The Myth (China 2010) - eps 1 and 2

[dangermousie]

fire_snake and I gave up on Chuno fairly quickly for various reasons (you really can't not pay 100% attention at all time with it and we wanted to occasionally chat, plus we wanted something lighter) so I decided to check out The Myth - to my utter shock it was completely delightful - funny, smart, pretty, with some awesome fights. She has never seen a drama before but she liked it enough to want to watch a second ep, which we did. YAY.

As for me, I am totally totally in love!

Our protagonist, played by Hu Ge, is a free-lance photographer and a bit of a scammer and free-loader, unlike his hard-working, studious archeologist father and brother. He is not a bad guy and is certainly quick on his feet (and good in a fight), but he is rather mercenary, lazy and doesn't feel like putting in the effort. He's also never paid much attention to history besides the basics, something that will come and bite him in the butt.

Due to a chain of events he ends up with an ancient amulet which exhibits certain troubling signs (flashing light! burning of skin!) - Hu Ge, however, is solely interested in how much it would bring him on the black market. Nonetheless, it is not until Hu Ge also ends up with a mysterious box (dug up at the dig, long story), that the story proper starts - the amulet and the box interact and Hu Ge is pulled into the past. 2000 years ago into the past, precisely - the turbulent time of the Qin dynasty. Smack dab in the middle of an ongoing execution, no less. Great timing.

The story goes from there.

Why do I love it so? (In addition to the gorgeousness of both cinematography and Hu Ge, that is). It has a great mix of funny and angsty, it is smart and fast-paced, the narrative so far (Hu Ge accidentally falling in with rebels) is wonderful. But above all, it is Hu Ge's character himself. You have NO idea how wonderful it is to see a character who is competent and quick-witted (not getting under foot, being helpful in a fight) without being Gary Stuish (acquiring superb fighting power right away etc), and who retains a certain bemused sense of humor and modern pragmatism (when his new-found friend challenges him to a duel for his honor, Hu Ge has no problem saying he concedes because "if I fight you, I will die.")

Plus, his reactions ring true - not believing it's real (thinking he is on a filming set) but slowly being convinced (or even f not, deciding he will figure it out later, but he must help his companions now).

I am totally totally in love with this.

Does anyone know if Taeseng plans to release DVDs of this? I really want! (Or if there is a subbing group other than viikii).

I don't have a picture from The Myth, so have a pic from Chinese Palladin 3 instead (no, I haven't seen CP3, not my thing, but the pic is very pretty).

Comments

[ethvren.livejournal.com]

He is so HOT in that picture!
And I think I'll start watching The Myth too. Because after LOCH I need more Hu Ge.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's on viikii in good quality and he is so awesome in it.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

The picture is insanely pretty. But Paladin 3 means there is 1 and 2 as well. Wuxia seems to be such a slippery slope - I am still resisting!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It's caleed CP3 because it's the third game in the series they're based on. There is not CP2, and CP3 is set 50 years before CP1 and, as far as I know, doesn't involve any of the same characters.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Megan explained about the numbering but I also have to add that even I, who (a) adore wuxia and (b) adore Hu Ge, found CP1 borderline unbearable. I think for someone less familiar/dedicated to it, CP1 would put you off the genre for life (CP1 was very popular but honestly, imo, not good at all). Can't say about CP3 as I haven't seen it.

If you do ever decide to check wuxia out, I actually rec starting with The Myth - it has less poor cgi and a more 'historical' feel - LOCH may be my favorite thing ever (or one of them) but it's much more wuxiash, if it makes sense, so may be a little harder to use as a first drama.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think CP mostly works if (1) you are new to wuxia(and new to wuxia near when it came out), (2) you are a fan of the games. I also think that, when it came out, the FX were fairly high end, at least for televised series, and wuxia was only starting to switch away more from Men With Beards to more young leads with a more romantic focus. (Notably, I watched it about 3 years before you, when most of the wuxia of mutual interest were new, being made, or rumored. Even knowing about the better series out there-much less having watched tem- probably would have resulted in my having a much lower opinion of it. Whih is not to say that it doesn't have tons of problems.)

Looking at CP3 trailers and clips, it's just as fantasy-ish and likely has an OTT, silly plot, but the action is smoother and the acting looks better. And, of course, the FX have come a long way.

ETA: Also, wow, does it stand out that I typed the earlier response right after waking up. (Not that i'm typo-free in general.)

[(Anonymous)]

Tonight it's ep.4 for me...

I watched 1 and then 2 but I had to go to bed (1 in the morning already...)
And yesterday, I had to resist hard not to go thru 2 episodes again... Needed my beauty sleep!

My first wuxia ever!

Emma