septimarhay
Filler and concerned faces stuck on a time loop
Story: It seems like a complex plot, with each time loop adding more insight towards the 'investigation', but I found the plot to be simplistic and over-reliant on a suspense-driving storytelling mechanism - the time loop. That mechanism didn't do much for me, intellectually, and certainly not emotionally. That mechanism lost value by the following issue: pace.
Pace: Consider episode 15 of 15, 21:27 - 23:00, a scene with just vehicles driving around and sparse, inconsequential dialogue; 90 seconds of no plot or character development; it was about as interesting as looking at my hands for 90 seconds. There are a lot - truly a lot - of scenes throughout the show like this; they are filler. This could easily have been a 6 or 8 episode show, with tighter storytelling pace and keeping our heart rates higher. Instead, it felt like a slow burn detective story despite its design as a thriller. This is one of the most fast-forward-able shows I've ever seen. And in fast forwarding, it's easy to catch what's going on in the plot. Therefore, if you don't want to invest a lot of time, just fast forward a lot. I probably watched the 10 hours of actual content in about 6 hours of viewing time with hardly any issue in comprehension.
Characters: The ML and FL lack depth and are essentially 'tools' for the 'investigation'. We get a little bit of backstory, but there's not much to their characters other than the role they're playing in the 'investigation'. In fact, they are really the investigators using the police to help them solve the puzzle. Early on, it seems character development might happen with Lu Di (the cat dude), who adds interest to the plot. But Lu Di doesn't continue in the loop and returns to being a tool for the plot schematic. The perpetrators actually have the most development. We find out what is driving their terrible choices. Many character motivations are non-compelling and don't make sense. Basically, character development was muted and that limited the following: acting.
Acting: With such limited characters, the actors seemed to do their best, but there wasn't much 'range' of expression. We get a LOT of concerned looking characters, wrinkly foreheads, over and over. I'll try to highlight the best of the best in terms of acting. Liu Tao as Du Ju was understated, but very well done within the narrow design of the character; she was convincing as a poised, mature leader of the investigation team. Liu Yi Jun as 'Uncle' Zhao or 'Old man' Zhao also performed well. Incidentally, Liu Tao and Liu Yi Jun were also cast and performed well in Nirvana in Fire; however, in that show, their characters are deeper and more compelling. These veteran actors show us how skilled they are with their limited Reset character roles. The younger ML and FL have potential, but didn't show a lot of subtlety or range; these are not the best roles to judge their ability. Not for one moment did I feel their pairing to be chemical. Their connection looked and felt, as was written in the plot, forced. None of the acting in Reset was bad, but the limited character depth put a ceiling on what the actors could do.
Because the plot and characters are not well developed or particularly meaningful, I'm left to believe the storytelling mechanism - the time loop - is gimmicky. If the mechanism can enhance story and plot, I'm for it. But in this show, it seemed like the writer wanted to display the clever mechanism more than 'characters' or a meaningful story. It's as if the genesis for the story was "let's do something with a time loop" and that became the central focus of the writing. It wasn't started with an approach like "hey, I've got an interesting story and characters, what if we told it in a fresh way using a time loop".
The music was completely unmemorable. But it wasn't inappropriate either. It sounded like filler. Kudos, at least, for not being cringey or off-vibe.
My emotional satisfaction for this show was basically non-existent, maybe a 1/10. The most emotional I got was feeling bad for the watermelon guy. I rate it 6.5; because from a film craft perspective, it's not bad, it's just narrow. If I time loop back to the start of watching, I would probably pass.
P.S. Respect to bus drivers. They deal with crazy sh*t.
Pace: Consider episode 15 of 15, 21:27 - 23:00, a scene with just vehicles driving around and sparse, inconsequential dialogue; 90 seconds of no plot or character development; it was about as interesting as looking at my hands for 90 seconds. There are a lot - truly a lot - of scenes throughout the show like this; they are filler. This could easily have been a 6 or 8 episode show, with tighter storytelling pace and keeping our heart rates higher. Instead, it felt like a slow burn detective story despite its design as a thriller. This is one of the most fast-forward-able shows I've ever seen. And in fast forwarding, it's easy to catch what's going on in the plot. Therefore, if you don't want to invest a lot of time, just fast forward a lot. I probably watched the 10 hours of actual content in about 6 hours of viewing time with hardly any issue in comprehension.
Characters: The ML and FL lack depth and are essentially 'tools' for the 'investigation'. We get a little bit of backstory, but there's not much to their characters other than the role they're playing in the 'investigation'. In fact, they are really the investigators using the police to help them solve the puzzle. Early on, it seems character development might happen with Lu Di (the cat dude), who adds interest to the plot. But Lu Di doesn't continue in the loop and returns to being a tool for the plot schematic. The perpetrators actually have the most development. We find out what is driving their terrible choices. Many character motivations are non-compelling and don't make sense. Basically, character development was muted and that limited the following: acting.
Acting: With such limited characters, the actors seemed to do their best, but there wasn't much 'range' of expression. We get a LOT of concerned looking characters, wrinkly foreheads, over and over. I'll try to highlight the best of the best in terms of acting. Liu Tao as Du Ju was understated, but very well done within the narrow design of the character; she was convincing as a poised, mature leader of the investigation team. Liu Yi Jun as 'Uncle' Zhao or 'Old man' Zhao also performed well. Incidentally, Liu Tao and Liu Yi Jun were also cast and performed well in Nirvana in Fire; however, in that show, their characters are deeper and more compelling. These veteran actors show us how skilled they are with their limited Reset character roles. The younger ML and FL have potential, but didn't show a lot of subtlety or range; these are not the best roles to judge their ability. Not for one moment did I feel their pairing to be chemical. Their connection looked and felt, as was written in the plot, forced. None of the acting in Reset was bad, but the limited character depth put a ceiling on what the actors could do.
Because the plot and characters are not well developed or particularly meaningful, I'm left to believe the storytelling mechanism - the time loop - is gimmicky. If the mechanism can enhance story and plot, I'm for it. But in this show, it seemed like the writer wanted to display the clever mechanism more than 'characters' or a meaningful story. It's as if the genesis for the story was "let's do something with a time loop" and that became the central focus of the writing. It wasn't started with an approach like "hey, I've got an interesting story and characters, what if we told it in a fresh way using a time loop".
The music was completely unmemorable. But it wasn't inappropriate either. It sounded like filler. Kudos, at least, for not being cringey or off-vibe.
My emotional satisfaction for this show was basically non-existent, maybe a 1/10. The most emotional I got was feeling bad for the watermelon guy. I rate it 6.5; because from a film craft perspective, it's not bad, it's just narrow. If I time loop back to the start of watching, I would probably pass.
P.S. Respect to bus drivers. They deal with crazy sh*t.
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