Heroes (2022) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Heroes (2022) - True blue wuxia that falls short of greatness 

This is 8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         8.5 Stars Plot:                       7 Stars Acting/cast:            7 Stars Couple chemistry:   6 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      7 Stars Enjoyment factor:   8 Stars

I've been missing traditional wuxia lately.  The most recent offerings have been an alloy of other genres...  For example, the brilliant Sword, Snow, Stride (2021) was definitely wuxia with a xuanhuan /fantasy bent (ie. slow-mo and CGI heavy), and whilst Who rules the World (2022) was marketed as wuxia, it was primarily a political drama with some jianghu thrown in.  

When Heroes (2022) came along, I was therefore very excited by the prospect of some true blue wuxia.  After all, Heroes 說英雄誰是英雄 is one of Wen Rui An's seminal works, and Wang Xiao Shi's part of the story is a prequel of sorts to, and set in the same universe as, The Four Constables 四大名捕, which has been the subject of many drama adaptations.  Short of some Jin Yong or Gu Long (who have both been endlessly and not necessarily well adapted for the screen), Heroes offered the chance to witness traditional wuxia done right.    

Did Heroes (2022) deliver? Yes and no... There is enough fast-paced choreography, compelling characters, and jianghu elements to justify a spot on the wuxia mantlepiece.  The drama is also a visual feast for the eyes, gorgeously shot by a director (Li Mu Ge) who knows how to evoke beauty and atmosphere through his lens.  However, a less then deft mangling of the portrayal of one of the key characters which departs from the original source novel and the somewhat uneven acting by the trio of rookie idol actors meant this fell short of greatness.  

SPOILERS AHEADS

A wuxia plot

Brotherhood

I have already provided a spoiler-free synopsis (👉here), but in essence, Heroes (2022) is set in the capital's jianghu, where two leading sects dominate: the Six and a Half Hall/Liu Fen Ban Tang 六分半堂 and the Golden Winds and Light Rain Tower/Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou 金風細雨樓.  

(🐼:Incidentally, I note that the official English translation for Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou is Golden Wind Drizzle, but that puts the unfortunate imagery of a dog marking its territory to mind, so I will stick with my own translation of Light Rain Tower). 

Anyway, these two sects dominate jianghu.  The Six and a Half Hall values profit and business whilst the Light Rain Tower values chivalry, honour, and brotherhood. Both attract adventurers and heroes from the martial arts world who want to carve out a position in posterity.   

Against this backdrop, we meet he innocent young Wang Xiao Shi 王小石, who is descending the mountains on which he grew up for the first time, to deliver a mysterious box which will determine the future of Light Rain Tower - that is, who will be its next leader (and therefore leader of jianghu).  

In the course of doing so, Wang Xiao Shi meets and befriends the ambitious Bai Chou Fei 白愁飛, the feisty Lady Wen Rou 温柔, as well as the famous red sleeve swordsman Su Meng Zhen 苏梦枕, the young master of the Light Rain Tower.  The four become fast friends and the three men become sworn brothers.  But the principles of the three sworn brothers are not aligned - whilst Su Meng Zhen and Wang Xiao Shi value honour and chivalry, Bai Chou Fei yearns to make a name for himself, by fair means or foul.  

All this makes for a compelling wuxia tale, set in the capital city's jianghu, where brotherhood and loyalty is tested when pitted against the lure of power and ambition...

Zeng Yi Xuan as Zhao Xiao Yao

For me, a lot of the true blue wuxia elements in Heroes (2022) really worked.  To name a few, we have famous swords with history, power struggles between different martial sects, brotherhood, and martial artists at the peak of their powers such as Su Meng Zhen, who wields a blade like poetry in motion.  There are fast-paced fight scenes that will have you flinching (even if some of the choreography lacks finesse and imagination) and a colourful cast of characters - from Yang Wu Xie, the adviser with a twinkle in his eye; to Zhao Xiao Yao, the gorgeous flirt with killer moves; to the menacing Thirteen Doom and the campily malevolent Fang Ying Kan; to Teacher Fu Zi and his wife, blind Granny Cha Hua... 

On who is truly heroic 

Chen Chu He as Su Meng Zhen

Heroes (2022) poses the question of who is a hero (as evidence in its Chinese name 說英雄誰是英雄, which literally translates to "Speaking of heroes, who is a Hero").  

 

For me, the two characters who truly embodied what it is to be a hero in the traditional wuxia sense and beyond, were Su Meng Zhen and Di Fei Jing.

Chen Chu He's charismatic Su Meng Zhen is an absolute scene stealer - the man in red has style in spades, is chivalrous, and principled (he lives by the rules of 不入官門、不找靠山，最討厭生意人/ not entering politics, not finding powerful backers, and dislike of commercially oriented types). He is also discerning, and a leader worth following. He is basically everything that Bai Chou Fei wishes he were but isn't.  Add to that his doomed Romeo/Juliet love with Meng Zi Yi's Lei Chun, doomed both because of who they are and because he is dying, he is a character who will make your heart ache when he inevitably dies, albeit on his own terms.  

As Su Meng Zhen reminds us, he has truly lived rather than existed. 

Yang Tong as Di Fei Jing

Not many can say this in the world of Heroes, though I think that the enigmatic Di Fei Jing (played by Yang Tong) of Six and a Half Hall can.  He is the dark horse that unexpectedly captures the audience's imagination because he remains true to his ideals and his love for his adopted little sister Lei Chun. 

He may be on opposite sides of Su Meng Zhen and co, but when it really matters, he will not compromise on the things that truly matter.  I am still bitter that the director short changed us in episode 34 by not showing Di Fei Jing's epic last battle to avenge Lei Chun against Fang Ying Kan and only showing the dramatic lead up to, and then the end product.  Sure, it is poetic justice to blind the villain (whose name Ying Kan literally translates to "should see" 应看), but I wanted to see it! Di Fei Jing deserved that moment and so did we...

The central trio - the weak links

Bai Chou Fei, Wen Rou, and Wang Xiao Shi

I found the trio of idol actors who were the purported leads somewhat underwhelming in comparison.  

The weakest link is undoubtedly Yang Chao Yue's Wen Rou.  She adds almost nothing to the story and I suspect was included solely so that Zeng Shun Xi's Wang Xiao Shi could have a romantic interest.  Unfortunately they do not share much in the way of chemistry. I honestly felt more for the love between the elderly teacher Fu Zi and his wife, blind Granny Cha Hua. 

Through out, Yang Chao Yue's acting was mediocre at best, with one constant pout being her expression of choice.  

Zeng Shun Xi as Wang Xiao Shi

As for Zeng Shun Xi's Wang Xiao Shi, the drama tries to present him as the embodiment of true chivalry and heroism, but being told that constantly is not enough to seal the deal. 

Wang Xiao Shi is inconsistent, inexperienced, and idealistic - a mixture of unforgiveable naivety (as in when he rescued and inadvertently unleashed the murderous Guan Qi on an unsuspecting jianghu or when he leaves the capital after assassinating a key corrupt official and accepts the assurances of his sworn brothers that everything will be fine if he escapes when this is clearly unrealistic) and intelligence (for eg when he figures out that the Chancellor is evil with minimal clues) and his generally high EQ. 

Zeng Shun Xi does a moderately good job in this role but fails to bring the necessary nuance or charisma, which meant that his Wang Xiao Shi did not capture my heart as much as Di Fei Jing or Su Meng Zhen. Also, I feel the stylist did not make the most of his boyish good looks.  In contrast, for example, although Rebirth for You (2021) was an absolute train wreck (see my scathing review here), they really got Zeng Shun Xi's styling perfect.  

Liu Yu Ning as Bai Chou Fei

As for Liu Yu Ning's Bai Chou Fei... it is perhaps not Liu Yu Ning's fault that this character fell flat and became a 2D caricature villain all but foaming at the mouth given the scriptwriter's questionable take on this character.  

Bai Chou Fei should have been an absolutely fascinating character - morally grey or perhaps amoral.  His name is significant, in that Chou 愁 means to "worry" and Fei 飛 means "flight".  In other words, he is characterised by the angst over taking wing, and how to fly to the heights. Given that this is one of many names that he has adopted, and the one he ultimately settles on, Bai Chou Fei's name is doubly significant. One can't help thinking he should really have joined Six and a Half Hall instead.  

In the novel, Bai Chou Fei is written as a deeply complex character - nakedly ambitious and capable (but ironically never as capable as those he aspires to overtake such as Su Meng Zhen) and he takes advantage of Su Meng Zhen's illness to cold-bloodedly stage a coup and seize power, thereby violating the bonds of brotherhood.  

Although the drama initially gives us a tantalising foretaste of the novel's Bai Chou Fei (his cocky arrogance, his willingness to sacrifice other 'brothers' of the house so long as it gives him a chance for fame, his entitled and petulant attitude in becoming Su Meng Zhen's 2IC, his disturbing readiness to accept collateral damage, his early decision to part ways with his sworn brothers), this descends into a disappointing whitewashed portrayal.

The scriptwriter tries to whitewash Bai Chou Fei by explaining/justifying his descent into evil through his being forcibly drugged, tortured, and due to his mistaken belief that Wang Xiao Shi, his sworn brother and moral compass, has died, thus depriving him of agency.  The justifications are not that convincing and we end up with Bai Chou Fei as a crazed, vindictive, and petty caricature of evil who is literally not above slaughtering children for fun or marrying a clearly unwilling Lei Chun to get back at Su Meng Zhen.  

By the time he dies, melodramatically throwing himself from the heights of Golden Winds and Light Rain Tower and having to be put out of his misery afterwards, I was glad it was all over for his sake and ours.   

Final thoughts

🐼: Heroes (2022) is certainly worth watching if you are a wuxia fan.  While it may fall short of greatness, it is nonetheless a thrilling watch, with plenty to satisfy even the most exacting of wuxia fans.   

8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮