The audience of this Chinese drama waited until their necks were long.
Finally, it is scheduled to start broadcasting eight sets of CCTV tomorrow night, and the screen is full of the familiar hardcore atmosphere of domestic crime suspense dramas.
The cast list made people react and gathered the top of the "uncle circle" - "National Movie King" Zhang Yi.
"Up-and-coming star in the uncle circle" Zhang Songwen.
"Gold Medal Supporting Role" Zhang Zhijian.
"Ruthless originator" Ni Dahong.
Positive, oblique, ruthless, crazy.
The four major acting schools gathered in a crime suspense drama.
Never endlessly? And even more -
Domestic drama "Quality Assurance", director Xu Jizhou (representative works "Indelible Fan" and "Special Combat Glory").
This configuration, just ask if your heart is moved, see it or not?!
"Crazy". On January 14, CCTV's eight sets of prime-time premiered and were broadcast online by iQiyi.
It just so happens that it is paired with "The Three-Body Problem", which has just been finalized, CCTV eight sets, and it is very likely that after the "Opponent" and "Knife in the Snow" of that year, the set broadcast mode will be launched again.
No wonder netizens say that CCTV is so ruthless, or it won't be broadcast, one broadcast is two annual anticipatory dramas, how can satellite TV still mix?
"Crazy", really ruthless.
Other powerful parties include Han Tongsheng, Li Jianyi, Shi Zhaoqi and other old drama bone supporting characters, in addition to Gao Ye, Wang Xiao, Wu Jian, Li Jian, Jia Bing and other powerful actors to help. Counting down, there are about 15 powerful actors joining, and the lineup is not too strong.
Netizens ridiculed that most of the powerful actors in the entertainment industry have entered the crew of "Crazy".
And more than that.
There is also a striking introduction in the play that particularly attracted me: "The Publicity and Education Bureau of the Central Political and Legal Commission and the Information Center for Comprehensive Management of Political and Legal Affairs of the Central Political and Legal Commission jointly guided." ”
Good guy, instantly reminiscent of "Sweeping Black Storm" adapted from a scale explosion and a real case. It gave people goosebumps all over their bodies.
To ask which type of theme work in these years of domestic dramas has the most painful sense of reality, and at the same time has thrilling entertainment?
There is no doubt that it is a crime suspense drama with a sweeping theme.
Since the broadcast of "In the Name of the People" in 2017, it has received extremely high attention and ratings.
Since then, the film and television industry has set off a shooting boom of similar dramas.
During this period, many hot dramas were also born, such as "Icebreaking Action" in 2019, "Sweeping Black Storm" in 2021, "Punishment" and "Ice Rain and Fire" last year.
Each one can ignite the enthusiasm of the audience and set off a ratings frenzy.
In 2023, who can become the next blockbuster anti-black drama after "Black Storm"?
"Crazy" undoubtedly has this strength, and even, it is possible to surpass "Black Storm" and break the audience's inherent impression of the "crime suspense drama" of the anti-black theme again.
It's definitely a hard dish, dark enough, ruthless enough, hard enough.
What is even more rare is that this annual anticipation drama has come up with the ambition to create an epic of period dramas.
1. The story is hardcore, not afraid of scale, and also has the temperament of a period drama, this big drama is enjoyable enough
Without a good story, even the best lineup is blind.
And the story of "Crazy" is extremely emotional at first glance.
It tells the story of the male protagonist An Xin who is not afraid of danger, and under the careful deployment of the guidance group, fights wits and courage with the protective umbrella and the underworld forces. In the end, the powerful group that has been entrenched in Jinghai for many years was uprooted, and Gao Qiqiang, a criminal and evil force in the Jinghai area, was arrested.
Finished? Of course it's not that simple. Judging from the final trailer, although the trailer is only nearly two minutes, there are many highlights and information points covered in it.
The first highlight of the plot is the sense of age.
The first line at the beginning has already made people's scalps tingle: "Can the anti-gang crime eradication and the education and rectification of the political and legal contingent really not be limited to one time and one place?" ”
The next line directly opens the pattern of the whole play: "If necessary, start checking backwards from 20 years ago." ”
The camera turned, and through the three time points of 2000, 2006 and 2021, the trailer explained the different paths of the two characters of An Xin played by Zhang Yi and Gao Qiqiang played by Zhang Songwen.
One was a new police officer 20 years ago, and one was a bullied fishmonger 20 years ago.
20 years later, one became a good policeman with white hair but no change, and the other completed a triple jump from a fishmonger and became the boss of the underworld forces.
The two are old acquaintances, but 20 years later, good and evil are incompatible.
Through the brief history of the two characters, it reflects the contest between the Jinghai City criminal police team and the underworld forces and the protective forces behind him.
Do not blow or black, this temperament and pattern, is definitely not a simple anti-black drama, but a crime suspense era drama.
The second characteristic is that there is no taboo about scale.
The trailer opens with a scene where the anti-gang crime supervision group vehicles rush to Jinghai City, and a group of seemingly local reception staff wait on the highway.
But the vehicle passed straight through, leaving the reception staff with a confused look.
Good guys, it's really full of information at the beginning.
The next shot of everything, the audience's heart hangs again.
In the dark, the bodies of the victims were exhumed in the river and in the factory.
There are also victims in the car, threatened, intimidated, and even besieged by gangs of underworld forces.
Someone was directly pushed off the construction site. And sudden explosions.
This rampant underworld force really ignores the existence of the law.
There is also a scene in the trailer: a petition full of handprints is opened, and the character played by Wu Bing can't help but sigh: Has there been no mass report in ten years?
An Xin, played by Zhang Yi, said lightly: they were all intercepted.
Shocking, terrifying, but the process of performance is extremely light.
How long has it been since you watched such a single-handed, vigorous opening of a Chinese drama?!
"Ten years, too many people have died in vain, and too many things have been suppressed in vain", seeing this, the cold hairs on my back stood up.
But what is more sensual is still to come -
The third major feature of the whole drama, strong showdown.
The villain, fierce, domineering, not easy to deal with.
Gao Qiqiang had just been released from the police station, and the mistress played by Gao Ye and his subordinates asked him: Who are you going to talk to when you just came out?
He just said: everyone.
With the calmest expression and the most hateful words, this villain is very unusual.
In the next scene, he continued to say cruelly to the former boss: The bigger the wind and waves, the fish, the more expensive!
Word by word.
At this point, a criminal chain in Jinghai City has been presented:
The strategizing "talker", the "bullies" who do the dirty work, and the umbrella behind the arrogance of criminals.
The hierarchy is strict and the division of labor is clear.
But the forces of justice are not vegetarian either.
Pay attention to a scene where An Xin bumps into his superiors in front of the overall situation, and the leader played by Zhang Zhijian has a sentence: let him say.
Let him say, An Xin really dares to say: I suspect that there is a problem with some comrades.
In the next scene, a killer directly rides on a motorcycle and performs a speeding car stunt that shoots and kills people in the street in front of An Xin.
The battle between good and evil, fierce fighting, and investigating the inner ghost, this plot is absolutely idle.
But the next scene is the top 1 heartbeat scene in the current trailer in my heart:
Zhang Yi and Zhang Songwen, An Xin and Gao Qiqiang, one-on-one, face to face.
Zhang Songwen: After so many years, how come it is still one and the same.
Zhang Yi: I didn't catch you.
Zhang Songwen smiled gently: Delayed you?
A simple dialogue, a powerful actor performs, the drama is powerful.
Who is the umbrella, the mystery has long been hidden in the poster.
Simple and clear: behind Zhang Yi, Wu Bing stood, and behind Zhang Songwen, Zhang Zhijian.
Is the opposition between good and evil that simple? Not necessarily, it may also be a smoke bomb thrown by the director.
The only thing that is certain is that what the protagonist steps on is not only the interlocking labyrinth of human hearts, but also the code to eliminate evil for traces.
Who is the ghost? Who are the people?
Don't worry, let the bullets fly for a while. The water is too deep in the Jinghai this time.
But when a stone is dropped, it stirs up the sediment buried at the bottom of the river for ten years, muddying the clarity of the surface.
The ruthlessness of the story is hidden under the calm water, and the deeper you go, the more terrifying it is.
Such a story is enough.
02 Starring Zhang Yi and Zhang Songwen, 15 powerful actors sit in the lineup, it is not too much to say that this is a feast of acting skills
Such a big drama, the main creator at the helm is of course important, and the director of this play is Xu Jizhou.
Since entering the industry, he is good at criminal investigation and suspense themes, and has participated in dramas such as "Chinese Criminal Police" and "Fighting Black Storm" early on.
Later anti-war dramas such as "Indelible Fan" and "Killing the Tiger's Mouth" are high-quality anti-war dramas of about eight points, and "Indelible Fan" has also been nominated for the Magnolia Award.
The characteristic of his work is hardcore. The story is hard, the action scenes are hard, the rhythm is strong, and there is no water.
It can be said that as soon as he made a move, the rhythm of "Crazy" was absolutely soaring, what rhythm is warm, the plot is scattered, and the love scenes full of screens, I don't want to think about it.
The director himself put a sentence: for the past twenty years, it seems that they have been preparing for this play.
Worried about him shooting indiscriminately? I don't believe it.
The story and director are stable, and the actors are stable? Just don't be too steady.
Since the announcement of the show's lineup, there has been a saying on the Internet that "the rush is the rush of the acting skills".
More than 10 powerful people, "In the Name of the People" acting team group, top strength acting showdown, this statement, "Crazy" can really hold up.
Let's first talk about the two leading actors of "Crazy", known as the "Double King Fried Group".
It can be said that the 40 episodes of the whole drama are the stage for the two to fight.
Let's start with Zhang Yi.
As a representative of the acting school among the actors of the Mesozoic generation, Zhang Yi's acting skills need not be said.
Over the years, from the TV series "Soldier Assault" and "Chicken Feathers Fly into the Sky" to the movies "On the Cliff" and "Ten Thousand Miles Home".
Zhang Yi is a walking acting certificate, which play is put in, the role played will be stable. But to say that it is a pity that in recent years, he has repeatedly achieved great results in the film field, not only good acting skills, but also carrying the box office.
But in the field of TV dramas, the two roles he really sealed and made countless people intoxicated are Meng Annoyed in "My Regiment Leader My Regiment" and Chen Jianghe in "Chicken Feathers Fly to the Sky".
But in recent years, his TV series works, such as "Rebirth" and "The Gate of Rebirth", his personal performances are still speechless, but they are not classic due to multiple reasons such as the quality of the series and the acting skills of his partners.
As the most powerful and down-to-earth actor among the male actors of the middle generation, the audience expects him to come up with better roles.
And the criminal police officer An Xin in "Crazy" is very likely to be Zhang Yi's best TV series role in the past six years, and there is no one.
The best thing about this character is not in identity, but in flesh and blood.
There is a scene in the play where the criminal police collectively sing, "Anxin, you boldly go forward, go forward."
Obviously, without his identity, he is first and foremost a responsible and moralistic man.
This hot-blooded man, from young impulsiveness to gray hair, the growth and frustration of the characters in it are all dramas.
The play is there, can Zhang Yi act it? It's so actual.
Also, another performance characteristic of Zhang Yi is that when he is strong, he is strong, and the stronger the opponent, the higher his drama is.
This time his opponent is Zhang Songwen.
The performance is stateful, and Zhang Songwen, as an acting school with a high degree of discussion and rapid rise in recent years, is undoubtedly in good shape.
Crime suspense dramas, the best is often the confrontation between good and evil acting skills, "In the Name of the People" drama is powerful, to a large extent, a group of old dramas bone fighting dramas are wonderful, a negative role in a high Yuliang old calculation, a Qi Tongwei and the sky to compete, acting sparks continuously.
In "Sweeping Black Storm", the black and white duel between Sun Honglei and Wang Zhifei is also hearty.
It can be said that the shaping of the villain has a great impact on the excitement of the entire show. If the villain is too weak, it will greatly weaken the excitement of the series.
This time, the pressure of the villain mainly comes from Gao Qiqiang, played by Zhang Songwen.
As a late bloomer, after becoming popular with a "Hidden Corner", Zhang Songwen has starred in many works such as "Meritorious Service" and "Home of the Heart", which has long proved that he has thousands of faces on the screen.
And this time starring in "Crazy", which can be regarded as a collection of the highlights of many of his past role interpretations.
On the one hand, this is a small person.
Once a fishmonger, he was always bullied and slapped by Gao Ye's character.
Later, he became bigger, and still did not forget to use the experience of selling fish: "The higher the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish." ”
On the other hand, this is a ruthless character.
Why is this villain ruthless?
From treating Ni Dahong's role as a godfather, and even kneeling down to curry favor.
To the cunning of admonishing his subordinates that "as long as we don't touch the cordon, we will always be safe".
To the end hysterical madness, one to the end.
Previously, in the movie "Sweeping Black Decisive Battle", Zhang Songwen played "umbrella", this time he played the underworld forces, ostensibly the boss of the local powerful group, but in fact manipulated the underworld gangs, and many officials acted as his umbrella.
The surface is gentle, but behind the scenes, it is extremely vicious, and everything is evil.
This is not just to see how Zhang Yi interprets the story of overthrowing the underworld forces.
It is also a story of the black boss from rising and growing to being disintegrated.
Once this drama soars, it is definitely the bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the acting skills.
In addition to the two protagonists, there are also 10 powerful people sitting in the play. Let's first talk about "In the Name of the People" The three powerful factions who came to the team building.
The third place, Wu Gang.
In "Operation Icebreaker", he is an old police officer who commands Ruoding.
In "Qing Yu Nian", he is Chen Pingping who controls the situation in a wheelchair.
This time, he played a clearly decent role, and it was a key help for An Xin to pull out the local underworld forces.
Wu Gang came to play, just one word, steady.
The fourth place, Zhang Zhijian.
The role that made Zhang Zhijian out of the circle was Gao Yuliang in "In the Name of the People".
But before that, from Dong Jianchang in "The Right Way is Vicissitudes" to Xiao Ge Lao in "Daming Dynasty 1566", Zhang Zhijian's acting skills have long been a god.
In the last "Awakening Promoter", although the plot caused controversy, Zhang Zhijian's villain acting skills throughout the whole process were well received, which also proved that he can never only play domineering roles.
This time, he played Meng Dehai, the leader of the police station, in "Crazy", which seems to be more likely to be evil.
If my guess is correct, it means that Gao Yuliang and Secretary Dakang in "In the Name of the People" will once again stage a battle between pros and cons, and it is enjoyable to think about.
The fifth, Li Jianyi.
Gao Yuliang and Secretary Da Kang came, and so did Procurator General Ji.
As a national first-class actor, Li Jianyi's role as the great eunuch Cao Zhengchun in "The First in the World" is still impressive, and the most dazzling thing in "In the Name of the People" is not him, but the more I reminisce about this drama, the more I feel that his Season Prosecutor General played well, all in detail.
This time, the role he played is not known about the good and evil, I guess it is positive, otherwise the villain power will be too strong and too difficult to deal with.
Sixth, Wang Xiao.
It is not only the existence of the top acting skills in the second generation of stars, but also the most stable existence in the new generation of acting schools.
Although he became famous late, Wang Xiao has definitely been a good work in recent years, and in the past two years alone, the performances in "Fengqi Longxi", "Big Examination" and "County Party Committee Compound" have all been well known.
His role in this play is only a supporting role, but the phrase "never participated" shows that the character definitely has a scene.
Seventh place, high leaf.
Another acting school that has emerged in recent years.
Since her femme fatale role in "I Am Yu Huanshui" came out of the circle, her performances in the next "Out of Court" and "Obsession Like a Shadow" were wonderful every time.
The role she played this time, which squeezed Gao Qiqiang at the beginning, later became Gao Qiqiang's lover and subordinate, obviously a ruthless role.
A scene of slapping Gao Qiqiang, from a furious to an instant emotional outburst, the costume and eyes are full of ruthlessness, and I am already looking forward to the rivalry between her and Zhang Songwen.
Eighth place, Ni Dahong.
Since "Daming Dynasty 1566", Ni Dahong is a representative of the acting school of the play with eye bags.
Su Daqiang, the masterpiece of "It's All Very Good", is even more fandom. Recently, in "Even with the Wind", he played the father of Jin Dong's role, a play of "dumplings" that symbolizes life, which is moving.
This time, his role should be to support Gao Qiqiang's black boss, and the sentence "The wind and waves in Jinghai are very big, not that you can calm it" is domineering.
Playing this kind of role is familiar to him, just look at how brilliant it is.
Ninth, Jia Bing.
Many audiences have the impression of him as the Spring Festival Gala and comedy movies, such as the conductor who bears most of the laughs in "Mother".
But there are not too many cases of comedians acting in dramas, and I can say that Jia Bing's performance this time is full of expectations, he is definitely not here to play tickets.
The tenth place to be said next is the biggest unknown of the show, Li Yitong.
The problem is not in Li Yitong's acting skills, but in the role.
Many recent crime suspense dramas have a common feature, that is, there are always female characters who drag their feet.
The memorial in "Punishment", Chen Ke in "Icebreaking Action", and Xia Jingyi in "Trident" are not flattering, it seems that when it comes to such a strong dramatic male drama, the screenwriter does not know how to write female characters.
Judging from the director's past works, he is also good at men's dramas, so the pressure came to Li Yitong's side.
Since his debut, Li Yitong has performed well in dramas such as "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "Borderless", and his acting skills in this wave of actresses can be said to be not bad, but the disadvantage is that the performance is not stable.
Meng Yu, played by her this time, has a close relationship with An Xin, played by Zhang Yi, is the daughter of the leader of the Public Security Bureau, and is also the childhood sweetheart of the male protagonist.
If Zhang Zhijian's role is indeed an "umbrella", then she will undoubtedly fall into a dilemma, the role has a play to play, but what kind of acting, depends on Li Yitong's play.
In addition, there are national first-class actor Han Tongsheng, criminal investigation drama veteran drama bone Shi Zhaoqi, director old partner, Li Jian, who became famous for the role of Sun Chenghai in "The Indelible Fan", Hao Ping in "Trident", Zhao Da who played "Daxun" in "Great River" and other good actors.
Looking at the trailer, every character is not easy to mess with.
And the characters have their own identities, and behind the identities are their own purposes and minds.
Some are silent, but they suppress a fierceness.
An annual acting drama is not running.
03 How to break through the crime suspense drama with the theme of anti-black and watch "Crazy"
From the current national drama market, suspenseful crime dramas with anti-black themes are definitely in the limelight.
After "In the Name of the People", many similar works emerged, unconsciously forming a strong audience expectation.
But in recent years, this genre has also encountered bottlenecks: there are many hot dramas and few good works.
Take the hot dramas "Black Storm", "Ice Rain and Fire" and "Punishment" in the past two years, although the popularity and discussion are good, the scores are about 7 points.
Not bad, but not a small gap from the classic.
The biggest problem is that it seems that the theme has changed, but the routine has not changed, and the mystery of guessing the identity of the inner ghost and the male protagonist is familiar to the audience.
How to break the game?
"Crazy" looks like a little way.
In terms of content, through a period of 20 years, it not only tells the story of sweeping away gangsters and evil, but also tells the chronicle of the rise and fall of underworld forces, and is also a memoir of the "anti-gang crime and anti-evil struggle". There is a pattern.
In terms of production, filming took 120 days, with more than 600 cast members and about 10,000 group performers.
In order to present the changes of the times, more than 100 filming locations were used, covering an area of more than 80,000+ square meters, and more than 6,500 costumes were featured in the whole play. Enough care.
In the performance, actors such as Zhang Yi, Zhang Songwen, Wu Gang, etc., many dangerous shots were personally on the stage. Hard enough.
In terms of depth, the series did not blindly embark on the old road of pure entertainment, but tried to use this theme to dig out more depth and novelty at the human level.
Such ambition coupled with the top-level lineup configuration, coupled with CCTV's broadcast platform, will undoubtedly make a good start, but whether the series can become a classic depends on the stamina. The plot is an old problem often committed in domestic dramas, and it is also a taboo in domestic suspense dramas.
If "Crazy" can really blow up the start and go all the way to the end, then the audience's 2023 national drama will gain far more than just a blockbuster.
Don't forget that last year's annual Chinese drama "The World" came out at the beginning of the year.