The comedic inserts and occasional fluffs between the main casts were extremely cathartic in contrast to the violent scenes necessary in this drama genre.
I, for one, am not really knee-deep into dramas with enough suspense that kept me in jitters until the release of the next episode. I actually prefer light-hearted dramas from japanese series or cringe-worthy dramas from korean series. BUT THIS DRAMA WAS ONE HECK OF A RIDE. And yes, in caps lock for emphasis. (Btw, I'm not shouting nor am I angry. I'm just pumped because I loved it!)
But, there were three things I did not like:
1. The computer graphics were not really well-done. I'm talking about some gun scenes, and some of it looked fake af. Maybe there were budget constraints?
2. There was a slump in the flow of the storyline. As a longtime viewer of dramas (almost 2 decades now), I definitely felt and saw it. There were fillers that were unnecessary, but they still fit in nicely. My advice for those into the drama but couldn't get past the first half: PLEASE do continue watching.
3. My goodness! William's hair and mustache! He's handsome and buff af, but his midpart brings me back to the hair of the 90s. Is that hairstyle coming back? I'm not 100% against it though.
Over-all, I liked almost everything from the main leads to the antagonist to the support cast. I also liked the music and dramas OST. I'll definitely rewatch this one soon.
P.S.1 All episodes are on Youtube now. Legally uploaded by Croton Megahit. English subtitles are also slowly added into the videos. Patience is key!
P.S.2. Please support Ma Sichun (Sandra Ma) and her future activities!
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I'm really like crime genre like this drama, so i will never skip this kind of drama.
i'm falling in love with William Chan, OMGG.. he is really good looking with his tanned skin. Sandra Ma, she is good played her role as Hu Rong. I never getting enough for their lovey dovey scenes.
i hope next time William Chan and Sandra Ma could act together in another drama again.
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An entertaining action-romance drama with interesting plot.
I started this series because of Sandra Ma, but I ended up liking William Chan as well. The story is focused on action, romance, family and friendships but also has some humor thrown in.What I like:
• Excellent acting of William Chan (as Liu Zi Guang) and Sandra Ma (as Hu Rong) – They have a good grasp of their characters and were able to bring them to life.
• Great chemistry between the leads! Love their banter and how their characters and relationship developed. Of the dramas of Sandra Ma that I’ve watched, she is able to have good chemistry with her co-star.
• Supporting cast that gave good performances – They helped make the drama well-rounded.
• Interesting storyline – There were surprises up until towards the end of the drama.
• There is a balanced focus on action, romance, family relationship and friendship.
• Exciting and well-executed action scenes – William Chan knows how to fight! He's a good action star, and is also very good in the emotional scenes.
• Interesting opening theme – Instead of someone singing, there’s background music and some key dialogue from the characters inserted into it.
• Overall good OST – aside from the opening theme, the ending theme song is quite catchy; in fact, I often had LSS after watching a number of episodes.
Other Comments:
• There were a few scenes that I find unrealistic, but I know these add dramatic flair, so I'm willing to overlook them and not take them too seriously.
• There was a part towards the end that is somewhat unbelievable, bordering on negligence of protocol (not wearing a bulletproof vest on a critical operation?). It felt forced.
• Though he was not a major character, it would be good to have more info on Ah Se. He appeared suddenly and followed Liu Zi Guang around as his apprentice, seeming to live in his own wuxia world.
Final verdict: I would gladly recommend this series, especially if you like police action with romance.
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This review may contain spoilers
Start watching from the third episode and it'll be interesting!
What is the first impression of this series? Dynamic scenes, a promising plot and a cool hero, of course. He’s the type many girls like: good mannered, with a memory loss, slightly awkward with girls, but not a mush-head. He will take the initiative into his own hands, and protect his girlfriend even if she’s a police officer and is supposed to be able to take care of herself. It was also fun to watch this series together with my family ‘cause there were some occasional flaws such as medically strange actions and weird technical equipment and everybody’s been commenting on it.Liu Zi Guang is just lovely. Life has given him a chance that he would have never had if not for those eight years. Not only he has learned how to fight, he has returned not as an undecided schoolboy but as a young man desperately looking for his place in this world. And this is just the way he creates this place for himself. If he spent his youth happily, he would not have to seek answers: with his inner compass, he would always know what was right. But the dark side of his past raises his doubts and makes him a hero.
I really enjoyed the scenes when Liu Zi Guang met his sort of madness and despair, breaking through his memories - not entirely by accident, but in order to remember something else and defend himself. The way William Chan shows Liu Zi Guang’s despair when he realizes who he really was is just great. The audience, however, already knows the truth about the main character’s past, so I highly recommend to start watching from the third episode no matter how emotional the first two are (you can watch them afterwards, but do spare yourself a bit of intrigue).
The main female character is nice, you can sympathize her at times. She is brave, and weak, and smart, and too impulsive. She is desperate to claim a dangerous job, proving to everyone that she can handle it. But the more the plot develops the more she is shown as a daughter, as a girl in love - and the image of the tough and rude Hu Rong evaporates, showing a vulnerable young woman. The story would be more interesting without this sentimental pliability. After all, undercover relationship is risky and interesting but the plot drags too much at that part, showing the heroine’s immaturity and putting the whole mission under an unnecessary risk. Hu Rong’s always making her father give her a chance to participate in the missions is rather irritating. And of course, it's hard to forgive her going to the base without a bulletproof vest, I mean, where’s the logic here? It was so easy to come prepared. She’s a police officer, not a school girl! But she is an interesting mirror for Liu Zi Guang. That’s very common for such kind of the stories that the two end up as a couple but still nice to watch.
I also liked Officer Han. He was the third person in a love triangle, but he deserved Hu Rong no less than Zi Guang did. Interestingly, Han's sincere affection for both Hu Rong and Zi Guang seems not a plot flaw but a realistic life twist, although a typical rival would prefer to get rid of Zi Guang when he had a chance. Surely my favourite character after Zi Guang, brave and smart. (What would the police do without him? I mean, they don’t seem too quick.)
Finally, the villain is fine. All other don’t seem too dangerous or witty, though. But mister Nie has been plotting all this time. His observations and predictions are quite accurate. Still, his kind of fondness of Zi Guang is kinda strange even if they are sworn brothers. Why be so shocked by Zi Guang’s possible betrayal if you are ready to betray him as well? I wish they had shown us more of Zi Guang’s past in short bright flashbacks just to explain why Nie is so attached to him.
In general, the series went even deeper into my heart than it seemed. I fell in love with its music, too. The combination of characters and plot conflicts also seem appealing for me. I just wish it was a bit darker, without so much romance.
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Dragged down by flashbacks, slow motion scenes and slow pacing
Completed - 7/9/2022I was interested in watching “Age of Legends” due to the two leads, William Chan and Sandra Ma. The plot seems interesting enough, though it’s nothing new or unique. Unfortunately, my initial concern came true. 47 episodes for a modern Chinese drama is way too much. This drama is bogged down by draggy plots and flashbacks, and I would only recommend you watching this if you are a fan of either of the leads. I actually fast-forwarded many scenes, and I don’t usually do that.
What I Enjoy:
1. Hu Rong/Sandra Ma (FL) - I am a fan of a strong and badass female lead who can fend for herself. Hu Rong is not without flaws. She’s way too impulsive as a cop. But she can fight! I am actually quite impressed with Sandra Ma’s fight scenes. She did not appear weak and really did seem like she could throw a punch or throw someone over her shoulders. Hu Rong also has two amazing guys who love her enough to sacrifice their lives for her over and over again (actually a little too much for a supposedly strong female lead). I’ve seen a couple Sandra Ma’s dramas and this is the first one that she’s not whispering and I can actually hear her speak clearly.
2. William Chan - It’s William Chan that drew me to this drama. I can always count on his modern dramas to show me his fight scenes, good looks and his muscles. Instead of being a clean shaven handsome man, for most of the drama, he looks quite unkempt and unshaven. Of course there are scenes of him in a nice suit or uniform, but I quite like his man-bun look. He really doesn’t disappoint in all the action scenes.
3. A few great and likable supporting characters:
= Uncle Guo - what a lovable grandpa he is! Supportive, caring and wise. He believes in ML and never wavers even though he knows ML could have done something really bad in those 8 missing years. I also enjoy all the life and dating advice he gave ML.
= Zhou Li (Fatty) - He’s not handsome, smart or talented. He’s just a normal guy, a great friend and a good human being. I really like his character and how he stands by his friends.
= Ah Se - He reminded me of Fei Liu (from Nirvana in Fire) for some reason. Ah Se is so loyal, adorable and sweet. I needed more of him!
What I Don’t LIke:
1. Flashbacks - Why??? Why so many flashbacks throughout the show?? These annoying flashbacks probably constituted an extra 5 episodes. If you binge watch, this is incredibly annoying. However, if you watch an episode a day, maybe the flashbacks are more tolerable.
2. Draggy Plot/Pacing - The flashbacks really slow down the pace of the drama. The writing is not tight and the middle episodes about the rivalry between Liu Zi Guang and Hou Si Hai lasted too long. The scheming against Liu Zi Guang & company and conversations of Hou Si Hai and his subordinates became repetitive and predictable. I lost my attention and realized I can still follow along the plot alright if I multitask or fast-forward certain scenes. There are also many unnecessary slow-motion scenes in this drama and further slows down the pace.
3. Waste of Liu Yi Jun - What a waste of a talented veteran actor. Liu Yi Jun’s character, Ye Wang Long, spends most of his time hiding in his big house and having the same conversation over and over again with his right-hand man. For most of the drama, all he did is tell us what ML is going to do, because he knows ML so well. He was so much more fun to watch in the first few and the last couple episodes when he’s not taking a back seat to everything that’s happening.
4. Undercover operation - This has to be the worst kept secret. How could you have an undercover, dangerous operation known to so many civilians, and have civilians join in? I can’t really take this plot seriously.
5. Last episode - It’s not exciting enough and quite predictable. Moreover, when FL is handed a bulletproof vest, you know what’s going to happen. Actually, why didn’t FL wear a bulletproof vest in the first place??? After being shot, how can the villain run all the way from the base (somewhere in the woods) back into town and wait for ML? That’s quite a long walk when you are hurt. I am also confused about the last scene of the drama.
6. Dubbing - There’s a lot of post production dubbing over the original dialogs. The voices don’t match the movement of the mouths. And you can tell due to censorship that they changed many of the original dialogs.
Other Random Observations:
1. Maybe a little overdramatic, but I quite like ML’s fight scene in the rain - fighting, holding an umbrella, shielding Tina from the rain and seducing her at the same time. Oh, we got some tango background music and slow motion scenes to set the mood. I would fall for William Chan, too!
2. Good decent kiss scenes from William Chan and Sandra Ma. Chemistry is pretty good but not sizzling hot.
3. It took a while for the leads to get together but romantics like me are rewarded with enough sweet scenes. The secret rendezvous spot where the pipes are is an interesting location for a date.
4. Sabrina Chen’s CEO character is really annoying in the beginning. Thank goodness she got better.
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This review may contain spoilers
47 Episodes of Flashbacks
This drama had only two things going for it. An ensemble cast who did a great job bringing their characters to life - and a gorgeous ML.The writing was passable, but the series was drawn out by too many useless and unnecessary flashbacks. 47 episodes were really excessive. I used my fast forward button a lot. Too many police meetings and briefings, and too many musings by the villain. Those were getting really boring!
Best parts of this drama were the friendships. Jianguo, Xiao Shuai, Zhou Li, & Zi Guang - and their relationship with Uncle Guo. FL's dads - Hu Yu Jin & Huang Zhen Wu, and the young squad members.
William Chan did a great job with a character that wasn't really written well. Loved the fight scenes and just looking at him in general. They could not get him clean-shaven quickly enough for me, but he rocked the manbun!
Probably the smartest officer of the bunch, and the one who really deserved better than he got in the end, was Han Jin. Easy on the eyes as well - he always managed to inject some intelligence in their intelligence.
Finally, the FL. Normally. I don't mind Ma Si Chun. I've seen her in other things - but this one was underwhelming because of the character she was given to play and how really poorly written it was. Police can't afford to be careless or impetuous or unruly. She was just all over the place and then sulking when chastised or screwed things up. And how wishy washy was she in her relationship with the ML!? One minute she is all lovey dovey, the next she's accusing him, arresting him, interrogating him, and treating him like a criminal. Girlfriend like that? No thanks! So sorry - the romance sizzle fizzled with her character. What a waste of a sexy, gorgeous ML!
I was really looking forward to a good story, with enough time to tell it and tell it well. What a let-down. No rewatch for me, thanks. Once is punishment enough. I'll find a shorter drama with Chan in it for eye candy.
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Quite nice!
Nice drama, nice fights and plot. Overall it was good and fun to watch. I start watching because of Sandra Ma and actually it was the first time that I get to see William Chan (never heard about him before) so I hadn’t any expectations but, maybe because of his character, he looks robotic and silly in the beginning but eventually he gets better and of course with his melting smile things get even better. On the other hand Sandra Ma that plays a badass girl turn, too much, into a mush potato… well, love, right?! Worth and fun to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Story: 8/10
I had a lot of problems with the story but overall it has a very attractive story line.
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1) Plot:
The basic plot/story is one of my favorites. Of a guy who has 8-years of his life missing from his memories and not just that, he might've been a bad guy in those 8 years. Moreover, its crime/investigation/drug trafficking plot which means every other scene might be a climax but....it isn't. Overall, I loved the drama but I have serious issue with the sequencing of the story. It would've been more thrilling had we not known about those 8 years of Liu Zi Guang. The viewers knew but the characters didn't. For me, it killed the thrill that we could've felt otherwise. The mystery of those missing 8 years and the snippets of what he did would've been hella more attractive only if we hadn't known those scenes in detail. I wish the story would've started from when Liu Zi Guang came back to Jiangbei and progressed from there since we had our share of flash backs of the starting episodes later in the drama.
2) Characters:
The characters....were normal? Too normal for my taste? I mean, this kind of plot requires thrilling characters, right? Anyway, I absolutely LOVED Liu Zi Guang in those 8 years. He was entirely a different character from his goofy present self. What irritated me the most were the stupidity of the female lead at number of times and Liu Zi Guang's over protectiveness. Maybe the writer had intended to make his character 'manly' and he succeeded in making him so only, he felt fake at times. He was...too darn perfect. And too darn immature. It was uncomfortable, to see someone like William Chen acting like a teenage boy.
If I'm to talk about my favorite characters of the show, I'd say Captain Han without a second thought. He was...the most sensible, passionate, rational character and I absolutely LOVED him. As for Li Wan, she became my favorite because of her character development and...the actress is gorgeous (；・∀・) I loved Liu Zi Guang's friends. Damn, they really loved him, didn't they?
3) Character Development:
Surprisingly, the character development on the main leads part was...crappy. It was there but wasn't enough. Both the leads were too perfect and aside from changing because of their feelings for each other, they remained pretty much the same. The most character developments that I got to witness were in case of: Captain Han -> He went from crushing/cool captain to someone understanding and his friendship towards Liu Zi Guang was one of my most favorite things. The way he stood beside him till the very end. The guy deserved a hug but... Li Wan -> She, like Han, was harboring massive crush on Liu Zi Guang but I loved she went from crushing on him to loving him and learning what true love actually is. I absolutely adored her. Xiao Shuai -> A playboy and typical bad boy but I loved how he learned that his loved one suffered because of his actions and changed accordingly.
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Acting/Cast: 8/10
The acting was great, especially on William Chen's part. The way he went from mob member to a clueless hero was noticeable. I literally felt the change in his demeanor. Other than him, everyone else was just...okay. Sandra Ma was great at number of places but overall, her acting didn't pull me. Oh, I absolutely LOVED Sophia Hu who played a guest role of Lisa. Damn, she was badass and so, so cool. Wish she'd been there most of the story-line.
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Music: 9/10
I loved the soundtracks AND the background instrumental tracks. I wish Chinese released WHOLE albums （πーπ）
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Re-watch Value: 7/10
For starters, the drama is too long for a re-watch. If not for middle 25 episodes, I would've loved to watch it again some day because of the action parts! They were nicely done.
Conclusion:
If you love fluff amidst action then this drama is perfect for you. Out of 47 episodes, 30 are full of fluffy moments while rest 20 are action packed and intense. If not for the sequencing of the story line, I would've rated it higher than I have.
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Could have been great.
"Age of Legends" had the potential to be great. The core plot is interesting, but the execution felt uneven. Crucial moments were sometimes undermined by flat dialogue or awkward silences. Additionally, the storytelling order could have been improved, leaving me with the feeling of missing key information at times.This might be a good option for viewers who enjoy piecing together a story and appreciate strong action sequences, but those seeking a tighter narrative might be frustrated.
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William Chan did well in this series. Despite his bad boy look, he pulled off this hero character very well. He’s got the suave, the charm and the built. Chemistry with Sandra Ma was just okay for me. Could be better. Sandra Ma had much better chemistry with Wallace Huo in the other show.
Great villain as always from Liu Yijun.
My scoring is because the series is too long for a modern action drama. Would have been better capped at 30-40 episodes.
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This review may contain spoilers
My Thoughts
Honestly, the synopsis and English title does not do this drama justice. Despite playing on the amnesia-memory trope, stumbling across this drama was a very pleasant surprise.For me, the sworn brotherhood of Liu Zi Guang and Nie Wang Feng's in the early episodes had cemented my interest in this narrative, whereby both can represented as the ying and yang. Zi Guang symbolises the path of righteousness throughout the story while Nie Wang Feng acts as a dark guardian angel for Zi Guang. With each episode, I was keenly awaiting for when Zi Guang's memories would return and I am glad to say that the ending was truly rewarding - as many details from early episodes were ultimately tied together.
My only qualms are that the middle portions of this drama can be rather draggy, and the side-characters were progressively sidelined despite the attention given to their character development. All-in-all, this drama was truly an amazing ride!
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