"Wind Chaser" 2.0 is here, and the spy war drama has played another pair of king bombs, this time Li Xianhuo

Spy war dramas were once one of the most fascinating domestic drama genres for the audience.

Starting from 2006's "Secret Calculation", this kind of film and television drama continues to be excellent.

"Latent", "Before Dawn", and "The Cliff" have all triggered a ratings frenzy.

But since the end of "Kite" in 2017, the light of the spy war drama has gradually dimmed.

In 2021, there will be a quality "Rebel", but even so, it has not changed the trend of the continued downturn in spy war dramas.

Many of the subsequent large-scale productions of similar works have all overturned.

It wasn't until CCTV's "Wind Chaser" launched this year that the majesty of spy war dramas finally rose.

This drama not only has a bumper harvest in ratings and word-of-mouth, but also makes the leading actors, including Wang Yibo, Wang Yang and Li Qin, gain fame and fortune.

The explosion of "Wind Chaser" has finally made a strong comeback of domestic spy war dramas.

Hunan Satellite TV saw the opportunity and soon launched a blockbuster work of the same type.

It is starring Li Xian, Ren Min and Zhou You - "When the Stars Shine".

I'd like to call it "Storm Chaser 2.0".

Because in many ways, the two dramas have similarities.

The first is the innovation in the genre.

The decline of spy war dramas is inseparable from the stylized narrative of such dramas, but the plot setting of "Wind Chaser" has made many audiences shine.

Because, it cleverly combines finance and spy warfare.

Through the growth process of a small bank clerk, we can touch the pulse of the times, and then tell the great changes in history.

"When the Stars Shine" also innovates in narrative, but it interweaves spy warfare and criminal investigation.

At the beginning, he used a throat-cutting tragedy that happened in the hotel to lead out all the protagonists.

Hua Zhen, the son of the deputy minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs played by Li Xian, was entrusted by his mentor Deng Mingyuan to travel from Nanjing to Shanghai.

Deliver a book to entrepreneur and philanthropist Meng Zongxian.

But when they arrived at the location, they found that Meng Zongxian and his wife and a friend had their throats cut to death in the hotel room.

Meng Duoci, the only youngest daughter of the Meng family, escaped because she went out to buy candy.

When she came back, she bumped into the murderer, and just as the murderer was going to hold her hostage, Hua Zhen came to the rescue in time.

After that, Meng Duoci, who was helpless, hired Hua Zhen for a month with 23 yuan and a ruby necklace.

Let him help himself find the murderer.

So, Hua Zhen, who originally dreamed of joining the Navy and becoming a captain, became a little policeman under the pseudonym Xiang Yuansheng by mistake.

The next spy war story unfolds as the homicide case progresses.

And the true identities of the characters in the play will also surface one by one as the case progresses.

The addition of criminal investigation elements makes the spy war theme, which is already suspenseful, more tense and exciting.

And the ups and downs of Xiang Yuansheng's fate after becoming a little person make the story more down-to-earth and resonant.

That's why, at the beginning of "When the Stars Shine", it was able to firmly catch the audience's attention.

The second is the integration of the cast.

After the spy war drama exploded, a large number of shoddy similar works appeared on the market.

Many creators feel that as long as they seize the dividends of the theme, they can also make a hit by building a grass platform team.

But in fact, spy war dramas are a film and television genre that tests the acting skills of actors.

Because of the multifaceted and complex nature of the character's identity, the actor must have good enough acting skills to master the role.

Therefore, those shoddy spy war dramas not only failed to catch fire, but also affected the status of spy war dramas in the minds of the audience for a long time.

On the other hand, "The Wind Chaser" and "When the Stars Shine" have put a lot of effort into the cast.

Let the traffic stars with good reputation and the powerful acting schools be matched, complementing each other's shortcomings, and also colliding with new sparks.

For example, Wang Yibo and Li Qin, who made their idol debut.

It was in the confrontation with Wang Yang, Wang Xueqi and Yang Kun and other actors that he realized the transformation of his acting skills.

In "When the Stars Shine", whether it is a new generation of actors or powerful actors, they also show commendable acting skills in the series.

The character played by Li Xian is the noble son Hua Zhen.

disguised his identity, but he was born to the bottom of a small police officer.

The two identities are very different, but Li Xian accurately grasped the patriotic spirit that can make the two one.

Due to his military background and unsmiling personality, this character will be played as an ice cube face if he doesn't pay attention to it.

But under Li Xian's interpretation, the audience can still feel the charm of the character.

I was impressed by two scenes, one was that Meng Duoci went out to raise money, and Hua Zhen was worried that she would have an accident, but she didn't want her to find out her intentions.

So, after quietly following her, she entered the house one step ahead.

On the surface, Hua Zhen, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, was calm and relaxed, but if he listened carefully, he could detect his wheezing.

This is a normal reaction that a person should have after running wildly, and it was accurately performed by Li Xian.

In the other case, Hua Zhen left ruthlessly but was worried about Meng Duoci's safety, and chose to come back after being entangled.

At this time, it was discovered that she was almost killed.

When he found Meng Duoci crying like a tearful man in the laundry basket, Hua Zhen's first reaction was to reach out and touch the other party's head.

Note that the movements here are not simply natural, but somewhat stiff.

This hesitant action is the externalization of Hua Zhen's hesitant heart.

On the one hand, he wants to save the girl from danger, but on the other hand, he is worried that his choice will affect his family.

Such a complex psychological process was expressed by Li Xian with such small movements.

It can be seen that his understanding of the role is extremely thorough.

Therefore, I have a hunch that with the popularity of "When the Stars Shine", Li Xian is likely to reach a new height.

In addition to the above two points, "When the Stars Shine" has another similarity with "Wind Chaser".

Let the characters gradually discover their communist ideals in the process of continuous growth.

is different from most spy war dramas, where the protagonist is rooted in the identity of the underground party as soon as he opens.

The protagonists in both dramas were not staunch communists at first.

Wei Ruolai, played by Wang Yibo, only wanted to use his proficient financial knowledge to find a job in the bank to support his family.

Hua Zhen, played by Li Xian, originally dreamed of being a captain in the navy.

They have ideals but have nothing to do with communism, and they were even blinded by false reality for a time, and wanted to work for the party.

It was not until they discovered each other's true colors that they resolutely transformed into a communist.

This kind of setting that gives the characters room to grow makes the opposition between good and evil.

It also avoids the characters being trapped in stereotyped narrative routines, which is easier to resonate with the audience.

As "Storm Chaser 2.0", we can find a lot of fascinating things in "When the Stars Shine" similar to "Storm Chaser".

But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own uniqueness.

On the contrary, judging from the title of the play alone, we can find the theme that the play wants to express.

The title of the play "When the Stars Shine" is named after the name of the book that Hua Zhen was entrusted by his mentor Deng Mingyuan - "When the Stars of Human Beings Shine".

There is such a sentence in the book, which is also the sentence handwritten by Deng Mingyuan on the title page:

There is no greater luck in a person's life than to discover his life mission in the middle of his life, in the prime of his creative life.

This is a group drama represented by Hua Zhen, and Hua Zhen is certainly conspicuous.

But those who stand side by side with him also deserve to be seen.

For example, Luo Minmin, Chen Hao, Shi Junyu, Ji Mengqiu......

Some of them are small citizens, some are small salaries, some are small leaders, and some are small businesses.

But no matter what their status is, they all incarnated into a star who fought for their family and country and the communist cause in that turbulent era.

A star may be dim in the treacherous situation,

But a group of stars gathers to form a brilliant galaxy.

"When the Stars Shine" is for those stars who finally made the communist cause shine. (Written by: Ye Shi)