I’ve watched ISWAK, TKA, Playful Kiss, and Mischievous Kiss and I must say that this movie version is the worst among the 4. Here’s my breakdown for the movie:

Story - As an adaptation, the plot of the 1st half is similar to the source material but the 2nd half doesn’t have the same impact as the other adaptations. There were also new scenes in the movie that tried to make the watching experience unique but failed to deliver the romantic tension. I also felt that the TKA med school arch was cramped in 15-20mins of the movie losing the effect it has on strengthening the relationship between Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin.

Acting/ Cast - I loved Darren Wang in Our Times but as Zhi Shu, he’s the sore thumb among all the Zhi Shu actors. It’s not that he can’t act, but the anime Zhi Shu is supposed to be the stoic, snobbish, cold genius, but Darren’s Zhi Shu came off as a cold, fierce, demon prince which I didn’t like. But in his defense his acting was better than Jelly Lin’s who I found was too tall, pretty, and trying hard to act cute, and die hard fan of Zhi Shu. It would have been believable if Jelly Lin played the Tiffany Wang’s character that also liked Zhi Shu. As I was watching the movie, I could never get on with the idea that Jelly would never have a chance with Zhi Shu because she’s too pretty and doesn’t give off the loser vibe. There were also some scenes where Jelly was trying to be quirky but her overzealous smile came off as very fake, even her scenes Where she cried while running was so over the top. Shi Zhu’s mom’s acting also came off OA like she was making a poor imitation of the ISWAK mom.

Music - is so so.

Rewatch Value - I’d rather rewatch ISWAK, TKA, and Playful Kiss than this. These 3 adaptations have more chemistry for their leads and their kisses are more realistic and passionate.