Legend of Fei: Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Title: | Legend of Fei (2020) |
Platform: | Youtube (free), WeTV, Tubi, Viki, iQIYI |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Wuxia/ Light Romance |
Episode Count: | 51 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | TV-14: Violence and blood (a la very fake looking Wuxia action) |
Staring: | Zhao Li Ying (Story of Ming Lan) Wang Yi Bo (The Untamed) Zhang Hui Wen (Glory) Chen Ruo Xuan (Veil of Shadows) Sun Jian (Enforcement Department) Zhou Ji Qiong (Love in Pavillion) |
RBTS Rating: | 2.5/5 Stars (A highly anticipated Wuxia that proved to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year, which is impressive considering the year was 2020. Everything was stale from the sets to the story and acting. You're better off reading the book.)  |
Synopsis:
Zhou Fei, granddaughter of a national hero turned bandit, is raised in a secret fort tasked with guarding the world from supernatural threats. Frustrated by its decline and longing for freedom, she tries to escape, only to be saved from drowning by the carefree martial artist Xie Yun. Together, they set out to improve their skills, unaware that dark forces are rising, and that Xie Yun holds a hidden past. @MDL
Stay Tuned: Full Review Still to Come!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
Adapted from the award winning novel Bandits, The Legend of Fei was highly anticipated with the production boasting of beloved source material, a seasoned Director (of Princess Agents), and a high traffic idol cast that saw the return of Zhao Li Ying to acting following her maternity leave. The odds were stacked in the drama's favor, but ultimately only proved to emphasize what a dissapointment the drama turned out to be.
I'll start off with the obvious: The production. Where was it? The drama allegedly had a budget of 91.8 million USD but that sum somehow only gave us egregious studio lighting, grade school stagecraft, and boring, poor quality costuming. It was not a sight to behold. Did the money just go to the casting? Money laundering? What happened? The camera work was very rudimentary, and the afrorementioned lighting made everything look cheap and gray. The dubbing isn't great, nor it the dialouge, despite the NINE writers who worked on the script. There are inconsistencies in power level and character motivations, and apparently the screenplay veered into a different dimension than the original novel.
As for the characters, though their perfromance felt wildy restrained by a terrible script, no one was bringing home any Oscars. Zhao Li Ying was not at home when you look into her eyes. She had NO emotion and stared blankly the whole time. I've never been a fan of her acting, but she was not locked in. In fact, she was locked out of the whole world around her. I do give her some grace though, as she had just given birth and the emotional impact of postpartum upon returning to work is never given enough credit. Wang Yi Bo had a bit more charisma, but his performance felt too subdued for the character he was trying to portray. I think the writers made him to much of a mysterious enigma, that even the actor didn't know what to do with the character. The leads have get whopping grade of zero when it comes to chemistry. The actors are 10 years apart in real life, although the older ZLY (FL Actress) is so ageless, I couldn't tell until I looked it up. But what I could clearly tell is that ZLY, who is 33, was def not 16 years old as her character is. She was supposed to be young, fierce, and heroic, but instead we got a blank, exhausted, and uninterested mannequin. They need those weird coffee chews they're always adveritising in K-drama's lol. Kopika, I think I've found your market.
The side characters acting also lacked...spirit, but I didn't dislike any of them. Actually, on second
thought, the FL's cousin, Li Sheng, did annoy me. I take it back. There were just epic levels of easily avoidable failure that foiled the drama. But. There is still some original story that shines through the dark clouds of what we got. I really liked the villain characters and the overall Wuxia vibes, and I enjoyed enough of the story to finish. There was a rare gem of meaningful dialogue in the sea of uninteresting rocks once in a while, so it wasn't an utter failure (?). I even shed a single man tear. And that's more than the actors gave us.
Overall, I saw the thread of what could've been great, and it got me through, but I think if the story interests you, you are better off reading the book. Don't let Fei's soulless eyes get you.
Story=3.5 (Passable but wasted potential), Acting=1 (Paint drying), Production Quality=2.5 (Below Average), Rewatch Value=2.5 (No), Ending=3.5 (Passable), Enjoyability= 2.5 (finished but it dragged).
Trailer:
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