Royal Rumours (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating:  Royal Rumours (2023) - Cute romcom with a pretty pretender and her prince 

This is 7.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         7.5 Stars Plot:                       7 Stars Acting/cast:            7 Stars Couple chemistry:   7 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      7 Stars Enjoyment factor:   7.5 Stars

Royal Rumours (2023) is a cute romcom with gorgeous people and gorgeous costumes that is the drama equivalent of comfort food  The tone of the drama is light-hearted and the stakes are low (no high highs or low lows), but there is plenty of gentle comedy to chuckle at with personable leads who have perfected pretence as an artform. 

The drama moves at a pedestrian pace and logic falls by the wayside in the later episodes, but that does not really impair enjoyment of a drama that is clearly intended to be light and fluffy.  

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Royal Rumours (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  Royal Rumours

Chinese title:  花琉璃轶闻 (Eng translation: "Hua Liu Li anecdotes")

Genre: Romance, comedy, palace, historical

Original network:  Tencent

Release date:        15 March 2023

Airing schedule:    15 March 2023 - 1 April 2023

Synopsis:

The kingdom of Jin owes much to the loyalty and military prowess of the Hua clan, whose armies have won numerous decisive victories, including that over the rival kingdom of Jin Po.

But the hearts of men are fickle, and the civil officials of the imperial court begin to make trouble for fear of the military might of the Hua family. Bowing to this pressure, the Emperor bestows the title of County Princess on the young daughter of the Hua family, Hua Lu Li, and summons her to the capital, ostensibly to enjoy the capital's prosperity. The reality, of course, is that Hua Lu Li is a hostage in all but name. 

To allay everyone's concerns, Hua Lu Li presents herself as a physically frail beauty - one that even the wind can blow over. Few see past her façade, but when Hua Lu Li matches wits with Crown Prince Ji Yuan Su, he discovers that she is more then she seems.  Eventually, both come to realise that they have meet their match💕  

  

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, 《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 (2022) 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

  

Heroes (2022) - Synopsis

 

Drama info:

Title:  Heroes

Chinese title: 說英雄誰是英雄 / 说英雄谁是英雄 (Eng translation: "Speaking of Heroes, who is a Hero?")

Episodes:  38 episodes

Genre: Wuxia, historical

Original network: Tencent

Release date:      23 May 2022 

Airing schedule:  23 May 2022 - 27 June 2022

Synopsis:

In the martial arts world jianghu, 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). The former values profit and business, while the latter values chivalry and honour.  The heroes of the martial arts world flock to both in the hope of making a name for themselves.     

When the innocent young Wang Xiao Shi 王小石 leaves the mountains to travel the world, he is tasked by his shifu with delivering a boxed secret that will determine the future of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou to the young master of that sect, Su Meng Zhen 苏梦枕.  

Along the way, he meets and befriends the ambitious Bai Chou Fei 白愁飛 and the feisty Lady Wen Rou 温柔, as well as the famous red sleeve swordsman Su Meng Zhen 苏梦枕 himself.  The four become fast friends and the three men become sworn brothers. 

But in the turbulent waters of the capital city's jianghu, Wang Xiao Shi soon discovers that brotherhood and loyalty will be tested by the lure of power and ambition, and in the face of betrayal and heartbreak, he learns what it truly means to be a Hero...