The Rough Ride (1985)

This one is a pioneer for many great TVB series to come. There are some flaws (like a caricature villain) and it lags a bit in some parts. But you also see glimpses of the writing genius and solid acting that would be perfected in later classics like “Looking Back in Anger” and “Greed of Man.”

This is where you can see the youthful Tony Leung, before he became the superstar he is now. Tony’s strength as an actor is that he fully grasps whatever character he’s playing and carry it all the way through. He played Kim Hung as kind-hearted, earnest, endearing, and naive to fault. He was slightly overshadowed by Ray Lui’s performance. Ray’s Tin Wai had more ups and downs, therefore more layers to him.

Bik Wah was Barbara Yung in her last starring role. She was simply glowing in here. She excelled at playing feisty and cute characters, bordering on being an unreasonable brat. As a viewer, I forgave her because Kim Hung forgave her. He was very much in love, but not a pushover.

Money Chan (aka Barbara Chan) was also very pretty here. Her icy looks were a sharp contrast to Bik Wah’s fiery personality. She and Ray have excellent chemistry, and their scenes together were intense. Lau Dan and Ha Yu have a good dynamic as Kim Hung’s two dads. Unfortunately, their bickering dragged out for way too long and did nothing to move the story forward. I kept waiting for them to patch things up and learn to appreciate one another. That moment never really came, so it was more or less unresolved.

Special mention for the late Herman Kwan as the powerful chairman and family patriarch. He was rich in money, but poor in just about everything else in life. His final scenes were just heart-breaking. It took a veteran actor to pull it off without making it hammy.

Thumbs up to the crew for the beautiful camera work. They captured the feel of Hong Kong and Kowloon with shots of brooding streetlamps, long lonely corridors, and misty view of skyscrapers from the mountain top. No green screens or CGIs, just hidden urban beauty that is always there if people only stop to look.

This drama has one of the best theme songs, made more beautiful by Anita Mui’s haunting voice.

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