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...
In the series, we see at the end that the writer Kijima leaves Kuzumi and disappears. It turns out that even though Kijima now lives with his sisters family, he has. Maintained a cordial relationship with Kijima and they occasionally meet and spend time together in a hotel room. WIth Kuzumi now having a new job, things are getting hard for them as a long distance couple. One day Kijima gets into an accident and hurts his left arm, there by meeting a mother-son duo running a tavern. He lives with them and asks the son to write the novels for him, exactly how he used to do with Kuzumi. You can see the duo getting interested in each other but Kuzumi comes in time and there is a showdown. The mother-son realize that the the Kijibma-Kuzumi couple need time to wort their issues out. The last half of the film is focussed more on how the dup finally manage to open up with each other and be honest and save their relationship.
As you know I loved the first two prequels of this, so naturally I was looking forward to this one, but I was quite disappointed. This is a fine which could have been so much better, but a weak plot and no proper explanation of any of the characters is huge drawback in this film. The chemistry that these two actors shared in the series is completely missing in the film. I, didn't for even a second, was able to connect or believe in their actions. Kijima can do the bare minimum and be rewarded and forgiven, whilst Kuzumi can go above and beyond and remain quite unnoticed. It might be that chemistry, or dynamic, that made this film much harder to watch than the series. Also, there is just not enough reason for the two of them to be together. Clearly they are two very different people. If it was me, I would actually have done a different ending where the couple would be better off if they separated and went their own ways. The whole storyline of the mother and son running tavern was also unnecessary IMO. They were both great actors, especially the mother. The one decent thing about his film was Kijima's family reactions and acceptance of Kuzumi. Other than that, This time their story just didn't excite me at all. Lack of charter growth fails to convince the audience that they are meant to be together.
Call it expectations or lack of story telling telling format, but this film was a huge letdown when compared to two of its predecessors. The series also came up with two short films continuing the story of these two individuals which I will review later, but for now, even if you area fan of the show, this sequel is in no way a must watch. But, I am sure you will regardless. (4/10)
Comments
I really enjoyed the first two parts but something just didn't connect with me in this one. It could have been a bad day for all you know, but as always I do respect and opinion.
Would love to hear more of your thoughts and views on some others here.