This review may contain spoilers
I watched 2 times
I just finished watching General and I after watching over again and again .This is the best drama of all , I would never skip even an episode. What I like best is Chu Bie Jie is never giving up on loving and finding his wife Bia Ping Ting from the beginning to the end .
I like the story , the music. and all the characters acting in this drama . I lost all my sleep every night crying just for this sad romantic drama but happy ending.
The actor and actress matched perfectly. I fall in love for Wallace Chung, he is so charming and handsome.
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Again the female lead forgets how to fight once she falls in love
I'm happy to see this drama on viki even if I watched already on youtube. I can say it's definitely worth watching. The chemistry between the main characters is very beautiful and strong and how he can melt her heart,to see how she change from a smart and strategic woman into a woman who will do everything for him and vice-versa. SPOILER!!!Everyone who will watch this drama need to know that a moment you will find yourself going over episodes until their reunion. In my opinion this drama could have ended in episode 28 after their wedding because everything seemed like a happy ending but what I know.Otherwise, it's even worth seeing and those who are afraid you'll get back with their heart broken because of the end do not worry, it has a happy ending. Also,sorry if I made some mistakes,english is not my first language.Was this review helpful to you?
A stain Ruining a drama that could have been AWESOME !
And I could have absolutely LOVED this drama. A beautiful and intriguing love story between the two leads, various and interesting characters, an intense plot, full of twists and turns (especially since I have a weakness for Chinese historical dramas) and a WONDERFUL male lead as we girls dream to find in reality (while knowing that we won't) played by a fair and charismatic actor.BUT there is a little problem : no, in fact, it's a big problem that prevents me from fully enjoying the love story that is at the heart of this drama.
And there, I take the risk of being murdered by the fans of the said problem (yeah, because this problem has fans): and yes, I am talking about Angelababy, alias Plastic-Face, main actress of the drama ( hence the gravity of the problem). No, it's not for her face which seems very fake that I don't like her. This is for her lack of emotion throughout the drama. Angelababy falls far short behind her partner Wallace Chung when it comes to conveying emotions through her acting. Yet her character had incredible potential: if we separate the character from the actress, Ping Ting is a strong, intelligent, determined and charming woman who sees her world turned upside down by her encounter with the hero. But Angelababy fails to portray Ping Ting's strength, charm, or inner struggle between those she's always been loyal to and the one she falls in love with. And then I can imagine SO many actresses who would have done a better job than her, despite being less famous.
Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it: I think here Angelababy was chosen more for her fame than her acting skills, and in my eyes, she ruins the drama.
I can't even console myself by telling myself that we may one day have a remake with an actress at the height because the drama is based on a novel to which he was VERY unfaithful (and for some reason, I prefer the scenario from the drama to that of the novel)
Go ahead, Angelababy fans: you can slash me now ?
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This drama is 62 episodes long, so if you don't have the patience (or a huge fan of anyone of the actors and actresses), I would suggest you skip this one.
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Could Have Been Better
OVERALLThis is the kind of drama that makes you think you should be a screenwriter because you could do it better. Still, you can watch it if 1) you care more about political action and war than a love story, and 2) you like the smart, calm and composed type of female leads. If 1) you hate when the OTP is separated for ages, 2) you can't stand incoherence and production flaws, and 3) bad acting ruins it for you, then skip.
THE STORY
I started this drama, gave it up, read the novel and then went back to the drama just to see how it changed the plot. Turns out as an adaptation, the drama isn't THAT bad. The novel makes the female lead smarter and is more coherent, but it also has weird stuff going on. The show takes that out and add a few better parts. The biggest issue with the drama is that the romance is SO underdeveloped. I don't get WHY the FL ends up loving the ML and when exactly it begins to happen - when that is super clear in the novel. And it's not just that, every aspect of the love story feels rushed or too sudden. That's ironic, since the romance is supposed to be central to the story - that's why it's called "The General and I".
There are a few changes made that also take away coherence in the plot. For instance, it's not clear why FL avoids ML for a long time - where in the book it makes sense. Some other changes are just a bit annoying. Too much protagonism is given to the young master FL used to follow, in my opinion. In general, I was just expecting the drama to be a lot more about strategies, given that FL is supposed to be a genius strategist. I was also disappointed by the production. Transitions weren't super well made, sound was also kind of off/weird at places.
On the good side, I really liked the FL, and I liked that she could be so useful in war. The drama has such a good premise, but it just feels underwhelming, unfortunately.
THE ACTING
Wallace is okay. I have to say I didn't like him here as much as I did in The Sword And the Brocade, but he was okay. Angelababy completely failed to impress me, but to be fair, even though her acting was not up to par it still worked well with her character, who's supposed to be kind of reserved and calm and expressionless. I don't have much to say about secondary characters. They didn't make a lasting impression.
THE MUSIC
I didn't like how sometimes characters were supposed to play a traditional tune on an instrument but a modern-like instrumental track would play. And sometimes the music felt extra.
REWATCH VALUE
Low. I don't really think there is anything that would drive me back to this drama anytime soon.
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This review may contain spoilers
General and I is an overall enjoyable romance & political/military intrigue drama. Your level of enjoyment will probably depend on your expectations (so true of so many dramas) and whether you read the book. So - full disclosure - I am a viewer who only read the first 6 very short chapters to kind of get the style of the writer. If you are a fan of romance with a large dose of intrigue, I would give it a go but it isn't perfect so here goes:Story Flaws:
- The foundation of the story is the epic love between the General and Bai Ping Ting, but the drama chose to give short thrift to the falling in love aspect of the story using an overused trope. I would understand this but, you know, 62 episodes so no time constraints to use as an excuse. Many people dumped the drama early on because they weren't feeling it so go in knowing you have to eventually kind of buy into these two.
- Past the middle point of the drama it spins its wheels and many found it dragging. I actually enjoyed many of these episodes but eventually I also got a little frustrated. They could have taken 5 of those episodes and put them in the first part of the drama to build the love story.
-At this same middle point, writers decided to go a certain route which was also in the book but the reasoning in the book (because commenters commented) made both leads flawed people. To me the drama threw the female character under the bus. To be fair, commenters also did indicate some aspects as relates to the General's character during this same time frame were better in the drama. I don't want spoilers so I'll leave it at that.
Production Issues:
Use of Slow Motion: Almost every single moment of emotional impact utilizes slow motion. I swear you could cut 4 hours of drama time just in using regular speed. This to me, actually lessened the impact and, oddly, the sensuality of some of the intimate scenes between the two leads. I mean there is one scene in particular that could have been so much more impactful but the use of not only slow motion but a wind machine made it super cheesy. I think they were going for super romantic and maybe it worked for some.
Angelababy's make up: I'm over expecting reality when it comes to make up in C-Dramas. You could go through heck and back and still have perfect hair and make up. But the makeup artist who decided to use a little lip stain making BPT look like she'd been sucking on a cherry lollypop or had bloody lips....well, it took me out of the drama.
Pros:
-I'm a sucker for romance, but that always means a lot of politics and such with the dramas, and often it is repetitive and simplistic. I dinged the production on the foundation of the romance, but they did a great job in handling a lot of characters and setting up the political intrigue. Also the characters weren't cookie cutter. They were flawed individuals who at times made good decisions and often bad decisions. I wish they'd actually given more nuance to the leads because I thought they were a bit too perfect. All the co-stars did a stellar job.
-The Smexy. I don't need explicit, but if we have an epic love story, I want some real looking kisses and such and show delivers. No deer in the headlights going on here.
-I have watched a lot of historicals, and this drama actually surprised me with some of the twist and turns. I love that because in so many dramas, we viewers can be steps ahead of the characters. Good job drama.
-I thought the costumes - both the armor and the dresses - were well done. Also loved the OST.
-Overall, I thought the chemistry between Wallace Chung and AB was solid. I've seen better but generally thought that around episode 15 Angelababy got comfortable. Since this was pre-produced and they might not have filmed in order, this could be because I think the material actually got better. Basically she's only as good as the material given to her. Wallace Chung certainly brings the sexy, and I think he did a good job but not outstanding which brings me to...
Misc:
....the dubbing. Maybe because I've actually heard WC's real voice, but around the halfway point, I began to really dislike the tone of the voice actor doing the dubbing. It was too soft and just not powerful enough and that really does hinder how I viewed WC's performance. I don't know why it took so long to bug me. I'm used to dubbing and this is the first time it really hindered how I viewed a performance. And, truly, I really do like Wallace Chung.
Issues Others Had:
I had no trouble with any of this but here goes: Flying action scenes...I'm used to them. Heavy use of green screen; bothered me in beginning but again, it kind of goes with the territory. Only so much $$ to spend on production.
So depending on my mood, this could be a 7.5 to 8 and since I was left with a satisfied feeling after watching the last episode, I'm going with the 8.
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On a Special Note:
Acting/Cast
Chung Wallace as Chu Bei Jie was great casting. Outside of the fact he literally carried the show, his actions scenes were also a treat to watch. There was plenty of eye candy from Angelababy as Bai Ping Ting, Sun Yi Zhou as He Xia, and Qi Hang as Ze YI - the casting directors did not disappoint.
More Please!
I would have loved to see more character development of Zou Yang as Zui Ju. She was an interesting character that the audience needed to understand her background and her motivations. Also, Wei Bing Hua as Chu Mo Ran killed it. Especially during his action scenes, he could certainly go toe-to- toe with Chu Bei Jie. Chang Xiao's cuteness overload was giving me life.
Honorable Mention
Gwei Fei for having no redeemable qualities. I love when antagonists are bad to the core.
Would I re-watch?
Only up to episode 32.
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There were some parts changed compared to the novel, i found it reasonable as the drama needs to have some background story (you will know when you read the novel). I'm also half glad/half dissappointed with the mid-part. If you guys find it repetitive in the middle, that might be because they changed those part. Let me tell you that the middle part is actually the part when the female lead and the male lead really deepens their relationship in the novel. So my suggestion is to : Watch this -> Read the novel.
(FYI, i think Bai Ping Ting is little bit of masochist in the novel. That would explain in some comments why she would be willing to die so eagerly)
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This review may contain spoilers
I just finished this today. ! Yey! ?
I finall gave this drama a shot despite the heavy bad reviews and comments. I mean of course everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you are not the historical period type then skip this. If you don't like seeing violence, blood and death then skip this. If you have a frail heart and could not take how everyone is plotting to kill each other then skip this.If you like watching beautiful chinese traditional battle scenes with war horses, drums and chariots then watch now. If you enjoy intricate storylines and scheming villains then watch this. If you are a crazy romantic who loves the "one woman man guy" definitely start watching now.
Binged watched for 3 days straight due to quarantine.
hahaha I always do love battle scene dramas and I love how scheming everyone was. My mind always gets excited with Art-of-War Tactics.
Okay so there are lapses on this drama, like there are scenes you can't bear to watch (then skip it hahahaha) and are really really boring. There are also characters that are totally annoying. As an avid kdrama cdrama jdrama fan, there are some scenes which are really predictable. LOL trust me, if you have watched kdrama cdrama and jdramas for too long, this is nothing special. ?
I was touch by how beautiful it was strategically made.
Their selfless love for one another. Their hell bent trust and their courage even when facing death. I love how pretty both the female and male costumes are made. I always did admired historical fight scenes in different locations. Though I know most of it are CGI or green screen effect and may need a little more editing, but still the crew made it possible to be amazing. Congrats
I love the entire cast they fitted their roles well, however I would have wished a FL that would express more. Don't get me wrong, I like Angelababy but no matter what her expressions were, theny seem to be lacking. Unless there would be tears running down her cheeks I would not understand if she is hurt, angry or annoyed. Ohh well prolly due to too much botox. lol
Now on to the ML. Many finds him unattractive but lemme tell you, don't let William's looks fool you, he will charm you all throughout with his love and devotion. His cleverness will trap you. You might wanted someone else in mind for his role but his maturity suited his part well.
P.S. The OSTs are on point in evey scene.
I would definitely recommend this drama for those who love romance in war scenes.
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perfect
In a world ravaged by war, the four great nations, Jin, Yan, Liang and Qin, are ceaseless in their pursuit of power and ultimate domination. In the midst of this endless conflict, the nations of Jin and Yan clash, and the great house of Jin falls. Forced to flee, the Jin prince, He Xia, and his brilliant military strategist, Bai Ping Ting escape death. But fate is not on their side.Separated during their exodus, He Xia makes his way to the Kingdom of Bai Lan to pursue revenge against the Kingdom of Jin. Meanwhile, Bai Ping Ting finds herself at the mercy of Chu Bei Jie, the Jin army’s greatest general, and the nation’s most beloved prince. Immediately recognized by the prince as the girl he fell in love with years ago, Bai Ping Ting soon finds herself the object of her greatest enemy’s desire.
Eventually recognizing Chu Bei Jie as the boy she once loved, Bai Ping Ting gives in to the desires of her heart, setting into motion a complicated romance that pits the desires of the heart against the loyalties both have for their kingdoms.
(Source: Viki)
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I learned the charm of Chinese actors compare to Korean through Chung Wallace (and Chan William). Instead of pretty faces, charismatic portrayal of their characters & passion turned them into heartthrobs. Can't contribute good acting for Angelababy, but lucky for her Chinese drama often dubbed voices, and her perfect heroine character made up what she lacked.
Not many characters stood out to me, except for He Zia for his perseverance . Except for main couple, I found everyone kinda dumb and pathetic. But who cares? Finally found a happy ending that made sense, avoided plot holes, hero & heroine had passionate romance. It's was entertaining from beginning to end.
Drama was basically written to make Bei Jie seem awesome. He's strong, smart, possessive but passionately dedicated to the heroine, self-sacrificing & loyal to his emperor/step-brother, sympathetic to his enemies. He was called unbeatable, god of war, and most desired bachelor - possible future king. Over the top a bit? Writers tried to balance out the hero by giving heroine intelligence, courage and virtue but she was too vulnerable and delicate to fulfill that role. As the story progressed, heroine's intelligence seemed to strengthen and climb higher above everyone else, so there's that. Interactions and match of wit between the couple was a lot of fun.
It's better to not expect a masterpiece historical Chinese drama from GENERAL & I. It's just an entertaining romance story with satisfying ending where bad guys are punished and the couple end happily ever after. Political aspect is short sighted and forced, therefore okay to skip. ^^
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