General and I (2017)

I've been trying to watch this series since 2018 and I kept putting it off. I watched the first two episodes and I dropped it because I was irritated with the female lead's acting. Then I decided to watch it again and finally finished it. I wouldn't recommend it but the plot is fantastic.

First off I like it that the creators chose this whole bunch of cast with the exception of Angelbaby. They all looked the part. What I meant is that they are not the usual teenagers or in their early twenties which seems to be the trend now a days in Chinese dramas. I noticed that even though the role calls for a mature actor instead its being portrayed by younger actors/actresses which makes the drama being farcical.

I don't find Wallace Cheung to be physically attractive but I find him to be good actor. I first noticed him on Too Late To Say I Love You and I fell in love with him. He did an excellent portrayal of his character. He is not so good here might be due to the bad script or story. However Wallace's acting craft enables you to charm and like him. He has a way of wanting you to follow him.

Now here comes the female lead. I don't understand how the creators decided to cast Angelbaby. Don't get me wrong I love to watch gorgeous faces on the screen but if that person can't deliver the goods forget it. She looked like a blank board all the time with her wide eyes and unnaturally perfect and surgically enhanced lips. I really did my best to disregard this but damn it's too distracting. Not all gorgeous face has the skill to act and I believe Angelbaby is one of those. They could have chosen Yang Mi or Cecilia Liu for this part. They have more gravitas.

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Honestly I was so excited for this to be out since it’s an adaption of my fav novel, but oh boy this is nothing compared to the novel. Also once I saw angelababy’s name I knew the acting wouldn’t be the best. Still I decided to give her the benefit of doubt that she did improve, but nah she didn’t.
So I’ll start with what I like since it literally only a few things
1) nice costume and how good everyone looks
2) amazing osts I’m still listening to it till now
Okay now onto the bad things
1) plot is all over like really you’re going to change an amazing novel into a childhood love story like okayyyy
2) acting from everyone is just mediocre it’s not only angelababy stone face, but even Wallace annoyed me too. All other characters acting were either surprise/smile or deadass nothing.
3) the cgi is hilarious in the beginning I just couldn’t stop laughing at the, “rain,” like really y’all can’t pay someone to do good cgi smh.
4) again onto the plot towards the end was like wtf really
5) wayyyyy too draggy it literally could’ve been 30eps, but no they’re going to drag it on and on forever. 1/10

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What. A. Good. Drama.

Don’t get me wrong—it had its “cheesy” moments (as these dramas are want to do…not gonna dock a star for it but…wow) but other than the occasional inappropriate laugh, the story was tightly (and well) written with characters you come to love SO very much.

I adore how perfectly matched Ping Ting and Bei Jie were for each other. It’s so rare to have a couple like that. Ping Ting was smart and never a push-over. She didn’t have to rely on anyone to come save the day…but Bei Jie was perfectly capable of doing so whenever it came down to it. A brilliant military strategist and The God of War? There is no better match! Bei Jie’s unfailing devotion to Ping Ting and their deep understanding of each other was truly a pleasure to watch unfold. Also their chemistry was off the charts! All those kiss scenes...yes please!

I was somewhat disappointed that Ping Ting’s strategies were not all the aw-inspiring. They were played off as revolutionary but to be honest they were not all that brilliant or cunning and a lot of her success relied heavily on sheer, dumb luck. You kind of just have to roll with it…which was unfortunate. In my opinion this is the only area where the writing could have been much better.

The rest of the story was great, though! There were times when I would get so frustrated with certain characters only to later see how their actions/thoughts played in to the greater picture. This is where the writing excelled: seemingly immature directives and misunderstanding turned out to serve a greater purpose. Long story shot: most of the characters here are smarter than they seem.

And I just love how I was able to depend and count on Ping Ting and Bei Jie to come through no matter what. It allowed me to enjoy the action while having faith in the characters.

Absolutely loved it!

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Another Strong Hero/Heroine drama

So not wasting time, this drama has a very strong ML and FL. ML is intelligent and powerful in combat, while FL is intelligent mainly in war strategy/survival techniques. Both are fully devoted to one another, no one can tear them apart so for those that hate second lead syndrome, dont worry about that even though FL is loved by someone else too. I honestly do not understand where a lot of people stated the FL acting isnt great because it captivate me to continue to watch mainly for her. I felt she act what she suppose to be as the character of this story even though I did not read the book. IMO, FL was great, you can see her happy, sad, Angry, Confident to a cocky feel emotions thoughout the drama. This is my kind of drama as well. Hope you all give this a chance and see for yourself. And btw, it has a Happy ENDING, an historical drama with a happy ending, uncommon these days, but common for those that only strive to watch them.

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With stars like Wallace and AngeIa Baby, dramas like these would have attracted quite a crowd. This would have been a great drama and story but either the Director introduced forced values or the actor Wallace (Bei Jie) is cheeky person trying to force himself onto Ping Ting (Angela Baby).

The part of the drama suggest that woman are weaker compared with men. Ping Ting, starred by Angela, a strategist in warfare but unable to control her emotions or not able to defend herself from the advances of Bei Jie.

I would prefer He Xia played by Sean Sun to be a gentleman and become Ping Ting match. Ping Ting could be the female Zhugeliang, like Princess Wei Young or like Prime Minister Lu Zhen and it would have been a good storyline. I watched half way and gave up because the Director is trying to attract viewers by manipulating viewer's emotion like Sound of Desert.

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Honestly,show was quite a disappointment! I am truly a fan of both the main leads and heard the novel was really good...

I do admit however,the first few episodes was really good and was just amazing! However,at the 25th episode,i just completely gave up on the show and just watched the last episode.There were many unnecessary events starting to happen but i honestly cant say much as i did not watch the entire thing.

The acting however was on point and the music was good too although at some parts of the show,the music kinda was too loud and just kinda masked the other main points of the scene.

Basically,from the 26 episodes in total i watch of this show and the general idea i know of this show is basically a mix between Lan Ling Wang and Princess WeiYoung and its own origianal plot from the novel.

The similarities between this and Lan Ling Wang was that both female leads were smart and thought about clever and unique ways to get out of trouble.Both were about being the male leads kinda saving the female lead when they are in trouble and also consuming poison just to save each other,etc...

The similarities between Princess WeiYoung is most obviously the forbidden romance concept. WeiYoung's forbidden romance due to her wanting revenge to the male leads country and for this drama,it was about both countries being in war/not in good terms.

The good thing however,was this show had a good ending with is something im SO THANKFUL FOR!

OVERALL,if you like the quirkiness and unexpected ways of the female lead in Lan Ling Wang,the forbidden romance concept from Princess WeiYoung due to the countries war and also other factors and also considering the fact you are able to trudge thru 62 episodes of this with some unnecessary drama happening than definately watch this show! IF NOT,just watch like the first 20+ episodes than skip to the last few..Im not saying to completely not watch this but just watch at least a quarter of it:))

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I have to confess after reading the reviews I am not even sure if I wanted to start the journey watching 62 episodes of this drama series. However, the story started to get interesting about 3 episodes in. The main male and female leads acting are just passable, but I am hooked on the storyline. Great War strategies and great fighting scenes. And half way through I found out there was a book on this drama series too.
So if you start with the book, I would urged you to forget about watching the series. It would be boring. If you start with the series, go read the book and you will find the plots more entertaining.
On the plus side though, the main lead kissing scenes in this series were very worthwhile to watch.

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All Time Favorite Drama

This is my all-time favorite Chinese drama. Few stories are well and brilliantly and cleverly written, well directed, and well-acted by the main actors and actresses. Although it’s an older film, the story is filled with intrigue from the beginning to the end. Perhaps some of the scenes were unrealistic, but that’s why this is a drama. This drama has a complete package of fighting action, romance, good settings, and plot, keeps your attention, villains, good artistry, good opening and ending, elegant costumes, good music especially Tower of Tears, highly rewatchable in parts or whole, and more.

This is one of those rare dramas where both male and female leads are strategists always sacrificing themselves to find win-win outcomes in critical situations. The chemistry between Wallace Chung and Angela Baby is awesome and well-suited. I’ve watched other films by Wallace Chung and this is his best performance. He worked hard in the action scenes and leaves nothing to be desired as a lover. This is also Angela Baby's best performance because she was able to portray a beautiful mature woman.

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Although I personally do not like when Dramas or Movies do not follow the book from which thier scripts were adapted, in the General and I, I can make that exception. I surprised myself for actually seeing this entire drama through despite its slow beginning. Yes, some of the special effects were cheesy and a few actors really needed to improve their acting skills but overall, I actually enjoyed it.

I thought the chemistry between the two leads was very good and well directed. WC know how to use facial expressions especially his eyes to convey a lot of his emotions. Loved the costumes but not too keen about Ping Ting's. Her character wore the same type all the time and I had a hard time imaging her going through the forest as if she a bride on her way to a western wedding. Angelbaby got better as the series progressed. I do feel though that like the book, Chu bei ji should have been the one to seriously wound his adversary after all, he was known as the God of War. The ending could have been developed more with more of the characters present after all the drama that took place. Some of the flashback could have been shortened.

Overall, I can look at this series again and I have. But, if you think it will be like the novel then do not disappoint yourself. It has taken different elements from the novel and made a series that stands alone on its own. Looking forward to seeing the leads together in other works.

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Everyone has their own view. I loved it and I'm super strict with cdramas that are asking for my time for no pay lol. The chemistry oozes out of Wallace it's like this with all his costars. Angela baby is so off the chart gorgeous you have to watch then rewind to read what the heck she just said lol. Is there a crazy character? Of course its ccrazy cdrama! Is there dragging? Why yes how else do they get paid to bring us these expensive productions. Could the cgi be better? Duh yes but it's not made in 2020. PingTing isn't a physical badass she's an intelligent one. Many can relate. Her childhood friend Prince HX is such a strong well acted character. He has the most epic final scene I've ever seen. I will never forget it and clearly an actor the production respected. If you dig historical with no magic powers and true love for someone and country dramas then climb in. It's one heck of a ride . Message for spoilers I'm here to help. Epic Fantastic Exceptional cast. Wow!

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