Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Ming Pao TV Review: "A Fistful of Stances" Most Inexplicable

CREDIT IF REPOSTED

By Chu Lok Yin @ Ming Pao

There had been two days in which the ratings were at 23 points, but the ratings have risen to 27 points recently. Last week's (March 22 - March 26) average rating was at 27 points, but it is still a far way to ideal ratings.

It is from the creative crew of "Rosy Business"; however, the storyline does not revolve around life, death, and friendship. Rather, "A Fistful of Stances" is about a warm family being harmed by evil people. How are they going to fight back? How are they going to be persecuted?

The good and evil are clearly defined in "A Fistful of Stances". The plot is thick, it is worth chasing, and it is worth watching. But, how come the audience isn't watching? 'Fighting' actually chases viewers away.

Pre-modern fighting is not Jin Yong martial arts fighting. The female audience may not like to watch it. Real kung fu is worse, just like the time when Yuen Biu came to TVB to film "Real Kung Fu". The series suffered a big loss in ratings. From what we can see, even if Yuen Chau has more fight scenes, it may not add interest for the audience.

Kevin Cheng's attraction cannot be compared to Chai Gau and Fourth Wife, especially when it comes to selling his acting ability. He does not specialize in capturing the audience's attention. Actually, his acting has shown improvement, but Cheng Siu Sang still belongs to an 'idol' level. To make a transformation in an instant, is it really that easy? On the other hand, Kenneth Ma has gained greater praise. However, to only rely on Dominic Lam as a character actor is quite weak. The one who has stood out is third-line actor Eric Li. His bald look is quite terrifying.

The plot is thickening. Along with fighting scenes, there is sadness and resentment. The feedback from the online community has been spreading, making it become more and more popular. [I] believe that the ratings will become better and better. When the series is near its ending, will it overcome the ratings drought and break 30 points?

Personal Note: The fighting in here is good enough. They do not fight for the sake of fighting, as it must also go with the storyline. I really hope the ratings will go up.

*Credits to mingpao

6 comments:

  1. After wanting to see Kenneth and Selena interactions, I watched episode 07 and continued on. Even though there were little bits to skip, the episodes are getting better. I really like watching Kenneth in this drama, his character is well-developed and it's great to hear that he's receiving praise for his performance. And of course, his story line with Selena is what I want to see developing.

    The story line itself is not bad, but not that amazing. Some things were the predictable TVB plots, but surprisingly, many of the scenes were emotional and were brought out quite well. This TVB drama is one of the better ones for quite a while now, not excellent, but decent, do hope that the ratings start going up.

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  2. To turtle88:

    Did you watch ep. 15 yet? You should because Ma Ming and Selena were super cute in it! :D

    Totally agree with you! The storyline is good, but it's not extraordinary. I was expecting Dominic's character to be a little different though. But, Ma Ming's character is written very well. He is totally the center of the household. :)

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  3. Yup, I did watch episode 15. Their scenes were cute, including the scene(s) that you just posted. The brushing-the-hair thing was cute and Selena is showing more about how she cares for him :D Hope there will be more scenes of them tomorrow.

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  4. To turtle88:

    Glad that you've watched this episode. :D

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  5. Hehe, I really liked Eric Li's acting in this series, he was really good and charming even though he was a villian xD

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  6. To Anonymous:

    Yes, Eric's role was quite outstanding in here, and he played it well.

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