The new crime movie is titled Extraordinary Mission 非凡任务 and stars Huang Xuan (The Great Wall) as an undercover police officer who has to infiltrate the drug syndicate led by Duan Yihong (The Dead End).
Not much detail has been released about the story line, but early reports introduced Duan Yihong’s character Li Jianguo as an undercover cop before becoming an infamous drug lord. Duan Yihong is a very capable actor, and if the speculations about his character’s background are true, I’ll be anticipating another brilliant performance.
The movie is directed by Andrew Mak and written by Felix Chong, two members of the trio behind classic HK crime trilogy Infernal Affairs. Extraordinary Mission will premiere at 6pm on March 31st.
Hi XDramaX, Could you share which C dramas and films are you most anticipating this year? I liked a lot of the same 2016 C dramas that you liked, and we both dislike Mary Sue’s. Do you have fav directors, actors, actresses? I wish there’s a list of C dramas in the “less vacuous” genre. At least in the non-Mary Sue genre. I’m hoping Surgeons, Storm of Prophecy, Advisor’s Alliance, Ode to Joy 2 will be ok. idk about “In the Name of People”. Some great actors in ITNOP, but not sure what the most significant messages will be in the final “packaging”.
Duan Yihong and Huang Xuan’s acting are often good.But I’m afraid of the HX AB pairing for Entrepreneurial Age. Director An Jian was good at getting good performances from a number of actors in Decoded, despite the problematic script. I hope he can repeat his directorial magic for AB in EA. Did AB ever take acting classes, beyond her on-site coach in General &I ?
What happened to Duan Yihong and Qi Wei’s Holy Guizi C drama?
I don’t have any favourites when it comes to directors, though Kong Sheng, Li Xue and Jiang Wei come close. Perhaps Zheng Xiaolong as well ( before Mi Yue happened…).
I keep an eye out for productions that star my favourites (Hu Ge, Liu Shishi, Chen Kun, Zhou Xun, Huang Xuan), though whether I actually finish the shows will depend on the quality of the story.
I’m looking forward to the same dramas + Game of Hunting, Ruyi’s Royal Love and Chen Kun’s new republican drama.
In the Name of the People may just turn out to be another propaganda machine – I’ll see how long I can last. :p
AB is following in the steps of Fan Bingbing – they’re known as ‘stars’ rather than actual actresses. She was a model in HK before breaking into the Mainland market (thanks to C-Running Man and husband HXM), so I doubt she underwent proper training. I find that talent plays a part as well – there are plenty of excellent actors and actresses in the industry who didn’t take take up acting during their tertiary years.
Thank you for your generous reply! We overlap on director ZXL too. Zhen Huan was good, but I can’t watch Mi Yue although I half like Liu Tao, Sun Li, Gao Yun Xiang.Depending on their roles. Do you have fav Chen Kun dramas? I only liked him in Tsui Hark movie among the 4 films and 2 dramas I tried.
FBB’s acting is much more tolerable than AB’s although FBB can get too distracted by outer beauty and accessories.She is very prone to that in period drama. I laughed when I read a review on movie Lunar Witch Kingdom, when the critic discussed FBB’s wig’s acting.
I had that same fear of ITNOP. Decoded had some of that, but at least D showcased some decent acting and added some human touches to the story. Though they overdid the human touches there. Who does a huge celebratory party to honor a major code-breaking immediately after breaking the code? You lose your edge when your enemy knows you broke their code. Defeats the whole purpose of the hard work. smh…
I like Zhou Xun, Hu Ge a lot. Half like LSS. Prefer HX to LSS.
Game of Hunting is “Lie Chang”? Lie Chang had been referred to as Resume, which is confusing.
I started noticing Huang Xuan when he was in Nv Ren Bang with Edward Zhang Lu Yi, Vivian Wu.But I didn’t finish NRB. HX was pretty good with Wang Zi Wen in Love is Not for Sale, though the story is a bit mundane. idol-y. “Interpreters” and “Doctress” had a lot of annoying female characters. HX had such horrible drama moms last year.
AB reminds me a lot of Zheng Shuang. Overuse of bewildered acting. (Both also very into Mary Sue’s.) Even w on-site coach.It’s half weird to be attached to a coach at all times on the set. I wouldn’t dare bring a coach along when I take my final exams or give final presentations.Makes me look unprepared, though I admire AB’s guts for bringing one.
I agree. Some celebs, even without official acting training, they act very well. It’s just sometimes I wonder, if actor X had more acting training, perhaps he’d do better.
Do you think Princess Agent is another Mary Sue?
Forgot to ask. What are director Jiang Wei’s notable works?
I’ve dropped at least 5 CK dramas – they’re definitely not as good as his movies. My favourites would be Love Story in Shanghai and Fengyu Xiguan.
Yup, it’s Lie Chang. I have no idea why it’s been translated as “Resume”. This drama is directed by Jiang Wei as well – of his previous projects, I’ve only seen Lurk (w Sun Honglei – drama is 10/10 imo), though apparently Borrow Gun is equally as good.
I don’t doubt their efforts when the “look how hardworking they are” reason is brought up, but frankly that doesn’t mean anything to me as a viewer wanting to watch a solid drama.
As for PA – I rmb liking the characters from original novel when I read it years ago, though there’s no guarantee their personalities won’t undergo a 180deg change in the drama (aka what happened in Weiyoung).
Thank you for your kind answers.
About PA, C dramas with titles containing the word Empress, Princess, Consort have high Mary Sue risk. Like ZS and AB, Tang Yan, Ruby Lin, Yang Mi, Chen Qiao En are also stout supporters of Mary Sue-ism. Zhao Liying, Dilireba, LSS have done a few too. When one of the names above does a Princess drama, the risk increases. I don’t watch Zhang Han, Hawick Lau, Li Yifeng much, but they appear Gary Stu-esque. Like HXM in Cruel Romance. This is where Hu Ge and a few other celebs really distinguish themselves from the rest. Always working hard to improve their work in multiple ways, even when they have been good at acting for years. AB and many names above have strong financial priorities. AB+HXM are so stuffed with money they *have* to be venture capitalists. I doubt they can spend all the money they have earned this lifetime unless everything went wrong with their investments _and_ the world economy collapses. Yet, neither is willing to take a break to invest in further serious or full-time or even 3 month long, career-enriching training.
Just saying that some celebs have interesting priorities.