Ace Troops (2021)

A Lot to Unpack - An Honest Review

I only watched this because Xiao Zhan is one of the people I follow and also for seeing what the military genre holds in their country, as it's the first time I watched a military cdrama. And while everyone knows the general issues production had, I did find out recently that it was because of censorship and multiple reviews, that this drama lost 13 episodes and therefore explains the haphazard editing and much of the disconnection and inconsistencies. Let's unpack this series.

Pros: I loved Gu Yiye from the beginning. The character wasn't perfect in the slightest but was always determined to make himself better no matter how much hard work it took. Every step he took, every emotion he displayed made it in effect seem like a docuseries and not just a fictional drama. No matter how many people frowned upon him, he was determined to show his hard work and take his own path to the top. XZ filmed this series during the most difficult time in his career and life and still put 110% into it and it shone through in dividends. His explosion of emotions or even basic army tactics spoke volumes about how much he was invested in his character.

A-Xiu was literally the perfect match for GYY. Though their relationship began out of responsibility, it blossomed into real genuine love. The way she always had his back no matter what. She helped break the PTSD cycle, she ran around searching for doctors for his arm, she was ready to beat up anyone that ever bullied GYY and was the solid foundation that essentially GYY never had in his life. To her, he was the brightest star in the entire world. Both Jiang Nan Zheng (JNZ) and Hu Yang (HY) couldn't provide the simple things GYY needed and that really all he ever needed was understanding and support.

My other favorite characters were many of the support like Zhang Fei, papa Gu, and the rest of their comrades in arms. Each one came with their unique personalities and flaws. If a character is too perfect, it won't be remotely realistic. Just like if the opposite happens and the character is awful, it won't lead credence to the portrayal either. The couples whether they stayed together or not still were properly evolved and had their closure at the end.

I loved the special effects during the big battles or whether they actually used real military equipment or CGI I don't know but all the blasts and the combat scenes were really nice. Be they real war or drills; when actual fighting was involved or strategies explained, it was nice to see how the mind worked to help move on to the next step. The OSTs were also appropriate and made the proper impression whether in the credits or in the scenes. Also liked the fact that this series ran low on propaganda which is a very good thing as these military dramas tend to overdo that aspect in large quantities.

Cons: I will be completely honest here and I'm not hating on him in the slightest but Johnny's performance for more then half of the series was underwhelming. I have been told for a long time that this genre was his niche so I was very excited to see him and XZ in this great drama but his performance fell flat for being the ML; I've got nothing against him at all; this is just my own personal experience and opinion as a viewer.

Gao Liang until he went to study at the school was essentially riding the coattails of nepotism which was quite unseemly and with the sob story about him being an orphan and his dead brother; also weird that the story kept changing to fit whatever was going on in the drama. I kept wondering why no one was calling it out but perhaps that's how their military ran in those days.

JNZ started off as a smart young woman but then they dumbed her down into this whining, crying female lead that had literally no concept of being affected by the battle that took so many lives. It felt like the battle the rest of the cast fought and the one she was in were completely different situations. The "turn your frown upside down" in regards to the trauma GYY was going through, her attitude was rather lame and that's the other thing that made GYY start to distance himself from her.

The amount of random time lapses and inconsistencies were staggering. A few examples; JNZ hated her father the chief and then in the next episode when she finds out he's fighting for his life, she was practically ready to change his diapers in the hospital for him. One episode she calls GL her brother, in the very next episode she's madly in love with him. The romance between GYY and AX would also have been good to see.

The fact that this series tried desperately to turn GL into Robocop, making him single-handedly take out very butch and heavily armed terrorists or that last drill that dragged for far too long and him zipping around the island with literally a propeller in his butt and 17 pairs of eyes being able to spot a singular intruder on his own and then go chase him down. It was beyond unbelievable even for a fictional military drama. That can't be excused by the cut in episodes, but I would like to ask what the writer was thinking. The fact that he was able to scuba dive with explosives without any real training was very inconsistent and pretty ridiculous; just like GYY and his soldiers being able to essentially turn into paratroopers with zilch experience also made little sense.

There were many more but I'll mention a last one and that's the tug of war of JNZ and GL and their marriage. When GYY is dating JNZ, GL is always there getting in between them like an annoying mosquito they can't swat. But as soon as JNZ is single, GL seems interested and then quickly backs off; giving her a zillion excuses. Did he ever really love her? Or was she like a trophy to win in a competition? Yes they got hitched in the last episode but it seemed it was such an afterthought and added a musical to the mix. When she didn't look at him, he was super clingy but when she starts being the epitome of gorilla glue, he runs in the other direction. And her solution to every one of their problems was marriage. Her showing up in the 21st century wedding dress and heavy bling (that didn't make sense as she had a military salary) at the hospital where he was unconscious looked completely misplaced in a military drama. Many moments like that make you scratch your head in confusion.

Would I recommend it? If you're a military drama fan and like Xiao Zhan as well as well done supporting characters and great action, then yes I would. But I do warn about a lot of inconsistencies that might make you very confused.

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Soldier vs. RoboCop

Story:
The Good -
The military aspect of this drama was interesting especially in the way they showcased how the military advanced through the years. The technological advancement being the most intriguing while the training portion was appropriate as well. Generally, I think the hierarchy and the flaws they showcased about the military with their higher ups and how it could impact soldiers really gave great insight to how things were ran. That maybe it isn't as perfect as it seemed but as time progressed those issues were slowly getting resolved to maybe make it harder to accomplish but not completely absent.

My favorite part of the story had to be Gu Yiye’s story arc. I felt he was very consistent with the way they wrote him – he started off being this proud, arrogant, and smart soldier and they continued to sort of write him that way but slowly try to evolve him but kept his original characteristics. Gu Yiye embodied the ideal soldier where he thrives to work towards a goal but combat and grief alters his plans and provides him other opportunities to continue to sacrifice not just for his country but also for his fallen brothers who he trained alongside. His story really made u feel sympathetic towards his choices and wanted to root for his happiness along the way and just wanted him to succeed.

The Bad –
The romance portion of this drama really dragged the plot of this story down in my opinion. It felt as if they removed the avoidable love triangle, they could have saved the main character Gao Liang from being so annoying in the beginning. The main character, Gao Liang, being the other main issue that I had with this drama. He was written very inconsistent with 1 moment he is this typical soldier that is a strong fighter to just out of nowhere being super smart AND a strong solder. It seemed like they didn’t know how to make him great and just constantly kept on adding on to him to make him seem more perfect without ever trying to really evolve him. In a way, I feel the screenwriter was trying really hard to make him into a Goku character, from Dragon Ball Z, but failed miserably along the way. U know the typical comical, strong character that his friends love and constantly root for. But the screenwriter just sort of dragged it out where it just felt forced rather than organic with the way Goku was written. Overall, I just feel his character was very flawed, writing wise, and just inconsistent with who he was from his actions in the previous episodes to how he was towards the middle. Just felt like 2 completely different people that showed no signs of how one got to the other.

Acting:
This is probably the main reason why I continued to watch this drama. I felt the acting that Xiao Zhan, who played Gu Yiye, was just breathtaking. He really was able to portray his character in a perfect manner where it seemed like he was that character. While watching, I constantly kept feeling that he showed signs of being a method actor where he completely immersed himself into his character and brought out those emotions that Gu Yiye would be feeling at that exact moment. The way he showed signs of aging by simply changing parts of his face and not just relying on makeup to make him look older – just amazing. Just the overall performance by Xiao Zhan was brilliant. The other actors also did a remarkable job with their roles and being able to bring those characters to life even with the certain flaws the plot had. I think a lot of the supporting cast such as A Xiu, Niu Mancang, Zhang Fei, Chunyu, and of course Hu Yang did an absolutely amazing job with their characters and really made me invest myself into them and wanting to know what became of them.

Music:
The OSTs were absolutely amazing. Both the beginning and ending songs that were sung by Johnny Huang and Xiao Zhan, respectively, were just beautiful and were able to enhance the plot and give the appropriate emotion for the type of drama it is.

Rewatch Value:
Overall, yes, I would rewatch because I felt there are some scenes that were just done stunningly; especially episodes 18 – 21 when the war had occurred. I even enjoyed parts of the training portion in the beginning episodes. But some parts I would just fast forward since I was not a huge fan of the overexaggerated compliments a certain character was getting and just inconsistencies.

To sum it up, I think this drama is quite good for a military drama and allowed a lot of room for discussion which I feel is the main task for a lot of shows/movies. To allow people to discuss and see what they like or dislike about something just so it could be engaging amongst the audience.

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Gu Yiye a winner

This military drama is surprisingly enjoyable. Gu Yiye played by Xiao Zhan is an interesting and very endearing character. He’s smart, brave, righteous and driven to achieve his goals. Although kind-hearted he doesn’t back down from a fight (especially with Gao Liang - played by Johnny Huang Jingyu the other male lead). There’s a ruggedness and masculinity not seen in Xiao Zhan’s past roles that is very attractive. He had lots of chemistry with Elaine Zhong Chuyi (Jiang Nan Zheng), Bai Lu (Hu Yang) and Mao Lin Lin (A Xiu). There’s a sweet youthful romance, an intense male rivalry and struggles of military life. The dreams of young soldiers are forever changed by adversities they face and tough choices they make. The development of a true Ace Force requires tough training, real battles and sacrifice. I found Gu Yiye’s determination, perseverance and responsibility to be heart-warming and inspiring.

The storyline becomes is a bit disjointed in the last ten episodes (probably due to post/production cuts). The final drama delivered is not as good as it could have been, but every scene with Gu Yiye is worth watching. Xiao Zhan delivers a phenomenal performance as Gu Yiye.

A bonus is the beautiful ending song “We Used to Be Together” sung by Xiao Zhan and Tan Weiwei. Plus Bai Lu’s guest appearance and “bite” in Episode 1 is precious!

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Courage, dedication, loyalty

I haven't watched military dramas for years, so I have no comparison with current trends, only with the classics I grew up on. For me, AT has all the qualities to become a new classic. Military drama is a specific genre in which the main role is not played by people but by ideology. Ideology which in some respects is the same everywhere - let's protect our homeland, comrades-in-arms and civilians. I have a professional soldier in my family, so although the system in my country is different from that in China, the slogans sound almost identical.
In my opinion, the scriptwriter deserves special recognition. Some dialogues are not only inspiring but very well written and clever, which does not happen very often. The directors took care to make some episodes and scenes very emotional, which made it impossible for most viewers to pass by without crying out loud. Some scenes are simply heartbreaking. But it is good, because we, civilians, mostly living in a world without war, do not realize the greatest sacrifice our brothers make.
The drama really kept me interested. I wasn't entirely convinced about the characters at first, but at some point the boring Gu Yiye stole my heart. No spoilers. Anyone who has seen it knows what I'm talking about.
The drama is shot well and I look forward to each new episode. As time went on, I got interested in more plots and now I'm actually rooting for every character. It took me a while, but I support every character.
Finally, a few words about realism. The real soldiers did their best to look good in the movie and the actors are a little bit off when it comes to the fight scenes, but overall it's cool and compared to wuxia it's perfect.
A big fat ten from me. The drama isn't perfect, but for me a few episodes were just priceless.

I finished watching the drama and I'm fully satisfied. Unfortunately some of the characters were not developed and played well until the end, but others more than make up for it so I'm still satisfied :)

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Defiantly finishes stronger than it starts.

My Original review is below but now I have completed the entire series I want to just review how I thought the season went as a whole, including a few things I felt the show didn't do that well.

First of all Xiao Zhan and Johnny Huang just seemed to get better and better in their acting as the series went on, especially as the two characters had their own internal struggles, the actors performed it brilliantly. Thankfully Johnny Huang's character finally grew up before I resorted to throwing something at the tv out of frustration :)

Secondly the story went along at a nice pace (with a few exceptions which I will state in a moment) and didn't bog down like the majority of Chinese dramas I've seen. This meant that you were always interested in every episode and not skipping over bits. Also the Secondary characters got just the right amount of air time without seeming like add on's or taking over completely.

The scenery, wardrobe and music were amazing and I hope all the people who worked behind the scenes get recognised for it. Sadly I know nothing about the army so I have no idea if that was accurate but if it was I hope they do do as well.

Now to a few things about the show that it didn't exactly do badly but I thought could have been done better.

1. The show was 40 episodes long and supposedly followed our leads over the decades of their careers, however the first part (before the first time jump) was over 10 episodes and seemed too long to me. I know they had to introduce all the characters and establish relationships but the fact they took so long on the first part meant they seemed to rush other parts in places. They could have done a lot more with certain years but instead skipped over them as there was no time left.

2. Staying on the first part of the drama for a moment I felt that the establishment of the brother bond between the two male leads was too sudden. Gu Yiye spent the majority of his time either arguing with Gao Liang, ignoring him or simply talking to other people. Gao Liang spent most of his time with a group of friends that didn't include Gu Yiye.............yet all of a sudden the two became close as brothers. There was no life or death situation that made this happen it just came out of nowhere and could have been clearer. Nothing against the actors though they played it brilliantly.

3. The whole 'will they, won't they' idea wasn't needed..........will they be tossed out of the army...........will they be demoted..........will they die..........They are the main characters of the series so the audience knows that won't happen so I don't see the point in wasting time on such things. Much more effective was spending the time on the mental struggles both male leads actually had.

4. I haven't mentioned the FL so far and that's because she became a kind of foil, and go between, for the male leads. She seemed to loose her purpose as the series went on and rarely appeared if she wasn't on screen with one of the male leads or talking about them.

Sorry it was longer than I planned. Below is my original review I wrote after only watching 10 episodes.

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Warning........I do have a few extremely vague spoilers in here.

First of all I have only watched 10 episodes of this show so it's a bit early for me to do a 'overall' or 're-watch' value on it. This review is more of my first impressions and I will edit it when I have finished the show.

With Xiao Zhan and Johnny Huang in the cast I was expecting the acting to be fantastic, and it is. You can see the comradeship/friendship growing between the two male leads nicely and one actor does not overpower the other. The older actors, who I personally have never seen before, are very good as well. Although personally I think they rely a little too much on the cliché of 'incompetent leaders to show how fantastic our leads are'.

As I said before Johnny Huang acts great in the show but his character is annoying. I know nothing about the army myself but I can't believe that a big mouth who talks back to superiors, gets in to fights and gets all his classmates into trouble would be able to stay in the army as long as he has. Not only that but the character is liked by those around him, and I can't see that happening either. The character is just too dumb......and he doesn't learn! No matter what is said to him it seems to bounce off his thick skull. I know the character will evolve at some point but 10 episodes in the character has gone past amusing and gotten to annoying.

The music of this show is fantastic and the opening credits are one of the best I've seen.

If you want a show that shows the layers of the military without just focusing on the leads, then this is what Ace Troops seems to be doing so far. It explores the complexities of things rather than just gloss over them. I am interested how it is going to explore 40 years of experience of the characters as it goes forwards. It is defiantly worth a watch, if it worth a re-watch is something I will see as I watch more.

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Xiao Zhan is different... in the most amazing way.

I have to be honest. This is the Xiao Zhan drama that I have grown very, very attached to. Gu Yiye is very special. He is excellent, bright, but also suffered so much injustice. Sounds familiar? That's exactly why. Xiao Zhan played as a soldier with PTSD while he was at his most vulnerable, at the cusp of the 227 attacks. His mentality is really strong, and that has showed a lot on this work in particular.

He delivered such a capable soldier role amazingly well. His acting here is just on another level compared to his Tang San and Wei Wuxian. The way he modulates his voice and everything. It's all perfect.

I have a lot of complaints with the drama and their flow story, but I don't hate it that much considering that they gave us Gu Yiye and with regards to his own story, they did so well with that though I would've wanted more...

I hope we can get a director's cut or something. Or even a noteworthy AU for Gu Yiye. I really love the character, and that's not just me as a fan talking.

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Same cast, but two completely different dramas

This drama appears to have two very separate production units: the combat team and the everything else team.

The combat team was composed of a very good group of script writers who understand how to script action scenes. The action is realistic and the action choreography enhances and propels the story. The action director (probably a veteran of action movies) knows how to use time, space, and the camera in telling a story using mostly movement. The stunt work was also quite good and the fight coordinator knew what he was doing and how to communicate through action on the small screen.

The everything else team was a mess. The script was all over the place. Character development was inconsistent, and direction, especially of the actors, was not very good. There was a lot of over emoting in place of acting, and the endless crying! Not only do the women weep buckets of tears, but the men, including top brass and hardened military veterans are sobbing at every turn. This became quite annoying and at times verged on the comical. The lighting was poor, and I don’t think it was to give the drama an intentionally retro look because the lighting stayed the same over the 35 year span of the drama. Direction of the actors was also spotty and inconsistent. Xiao Zhan tried too hard to make the lackluster script into something, anything, and Johnny Huang often didn’t try at all. The female lead became annoying about halfway through and you never believed that she and one of the ML were ever in love. There was zero chemistry between them, no matter how hard she tried. Just a mess that all too often was more annoying than entertaining.

Finally, the jingoism got tiresome. I don’t watch military dramas from my own country because I find them annoying for the same reason. Also, all this China peacemaker of the world rings a bit hollow if you have been following recent history closely.

All in all, Ace Troop is a mostly mediocre military drama that is heavy on propaganda and light on convincing storytelling. This was the same issue I had with Ark Peace, another military drama that came out in late 2021. It totally wasted Chen Kun, but opened with two stupendous episodes of all action that were very well done, before a truly horrendous script and the worst production values I have ever seen in a recent Chinese drama were trotted out for the rest of the series. I think I will give Chinese military dramas a pass from here on out, I don’t care who stars in them m

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So many flaws with the story

I'm usually not very critical of dramas but this one really bothered me. It had the potential to be a really good drama, the cast and acting overall was good. The setting and overall storyline had a lot of potential. But the writing? OMG kill me now. I don't know how they could have screwed up so bad. I am quite sure if it wasn't for Xiao Zhan this drama would not have half the popularity it does now, people would have dropped it like hot cakes.

The biggest flaw is the inconsistency of the characters and how each storyline unfolds. The general drill of the storylines is "Gao Liang always benefits by sheer dumb luck and nepotism". I can understand if one of the main themes is nepotism in the drama but then show me it's the problem of the army, not every single damn higher up only favoriting Gao Liang. Then they try to tell you it's because Gao Liang is this amazing soldier so everyone loves him, but they don't show how he is so amazing. Really, the only time you know GL is amazing is through conversations by the leaders and how amazing he is. Not even a "why he is so amazing", he's just "amazing". The division commander is painted to be this absolute "fair" person yet he is the worst with the nepotism, like Mr Screenwriter Liu Yan, do you even know anything about the characters you are writing?

Then there are the time jumps that are just ghastly. They spent like the first 20 episodes developing this sort of "first love" romance between Gu Yiye and Jiang Nanzheng, and friendship/love triangle with Gao Liang, then the war happens and people are affected, Gu Yiye is emotionally damaged. Totally makes sense, but then it's like 5 years later and they show you Jiang Nanzhen loves Gao Liang, Gu Yiye is happy and getting married to A Xiu, ummmm, where is that whole process of emotional change? How did GYY become happy again? How did JNZ look at GL as more than just a friend? I think this is more core to the story than almost 20 episodes of "first love".

It's not all bad, the humor is good and GLs character is a lot of comic relief. GYY is just a likable character and the epitome of what a good soldier should be. The emotional scenes do give you the feels (most of them anyway). Supporting characters are generally likable and also contribute to a lot of the humor. Although I really don't find what is appealing about the female lead, JNZ.

Recommend? Only if you want to be spitting fire afterwards. If the logic of the story isn't so important to you, then I think it can be an enjoyable watch. Otherwise, don't even touch it.

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| military themed slice of life, kind of |

Ace Troops really had a great potential and while it didn't live up to it completely, due to various reasons, it did manage to successfully portray the life of military personnel. What in the beginning looked like the start of a great friendship between two MLs and FL, soon went downhill and turned into a love triangle that was in many cases extremely annoying to watch, but was satisfyingly resolved in the end. Watching them grow from new recruits to senior colonels throughout the span of 40 years was gratifying. Their different personalities and backgrounds affected their interactions with other characters and their decisions and choices in life; and while they all built their own lives and careers they were always circling and staying close to each other.

One of the bigger issues I had with this drama was the relationship between Gao Liang and Gu Yiye. They were supposed to be best friends and rivals. However, while they successfully showed their rivalry, their friendship left much to be desired. Most of the time it looked like they couldn't stand each other while drama makers tried to forcefully make us see them as best friends.
Character development was another issue I had and it's mostly related to Gao Liang. His development wasn't consistent. In the beginning he looked like a big oafish troublemaker, thoughtless but kind-hearted. In later episodes he became this super soldier-tactician who was capable of doing everything and anything. The transition between those two extremes wasn't smooth. Other characters were more consistent in this regard. What I like is how all of them were human, they made mistakes, did stupid things, but weren't painted as villains. Instead, they were given chances to redeem themselves in our eyes and for the most characters my feeling oscillated throughout the span of these 40 episodes.

As for the acting, I think all actors did more or less a good job. My personal favourite is Xiao Zhan as Gu Yiye. His acting in more dramatic/emotional scenes was heart-wrenching and I had been moved to tears several times. Two other leads were also good. I was especially impressed by Elaine Zhong. I didn't like Jiang Nan Zheng as a character, but Elaine's portrayal was in my opinion spot on.

Other things I love about this drama are: subtle humour, visually beautiful sceneries, action scenes (fighting, war and drills were done really well) and lack of CCP propaganda (I honestly expected more of it but what we got is the right amount of patriotsm that follows all military-themed shows, IMO)

I think they could've done a better job with time skips, especially towards the ending, but I guess cutting a lot of scenes affected the final product.

All in all, while it did have some flaws I think Ace Troops is a good drama that successfully showed the evolution of Chinese army through the life of three main leads. It has a slower pace and a lot of episodes where there's isn't much action so many people may find it boring, BUT if you're a fan of any of these actors it's a must watch.

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Already My Favorite Drama from 2021

Truthfully I am blown away by this drama. I never expected too much from the trailers but it has exceeded all my expectations. Xiao Zhan's acting skills (mainly the ability to convey his emotions through his eyes and facial expressions) drew me into each and every scene. I am a bromance addict and the brotherly bond between the two main characters is off the charts. I love how they are off to a rocky start and begrudgingly care for each other when they are injured/ill. Xiao Zhan is intense, bookwormish, fearless, stubborn, and calmly resolute. I can't imagine anyone not being drawn to his role. I have rewatched scenes that gave me a lump in my throat and became teary eyed with Gu Yi Ye's desperation as he stood at attention, begging for an audience with his superior until he passed out. I catch myself holding my breath as the episode's ending scene fades. To me, the drama does not have to be perfect or the special effects flawless. I judge it for raw, honest emotions. Subtle gestures. Meaningful characters. Gazes that convey a dozen feelings. If you're my kind of emotional junkie then is definitely a must watch. XOXO

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Gu Yiye is the best thing about this drama

This drama has a relatively interesting beginning than the ending and the initial development of the characters from naive new recruits to war veterans is also good, especially in Gu Yiye.

Coming to the story, the pace was slow and steady for the first 20 eps and can be said better than the rushed later eps. The freshness and curiosity of youth and then the heavy emotions after losing their loved ones are well handled in the first half. It could've been better if they'd not cut too many scenes in later eps because the story seems to be very irregular and fast paced after that.

It is not a regular military drama since it shows beyond the monotonous war politics.
However actual military life is far from this drama. And there are some unrealistic moments such as new recruits shouting at their superiors and still not thrown out of the amry. Another spooky thing is the subtle favouritism of Division Commander and other officers towards GL. There are many instances when his stay in army depends on their mercy and guess what - he gets it everytime, one time even if costs them the better one!!! Why? Because GYY is smarter and richer and he can live a better life even without army, but GL has no one so he should stay😒. Like hell, this was one of crappiest reasons ever to choose a soldier. Although GL's selflessness and bravery is touching, his dependence on luck and superhuman strength seem to annoy us. Also he is the only character that doesn't age- he looks the same even after 20 years!

Aside from those flaws, there are many good scenes including the emotional outbursts of GYY and GL at war and the hilly love triangle. The tragic sub plots can leave an impression. Xiao Zhan and Zhong Chuxi did great jobs as GYY and JNZ. Huang Jingyu was good too but his character is not much different from his previous roles.

Overall it's worth watching one time to have a change of genre or if you are fan of any of the actors.

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