning, his humor and appearance were somewhat deceiving, but inside he knew what he was doing and pretended not to know anything when he knew everything, the story of the two of them very peculiar and beautiful, they gave me all the love I was expecting, 10/10.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Not once did this drama bore me
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this drama especially because I did not think I would enjoy Xing Xu's drama after the last drama I saw of his. He's an amazing actor, amazing at making me hate whatever role he's playing so I was surprised by his "good guy" role here, though there were times I hated him. I actually started this drama for Evan Lin after his role in Crush and I have never seen any of Jing Yi's dramas before, not that she's in many. But the casting for this drama was perfect and I LOVED all the characters, at least the ones that lived. I also loved that everyone got what they deserved. This is my first historical, non-fantasy drama where the villains get what they deserve and the "good guys" actually live to have their happy ending. At least most of them did.This is literally the only drama where I was able to remember everyones names and it is really important to the plot that you know everyones names since it is HIGHLY political (and action-packed), the powerful families being: Mu (FL's family with all the money), Tan (ML's family that's power was taken), Xu (SML's family who killed and stole everyone's power) and the Pei and Su family (best friends of the SML and at some point rivals in war). The children of all these families stood by each other, became really god friends and even family with each other.
I hated almost all of the FL's family, including her father and I was so happy to see them get what they deserved. I also didn't want the SML so suffer any losses and I was happy that his loss was very brief and that he didn't seem to suffer as much as all the other characters did.
I really thought this drama will have a tragic ending, but it didn't. The one thing I was rooting for most was that Xu Guangyao lives to the very end of the drama and doesn't go bad. He was the most wholesome person in this entire drama, everything about him was good. Despite this drama being a lot about children paying for their parents sins, Guangyao was so beloved by everyone that no one truly blamed him for his fathers wrong doings and no one had him pay for it. I was so happy that he didn't get punished for his fathers crimes. His father was the biggest villain in this drama, but he was a really good father to his son, a better father than Mu Wanqing's father ever was to her and that was Xu Bojun's only redemption.
I loved the relationship between all our leads and the AMAZING chemistry between Xing Xu and Jing Yi. I was surprised by how quickly I shipped their characters especially because I came into this drama expecting to ship the FL and SML. Wanqing and Guanyao had a very sibling like relationship despite Guanyao being in love with Wanqing (the way he looked at her spoke so much), which I loved. I never shipped them romantically until I hated the ML for a few episodes for treating the FL really badly, I was so happy to know that it was all an act on the ML's part, I was terrified that he'd become the villain and that the FL would die. I also loved how the ML felt about the SML, he always found Guanyao to be "too good for this world" and he seemed to genuinely love the SML as a family since Guanyao was the Wanqing's "brother" and so his brother in law.
This drama really had me anticipating EVERYONE's death, I was terrified that someone I liked would die and literally the one person I didn't even think about (but liked), was the one person that died.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Republican Drama that I actually really like! Not draggy n superb casts!
What I like:- The casts! They did a good job in casting the actors, i like the mainleads n their friends... the villains also did their part... lots of people in this drama, even the cameos r familiar looking people that u often see in other good C-dramas...
- I like the leads’ characters, esp FL, she is so smart n independent, not the damsel in the distress type... yes ML helps her a lot by protecting her in secret, but she is still a brave person that doesn’t let people bully her... i also like ML, he is super smart n sometimes even cunning, but to be in his position n to protect everybody while dealing with the villains, it’s just something he needs to be to get the job done n IMO the actor played his role perfectly...
- The main leads’ chems is good... even from the start of the bickering till their happy ending, u can tell the progress of their relationship, not that slowburn, but not that fast either, it fits perfectly for me (they officially got together in eps17 I think)... n their relationship is just so good n healthy, they communicate n share everything... they somehow understand each other so well, that even in one bit angsty part when ML kinda being a jerk to FL n pushed her away to protect her, FL foundout why he did it n stood by him till the end...
- The SML looks so good in his uniform! Haha... I was a bit in dilemma at first coz he is just such a nice n standup guy who looks so dashing, who wouldn’t wannabe with him? But unfortunately for him, he was born as his dad’ son n his dad is the main villain who did most of the bad things in this drama, including the tragedies involving FL’s fam... plus eventhough he is such a gentleman in all aspects, he could barely stand up against his father, at least until the last part of the drama... IMO he also nailed his role, especially as a dilemmatic sad boy...
- The story n the plot is good... I like how the leads always work side by side from the start till the end... It doesn’t drag n I barely skip any scenes (just some angsty scenes between eps28-32)... n it’s a HE for almost all the good guys...
- I like the set, the wardrobes n the OST... it’s a Republican Drama, the genre that I rarely watch, but it’s just an enjoyable watch...
What I’m not too satisfied with:
- Why Tan Si dies? I cried when it happened... he deserves to have a good ending...
- That GY’s death is necessary I know, but that’s also such a sad thing... she n that funny friend also deserves a happy time together...
- I just don’t believe that all 3 evil warlords could have 3 nice n respectable sons... since the mothers weren’t in the picture I think, it means the dads raised them somehow n all 3 bestfriends turns out good? Don’t get me wrong, I like all 3 of them as characters n their developments, but IMO the possibility of that happens is just so unlikely...
- The ML’s sis... I know she is cute sometimes, but as character she is just mostly annoying... all thru the drama she just does almost nothing n only chasing PS... I know she finally got him, but to achieve that she is absent from school n even quit school for sometimes, then she moved to Beijing for him while doing nothing... she has almost no development n no important plot beside supposedly changing PS in a way... so yeah, I don’t hate her character, but I can’t say that I like her either...
Anyway, I really like this Republican Drama... superb casts, it has short angsty part, almost no misunderstanding coz FL is smart, not draggy, n happy ending for almost all good characters... I recommend this drama, just try it, u won’t regret it n will def enjoy it like me...
Was this review helpful to you?
Imagine the horror of the kids
Just imagine if their future children were told the truth about the main couple's first meeting. In reality, their first meeting is the worst way to meet your soulmate, it straight up could be a horror series. I love the male lead in goodbye princess and decided to give this a go. Chen Xing Xu is absolutely a joy to watch especially at the start, he's oozing with so much charm. I wish they kept his playful demeanor until the very end, but I guess a lot of things happened so it would not fit the atmosphere they're going for. I'm not feeling much from Zhang Jing Yi, I guess it was the role she's playing, despite her tragic background, I found it hard to sympathize with her. Maybe her character needs some build-up so the audience can fully commit to and support her. What the series did right is the second leads are not evil and obsessive with their lead counterpart. I have to say when they started to kill off some characters, it became less enjoyable. I guess the death of supporting characters comes with the genre. I didn't enjoy the second half as much as the first half but I kind of expected it already, considering dramas in this time period tends to be serious at some point. This drama is easy to recommend for the great acting, good ost, and awesome production..
Was this review helpful to you?
IT DESERVES SO MUCH MORE RECOGNITION
I love how the characters are equals; not in terms of leading armies but they are both capable and smart in leading people. I appreciate the primary characters' consistency – the main characters didn't do anything silly or frustrating that was out of character. The duo were a match made in heaven, in both mind and body, and together they were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.Special mention to the styling - I loved the costumes of the casts.
The performance and casting are also excellent. In several situations, the faces they chose were so flawless that a number of crucial characters' faces just suited their jobs! They are also fully immersed in their roles. The actors were all well suited to their roles and it seemed like they were made for them.
It gently balances the light-hearted romance with heavier and darker issues like politics, conflicts and strategies.
Thank you YOUKU for such a great series, this is by far your best drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
