Pleasantly surprised!

I am an avid watcher of military movies/dramas and also quite an aviation enthusiast, so when Yibo was rumoured to be starring in this movie, i was very looking forward to it. However, life has been quite busy and I forgot about it but suddenly this movie (and full version at that too!) pop up on my YT homepage!

I was pleasantly surprised by it to be quite honest. While watching the trailer quite some time ago, most of the comments on youtube was how it was a chinese remake of topgun (having seen the trailer around TG Maverick release date). However, it was nice to see that they have gone quite a different route with this. I like how they pressed on no matter how brilliant a fighter pilot is on the frontline, there are actually much sacrifice and blood goes behind the scene to deliver the aircraft at its best.

What i like:
-Commander Zhang was such a leader. He nurtures and build all these heroes bit by bit.
-Yibo was in his element. His acting is mature and almost natural in his fighter pilot role
-there are many themes that are carried out brilliantly throughout the movie. Some of them are (of course!) patriotism, maturity comes after you are humbled by failure, wingmanship, and of course, sacrifice! Theres also a little bit of a love plotline, and i like that they are very softly integrated into the storyline. The FL and Yibo’s love story was professional at its best, between 2 busy officers who are on the path towards a greater goal, but found the understanding in the middle nevertheless.
- mygod, even though it was only about 1 and 1/2 hours in, the movie can already built up quite a story behind Commander Zhang, that when he sacrificed himself for the mission, i was bawling my eyes out in solidarity with the soldiers/engineers working under his command and with him.
-the final flight test was such a drama. I was gripping my duvet intermittently in anxiety trying to will them back home. Lol
-the recording at the end of the movie was so heartbreaking but the pilot’s voice sounded so calm honestly *criesabucket
-the scene where yibo and the team make a fly by/over show above Commander Zhang’s son’s game was chef kiss. Showed such a camaraderie between the team and their appreciation for their mentor’s sacrifice.

What i have problem with:
-the opening and closing fight scenes are so fast forwardy, making them seem quite unnatural and video game-like. My expectation honestly was at 30% that this will be a good movie seeing the first fight scene. Im glad that the subsequent story after that redeemed back my attention and expectation.


All in all, for such a short movie, it was quite gripping and intense. Highly recommended watch.

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New theme achievement! LoL

Finally resigning myself to start on this drama (esports is not really my cuppa tea previously), i dont expect to see myself binge-watching this is 3days!

Compared to YAMG and Love o2o, TKA is basically the more ultimate version of eSport themed drama and i’d say, almost 98% of TKA is about eSport and being a pro player, not that much side story or romance happening in TKA compared to YAMG or Love o2o. So i end up learning to get to know Glory and its rules/players/attack maneuver deeper than games in YaMG and Love o2o (cant even recall the name of the games right now. Proven! Lol). I enjoyed the match, almost like im there at the match venue, and the cgi and game interference are really nicely done, wayyyy better than the game in love o2o.

However, there are a few plot tendrils that i found is not given full closure or unknown point of introduction. For example:

-muqiu’s death is not explained till the end. I was waiting you know? So cruel. Lol
-whats the point of introducing ye qiu as ye xiu’s twin if he just appeared for basically 1 and a half episodes and pooffff! disappear not to be seen anymore. Personally, wont it be fun to have ye qiu back towards the end with ye xiu, making a havoc of everything? Lol. Whats better than 1 yang yang? Two yang yangs of course! Hahahah. Not to mention, ye qiu’s total asshat holier-than-thou but in fact innocent, betrayed younger sibling to ye xiu is so much fun to be thrown to Happy’s innocent lambs (imagine being tortured by one ruthless captain everyday, and now to have two of them in one room, i bet those guys will be crying tears of blood. Lol)
-tbh, i almost wish ye qiu came out at the end as the one who bought New Era and surpriseeee haha
-not sure what the script is trying to go with ye xiu/mocheng vs ye xiu/chen guo. Is it siblings bonding or comradeship or a romance?
-though i appreciate that they include the scene of ye xiu’s dad phone call at the end, i cant help but wish his dad’s physical presence to more of his games. After all, dude has been missing 10years worth of games to make up for. Lol. And wont those guys in Happy be in such a shock to find out that their broke captain is actually one of the heirs to a business? Lol

I am pleasantly surprise to come to like Su Mucheng’s character as much as i did. She was a steady rock in ML’s life, quietly supporting and actively assisting at the same time. She’s soft, gentle but kickass and capable bitch at the same time. The balance is beautiful. I think SMC’s character is the only main support’s character i didnt have something to complaint/be annoyed with at any point of time in this drama. The scene where she had to battle Happy at the very last and then walk straight thru in front of her team in New Era to reach Happy team after, knowing full well she will be accepted with open arms, finally coming home with tears in her eyes, shows how much she actually wants to be with Happy and with ye xiu from the very beginning, but she was a woman who had promised ye xiu to stay and play well, so she will do it. I love SMC!

And of course yang yang! Our handsome yang yang!! He did well in balancing a charismatic leader/a badass game god/and a mischievous little rascal of maybe 24-25yo youngster act. Even though ye xiu has such a complicated/tragic past, he grows up into such a fine young man with sense of responsibility but at the same time, nurturing older brother to his younglings, both in New Era and Happy.

The most annoying character to me most probably is Sun Xiang. Felt like pulling his ears sometimes. He annoys me so much with his arrogance and holier than thou attitude. He was such a manwhore. Lol. First, when New Era is on top, he was brought in, and later he joins Samsara. And he was even taking one spring leave (? Or what is it called?? Cant remember. Lol) with him to Samsara when it was not even belongs to him! How dare youu??!!!

Another thing I enjoyed is Huang Shaotian. Lol. That guy’s trash talk is pure gold! And i was laughing like mad during Happy’s match with Blue Rain until i cant even breath! Hahahaha

I think i may have forgotten a few things but i am soooo sleepy right now it’s not even funny. Lol. TKA is by far the only heavy eSport themed drama i have seen/tolerate so far

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Mix of everything

Finished this maybe about a week ago so i may have forgot a couple of things. I think this drama is ok. Not so impressive but not thattt bad either. Maybe, im the only one who enjoy the later episodes as compared to the earlier ones it seems. Lol. I watched the earlier episodes while eating day to day and have no qualm whatsoever to stop anytime. But i find myself wanting to see the next episodes during the final arch of when liang yi was accused, so thats how i know i enjoyed the later episodes more. Well maybe except for the last attempt of qiu yan leaving liang yi, that totally has no point whatsoever *roll eyes
I mean, whats the point of taking the blame and leaving liang yi to deal with the grief alone under the pretence to make him bounce back? Completely ridiculous reasoning!


This is my first drama of the ML, and although it takes me some time to get used to his deep voice, i came to like his acting later on. Plus, liang yi’s character turns out to be cheeky later on behind his stoic arrogant mask, it is quite endearing. Lol. I have quite an issue with the costumes for FL during first half of the drama. FL has a very skinny body built, and the costumes given to her looks very unflattering to my eyes, i prefer the costumes she donned after she became liang yi’s concubine more.

In terms of the villain, gosh, yuan lang and qiu min are probably two most annoying characters i’ve ever see! Yuan lang is so superficial, and a petty rival to boot while qiu min is stupid to the point of facepalming yourself. Lol

And as many others already commented, there are a few illogical ideas regarding the script. Like, liang yi able to drive the noble consort to death just like that (helooo one, noble consort is usually too scheming and power hungry to just resign herself just like that and two, the heck will happen if the emperor finds out his official cause his mother to commit suicide later on? That story will not just end there). And also liang yi being chummy with yuan lang so fast after he killed his best friend (aide/guard). Too 180 degree!

All in all, this drama is ok and a can-watch-if-you-dont-have-any-other-things-to-watch-currently but i dont think i’ll be rewatching this twice

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Nice accompaniment to The Untamed

Just had the chance to watch these 2 accompaniments to the much loved The Untamed (too lazy to suscribe to wetv vip before. Lol).

First thing first, i think, if i havent read so many untamed fanfic before, i might be a little bit confused regarding the storyline. Lol. The saber spirit is not very well explained here (because of the timing constraint i think). But at least we can clearly see how Nie Huaisang turns from such a docile person to a manipulative director Nie in the untamed. Point is, never underestimate the sibling bond (Jin Guanyou, yes i was talking to you!)

Ji Li did a good job here. And the new character Nie Zonghui is such a nice add on. I have a sweet spot for Nie Zonghui from the fics, and it was nice to see him in flesh. Lol. And I like how he carries double saber, just convenient to hand one over to Nie Huaisang in emergency who of course very notoriously known for always leaving behind his own saber. Lol. And of course, the sibling bond between Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue *chef kiss

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Good enough, just need a little perseverance to finish it. Lol

Just finished watching this after maybe about a month? Lol

Tbh, i’ve dropped this maybe around 10-ish episodes? But then, decided to pick it up again as i think it’s not that i absolutely hate the story that i decided to drop this initially, it is just veryyyy sloww for me in the first quarter episodes ?. So after watching another drama, i came back to this.

First of all, you need to forgo logic in order to enjoy the FL comeback. Dont think too much. Just accept it. Lol. FL is portrayed as a strong character, wise and sharp minded. And PXR definitely ace the role. Just sometimes, in order to make the FL appears strong, the ML appears to be slightly downgraded by the plot to reduce his importance.

One thing i definitely noticed about this drama is that, it appears to be very monotonous in pace/plot-wise. Everything just felt like go-with-the-flow kind of feelings to me. I dont have any qualm to stop at any given episode for the day, it is definitely not a drama that had me needing to click the next episode as soon as i finished the current ones like some other dramas did. Not much cliffhanger was used to bait viewers at the end of the episodes.

However, i must say i was quite impressed with the large fighting scale shoot they came up with at the end. Not that shabby as compared to a few war depiction dramas i’ve watched recently.

Costumes are as usual very nice. It was always such an eyecandy watching all these costumes being worn in ancient dramas setting ?

Jin Han as Zhu Zan has his own charm and downside. Not gonna comment much on him though. Not sure why. Lol

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Feel good story

Just finished this drama and i’d say this is a feel-good drama, nice and simple to watch. No major crisis and no unnecessary annoying third party plot.

This is my second time watching the ML after the sword and the brocade (though at first i have to google from where did i see him first. Lol). The chemistry between ML and FL is thru the roof, though the height difference sometimes made me pity the FL’s neck. Lol. The ML portrayed as a doctor is quite believable, as also with the FL as a lawyer. Not much medical thingy is portrayed so less chances to get it wrong, which is always a good thing.

Quite an amount of screentime is being given to the second leads, and i must say, i am quite involved in their love story as well, wen rang and zhou chengcheng made it interesting enough for the second plot, so as not to make time spent on them annoying and worth skipping, like with some of the second leads from other dramas.

All in all, recommended watch for filler in between complicated, heavier costumes dramas.

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Recap

Putting this review from 3 years ago here so that it was in my review tab and I remembered why I DNF-ed this

Review up till Ep40:

Honestly, this drama really is trying my patience. Haha. There are a few instances where i almost dnf-ed it but for the sake of i’ve already spent so much time on it, i strive on. Lol. I know it’s stupid, but i am just that kind of person.

Trying to finish it to the end before review, but it seems i cant, i might just burst! So here’s a preliminary review up till ep40

First of all, i’m surprised that this is quite a recommended drama (I think i’ve read quite a few people recommended this drama for strong FL on pages such as The Long Ballad etc, thats why i started this in the first place). The plot is all over the place, not convincing, and sometimes even appeared stupid-ish. Not sure what are the writers trying to achieve.

Glaring issues/my issues with this drama:
-not sure if it’s just me, but i just cant feel the chemistry between han derang and xiao yanyan, so the first 20episodes are quite a drag for me. I mean, if they still cannot convince me of their love in 20episodes, there must be something wrong somewhere right? I mean, come on, i felt more chemistry between mingyi and xiao yanyan in those 20+ eps, rather than HDR and XYY ?
-i felt the story regain back my interest after xyy becomes the queen. More things to look forward to
-i have issues with HDR’s character. I mean, come on, you preach all over the place regarding trying to replace the system bla3, and your girl becomes someone else’s queen? Bamm no more ambition, suddenly your life agenda is now something not worth pursuing anymore? I am much disappointed in the character.
-the king can just be honest to HDR in the first place, rather than go behind hdr, grab his girl, and trying to explain after everything’s already out of the bag and people already feel that you stabbed them in the back? I mean, is that stupid or what??
-and wuguli and xiyin are 2 basically most annoying characters in this series (and basically why i need to write here at this 40ep mark). Time and time again, that stupid xiyin makes the same mistakes and time and time again he was let off. Someone needs to off that stupid boy like Taiping Wang soon or my blood pressure is going thru the roof! Now even liulishou is becoming stupid like him and his mom. Truly, the stupidity must be inherited somehow ??. And dont mention wuguli. How much more stupid can this girl get my god can someone help me from torturing myself like thisssssssss arghhhhh

Ahh forgot another issue. Lol.

I think the writer forgot to write something in between, or maybe it is just the case of poor editing (i hope soooo), but the transition between yanyan stubbornly trying to break off with the emperor after her marriage, and her acceptance towards being mingyi’s wife through and through is just mind-blowingly fast it makes my head spin. What, just one time of watching mingyi being bullied by his so called officers, and then you cant wait to forgive all of his past transgression and jump into his bed? So much for trying to convince us of your leads’ one true love (hdr-xyy) in those earlier episodes ?

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Mixed feeling, but watch it nevertheless

Rebirth for you

This drama is quite entertaining even though it is quite slow in pace at first. But once Li Qian starts flirting in earnest, you cant help but fall in love alongside baoning. Lol.

However, there is quite a few glaring problem with the plot. The scriptwriters imo appear to be having somewhat short term-memory regarding their own plot. For example, at first, the Li Family is flaunted as quite a powerful family, so much so that the Cao Empress Dowager rushed to recruit them to her side and cant wait to promote Li Qian to a higher position to get into the Li Family’s good book. However, after 10 episodes, after baoning’s marriage into the Li Family, the writer wrote them as if the princess is doing the Li Family so much favour by marrying down to them, and it seems that now the Li Family has nil a value anymore? Also, at first, Gao Miaorong is introduced as a miracle doctor, who even top doctor in the capital know for her intelligence and mastery. Then out of the sudden, 10 episodes later, Gao Miaorong is turned into a convenient (albeit an annoying) villain, wrecking havoc in the Li Mansion, being so freely walking around, not even a hint of her supposedly grand mastery in medicine is seen? ?

And oh my god, zhao xiao ah zhao xiao. Where to start with you? As a character, zhao xiao is everything that is annoying, hard headed to the point of stupidity, thick faced (baoning doesnt like youuuuu please just go awayyyy), and also incompetent but stupidly arrogant. It’s a pity, because i rather like you at first. And wang zhuocheng? I rather admit that i am rather fond of you, coming from a diehard fan of the untamed, but i must say that zhuocheng’s acting skill needs to be polished more. Sometimes, i cant help but cringe at certain parts. However, seeing that he is still quite a newcomer, i am sure he will improve in future.

Not to mention, who the heck wrote the han tongxin character?? Is the scriptwriter non chinese or what?? This is my first time seeing such a character for an empress. Not only is the empress is depicted such a greedy and jealous woman (which is a usual case in harem drama), but how come she is also so stupid? Who the hell insult the grand empress dowager to her face, questioning her authority and repeatedly arguing with the emperor face to face?? In other dramas, such a feat wont even make her last a day in the harem. Lol. Please be more realistic, would you scriptwriters? *shakinghead

Other questionable plot by the authors:
1. Just who the hell is Marquis Jinghai supposed to be?? He’s just a marquis, but can enter the palace and harem everytime and basically at his convenience? ? Other palace dramas basically depict how hard it is for outsiders, even a qin wang cannot just enter the palace at will unless summoned or during court, even worse entering the harem
2. Qin Yu’s death. Too unrealistic. Someone attempted to murder your mom, and you dont even capture the perpetrator yet, but you, as a son, let your mother go to secluded riverside alone on her merry way?? ?
3. The hell happen with the usurping the yongqing’s throne? You ambush thr palace and evryone go on your merry way? Qing An is not even in Yongqing to stabilise the power change! Dont get me started on how easily Siqin got abducted ??
4. The salutation sometimes were mixed up. For example, the officer addressing baoning still as ‘jinzhu’ when she is already promoted to ‘gongzhu’. Also, a few time, servants address li qian still as ‘da gongzhi’ instead of ‘wangye’ when he was already conferred as Lord Xin. Small thing, but when added up, still irks me. Lol
5. The end fighting is so anticlimactic imho. And doesnt make that much sense either. Not only the soldiers count are too little (who fought an ultimate war with just 11 people anyway? ?), the one on one fight between li qian and qing tai while everyone sits around also doesnt make sense. Hellooooo this is not a friendly match for hand-in-marriage! Lol. And qing an just stands around doing nothing?? The hellll. That really botch the ending
6. Lastly, this is not the plot, but i found that the production team doesn’t make use of the ost much, just for the opening and ending and that one song that they usually used for qing an and dongzhi’s scenes

Putting all those aside though, there are a few things that i must commend on. I think the fight choreograph is quite well done. It looks cool whenever there is a one-to-one fight/small fight. I cant really commend on the army fighting though. As usual, it is hard to execute a realistic army fight/war battle if you dont have a big enough budget. And as mentioned above, the ending ‘war’ is the ultimate botch for ‘big army fight’

The costumes are also things that can be commended on. Baoning’s costumes especially are really nice and flowy. So pretty! Li Qian also got quite an array of nice and elaborate costumes. And i found, the set is appropriate and well executed, especially the sets in the palace. The furnitures and everything looks quite lavish and convincing.

The acting if baoning’s personal maid (qingke) is consistently commendable in my opinion. Far cry from her acting as a spoiled princess in Blooms in Ruyi Pavillion. Qing An’s also is quite a natural

The chemistry between baoning and li qian imo is the main thing that carries this drama for me. I’ve always like JJY since LoYX and TBARP, and joseph zheng since TFaYAH, so it was nice to have these two in a drama together. I may not rewatch this in the future but JJY and JZ are what definitely encourage me to complete this series despite the many flaws in the plot.

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