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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