Storm Eye (2021)

Corporate espionage with a slice of life

Storm Eye is about a team of dedicated law enforcement officers tasked with investigating criminal activities relating to the potential theft of technological research undertaken by a leading tech company in Shuangqing City. This team, operating under the purview of the Ministry of State Security (MSS), is a collaboration between the provincial government and the National Security Bureau of Shuangqing City. The investigation is primarily focused on the sophisticated web of economic crime orchestrated by a secret criminal organisation with a connection to past transgressions and its current intention to steal proprietary technology from Dinghua Group.

This drama is a combo package with multiple genres incorporated into its premise. In addition to the overarching plot on criminal investigations, it contains side stories and character arcs revolving around slice-of-life aspects of family, romance, and office politics. The seriousness, thrills and suspense are balanced by the emotional scenes, introspective moments and some light-hearted ones too.

This 2019-produced drama features decent production values and a script that’s well above average. There are no discernible plot holes, clichéd plot devices or sudden inexplicable shifts in characterization conveniently added for dramatic effects. The story unfolds at what I would call “engagingly casual and unrushed” pace with a gradual development of the main characters, their backstories and relationship dynamics, where the depth of the plot and the portrayals of the characters are conveyed realistically and convincingly.

Some viewers may feel that the story progression is overly slow-burn and lacking in urgency, but I believe this is attributed to the build up of what would later be revealed as the convoluted grand scheme of the criminal operation. I personally think on the whole the key elements of the plot are relayed evenly over the course of 40 episodes, where the simmering tension throughout finally comes to a gripping climax amidst certain surprising turns of events.

To clear any misperception, it’s important to understand that despite the description offered by the synopsis and tags, this show is not about secret agents and evil villains frantically facing off with guns blazing. There are no outrageous stunts involving high-tech gadgets, parachuting off planes or slick martial arts moves. This isn’t the usual police procedural of cops going after robbers or murderers either. The action scenes are rather limited, it must be said.

This is a smartly depicted drama featuring corporate espionage with emphasis on intelligence gathering, surveillance procedures and undercover infiltrations. It’s worth mentioning the usage of the Sky-Eye system by the MSS involving satellite tracking technology as well as the urban network of CCTVs to apply visual and trait recognition as well as GPS monitoring for tracking potential suspects to aid in their investigations.

The protagonists are intelligent and resourceful while the antagonists are satisfyingly clever and ruthless adversaries with their own counter-intelligence capabilities and complex schemes. Both sides engage in a delicate game of cat and mouse involving much subterfuge and elaborate machinations culminating in an even contest where the battles are won as equally as they are lost in this drawn out war of attrition. The sensible and mature depiction of characters as being very human rather than the typical stereotype caricatures enables us to comprehend their motivations, actions, emotions and insecurities. The narrative is not just about the good guys versus the bad guys or simplifying everything to be either black or white but it is instead represented with a healthy dose of realism where individuals are morally layered with shades of grey and the concept of right or wrong is never perfectly defined.

The characters are very well conceived and realistically written, and comprises several interesting character and relationship dynamics. There are no illogical or exasperating characters while the interactions between the various characters are very organic and there is no dramatic angst anywhere near this show. These characters are brought to life by fine acting of the entire cast, notably a reunion of certain Eternal Love cast members. Another plus point is the fact that the main cast dubbed themselves for this drama. Zhang Bin Bin and Yang Mi lead the cast by portraying the MSS agents assigned to the case. Zhang Bin Bin’s Ma Shang is bright, cheerful and affable. He’s competent at what he does and is able to transition seamlessly into his role of an undercover agent. Yang Mi’s An Jing, on the other hand, is much more down to earth as the team leader of the Shuangqing City Bureau. Together they form a great partnership in work and in rekindling their past romance.

Two people that truly surprised me are Daisy Dai and Lawrence Wang Xiao. Daisy’s characterization of Miao Fei and Lawrence’s Cheng Lei are praiseworthy indeed and both of them demonstrated their impressive range through the development of their characters. The rest of the cast are equally compelling to watch. Wang Dong’s nuanced portrayal of Qiao Xi Chuan and Ning Xin’s Zhou Lian are intriguingly layered characters that I appreciated. Liu Rui Lin’s stoic and stone faced Du Meng takes a while to warm up to while Zhao Wei Lin played the single tropey but rather entertaining character in the show, in the role of the international hitman Bian Fu. I have to mention the veteran cast of actors who played the parents of the leads. Their experience shows and they are superb during the family-oriented slice of life moments which are genuinely heartfelt and convincing. I truly enjoyed all their scenes together and they even had some really amusing story arcs.

The show is far from perfect, however, and I do have major qualms concerning certain aspects. I feel that the inclusion of a tragedy involving a supporting character toward the end is quite unnecessary, and how it transpires is poorly executed. This relates to the choreography of the limited action sequences which, frankly speaking, is mediocre. Questions have to be raised as well on the authenticity of the procedure for making arrests.

The English-speaking segments, in particular the dubbing in general, isn’t great. The accent is quite laughable for the main villain who is the mastermind behind the entire scheme. The dubbing synchronisation for Wang Dong is quite poor but at least the spoken English is better. Zhao Wei Lin is part American so he sounds the most convincing while Lawrence and Daisy dubbed their own dialogues. The inconsistency in the dubbing, unfortunately, is quite obvious and is the one aspect that needs to be improved for future productions of C-dramas.

On the other hand, I’m quite pleased with the musical aspect for this show. The opening theme used for the title sequence is dramatic and martial-themed which fits with the premise of the story. Likewise the four tracks in total that are used with rather appropriately written lyrics. Track listing as follows:
Black Tea 平凡的样子 (电视剧《暴风眼》片尾曲) by Sun Xionglou 韩磊
Ellipsis" 省略号 by Jian Hongyi 简弘亦
Brave Enough 足够勇敢 by Tan Wei Wei 谭维维
It's All OK 都可以 没关系 by Jin Wen Qi 金玟岐

Despite encountering the few blips, I have thoroughly enjoyed Storm Eye particularly for the mature themes depicted and the engaging pace. I believe where the show excels is in the realistic portrayals of its characters and the direction of the story. If you’re looking for a drama with a sense of realism, compelling dynamics and evocative moments with an infusion of some suspense and tension, then consider giving this show a try.

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