If you want to talk about popular models, you have to watch CCTV.
Not to mention the previous "Mountains and Seas" and "The World", in the first few months of 2024, CCTV has raised the quality of national dramas to a higher level.
At the end of last year, "Flowers" was broadcast on CCTV 8. A drama made Hu Ge once again make the headlines of major media, and even the 90-year-old You Benchang has the second representative role after "Jigong".
CCTV's "Dajiang Dahe 3" continues the consistent level of "Dajiang Dahe" and Noon Sunshine, and the ups and downs of the story made Tomato Jun find out the first two and savor it carefully.
Yangba's "South to North" has almost become a communication phenomenon, and "King Jiji" Liu Guanlin finally became a daughter-in-law, and film and television resources have soared.
As long as CCTV is out, there are few failures in national dramas.
Just arrived in April, a domestic drama was gearing up again, and it was immediately launched - "City in the City".
Tomato Jun took a look at the trailer, this drama is not simple.
First of all, domestic business war workplace dramas rarely use real place names, but "City in the City" is in Shanghai, the "financial capital", and the sense of reality is full.
Secondly, domestic workplace dramas have been silent for a long time, and this time CCTV is back with workplace dramas, and there will inevitably be a killer feature.
Then, "City in the City", like "Flowers", has sufficient financial elements, one is the old Shanghai and the other is the new Shanghai, which inevitably forms a contrast.
The three characteristics make Mr. Tomato's curiosity about this drama a little more.
After reading the trailer, I have a hunch: This king bomb drama may become popular all over the country.
01, financial gray industry, business war theme, the city staged a fierce "life and death situation".
is not as good as the family history of Mr. Bao in "Flowers", the core shot of "City in the City" focuses on one person.
He is Zhao Hui, the bank president played by Yu Hewei.
Zhao Hui is a bigwig in Shanghai's financial circle, his life experience is legendary, and he is the goal and idol of many newcomers.
But those who can dominate in Shanghai will always have a story behind it, and the story and mystery of Zhao Hui have been gradually revealed due to the arrival of a young man.
At this point, the story has begun, and the two directions have gradually become clear.
The first direction is the open and secret battle between Zhao Hui and newcomer Tao Wuji.
Tao Wuji is a young man from a small town who traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai to pursue his dream, and by chance entered Zhao Hui's bank.
It stands to reason that a bank executive generally does not have anything to do with small people.
But on the contrary, this Tao Wuji is not simple.
He has ambitions to ascend to the top, as well as various conspiracies and means.
Tao Wuji knows the unspoken rules of the financial circle, and his goal is to bring down Zhao Hui and replace him himself.
Judging from the trailer, Tao Wuji's method seems to be simple and effective.
The first trick is to collect evidence.
Tao Wuji paid attention to Zhao Hui all the time, and took advantage of his position to collect evidence of Zhao Hui's exchange of money and power everywhere and using his position to make profits.
The cameras in the bag, the ubiquitous tracking, are all proof of this.
This means that in Tao Wuji's heart, he has declared war on Zhao Hui.
The second trick is to denounce.
There is a scene in the trailer where Tao Wuji walked straight to the door of the office of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the bank's head office and reached out to knock on the door.
There is only one possibility for an ordinary employee to go to the office of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, and that is to denounce it.
It can be a denunciation of the leader or a denunciation of the superior.
For Tao Wuji, the only thing he can denounce is Zhao Hui.
The third move is an open card.
At the end of the trailer, there is a scene where Tao Wuji tears the mask and confronts Zhao Hui directly.
He said to Zhao Hui: I want to bring you down.
Zhao Hui smiled slightly: Are you sure?
For Zhao Hui, he has been able to dominate the Shanghai financial circle for so many years, and he has never seen any big winds and waves.
It seems to be a fantasy for a little rookie to bring himself down with a few incomplete evidence.
Moreover, Zhao Hui actually has a sense of pity for Tao Wuji.
He felt that Tao Wuji was very much like himself when he was young, and an important step in Tao Wuji's career: he was transferred to the audit department, which Zhao Hui also helped in private.
He probably didn't expect that the subordinates he promoted would actually see himself as a competitor and want to get rid of them quickly.
Two generations of financiers have a huge disagreement on this, and in the face of the provocation of the younger generations, what should Zhao Hui do?
This is also what Mr. Tomato is looking forward to the most.
The second trend is the mediation and business war between Zhao Hui and a group of bigwigs.
Tao Wuji can't even be called an "opponent" in Zhao Hui's career.
What Zhao Hui really cares about is the conspiracy of the big man at the same level as him, or even deeper than his city government.
Judging from the preview, Zhao Hui's workplace crises are one after another.
has something to do with him, and there is the CEO of the trust company.
There is a scene where the boss played by Tu Songyan tells him, "You and my boss, join forces to capture Jinshan".
However, the cooperation between banks and trusts is often prone to the exchange of money and power.
Once the East Window incident happens, Zhao Hui will not be able to protect himself.
In the subsequent shot, Zhao Hui picked up an antique-like object and angrily threw it at the boss.
Clearly, their partnership is not solid.
has cooperated with him, as well as Wu Xianlong played by Wang Jinsong.
Wu Xianlong is dressed plainly, and the clouds are light and breezy, but every sentence is like a trap.
"I have too high standards for myself."
In the trailer, there is a plot of Wu Xianlong handing over a bank card.
There was also an outburst of him shouting "You are doing death".
Who actually died? Does it have anything to do with Zhao Hui? It is not known at present.
But what is clear is that there must be something wrong with the matter between these two financial tycoons.
has a conspiracy against him, as well as Zhou Lin, who is very similar to his "ex-wife".
Zhao Hui had a beautiful wife, but died in an accident.
Once, Zhao Hui accidentally saw a woman who looked like his ex-wife.
Only then did he react: Did he fall for the beauty trick?
This woman, she is around various financial tycoons in the Shanghai circle, and she knows the unspoken rules of the financial industry well.
What's even more deadly is that she herself is a sharp weapon against Zhao Hui.
Faced with the betrayal of the person next to him, Zhao Hui had no master and didn't know where to start.
It also made him completely involved in the conspiracy.
In addition to these, there is a huge amount of information in the trailer.
Miao Che, the person in charge of the audit department who has a good relationship with Zhao Hui, is it evil?
The several car accidents that occurred in the trailer were aimed at Zhao Hui?
What is the reason for the colleague who died because of Zhao Hui?
One by one, it doesn't look like a drama of financial and business wars, but more like a suspense film.
This is also the biggest reason why "City within a City" attracts Mr. Tomato.
In the play, there is the growth of small people, the disputes of big people, the unspoken rules of the financial industry, the gray industry of bank trusts, and the exchange of money and power, and the struggle of interests.
As long as there is no love, domestic workplace dramas still have strong watchability, and at present, "City in the City" meets such conditions.
02, Yu Hewei leads, Wang Jinsong is the match, and Lonnie is going to be popular this time.
In addition to the intense plot, "City in the City" gives Mr. Tomato the feeling that it is still an old drama bone party.
Actors are the basic plate of a drama, and "City in the City" shows absolute sincerity in this regard.
There are too many well-known actors in the film, so Mr. Tomato will not list them one by one, saying that everyone is interested.
The first place is Yu Hewei.
Yu Hewei is now addicted to playing a "villain".
Since "Solid as a Rock", Yu Hewei's villain temperament has gradually been developed. The scene that made people's backs chill is still a little scary when I think about it.
Yu Hewei's characteristic is that he is good at digging into the inner world of characters, finding the critical point of the complexity of the characters, and using his own performances to give various characters a unique charm.
Zhao Hui of "City in the City" is likely to be the same.
Zhao Hui is a financial tycoon in Shanghai, with a suit and leather shoes, decisive and efficient, and a unique temperament of a mature man.
Although there are not many shots, this attractive quality can be seen from Yu Hewei's performance.
But behind this, in the process of pursuing ideals, he may often be unscrupulous, and the city is extremely deep and unpredictable.
Beneath the cold exterior, there is a deep desire for people and emotions.
This is the reason why he promoted Tao Wuji, and it is also the reason why he was deceived by Zhou Lin.
Therefore, Zhao Hui is essentially a sympathetic character, it depends on how Yu Hewei interprets it this time.
The second place is Wang Jinsong.
Over the years, Wang Jinsong seems to have become a standing supporting role in all national dramas.
However, in City within a City, he is not the kind of character who is dispensable.
Wu Xianlong, played by Wang Jinsong, has deeper qualifications than Zhao Hui, and is his teacher and partner.
But obviously, in Wu Xianlong's heart, Zhao Hui is not unsacrificeable.
Wu Xianlong is dressed plainly, speaks in an orderly manner, and looks amiable, like a retired boss.
But the more such a person, the more likely it is to be the hidden villain behind the scenes.
Of course, in addition to the mystery of identity, Tomato Jun wants to see the scene of Yu Hewei and Wang Jinsong.
This is a real lifetime series.
The third place is Wang Xiao.
I just watched Wang Xiao's wonderful performance in "Article 20" during the Spring Festival, and this time he came to the urban drama again.
Wang Xiao is not from a professional background, and he didn't even want to take the path of an actor at the beginning, but because of this, his performance is never one-size-fits-all and has no fixed formula.
Therefore, Wang Xiao is low-key but has acting skills, and his many roles are impressive.
As far as Bai Xiaowu in "White Deer Plain", as far as Si Ming Xingjun in "Three Lives and Three Worlds", as close as Lu Jie in "Meritorious", and Yang Jian in "Hurricane......
can say so much casually, which shows that Wang Xiao's role is unique.
Many cookie-cutter roles can always inject soul into his performance.
In "A City in the City", he played Miao Che of the audit department, and Zhao Hui was a partner.
Financial auditing is a very complex, important and easily corrupted job.
Looking at the trailer, Miao Che should be a decent person, but his entanglement with Zhao Hui is still very deep.
Tao Wuji worked under him, and Zhao Hui was inextricably linked to him, which made Miao Che unable to stay out of the matter.
How Wang Xiao should be shaped, let's watch it in the play.
The fourth place is Lonnie.
You may not be familiar with this name, but Gao Qilan in "Hurricane" should not be unaware of it.
Thinking about Lonnico, she was an uncle "killer", and she just played against Zhang Songwen and Zhang Yi in "Hurricane", and "City in the City" partnered with Yu and Wei Wang Xiao non-stop.
Lonnie has a special temperament, she is not a stunningly beautiful beauty, but she is very attractive.
She doesn't look young, but there is always a clarity and agility in her eyes that doesn't match her age.
Compared with Gao Qilan's relatively simple role, the female role challenged by Lonnie in "City in the City" is very complex.
"Beauty Trick" is about Zhou Lin played by Lonnie.
can wander between the big guys, and can deceive Zhao Hui's eyes, Zhou Lin should not be a simple character.
Tomato-kun has a hunch that "City within a City" may become a turning point in Lonnie's career.
Although "Hurricane" is not too popular, relying on this drama, she may usher in the spring of her career.
In addition to these four, there are too many well-known actors in the play.
Bai Yufan, who played Ma Debao in "Mountains and Seas", played the newcomer Tao Wuji this time, and his girlfriend was played by post-00s actress Xia Meng.
The two well-known characters in "The Three-Body Problem", Chen Jin, the actor of Ye Wenjie, and Tu Songyan, the actor of Yang Weining, also played important roles.
In addition, Yang Zishan, Jie Bing, Li Hongtao, Zhang Jianya, Feng Jiayi, etc., are all rare good actors.
Just pinch your fingers and count them, there are more than 15 stars, and the lineup is huge.
This lineup, this quality, it's difficult not to be popular.
03. Hit the key points of finance, highlight the attributes of the workplace, and the wind direction is about to change.
"City within a City" has the social issues it carries.
On the one hand, it is the workplace and employment, and the graduation season is about to be, and the most important concern for young people at the moment is, of course, employment.
On the other hand, it is business war and finance, almost everyone has been concerned about finance and the country's monetary policy in recent years, and financial-themed dramas have also begun to accelerate their launch.
In addition to "Flowers" and "City in the City", this year's new dramas "South to North" and "Wind Chaser" have more or less financial attributes.
Everyone cares about finance, and naturally they will also be interested in the gray industry chain of the financial industry, which invisibly forms the natural advantage of "City in the City".
In addition, "City in the City" is also an urban workplace drama.
Recalling the last workplace drama, what can everyone think of?
What impressed Mr. Tomato the most was last year's Hong Kong drama "News Queen".
In the national drama, there has been no outstanding workplace drama for a long time, and Yang Ma took out "City in the City" at this time, and naturally there is a need to support the scene for the workplace drama.
National dramas can't be dominated by one family, and the second spring of the workplace may also come.
Under this premise, watching "City in the City" again, it seems to have a little more charm.
Finance is all around us, banks, trusts, financial management, and the stock market, and we can come into contact with it every day.
Even if "City in the City" can let us understand these half points, then it will complete the mission of a national drama.
With these advantages, it will never disappoint everyone.
(Movie Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Department: Miao Miao)