Word of Honor

I often just watch highlights of a series, especially Chinese series cause many them of have such a large number of episodes with a lot of filters. However, each episode in this series is quite dense with plot details and forshadowings. Actions scenes has good choreography and stays true to its genres. The two leads portray their character spendidly, especially through their eyes and microexpressions. They also performed most of the action scenes themselves. The supporting charactors also have interesting backstories. Dispite the limited budget, the crews has delivered a high quality series with a lot of hearts in it.

The best thing I like about Wuxia dramas is the beautiful fight scenes and intricate martial arts choreography. The background in this drama is a bit fake (due to low budget?) but the fight scenes are awesome. I've really enjoyed watching Wen Kexing fighting with martial arts masters like Zhao Jing, Mo Huaiyang and Ye Baiyi; he looks really cool when showcasing his self-taught kung fu.

Gong Jun portrayed the deep-minded, innocent and cruel Master of the Ghost Valley Wen Kexing very well. Wen Kexing is a moody person and the interchanging of emotions is difficult to act but Gong Jun nailed it (e.g. One second he is happy and the next second he is angry). Wen Kexing is cruel but has a kind heart. He wants to avenge his murdered parents but he has never harmed any innocent people. I like watching his gentle interactions with beautiful A Xiang and Chengling.

Gong Jun and Zhou Ye are the best-looking artists in this drama. :-)

I was almost throwing up when I watched the first episode. It was confusing and the acting was too exaggerated. I wanted to give up but was persuaded by a friend to give it a chance. I fast forward a lot to get to the parts that I found ,ore interesting. I am glad I gave it a chance as the actors that came after were much better. I enjoyed the interactions between Wen Kexing and Guxiang. They were boss and maid, and yet get along more like brother and sister. Guxiang's wedding was a scene that deeply touched me. We KeXing did everything to make it a beautiful wedding, however, the so-called "righteous" people made it a killing field. It's so similar to the world we live in. Unscrupulous people work to destroy other's reputation and hard work for their own pleasure and use "justice" and "righteousness" to camouflage their own interests. It's worth reflecting the plot of this drama.

Wen Kexing stole the show. This role was so successful and popular because Gong Jun interpreted it very well and immersed himself in the role. WenKexing is a multi-faceted and complex character. How Gong Jun handled the switching between kindness and cruelty is spot-on. WenKexing is a classic role and will forever be in the hearts of the audience.

On the other hand, I am confused by the blank stare acting of Zhou Zishu. It is odd and illogical for an immoral former leader of an assassination organization to act like a saint after he left the organization. It is either due to poor script or poor acting. This character is a turn-off for me and therefore I couldn't give this drama a 10-star.

There are several points for an 9 star review but first, I'll explain why not a 10 star review: because of the camera work and sound design. I don't know if the director (or directors?) had a not so great camera team operator because in some scenes you can see the way the camera shakes and it's not consistent with the feeling of the scene. Although I understand why the sound design needed to be covered by the BGM because of the loud exterior sounds of other productions that happened in the same place and at the same time, there's no enough digetic sound to give more dimensionality to the overall picture. With dubbing it's another issue that I don't have right to make criticism.

However, why 9 stars? Because even though it was a low budget production, it doesn't feel like one. It's obvious the production knew their weaknesses and their strengths and exploited both of them.

The first thing I applaud is the script. The script writer was debuting in this work, and already had done a excellent job of conveying the substancial (romantic) relationship of ZZS and WKX. It is not at all surprising that both GJ and ZZH were able to demonstrate good acting skills here, because the script worked on their behalf.

The second thing is the plot, although it falls into varied exhibition dialogues (understandable, because after all it is in television format), is interesting enough to be able to continue watching and waiting for the next episode. Besides, the cast doesn't fall behind; although not everyone is at the level of the skill of ZZH or the other veteran actors, they stand in their own enough to show a convincing performance.

And the last thing: the fight scenes. In the first episodes those aren't too great because of the edited slow motion, but later in the ongoing episodes, the fights have improved a lot, so much so that they give me adrenaline.

From a point of a viewer who has not seen many Chinese dramas, this series is quite recommended to enter the world of wuxia stories. Please love this serie! By the way, you can find the free episodes 1-10 at Youku channel.