All the series under HIStory that I have seen so far have been pretty amazing to say the least, so I was so disappointed when this specific one doesn't even come close to any of those. Now, in all fairness this story felt more like a revenge drama with a bot of gay romance thrown in to fit in the whole idea of HIStory series; which in my opinion could have been taken away completely from the show and the story could easily have still stayed the same. More on that and/or tin a bit.
Four years ago, a veteran cop and an elderly gangster were killed in a gunshot attack. The only survivor and the dead gangster's protegee, the enigmatic and ruthless Tang Yi, is now the new gang leader, who will stop at nothing to find the murderer and plans an elaborate trap to lure him out of hiding. Honest police officer Meng Shao Fei is obsessed with knowing the truth behind this case, to avenge his mentor's death, and spends all his spare time tracking Tang Yi and trying to find what he is up to. When Meng and Tang Yi are kidnapped together and forced to survive in a cold mountain, things start to change between them. Meng Shao Fei eventually pars himself in Tang Yi's house in the name of protection but he really wants to get to the bottom of events of four years earlier. But slowly the two men start getting close to each other and really caring for one another. Tang Yi has secrets from the past and revenge on his mind, but hopefully with support and love from Meng Shao Fei, things will get better for both of them.
My first and biggest problem with the show is choice of actors and the roles they are playing. Neither Tang Yi comes across as a mob boss or Meng Shao Fei looks like a cop. All members of his cop team look and behave like school students (not even college). They act and behave so immaturely, given the setting that is tried to be created, that it just doesn't fit together. Tang Yi, as mob head does whatever his people or his sister tells him to do. There is no conviction in his acting. Thankfully the actor playing Meng Shao Fei does a slightly better job and also has this nerdy geeky but cute look going for him. But he too fails as the cop character. Also the series is stretched beyond limits. The plot wanted so badly to be unpredictable that it relied on the most annoying, forced twists delivered in clumsy revelations whose timing make next to zero sense. At 20 episodes of about 23-25 minutes each, this is a very long investment which is sadly not fulfilling at all. I am sure I am in minority of people who did not like this show but it really is bad. As a high school play , maybe this can be accepted but not as a full fledged serious production. The chemistry between the leads was hardly there. Tang Yi's sisters story and his subordinate's love story with another police guy (who looked and behaved like a 15 year old kid) were totally unnecessary and I am sorry but I didn't get any wow moments form any of it.
This particular one was a complete failure of ambition. I applaud the makers wanting to create something other than the usual school/college jingo , but only if then they put in the effort n writing, choosing the actors and actually putting an effort in doing this well. I am actually being generous in may rating but this one was very disappointing and completely avoidable. (4/10)
Comments
I am very certain that I am in minority here by not liking this one. :)