4
26
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MyLangyaList
Focus on the prize ... Sima Yi understands, the director clearly doesn't.
‒Overview‒
For review of part 1 of the series, see review for Advisors Alliance (https://mydramalist.com/profile/MyLangyaList/review/406400). Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon picks up where Advisors Alliance left off with a dying Cao Pi who passes the throne to a tormented, vengeful, but also calculated Cao Rui. RTGD focuses on the battle of wits and will between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang, then Sima Yi's and his family's rise to power. The show inherits both the positives and negatives of AA. The iconic plotline, pivotal events, and more action-oriented battles between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang makes for a more exciting watch. At the same time, the incongruency in characterization and tone are at times more pronounced in RTGD. For those not troubled by its issues, this could be an epic watch. But for those who are (like yours truly), it's a viewing experience best cut short lest one wants to submit to an increasingly lackluster experience.
‒The Good‒
- Expensive production with gorgeous indoor and outdoor sets and costumes to match.
- Expansive and gripping battle scenes, and a lot more of them
- Solid depiction of Zhuge Liang, and his similarity and rivalry with Sima Yi
- Solid lineup of actors with great performances in various scenes
- Political ploys, intrigues, and dialogues that much cleverer than the average show
‒The Questionable/Bad‒
- The drama tries to straddle the line between a prestige historical and a lighter costume drama. But the injection of a lighthearted moments detracted from the gravity of show and interfered with character building of these serious historical figures. At times this was a mere nuisance. But in other moments, the ridiculous levity in tone completely annihilated the character, worldbuilding, and gravity of the show. You get a bunch of weird cutaway transitions with a slick sound effect in episode 26, to wrangle a few drops of comedy out of the episode. Then in Episode 27, the ridiculousness culminated in a dying Cao Rui summons Sima Yi to either be anointed as a guardian for the new Emperor or be killed. It should be such a tense and precarious moment, yet the director completely bastardized the moment by sending soldiers stumbling into the hall to kill Sima Yi, because they misread the Emperor's signals. And they did this 3 times!!! Even before Cao Rui was dead, all the tension, intrigue, and calculations of a pivotal moment was completely buried.
At times, you can feel the director channeling his inner Ah Dou, trying his best to squander away the massive budget, talented cast, and marvelous source material for some cheap laughs. If this was made today, he'd be randomly dropping Tiktok effects in the episodes. If he was escorting at a brothel, he'd be whoring away for Twizzlers. If he was a chef, he'd first shit on his hands show you all sorts of weird and vomit-inducing acts, before showering and sanitizing himself and make a meal for you with his bare hands. Sure, in theory his hands are just as clean, but who would want to eat out of that? That's what he does to the story and characters constantly, dunking them into off-putting cesspools before trying to sell the audience on stirring and momentous scenes.
Anyways, despite my rant, there were still enough highlight moments in the show to make it a worthwhile, though forgettable watch. But as Three Kingdoms have taught me, know when to quit, 走为上计, I dropped at Ep 27 to avoid the increasingly disappointing episodes that awaited.
‒Category Ratings‒
- Overall - 7.5
- Plot - 7.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 7
- Acting - 8
- Visuals - 8.5
- Audio / Music - 7.5
- Rewatch - 7
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8
For review of part 1 of the series, see review for Advisors Alliance (https://mydramalist.com/profile/MyLangyaList/review/406400). Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon picks up where Advisors Alliance left off with a dying Cao Pi who passes the throne to a tormented, vengeful, but also calculated Cao Rui. RTGD focuses on the battle of wits and will between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang, then Sima Yi's and his family's rise to power. The show inherits both the positives and negatives of AA. The iconic plotline, pivotal events, and more action-oriented battles between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang makes for a more exciting watch. At the same time, the incongruency in characterization and tone are at times more pronounced in RTGD. For those not troubled by its issues, this could be an epic watch. But for those who are (like yours truly), it's a viewing experience best cut short lest one wants to submit to an increasingly lackluster experience.
‒The Good‒
- Expensive production with gorgeous indoor and outdoor sets and costumes to match.
- Expansive and gripping battle scenes, and a lot more of them
- Solid depiction of Zhuge Liang, and his similarity and rivalry with Sima Yi
- Solid lineup of actors with great performances in various scenes
- Political ploys, intrigues, and dialogues that much cleverer than the average show
‒The Questionable/Bad‒
- The drama tries to straddle the line between a prestige historical and a lighter costume drama. But the injection of a lighthearted moments detracted from the gravity of show and interfered with character building of these serious historical figures. At times this was a mere nuisance. But in other moments, the ridiculous levity in tone completely annihilated the character, worldbuilding, and gravity of the show. You get a bunch of weird cutaway transitions with a slick sound effect in episode 26, to wrangle a few drops of comedy out of the episode. Then in Episode 27, the ridiculousness culminated in a dying Cao Rui summons Sima Yi to either be anointed as a guardian for the new Emperor or be killed. It should be such a tense and precarious moment, yet the director completely bastardized the moment by sending soldiers stumbling into the hall to kill Sima Yi, because they misread the Emperor's signals. And they did this 3 times!!! Even before Cao Rui was dead, all the tension, intrigue, and calculations of a pivotal moment was completely buried.
At times, you can feel the director channeling his inner Ah Dou, trying his best to squander away the massive budget, talented cast, and marvelous source material for some cheap laughs. If this was made today, he'd be randomly dropping Tiktok effects in the episodes. If he was escorting at a brothel, he'd be whoring away for Twizzlers. If he was a chef, he'd first shit on his hands show you all sorts of weird and vomit-inducing acts, before showering and sanitizing himself and make a meal for you with his bare hands. Sure, in theory his hands are just as clean, but who would want to eat out of that? That's what he does to the story and characters constantly, dunking them into off-putting cesspools before trying to sell the audience on stirring and momentous scenes.
Anyways, despite my rant, there were still enough highlight moments in the show to make it a worthwhile, though forgettable watch. But as Three Kingdoms have taught me, know when to quit, 走为上计, I dropped at Ep 27 to avoid the increasingly disappointing episodes that awaited.
‒Category Ratings‒
- Overall - 7.5
- Plot - 7.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 7
- Acting - 8
- Visuals - 8.5
- Audio / Music - 7.5
- Rewatch - 7
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8
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