General and I (2017)

Again the female lead forgets how to fight once she falls in love

I'm happy to see this drama on viki even if I watched already on youtube. I can say it's definitely worth watching. The chemistry between the main characters is very beautiful and strong and how he can melt her heart,to see how she change from a smart and strategic woman into a woman who will do everything for him and vice-versa. SPOILER!!!Everyone who will watch this drama need to know that a moment you will find yourself going over episodes until their reunion. In my opinion this drama could have ended in episode 28 after their wedding because everything seemed like a happy ending but what I know.Otherwise, it's even worth seeing and those who are afraid you'll get back with their heart broken because of the end do not worry, it has a happy ending. Also,sorry if I made some mistakes,english is not my first language.

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A stain Ruining a drama that could have been AWESOME !

And I could have absolutely LOVED this drama. A beautiful and intriguing love story between the two leads, various and interesting characters, an intense plot, full of twists and turns (especially since I have a weakness for Chinese historical dramas) and a WONDERFUL male lead as we girls dream to find in reality (while knowing that we won't) played by a fair and charismatic actor.
BUT there is a little problem : no, in fact, it's a big problem that prevents me from fully enjoying the love story that is at the heart of this drama.
And there, I take the risk of being murdered by the fans of the said problem (yeah, because this problem has fans): and yes, I am talking about Angelababy, alias Plastic-Face, main actress of the drama ( hence the gravity of the problem). No, it's not for her face which seems very fake that I don't like her. This is for her lack of emotion throughout the drama. Angelababy falls far short behind her partner Wallace Chung when it comes to conveying emotions through her acting. Yet her character had incredible potential: if we separate the character from the actress, Ping Ting is a strong, intelligent, determined and charming woman who sees her world turned upside down by her encounter with the hero. But Angelababy fails to portray Ping Ting's strength, charm, or inner struggle between those she's always been loyal to and the one she falls in love with. And then I can imagine SO many actresses who would have done a better job than her, despite being less famous.
Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it: I think here Angelababy was chosen more for her fame than her acting skills, and in my eyes, she ruins the drama.
I can't even console myself by telling myself that we may one day have a remake with an actress at the height because the drama is based on a novel to which he was VERY unfaithful (and for some reason, I prefer the scenario from the drama to that of the novel)
Go ahead, Angelababy fans: you can slash me now ?

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I began watching this drama with high(er) expectation. Some of my friends and family who've watched this drama enjoyed it and some even watched it multiple times. Wallace Chung and friends' reviews are what prompted me to watch this drama. The first two or three episodes were good, the opening theme song is good, so I was excited to watch this, thinking this might actually be good! However, a few episodes later, I quickly changed my opinion to the worst and just skipped many parts or watch it as a background sound while I do other things. I'm not one who drop dramas. Bad or good, I will stick it to the end. What makes it different is my focus. Some of what I don't like about this drama: the story is good but it's draggy, CGI is poor and noticeable, characters are weak and aside from a few, none of them are likeable or kept me emotionally invested. Moreover, the dubbing bugs the hell out of me! I thought the voice of Chu Bei Jie doesn't suit his character at all. He sounded weak and meek. Angelababy is sooooo terrible at acting. I felt like she's one of those actress who just rely on her looks not her ability. A couple of good points about this drama is the fighting and the OST.

This drama is 62 episodes long, so if you don't have the patience (or a huge fan of anyone of the actors and actresses), I would suggest you skip this one.

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Could Have Been Better

OVERALL
This is the kind of drama that makes you think you should be a screenwriter because you could do it better. Still, you can watch it if 1) you care more about political action and war than a love story, and 2) you like the smart, calm and composed type of female leads. If 1) you hate when the OTP is separated for ages, 2) you can't stand incoherence and production flaws, and 3) bad acting ruins it for you, then skip.

THE STORY
I started this drama, gave it up, read the novel and then went back to the drama just to see how it changed the plot. Turns out as an adaptation, the drama isn't THAT bad. The novel makes the female lead smarter and is more coherent, but it also has weird stuff going on. The show takes that out and add a few better parts. The biggest issue with the drama is that the romance is SO underdeveloped. I don't get WHY the FL ends up loving the ML and when exactly it begins to happen - when that is super clear in the novel. And it's not just that, every aspect of the love story feels rushed or too sudden. That's ironic, since the romance is supposed to be central to the story - that's why it's called "The General and I".

There are a few changes made that also take away coherence in the plot. For instance, it's not clear why FL avoids ML for a long time - where in the book it makes sense. Some other changes are just a bit annoying. Too much protagonism is given to the young master FL used to follow, in my opinion. In general, I was just expecting the drama to be a lot more about strategies, given that FL is supposed to be a genius strategist. I was also disappointed by the production. Transitions weren't super well made, sound was also kind of off/weird at places.

On the good side, I really liked the FL, and I liked that she could be so useful in war. The drama has such a good premise, but it just feels underwhelming, unfortunately.

THE ACTING
Wallace is okay. I have to say I didn't like him here as much as I did in The Sword And the Brocade, but he was okay. Angelababy completely failed to impress me, but to be fair, even though her acting was not up to par it still worked well with her character, who's supposed to be kind of reserved and calm and expressionless. I don't have much to say about secondary characters. They didn't make a lasting impression.

THE MUSIC
I didn't like how sometimes characters were supposed to play a traditional tune on an instrument but a modern-like instrumental track would play. And sometimes the music felt extra.

REWATCH VALUE
Low. I don't really think there is anything that would drive me back to this drama anytime soon.

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General and I is an overall enjoyable romance & political/military intrigue drama. Your level of enjoyment will probably depend on your expectations (so true of so many dramas) and whether you read the book. So - full disclosure - I am a viewer who only read the first 6 very short chapters to kind of get the style of the writer. If you are a fan of romance with a large dose of intrigue, I would give it a go but it isn't perfect so here goes:

Story Flaws:

- The foundation of the story is the epic love between the General and Bai Ping Ting, but the drama chose to give short thrift to the falling in love aspect of the story using an overused trope. I would understand this but, you know, 62 episodes so no time constraints to use as an excuse. Many people dumped the drama early on because they weren't feeling it so go in knowing you have to eventually kind of buy into these two.

- Past the middle point of the drama it spins its wheels and many found it dragging. I actually enjoyed many of these episodes but eventually I also got a little frustrated. They could have taken 5 of those episodes and put them in the first part of the drama to build the love story.

-At this same middle point, writers decided to go a certain route which was also in the book but the reasoning in the book (because commenters commented) made both leads flawed people. To me the drama threw the female character under the bus. To be fair, commenters also did indicate some aspects as relates to the General's character during this same time frame were better in the drama. I don't want spoilers so I'll leave it at that.

Production Issues:

Use of Slow Motion: Almost every single moment of emotional impact utilizes slow motion. I swear you could cut 4 hours of drama time just in using regular speed. This to me, actually lessened the impact and, oddly, the sensuality of some of the intimate scenes between the two leads. I mean there is one scene in particular that could have been so much more impactful but the use of not only slow motion but a wind machine made it super cheesy. I think they were going for super romantic and maybe it worked for some.

Angelababy's make up: I'm over expecting reality when it comes to make up in C-Dramas. You could go through heck and back and still have perfect hair and make up. But the makeup artist who decided to use a little lip stain making BPT look like she'd been sucking on a cherry lollypop or had bloody lips....well, it took me out of the drama.

Pros:

-I'm a sucker for romance, but that always means a lot of politics and such with the dramas, and often it is repetitive and simplistic. I dinged the production on the foundation of the romance, but they did a great job in handling a lot of characters and setting up the political intrigue. Also the characters weren't cookie cutter. They were flawed individuals who at times made good decisions and often bad decisions. I wish they'd actually given more nuance to the leads because I thought they were a bit too perfect. All the co-stars did a stellar job.

-The Smexy. I don't need explicit, but if we have an epic love story, I want some real looking kisses and such and show delivers. No deer in the headlights going on here.

-I have watched a lot of historicals, and this drama actually surprised me with some of the twist and turns. I love that because in so many dramas, we viewers can be steps ahead of the characters. Good job drama.

-I thought the costumes - both the armor and the dresses - were well done. Also loved the OST.

-Overall, I thought the chemistry between Wallace Chung and AB was solid. I've seen better but generally thought that around episode 15 Angelababy got comfortable. Since this was pre-produced and they might not have filmed in order, this could be because I think the material actually got better. Basically she's only as good as the material given to her. Wallace Chung certainly brings the sexy, and I think he did a good job but not outstanding which brings me to...

Misc:

....the dubbing. Maybe because I've actually heard WC's real voice, but around the halfway point, I began to really dislike the tone of the voice actor doing the dubbing. It was too soft and just not powerful enough and that really does hinder how I viewed WC's performance. I don't know why it took so long to bug me. I'm used to dubbing and this is the first time it really hindered how I viewed a performance. And, truly, I really do like Wallace Chung.


Issues Others Had:

I had no trouble with any of this but here goes: Flying action scenes...I'm used to them. Heavy use of green screen; bothered me in beginning but again, it kind of goes with the territory. Only so much $$ to spend on production.

So depending on my mood, this could be a 7.5 to 8 and since I was left with a satisfied feeling after watching the last episode, I'm going with the 8.

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I don't think I will ever understand why Chinese dramas are ridiculously long - and for no good reason either. With that said, General and I (G&I) suffered greatly from said long episodes and the annoying drama tropes I dislike: unexplained time skips, disappearing characters, lack of character development, illogical character motivations and of course the drawn- out episodes. This may just be the only drama that I will review before finishing because the remaining episodes are very predictable. I managed to watch up to episode 56 before I decided to write my opinion on the drama; but, the writers could have just stopped at episode 32 and saved us the 30+ episode of rubbish. But, you should still watch it for amazing action scenes and cinematography.

On a Special Note:

Acting/Cast
Chung Wallace as Chu Bei Jie was great casting. Outside of the fact he literally carried the show, his actions scenes were also a treat to watch. There was plenty of eye candy from Angelababy as Bai Ping Ting, Sun Yi Zhou as He Xia, and Qi Hang as Ze YI - the casting directors did not disappoint.

More Please!
I would have loved to see more character development of Zou Yang as Zui Ju. She was an interesting character that the audience needed to understand her background and her motivations. Also, Wei Bing Hua as Chu Mo Ran killed it. Especially during his action scenes, he could certainly go toe-to- toe with Chu Bei Jie. Chang Xiao's cuteness overload was giving me life.

Honorable Mention
Gwei Fei for having no redeemable qualities. I love when antagonists are bad to the core.

Would I re-watch?
Only up to episode 32.

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I would say that i'm satisfied enough with this drama. The thing is i have read the novel beforehand, and as a viewer i would expect this drama to be perfect with my own depiction of the leads. Dubbing almost ruins this drama, but as you go through you will get used to it. The female lead was not supposed to be that beautiful, thankfully it didn't really highlight that. While the male lead overcame the stereotype of my mind!

There were some parts changed compared to the novel, i found it reasonable as the drama needs to have some background story (you will know when you read the novel). I'm also half glad/half dissappointed with the mid-part. If you guys find it repetitive in the middle, that might be because they changed those part. Let me tell you that the middle part is actually the part when the female lead and the male lead really deepens their relationship in the novel. So my suggestion is to : Watch this -> Read the novel.

(FYI, i think Bai Ping Ting is little bit of masochist in the novel. That would explain in some comments why she would be willing to die so eagerly)

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Um romance que supera tudo e todos.

Muito bom.
EXCELENTE.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Uma história que tem tudo para todos os gostos.
Drama, acção, Romance, Comédia, tragédias, intrigas e muito mais.
E em escrever Romance, um romance que supera tudo e todos.
Com obstáculos que muitas vezes pareciam que não havia solução, mas de alguma maneira foram ultrapassados para ter o final mais desejado por todos.

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I just finished this today. ! Yey! ?

I finall gave this drama a shot despite the heavy bad reviews and comments. I mean of course everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you are not the historical period type then skip this. If you don't like seeing violence, blood and death then skip this. If you have a frail heart and could not take how everyone is plotting to kill each other then skip this.
If you like watching beautiful chinese traditional battle scenes with war horses, drums and chariots then watch now. If you enjoy intricate storylines and scheming villains then watch this. If you are a crazy romantic who loves the "one woman man guy" definitely start watching now.
Binged watched for 3 days straight due to quarantine.
hahaha I always do love battle scene dramas and I love how scheming everyone was. My mind always gets excited with Art-of-War Tactics.

Okay so there are lapses on this drama, like there are scenes you can't bear to watch (then skip it hahahaha) and are really really boring. There are also characters that are totally annoying. As an avid kdrama cdrama jdrama fan, there are some scenes which are really predictable. LOL trust me, if you have watched kdrama cdrama and jdramas for too long, this is nothing special. ?
I was touch by how beautiful it was strategically made.
Their selfless love for one another. Their hell bent trust and their courage even when facing death. I love how pretty both the female and male costumes are made. I always did admired historical fight scenes in different locations. Though I know most of it are CGI or green screen effect and may need a little more editing, but still the crew made it possible to be amazing. Congrats

I love the entire cast they fitted their roles well, however I would have wished a FL that would express more. Don't get me wrong, I like Angelababy but no matter what her expressions were, theny seem to be lacking. Unless there would be tears running down her cheeks I would not understand if she is hurt, angry or annoyed. Ohh well prolly due to too much botox. lol

Now on to the ML. Many finds him unattractive but lemme tell you, don't let William's looks fool you, he will charm you all throughout with his love and devotion. His cleverness will trap you. You might wanted someone else in mind for his role but his maturity suited his part well.

P.S. The OSTs are on point in evey scene.
I would definitely recommend this drama for those who love romance in war scenes.

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Es ist sehr sehr schön und auch sehr traurig ich hab so geweint und das passiert nicht so oft das ich bei Dramen, Serien und Filme weine das ist das 2 Mal das ich bei ein Drama geweint habe . die Schauspieler finde ich sind sehr gut harmonieren super manche Szenen sind zwar übertrieben aber ich kann damit leben stört mich jetzt nicht weiter ich liebe es trotzdem.?❤???
It's very very beautiful and also very sad I cried so much and it doesn't happen that often that I cry in dramas, series and films that's the 2nd time I cried in a drama .I think the actors are very good they harmonise very well with each other and yes some scenes are exaggerated but I can live with that doesn't bother me anymore I love it anyway. ?❤???

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