Perfect ending to the 飞虎 trilogy

The first season was great with certain inconsistencies, the less said of the second season the better. Somehow, the third season in my opinion was the best of the bunch, extremely shocking for HK drama standards.

So, how did they make it better?

We start with the plot:
The story can be split into 2 parts, Argunbia and DH2. I felt that both parts were extremely well written and executed, and both the parts started and ended on a high note. I could not expect better fight scenes too. Usually for a 飞虎 show it is meant to be a all action, guns a-blazing plot. However, this drama managed to mix in emotional scenes and character development, improving from the first season.

To add on, although the main point of the story is on the special taskforce S Team, there are still some 飞虎队 elements inside, improving on the horrific second season. Honestly, this season was the perfect ending with a blend of both prequels.

Acting:
I felt that Michael Miu acted amazingly not as a Police officer, but as a sort of criminal/police hybrid, a little bit like his 雷霆扫毒 character 向荣. I always loved Bosco's dramas but his performance in this one was peak, especially in the last episode and his duel against Oscar Leung (who I think also did quite well). Can't say the same for Ron Ng though as his role is quite generic.

Not just the main cast were good. There were many smart choices for casting as well. The choice that they made to get Moses Chan as a cameo to be replaced by 展sir Joe Ma as well as casting a veteran actor Roger Kwok as 杜文彬 was incredible.

Songs:
I love GEM but that song is no 飞虎 song. It is better than the Karen Mok one in season 2 though. Much better.

Rewatch:
It made my heart palpitate the entire time. Definitely worth a rewatch!

That wraps up my 飞虎 reviews. Overall I really hope that they do decide to make a 4th season as long as they have a proper theme song.

Read More

What a start to an amazing franchise!

The start of it all, 飞虎 (Tiger Cubs). A bit of a shorter review here because it is a short drama after all. However before the review, I want to stress that this was the first 飞虎 and thus, there were a lot of things TVB had to improve on in the later stages (which they didn’t).

Plot:
Funny story: I almost quit the series at Episode 4 due to a certain female character who was so annoying (those who watched the show will probably know who I am talking about). However I persevered and finished the show. I will be honest, it was not the greatest plot especially with the unrealistic ending of 展 sir jumping into the sea with Kenneth Ma and coming out virtually unscathed. Let’s not even mention the horrendous storyline for all the main female characters.

A good point about this show though was the depth in the story of the cases (something I feel is essential in a show about crime). It was also quite enjoyable to watch towards the ending, especially Vincent Wong's tragic death.

Acting:
Joe Ma as usual pulled off a great performance. Him Law and Vincent Wong both did extraordinarily well to my surprise as well. Again we do not mention the female characters here. Props to Kenneth Ma too for acting as a villain and not a doctor for once. He should act as a villain more often, especially after his 使徒行者3 performance.

Songs:
身边的依据 made me in the mood whenever it played.

Rewatch:
The series felt long and draggy so probably not but I suggest skipping to the very last 2 episodes and rewatching that instead.

I heard the reviews for 飞虎2 were terrible so I haven’t watched it yet. So the next review will go into shaw brothers 飞虎 series.

Thanks for reading

Read More

Sadly did not live up to the standards set by season 1…

Legal Mavericks was one of my favourite TVB dramas of recent. However I can’t say the same for season 2. Season 2 had some pretty glaring problems which made me feel destroyed the series as a whole.

Plot:
It started off great but ended off quite horribly. There were 3 main problems with this plot, ranked in no specific order: Romance, Cases, and the Ending.

Starting off with romance. I just never understood Eva and Gogo together as they had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. I also did not like the fact that they immediately gave Gogo another girlfriend after Never died, kind of downplaying his love for her I think.

Secondly I felt the cases lacked the depth, emotion and excitement to continue watching the show. Special mention to the last case which to be frank did not seem like a proper ending to the series.

Speaking of endings, I was more confused than satisfied with this ending. At the time, I thought they were going to make a 3rd season but after they cancelled all plans for one, it made this ending so weird. I swear 癫姐 deserved better…

Acting:
As usual the main cast acted incredibly, one of the best in any drama series.

Songs:
They kept 心眼 which was so nice as it brought a nostalgic factor. But I have to admit 世事可曾是觉对 was my least favourite song for a while and I cringed everytime I heard it. Massive downgrade from season 1.

Rewatch:
It would be fun to relieve the Hope Man experience but to be honest he is the only one pulling up the 2nd season.

No need for conclusions. I should’ve stopped at season 1 knowing the track record of TVBs sequels.

Read More

Mediocre show but to be fair its one of the best from 2018

My previous review of TVBs 伙计办大事 was quite long in my opinion but that was mainly because it was so memorable to me and I wanted to silence the haters.

With Joe Ma being one of my top favourite TVB Actors, I had to put this show in my second review ever. This review will be shorter as I did not really like the show too much.

Lets start with the plot:
Mediocre to say the least. The starting wasn’t the brightest and the ending wasn’t good; it just felt so unrealistic when the girl magically came back to life after being pronounced dead. To add on, I felt that the main story was boring. The only plus point about the plot was that they actually focussed on medical stuff and the relationships second.

Acting:
Joe Ma and Matthew Ho were quite good. I also enjoyed the cameo from Ali Lee.

Songs:
The theme song is fine but I can’t even recall the sub theme even after recently watching it.

Rewatch:
Maybe. I don’t think it was that bad of a drama and if I had the chance I probably would try to do a rewatch just to confirm my score.

In conclusion, I can see why it won the awards for best drama (because all the other shows from 2018 were terrible). Joe Ma really showed why he is one of the top actors with that performance and it set the stage for Matthew Ho’s rise in his career.

Read More

I don’t understand the hate…

伙记办大事 or Shadow of Justice is, in my opinion, getting hated on far too much. The criticism mostly comes from the lacklustre plot and focus over 常笑 and 戴政君 romance story.

Firstly, I would like to say that this was one of the first dramas I watched and it was THE ONE that got me into TVB dramas (along with 铁探 but thats for another review). This year, I decided to try my luck and rewatch it after reading the terrible reviews about it.

What did I think of it? I loved the show even more.

Plot:
The plot was compelling and complex, with the romantic and brotherhood scenes perfectly balanced. Another thing was the humour which was top notch. I loved the scenes of Bobby Au-yeung and Joe Ma when the were battling it out. The villains were also amazing, each one of them having an amazing personality and storyline. Even Matt Yeung and Jeannie Chan were great and I don’t get the hate about their acting.

The series from start to finish was excellent, something quite rare for TVB’s shows nowadays. I won’t spoil the show too much but I must say this is one of the best written dialogue and plot from a show I have ever seen. However the best part of this show was the foreshadowing. Brilliantly executed with the idea of 报应 and 天网恢恢，疏而不漏.

Acting:
If you thought the plot was good, the acting was even better in my opinion. Everyone acted well, no need for further elaboration.

Songs:
I loved the theme song 对与错 and I think it fits the theme perfectly. A slow-paced song but filled with meaningful lyrics and a midly catchy tune. The sub theme 错的一天 was even better and I would say was close to 越难越爱 from Jinny. One thing about TVB’s songs is that they play it waaay to often in their dramas. However, I never felt sick of hearing these two songs at all.

There are some problems though. The songs can be forgettable at times and I felt that sometimes the music didn’t really match the scene.

Rewatch:
Definitely. I decided its better when you rewatch it so you can see the depth of the excellent foreshadowing.

In summary, WOW. I am so surprised by the amount of people that don’t like this show (I might be on my own here). A controversial drama to start off my very first review ever but I just had to say what I had to say. I promise my reviews are not all this controversial (I like most shows that the general like, except for this and a few others.)

Take note this is just my personal opinion of this drama. Thanks for reading.

P.S. I hope I did well for my first ever drama review

Read More

Best drama of recent times

The name Hope Man is and will be forever stuck in my mind. This guy made my childhood, and got me into tvb dramas for real. Vincent Wong became my favourite actor because of this role, and of course with him leaving tvb this year it makes me very sad.

I simply cannot stress how much I loved this show. If you have the time, I highly recommend you watch it.

Lets get down to the reviewing:

Plot:
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. They somehow balanced crime, love, action, suspense and heartwarming scenes all into one single 28 episode drama. Every case, every character has the perfect backstory, and the perfect ending. The scene when Golden died saving Hope Man killed me emotionally, and Never’s death was even sadder.

The main theme of the story was prejudice and bias which appeared throughout the drama impeccably. My favourite was when Hope Man gave up the chance to see again to remove all bias from his heart, ultimately allowing him to stop the villain. I can’t go on for too long but just know its the best plot for any drama ive seen for a while.

Maybe they could have removed the part when Never came back from the dead but I think it didn’t affect anything much.

Acting:
There is a reason why the plot is so good - and that’s because of the remarkable acting from the cast. Not just Vincent Wong, Sisley Choi, Owen Cheung and Ali Lee all acted incredibly in their respective roles. The villain acted so well I wanted to punch him :). The actors in each individual case all put up a commendable performance too. Also, I have to acknowledge the amazing casting choices made. I don’t think anyone else could have played Hope Man, 癫姐, GoGo and Never.

Songs:
Obviously 心眼 was my favourite theme song for a long long time so easy 10/10. Vincent Wong really can sing! 爱近在眼前 by Stephanie Ho was also great although not as good as the main theme. I felt like another sub theme song could have been added to improve this category.

Rewatch:
Any day of the week.

踩过界 was a masterpiece. It hit all the right notes and is a highly underrated drama that you should watch. Can’t really say the same for 踩过界2 which will be tomorrow’s review.

Thanks for reading.

Read More

Love it but it has its flaws

I firmly believe that this show does not deserve the hate it gets. Its not meant to be a linewalker or the defected or tiger cubs for that matter. Its instead, a lighthearted, slightly different breed of police drama, which I actually like.

Although I love this show and I think it was the first ever tvb drama that I watched, it has its flaws, mainly in the plot.

Plot:
Ill keep it short here. The villain destroys everything. Its a lacklustre villain arc, with a pretty poor ending. I also did not like the ending when Owen Cheung chooses Sisley over the other girl, a bit confusing to be honest.

Acting:
I love Owen Cheung and this is definitely one of his best performances. Not only is his character extremely well written, his acting pull it off in simple, cheesy, Owen fashion. Matt Yeung also deserves some credit here although he has had some better roles (in 伙计办大事).

Songs:
There is no bad Fred Cheng song. Prove me wrong. Also the sub theme is ok but never really liked Hana and her deep voice.

Rewatch:
I would do it. Its a good mix of thrill and laughs.

Whatever the reviews say, don’t skip this show.

Read More

Almost killed me

I never thought a flying tiger show would be so bad. This show proved that it was possible.

If there was one show that I would say DONT WATCH. Its this show for sure.

Plot (I guess):
I don’t even know if this should be called a plot. Its so bad its comical. To start, the entire show is just people talking and there is absolutely no action whatsoever. Not to mention they decided to call the show 飞虎 but never showed the actual 飞虎 for more than 1 episode. The plot isn’t just boring too; the logic was so off.

Honestly it was such a pain to watch. Even the ending was so terrible as they didn’t even catch the main villain, instead they caught the guy being manipulated by the villain… Waste of time.

Acting:
If you ever decide to watch this show, its for the star studded cast. But even that cast could not save its downfall. I remember being stumped about how dumb the characters were as well. Especially Kenneth Ma. He was so useless.

Songs:
I mean, you would have to kill me to convince me that 呼吸有害 is a 飞虎 song. Its so slow and monotonous I doubted whether I was watching the right show.

Rewatch:
Easiest NO of my life.

Don’t watch it. Just don’t. It honestly should not be and is not 飞虎 drama. No point wasting 30 episodes of your life.

Read More

Its surprisingly good!

I somehow managed to watch the 飞虎 series backwards, which meant that I watched 壮志英雄 and 雷霆极战 before this show. Knowing how horrendous the latter was, I had no expectations whatsoever of the first series. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this drama very much despite it flaws.

Plot:
I felt they may have gone a bit too far as it was unrealistic most of the time. It actually showed scenes of 飞虎队 (one of the many reasons why I hated the second season), the action scenes were very good and all in all the romance was done perfectly.

Now the flaws. The ending was very unsatisfactory especially since they hyped up the big villain 红狼 for so long, only for him to die in a mediocre fight scene. Some of the scenes were also, as mentioned. a little strange and lacked logic. Honestly I only kept watching because of the action.

Acting:
The cast was massive and the acting really delivered. Once again, Bosco and Ron were incredible plus the legendary Michael Miu did well as usual. The problems arose from the villains. I did not enjoy watching any of them.

Songs:
I mean, who doesn’t like Reunion? Its the perfect 飞虎 song. The sub theme I can’t say the same. Bosco just sounds so similar to Ron that the song lacked depth.

Rewatch:
I always love a good crime thriller and 飞虎之潜行极战 is almost exactly that.

I am not looking forward to reviewing 雷霆极战…

Read More

The 强人 feel is back.

After 10 episodes, here are my thoughts about 企业强人. I have not had the greatest history with the whole 强人 series as I felt it was too political for my liking. Big White Duel 1 and 2 all followed the same theme and were pretty decent although I can't say the same for 破毒强人. Thankfully, the political theme has returned.

The show is mostly ok although certain parts of the transition between plots are a little messy. The acting was impressive from all characters except Shaun Tam who plays 徐道明. I know his character isn't meant to have a lot of emotions but seeing how well Moses Chan acted, I think he could have done much better. Moses, I feel has a great chance to win Best Actor again this year.

Will update more after I finish the show.

Update: Man I don’t know what to think. Firstly, Shaun Tam honestly, I don’t know how he ever won Best Actor because he is so goddamn annoying in this show. Its like he can only be an annoying idiot or an emotionless shell. Secondly, Katy Kung is brilliant. Somehow she’s turned out to be the most impressive of this cast.

I dropped the rating point purely because of Shaun Tam. Also im disappointed with the “argument” between 赵恺 and 道明, not very exciting. On the other hand the death of 方芳 father was shocking although they did not really care much about the emotions here.

Lets see if it can maintain its status as the best, so far, tvb drama of 2024. Although I suspect with 黑色月光 coming out soon, it will not be there for long…

Read More