In the emptiness of the drama, a drama just popped up.
After two years of pressing, the low-key online directly detonated the hot search.
This fire is not easy to come - Youku's last popular suspense drama was Pan Yueming's "White Night Chase".
And the last costume detective drama with a double male theme, "Gentleman League" starring Jing Boran and Song Weilong, was launched online and finished broadcasting in a low-key manner.
In short, it is the audience that originally "hates iron and can't do it". Believe, and not so daring.
Unexpectedly, after the broadcast, it turned out to be extremely word-of-mouth, but it seemed to be so interesting.
"Light Yuan", starring, Zhang Xincheng + Fu Xinbo, the original "Silent Reading".
Bad reviews, mostly from original fans, the evaluation is surprisingly consistent: magic reform, embarrassment, character creation failure.
Praise, but obviously from those who have not read the original: I didn't read it, it's really okay to watch it when a criminal investigation drama.
So how is this show?
Is it the actors or the play itself that causes controversy?
You have to find out for yourself.
Brushing eight episodes in one breath, it's time to give a conclusion: this online drama has three highlights, a big embarrassment, and two regrets.
Next, let's break it with everyone one by one.
01, first of all, embarrassment: science fiction is set into chicken ribs
The first thing that makes people black is the sci-fi setting.
The story opens with a plot setting: another time and space and another civilization, New Century 253, behind the soaring crime rate, it is related to the "zero degree empathe".
The so-called zero degree empathizer is because of genetic attributes, there is no way to have emotional empathy with other people, which is equal to the beginning, pointing out the setting of "gene crime".
In the display of the sci-fi scene of this play, the opening can be described as sparing no effort.
For example, what the neighborhood of the future will look like.
Everywhere are large fluorescent screens with cyber-meaning, and full of the taste of the traditional opening scene of sci-fi films.
Also explained a cowhide department: hope for crime, special investigation team ...
The details are in place and self-contained.
Another example is a city full of dark colors.
Under the tall buildings, there is a lot of evil.
In less than one episode, the series shows a Gotham-style parallel universe sci-fi city, chaotic enough and dark enough.
However, this setting did not continue.
After the opening, the series quickly returned to the path of criminal investigation dramas, and it was almost impossible to see any sci-fi meaning.
It is equivalent to putting a wonderful sci-fi shell on the basis of the plot and the original book, as if it is a hard combination of sci-fi and suspense, and the look and feel is a little strange.
02, let's talk about the highlights: the criminal investigation taste is authentic, the action scenes are worth it, and the images are careful
But the first highlight of the series is the authentic flavor of criminal investigation dramas.
The reason why the original "Silent Reading" is popular, in addition to the two male protagonists, a key is that the case and the story are interesting, and the drama obviously restores the original work as much as possible in terms of the case.
The story begins with "the murder and corpse throwing case in the Lower West District".
The murder of a courier has attracted the attention of public opinion, and the head of the special investigation team, Luo Weizhao (played by Fu Xinbo), is ordered to investigate.
The male protagonist's appearance is a common taste of ancient Hong Kong criminal investigation dramas, riding a bicycle to meet a knife-wielding robber, Xiao Xiu's skills, tying people to the back of a bicycle with a rope and dragging them to find the police.
Next, I went straight to the murder of the delivery man, which is also a crime about the zero degree empathetic.
The first layer: investigation of cases.
Based on the condition of the deceased's body, Luo Weizhao quickly deduced that the deceased was strangled in a coma, with no obvious traces of struggle, and there was no evidence to prove that this was the first scene.
When another male protagonist Pei Shu appeared, he revealed a criminal's temperament, gloomy and indifferent. Based on the strangulation marks on the deceased's neck, the hang tag on the clothes he was wearing, and the sticker on his head, he judged that the deceased had met a powerful person, and directly judged that the murderer must be a zero-degree empathetic.
But the second layer of the story soon unfolds: a twist.
As the police investigated, Pei was quickly identified as a suspect because he not only met the deceased before his death, but was also apparently inextricably linked to the case.
Although he quickly cleared his suspicions, another rich second generation who had a close relationship with him was quickly locked up again.
And the case is not simple to dig deep, the murderer threw the corpse, why did he throw it to such an easy place as the old city to be discovered?
And it's still a serial murder case, is it possible to deliberately sabotage Pei Shu's ongoing project development?
In addition to these two layers, there is a third layer to the story: corruption within the police and even the Singapore government.
The special investigation team led by the male protagonist was blocked as soon as the case was investigated at the beginning, and after a while, he seized the opportunity to see the stitches to investigate the crime scene environment and useful clues.
And the person in charge who reluctantly let it go is the suspected local gangster umbrella.
In other words, there is a bureau within a bureau, and a case within a case.
As the main line and core are advancing according to the original work, the early sci-fi setting is used to play a desire to raise and suppress, step by step to open the tension of the background of the series:
A criminal space-time city where black evil runs rampant, and the underworld overwhelms the white road, Singdollar.
A police force that is regarded as the last hope of the entire city, the Special Investigation Group.
And, two people who are involved in the puzzle: a policeman who wants to investigate the case, and a genius who passively enters the game.
It must be said that the investigation link is progressing very quickly, basically four episodes of a case, the feeling of interlocking is there, there is basically no waste drama, and the plot does not reduce intelligence.
Because it is an overhead setting, the scale is not small: the righteous side no longer "wins steadily".
Even the clear "three-eighth line" is no longer roughly drawn between good and evil.
But the most enjoyable thing about the series is the second highlight: the explosive action scenes.
There is one thing to say, the production level of the series is indeed not low.
Static lighting, composition, and color grading are above the level.
But when the screen "moves": chasing cars, blasting, action... There should be all, but the whole thing is amazing.
It can even be said that it is rare to see that the serial action scenes in domestic dramas can be so rich and exciting.
The main line of action begins with him: Luo Weizhao, the leader of the special investigation team.
This is mainly due to the skillful use of two techniques in the action scenes:
1, "go to the meeting alone".
At the end of episode 3, Luo Weizhao rescued the whistleblower and went deep into the criminal gang's lair club, and was recognized as soon as he entered.
As soon as the whistleblower clue was found out from the mouth of the young lady, the gangsters of the entire club poured out.
Why? The whistleblower had died in the clubhouse because of an overdose.
Therefore, the leader of the special investigation team cannot be allowed to get out alive.
Outcome...... You guess?
Take one, the enemy.
First, a single horse beat the gangsters who poured in like a tide to the top.
Another sliding shovel cuts a bloody path through the narrow clubhouse aisle.
After crossing the rooftop, he flew all the way into the small room where the informant was, only to find that the informant was dead.
The only way is to jump down from the room and kill the encirclement.
It was easy to rush out, just in time to meet the young lady who provided the information just now, but the two were soon surrounded by nearly a hundred people coming from all directions, and at the critical moment - Pei Shu arrived in a luxury car.
Next, there is the highlight of the show: "Speeding Car Breakout".
It can be said that the next paragraph is the best car chase scene I have seen in domestic dramas in recent years, and there is indeed no one.
The entire 5-minute car chase action scene frequently maintains a cinematic consciousness in visual presentation.
Pei traced the flying car to rescue, threw off the gangsters, finished?
At first, soon, more than a dozen motorcyclists chased after each other and chased them all the way.
The camera starts with a motorcyclist flicking his tail, pushes forward to complete a fight, then panways, shoots down, advances into the fight in the car, and passes by the speeding car.
After shuttling back and forth inside the car, he pushed forward, shot back, rose to the sky, and finally landed on the overlook of the protagonist group trapped on the bridge by the speeding party...
In front is a dead end, behind are the remnants of ten motorcycles.
This scene, combined with a variety of mirror operation methods, not only improves the excitement of the chase, but also relatively completely depicts the interaction between the two male protagonists who have to work together in the face of a complex situation.
It can't be said to be breathtaking, at least absolutely pleasing to the eye.
And that's not the best.
The lens language is only first-class when it is integrated with the narrative or characters.
The relationship between Pei Shu & Luo Weizhao.
Large span, fast zoom lens, starting from Luo Weizhao and ending with Pei.
It not only intuitively shows the spatial relationship between the two, but also metaphorically alludes to the entangled character relationship between the two:
One left and one right, one dark and one bright, one life hangs in the balance, and one stands tall.
They are not so much in search of justice.
Rather, it is a struggle to reach the bottom line of justice.
Highlight 3: Cinematic and subtle images.
The lighting and shadows of the series are really just right, several murder scenes, the lights flicker on and off, and the atmosphere is mysterious and strange.
Carry forward the Chinese thriller comfortably.
Especially the suicide of Pei Shu's mother when he was a teenager.
There is a hint of strangeness in the terrifying atmosphere.
The frightened eyes of the young man and the police who arrived urgently pushed this strange charm to the extreme. A sense of oppression gushes out.
This is a cinematic image.
Metaphorical, implicit. Through precise lighting, changes in light and shade induce changes in characters.
And not the blood and horror that is given directly.
I have to say that in the restoration of the original work and the production of the series, the drama party has indeed paid attention. This is certainly not a bad drama.
03, the last regret: It's a pity, it's a pity, character shaping, two sighs
The first sigh, the styling finish is too heavy.
Especially Pei Shu, played by Zhang Xincheng.
In the original work, he is a mysterious genius who lacks the ability to empathize.
Indifferent, gloomy, handsome, a Sven scum male protagonist face, but with a unique heart.
It can be seen that Zhang Xincheng's face has obviously lost weight after losing weight, his chin has become sharper, his eye sockets also have sunken marks, plus long hair that is almost shoulder-length, wearing a straight suit and metal-framed glasses, it seems that he really has a bit of abstinence.
But I want to ask the stylist, what is the matter with the thunderous eyebrows, and the more inexplicable side split bangs?
It can only be said that excessive finish, the result is too much.
Second sigh: Character development is too shallow.
In fact, the interactive bridge of the male protagonist has not changed too much, Pei Shu opened with Luo Weizhao's surface hostility, gradually turned enemies into friends, but in fact cherished each other, all follow the original setting of the original work, the performance of the two male protagonists is not bad.
Fu Xinbo has been tepid over the years, playing this role as a married person will inevitably cause doubts from fans of the original work, but his performance is actually not a big problem, especially the performance of the character's rough surface but actually astute characteristics, the role hanger lang and very reliable taste is very accurate.
Zhang Xincheng's acting skills are highly anticipated, and his performances in "Hello Old Time", "The Day It Became You", "Basic Law of Genius", "In the Name of My Family" and "County Party Committee Compound" have been affirmed by the audience.
In the play, his character personality has changed greatly, but he also plays the mystery and high intelligence of the characters, and when he falls into crime analysis, his eyes gradually become deep, as if he falls into the empathy of zero degree empathe, the eye play has a sense of suspense, and there is a charm that people can't refuse.
But why do I still feel sorry?
Because whether it is the role of Pei Shu or Zhang Xincheng's acting skills, it is more than that.
There is no doubt that Pei Shu is a protagonist who has nothing to do with "Wei Guangzheng".
In order to highlight this point, the play gives a lot of deliberate depictions, but it looks a little too strong. But Pei Shu's real character charm actually lies in the entanglement between black and white.
It seems that he is a zero-degree empathe.
But he also showed the empathy for the vulnerable groups that zero-degree empathy cannot have.
It is the huge suspense created by the characters themselves that makes this suspenseful detective story not fall into the cliché and is not boring.
But what the protagonist group lacks in this play is precisely to let the audience really "feel substitution".
Inability to identify with characters and empathize with them.
Take Pei Shu as an example. He is the first protagonist, the keel of the play, and if the shaping of him fails, the whole drama collapses.
And now the problem of the character is not only too strong makeup, but also insufficient digging.
When the audience sees now, the biggest feeling is that he is extremely smart, can reason and race, profile, reason, everything.
Cow bar! Cows, just good people?
But what really matters is the human touch.
Pei Shu's human taste, that is, the character breaks through his own inherent personality at a certain moment.
Let the characters, from darkness, to light.
At present, the characters are somewhat strong and mediocre.
The audience only feels that the characters are showing charm.
Raise your eyebrows, smile, and fiddle with the pen in your hand.
But what is the real personality and human touch of the character? Unspeakable.
Zhuang Wenjie actually has this potential, because he was born into a dark crime family, has a dark daddy played by Yu Bo, and has the biggest trait, blood sickness.
Blood sickness is because of the extremely deep childhood shadow, and the mother played by Xue Jianing committed suicide in front of his eyes.
Once he is in a desperate situation or needs guidance, the past appears in flashbacks.
How to deal with the relationship with the father, how to get out of the past, how to choose between black and white, is the biggest uniqueness of this character.
This should also be the best part of the show: how a genius with zero empathy walks between good and evil, and how to confront his fate.
But did the audience see it? No.
We can't ignore the breakthrough made by "Guangyuan" in the domestic double male protagonist suspense genre, as well as the sincerity of production, but it is still far from the real excellent domestic suspense with the naked eye.
Regret is not just a regret of a drama.
It is also a problem highlighted by many domestic dramas.
The scene, production, light and shadow are all there, but they cannot bring the audience a truly suitable aesthetic, and they must use excessive bangs and makeup to cover the true charm of the characters themselves.
People are treated as part of a bizarre case, not the real protagonist.
The most regrettable thing is that the drama party finally achieved zero empathy with the audience on the most critical issues.