Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Legend of the Condor Heroes 2008

Rating: ****

Genre: Wuxia
Episodes: 50
Cast: Anthony Wong, Ariel Lin, Hu Ge, Liu Shi Shi, Yuan Hong

"When their husbands were killed by the Song army, two pregnant women found safe haven in foreign lands. Li Ping gave birth to Guo Jing, a sturdy but blockheaded young man who roamed the Mongolian prairie with the family of Temujin. Bao Xi Ruo gave birth to Yang Kang, a smart and crafty young man who became the son of Wanyan Hong Lie, a successor of the Jin empire. When a pact between their martial arts masters brought them together and the truth behind their fathers' deaths was revealed, one found martial arts enlightenment and a cause greater than his own while the other descended into darkness and destroyed everything and everyone around him."

 Although this drama was an interesting watch, they did not keep the integrity of the original story.  For viewers like me that has never read the trilogy or watched any of the previous versions, we can enjoy the story without the pain of having to see all the changes in the series.  However, for those viewers who have read the series, you will probably find this series bothersome.  Also, if you plan on watching all three stories in the series (The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber), it's probably best if you pick a different version.  This television series was made to be one complete drama.  It wasn't written with the thought that they would be creating the sequels.

Although enjoyable, there were still some visual effects that weren't very wonderful.  For instance, did you see the stuffed condors in the nest that they used as props?

As far as the characters were concerned, I found Guo Jing hilarious.  I really don't know if his character was originally supposed to be like that, but the way Hu Ge portrayed him made him look like he was a complete idiot.  I mean, I know that Jing'er is supposed to be dumb, but this one was beyond dumb.  I don't know how anyone would be able to fall for him.  I really enjoyed Ariel Lin as Huang Rong, though.  She really fits well with the character.  Spunky, smart, and mischievous is just the style that works for her.  I like it better when she plays a smart character.


What did you think?  Let me know in the comments!


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4 comments:

LiHaiPK9 said...

Haha I actually watched this series too. I thought Hu Ge and Ariel Lin played their characters very well, but I absolutely hated all the others. And yeah, the storyline was changed, especially at the end -_-

Heaven and Earth said...

I saw this and didn't like this version at all:P I guess I am just not a fan of AL nor HG. I think actually this is the worst version I have ever saw.

LiHaiPK9 said...

Yeah, I saw an older version with Athena Chu. THAT one was good. And the story was pretty accurate too =)

Heaven and Earth said...

I didn't see that version. I saw the 1980's version. The main actress was my favorite Chinese actress of all time, she does such a great job in all her WuXia dramas.