akwonghuynh

Season 1 and 2, Designated Surivor introduced plots and narratives that were a mixed bag. Some were enthralling and alluded to bigger plots, but ultimately led to nowhere, or went out with a whimper. Other elements led to unforseen twists which spiced up the story.

Without any spoilers, there were plots that I had hoped were expanded upon or developed further, rather than being conviniently wrapped up by the end of the episode with little consequence. However, with that being said, there were little details that turned into something big and added a bit of danger to the story.

Maybe this was due to budget constraints or ABC oversight from preventing the series from becoming too dark, because I don't believe that the writers who brainstormed some pretty solid ideas, wanted those ideas to pan out the way they did.

Season 3, is helmed purely by Netflix, and it shows. That's not necessarily a good nor bad thing. The season still suffers from the "long build and anti-climatic whimper" the first two seasons had. Some story points just wrapped up too quickly after they build up they were given. In essence, great concepts but poor execution still plagues this series.

The language is a bit vulgar and gratuitous, hitting me like a freight train roaring down a mountain. The showed laid it on heavy, probably wanting to hammer home that Designated Survivor is now Netflix's new dark-gritty baby and potential heir to House of Cards. The series practically broke the fourth wall when a certain character swore. The language was toned down later on in the season, and the writers reserved its usage to add a punchier effect.

Another thing I noticed with Season 3 is how slanted the politics were, compared to the previous seasons. ABC (according to them) tries to be politically unbiased, and so the first two seasons attempted to reflect that. The villains were based on groups in the real world, but it was far removed enough that there was no direct link. The politics espoused by the President's speech were distinctly centrist. But in Season 3, there is a left wing slant no matter how hard the series tries to tell me that it is centrist. This is mostly a result of the season having a distinct tone of identity politics that just feels off. That being said, the left wing politcs is nowhere near "West Wing" levels, so the politically right leaning shouldn't be turned off by it (I'm also certain West Wing never bothered with identity politics either. It was a show from a different time). The series still does take potshots at both ends of the political spectrum, just not as strongly as the first two, and also notes that not all groups are monolithic, which is nice. However, there is a definite Left-wing slant in Season 3. Right wing extremist groups are mentioned a lot, but not a peep about left wing extremists.

Season 3 also takes a lot cues from what's happening in the world right now. I can't quite articulate it, but there's something jarring about watching the series and instantly being reminded about a certain rally that happened in the real world not too long ago. I'm don't find it off-putting per se, but I do find it jarring and that it would make the season feel dated in later years to come. Not to mention, these references are just that, references. They don't really add anything to the story, or the over arching plot.

This is an issue that I'm noticing more in Season 3, than the first two seasons. There are character arcs that serve no other purpose than just padding out the run time and attempting to make them more than just cardboard cutouts.

Which brings me to my next point, there are a few characters missing. There is a convinient narrative explanation for this, but when you think about the characters that are affected by it, it doesn't make sense as to why they're absent. I am aware that the actors and actresses may not be available for whatever reason and had to have been replaced, but there are a lot of turnovers, and some of the replacements don't feel as valuable or as likeable as their predecessors.

Lastly, the music. I usually don't coment on music, but some of the selections used at the end of certain episodes felt off, considering the subject matter they finished with. The tunes were a bit too spirited for a moment that should be tragic and horrifying.

I know my review has largely been negative so far, but I'll list the good. -Kirkman's character development and interaction with family -Emily's development -New Chief of Staff Mars. He's a new addition but I really enjoyed his arc. Arguably the best part of Season 3. -The Campaign Manager. This character is a barrel of excitement. -A different portrayal of the CIA. In most media, the CIA is always portrayed as this overly powerful organisation that skirts the rules whenever it chooses. Here they're shown as an Agency with not enough domestic resources. I don't know how representative that is of real life, but it's a refreshing change. -Dr Eli, he's a geneticist. Great character. The scientific matieral in season 3 is surprisingly accurate, albeit broad. I guess they don't want to be caught out by the details, but it's nice to see things that are more authentic at first glance.

I watched this on Netflix, and their discription of the film was something along the lines of "a maverick leader and a clever young general take on the Japanese pirates amid bureaucratic intrigue in Ming Dynasty China". In reality, the film is more "a clever young general takes on Japanese pirates" with bureaucratic intrigue in Ming Dynasty China as a mere backdrop. The film does alllude to bureaucratic politics in the first half of the film, but it is left to the wayside into the second half with no mention of it at the conclusion of the story. We're sort of left hanging about the characters who appeared in the first half that were involved in the politics of the Ming Dynasty.

The second half of the film focuses on two battles - and that's fine. However with a fairly crowded cast, some of the characters' death are left me feeling unempathetic. Had the film focused on developing these certain characters more in the first half of the film, it would've been more impactful. We simply didn't get time to grow attached to the characters that die.

Personally, I think the movie would've been better if it just focused on the general chasing the pirates and with very light sprinkles of his maverick leader trying to get him the funds for his army. Then the first half of the film could focus on the general training his troops, and the second half can be the battles. The movie also gets bogged down with comedic scenes between the General and his wife. I found it touching and funny, but it did make me stop and wonder when the battles were going to happen, this film is around the 2hr mark.

However, these scenes were all to humanise the General and his wife, who plays an integral part in one of the battles later on in the film. She ticks the standard "badass waifu" that we all wish had our backs, and the actress does a pretty good job of convincing me that she's exhaustedly and desperately hacking away at Japanese soldiers.

Now it would be jarring to see a 5ft6 petite woman carving her way through katanna wielding troops, but the film does it in a way that she manages to get the jump on them in the heat of battle, rather than going toe to toe with countless men. And of course, a few people have to bail her out in battle - she's not a Mary Sue (which is to be expected because Asian cinema knows how to write strong yet not overpowered female characters) So point in favour to the creative minds behind that.

Next up, I appreciate how the film takes the time to develop the Japanese characters, from the wise leader, to the young and honourable samurai, and the dishonourable ronins. The film makes a clear distinction that the ronin are the ones doing the messy work, and are barbaric in their behaviour much to the disgust of their samurai leaders. The samurai aren't the cliche evil Japanese characters we see so much in Chinese film, which is a nice change of pace for once. "Ip Man" was a bit too heavy handed on the anti-Japanese sentiment.

Finally we have the action. It's good, no shaky cam and well choreographed scenes make it worth the wait. It's no "Red Cliff", but it is more than adequate and not as fantastical as other similar epics such as "The Curse of the Golden Flower" - which is a good thing.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and the battle scenes definitely made up for the wait.