I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
Chris has just come back from war in Afghanistan and is looking for a job. He is hired by Jackie, who hires him to kill Andrew Warner, for property reasons , so she can have access to all of it. Reluctantly Chris agrees. He and Chris meet at various occasions during which Andrew tells Chris that his ex-boyfriend Tyler was also in army serving in Afghanistan. They both start falling in love but Andrew always has suspicion on Chris on why he carries gun. Upon confrontation, Chris tells Andrew the reality. Andrew is hurt because Tyler, who is now dead, was Jackie's brother. After his death Andrew got the property share and Jackie now wants it back by killing him. Together they plan to fake Andrew's death and they take money from Jackie who decides to show up and is surprised to see Andrew still alive. At this point Tyler comes out of nowhere, still alive (a fact known to Chris as well). Apparently, Tyler was looking for an opportunity to kill both Andrew and Jackie so that he can get all the money. Its Chris who was triple crossed in all this. Tyler shoots Jackie and Tyler is taken in by military police with hopes that Andrew and Chris can now be a loving couple.
The story sounds interesting on paper, but the treatment, trust me, is very very amateurish. Acting is awful, and so is the direction, and many lines seem to be terribly improvised. The only saving grace is that there are a few nude scenes with very sexy men. Jackie is so annoying and over the top. Chris is the only one who does a bit of a decent job. Andrew played by the director himself is so fake. All his reactions come a few seconds later which totally tell you how everything is planned and rehearsed. There are 2 random sex scenes as a saving grace but of course they do nothing to the film as such. I guess SPL, trying to relive his porn days and image. He is damn cute man but please man, just admit that you cant act. Stick to what you do best.
Poor direction, bad acting and absolutely no chemistry makes this low budget film an absolute pass. (2.5/10)
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