This review may contain spoilers
Mafia-like politician against lewd lawyer and his naive martial arts BF
It is a good thing that modern BL movies have escaped the pure boys love landscape, in the sense that we get to watch adults engaging in adult situations and not just teenies whining about their first love. In this respect laws of attraction is great.
I watched with mixed expectations, and some of them were fulfilled while others did not.
First things first: The plot is a combination of crime mystery, with all the clichéd characters one expects. The lewd layer, the naive martial arts master, the corrupt politician etc. So far so good. Some of the characters do have some development, such as the senators son, who started out as a spoiled little brat and become a more kind hearted person (having been abused by his psychotic father), and the lawyer who became more humane. Others, like the senator, on the other hand remain one-dimensional throughout, who is simply portrayed as the personification of evil without any justification, back story, or development. The criminal story has several loopholes but it generally makes sense (at least to an extent), but of course one should always keep in mind that this is a BL series and not a Hollywood movie, so please judge accordingly.
The acting is rather problematic. I think that the chemistry between both the main and the secondary couples is lacking (to put it mildly). In the first half of the series there is quite some tension in the air, which, alas, culminates in a melodramatic bubbly Barbie-ish atmosphere in very unsatisfactory way. Tin is supposed to has just lost his niece to a murder, is a virgin (I suppose this regards same-sex relationships?) and yet falls head-over-heels for the (untrustworthy at first) lawyer. Everyone is accepting (what a perfect society we live in), and Grandma (who runs a traditional restaurant in a poor neighborhood and has lost her granddaughter AND her parents previously, happily wants to pursue a singing career in a bar run by an (adorable) lesbian couple. On the whole little makes sense in this direction....
The senator behaves like the worst mafia boss, kills, tortures and threats indiscriminately (even his own son, whom he uses to cover up his own crimes) and this happens perfectly hidden from public scrutiny. Even if one was to say that Thailand is not the most democratic country, it is definitely so corrupt (well at least not according to several international rankings).
In general there was little emotional development. The quantity of blood and killings did not correlate with the couples' relationships, which should have been more mature/adult (not necessarily more skin, but definitely more down-to-earth and less pink-lady-like). Everything feels like a random mixture of movie elements, that have not been cooked together long enough. Quite a lot of interesting ideas, but not pursued enough.
Do not get me wrong. The series is not trash, in fact it is better than many other series out there. However, it does not reach the hight of emotional dramas with amazing chemistry like some HIStory seasons, mood indigo, gray rainbow, a tale of thousand stars (just to name a few), or the action packed genre, like advance bravely, or the sign.
I watched with mixed expectations, and some of them were fulfilled while others did not.
First things first: The plot is a combination of crime mystery, with all the clichéd characters one expects. The lewd layer, the naive martial arts master, the corrupt politician etc. So far so good. Some of the characters do have some development, such as the senators son, who started out as a spoiled little brat and become a more kind hearted person (having been abused by his psychotic father), and the lawyer who became more humane. Others, like the senator, on the other hand remain one-dimensional throughout, who is simply portrayed as the personification of evil without any justification, back story, or development. The criminal story has several loopholes but it generally makes sense (at least to an extent), but of course one should always keep in mind that this is a BL series and not a Hollywood movie, so please judge accordingly.
The acting is rather problematic. I think that the chemistry between both the main and the secondary couples is lacking (to put it mildly). In the first half of the series there is quite some tension in the air, which, alas, culminates in a melodramatic bubbly Barbie-ish atmosphere in very unsatisfactory way. Tin is supposed to has just lost his niece to a murder, is a virgin (I suppose this regards same-sex relationships?) and yet falls head-over-heels for the (untrustworthy at first) lawyer. Everyone is accepting (what a perfect society we live in), and Grandma (who runs a traditional restaurant in a poor neighborhood and has lost her granddaughter AND her parents previously, happily wants to pursue a singing career in a bar run by an (adorable) lesbian couple. On the whole little makes sense in this direction....
The senator behaves like the worst mafia boss, kills, tortures and threats indiscriminately (even his own son, whom he uses to cover up his own crimes) and this happens perfectly hidden from public scrutiny. Even if one was to say that Thailand is not the most democratic country, it is definitely so corrupt (well at least not according to several international rankings).
In general there was little emotional development. The quantity of blood and killings did not correlate with the couples' relationships, which should have been more mature/adult (not necessarily more skin, but definitely more down-to-earth and less pink-lady-like). Everything feels like a random mixture of movie elements, that have not been cooked together long enough. Quite a lot of interesting ideas, but not pursued enough.
Do not get me wrong. The series is not trash, in fact it is better than many other series out there. However, it does not reach the hight of emotional dramas with amazing chemistry like some HIStory seasons, mood indigo, gray rainbow, a tale of thousand stars (just to name a few), or the action packed genre, like advance bravely, or the sign.
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