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Through the course of a 40-year time period, Gao Liang and Gu Yi Ye follow different paths in the course of their lives. In 2013, Gao Liang after being transferred to be acting brigade commander came upon a series of issues of falsification and formalism and decided to reform the training methods. Through a series of actual combat training, he managed to train a group of soldiers who can fight well. In a military exercise conducted by the headquarters, Gao Liang persisted in the tradition of actual combat and at the same time, lead his group in breaking the prescribed forms of methods and innovating a new combat method.

Johnny Huang and Zhan Xiao in Wangpai buduì (2021)

Interesting premise and mostly good execution

I only watched this because Xiao Zhan is one of the people I follow and also for seeing what the military genre holds in their country, as it&#39;s the first time I watched a military cdrama. And while everyone knows the general issues production had, I did find out recently that it was because of censorship and multiple reviews, that this drama lost 13 episodes and therefore explains the haphazard editing and much of the disconnection and inconsistencies. Let&#39;s unpack this series. Pros: I loved Gu Yiye from the beginning. The character wasn&#39;t perfect in the slightest but was always determined to make himself better no matter how much hard work it took. Every step he took, every emotion he displayed made it in effect seem like a docuseries and not just a fictional drama. No matter how many people frowned upon him, he was determined to show his hard work and take his own path to the top. XZ filmed this series during the most difficult time in his career and life and still put 110% into it and it shone through in dividends. His explosion of emotions or even basic army tactics spoke volumes about how much he was invested in his character. A-Xiu was literally the perfect match for GYY. Though their relationship began out of responsibility, it blossomed into real genuine love. The way she always had his back no matter what. She helped break the PTSD cycle, she ran around searching for doctors for his arm, she was ready to beat up anyone that ever bullied GYY and was the solid foundation that essentially GYY never had in his life. To her, he was the brightest star in the entire world. Both JNZ and HY couldn&#39;t provide the simple things GYY needed and that really all he ever needed was understanding and support. My other favorite characters were many of the support like Zhang Fei and the rest of their comrades in arms. Each one came with their unique personalities and flaws. If a character is too perfect, it won&#39;t be remotely realistic. Just like if the opposite happens and the character is awful, it won&#39;t lead credence to the portrayal either. The couples whether they stayed together or not still were properly evolved and had their closure at the end. I loved the special effects during the big battles or whether they actually used real military equipment or CGI I don&#39;t know but all the blasts and the combat scenes were really nice. Be they real war or drills; when actual fighting was involved or strategies explained, it was nice to see how the mind worked to help move on to the next step. The OSTs were also appropriate and made the proper impression whether in the credits or in the scenes. Also liked the fact that this series ran low on propaganda which is a very good thing as these military dramas tend to overdo that aspect in large quantities. Cons: I will be completely honest here and I&#39;m not hating on him in the slightest but Johnny&#39;s performance for more then half of the series was underwhelming. I have been told for a long time that this genre was his niche so I was very excited to see him and XZ in this great drama but his performance fell flat for being the ML; I&#39;ve got nothing against him at all; this is just my own personal experience and opinion as a viewer. Gao Liang until he went to study at the school was essentially riding the coattails of nepotism which was quite unseemly and with the sob story about him being an orphan and his dead brother; also weird that the story kept changing to fit whatever was going on in the drama. I kept wondering why no one was calling it out but perhaps that&#39;s how their military ran in those days. JNZ started off as a smart young woman but then they dumbed her down into this whining, crying female lead that had literally no concept of being affected by the battle that took so many lives. It felt like the battle the rest of the cast fought and the one she was in were completely different situations. The &quot;turn your frown upside down&quot; after a trauma from JNZ to GYY was rather lame and that&#39;s the other thing that made GYY start to distance himself from her. The amount of random time lapses and inconsistencies were staggering. A few examples; JNZ hated her father the chief and then in the next episode when she finds out he&#39;s fighting for his life, she was practically ready to change his diapers in the hospital for him. One episode she calls GL her brother, in the very next episode she&#39;s madly in love with him. The romance between GYY and AX would also have been good to see. The fact that this series tried desperately to turn GL into Robocop, making him single-handedly take out very butch and heavily armed terrorists or that last drill that dragged for far too long and him zipping around the island with literally a propeller in his behind and 17 pairs of eyes being able to spot a singular intruder on his own and then go chase him down. It was beyond unbelievable even for a fictional military drama. That can&#39;t be excused by the cut in episodes, but I would like to ask what the writer was thinking. The fact that he was able to scuba dive with explosives without any real training was very inconsistent and pretty ridiculous; just like GYY and his soldiers being able to essentially turn into paratroopers with zilch experience also made little sense. There were many more but I&#39;ll mention a last one and that&#39;s the tug of war of JNZ and GL and their marriage. When GYY is dating JNZ, GL is always there getting in between them like an annoying mosquito they can&#39;t swat. But as soon as JNZ is single, GL seems interested and then quickly backs off; giving her a zillion excuses. Did he ever really love her? Or was she like a trophy to win in a competition? Yes they got hitched in the last episode but it seemed it was such an afterthought and added a musical to the mix. When she didn&#39;t look at him, he was super clingy but when she starts being the epitome of cling wrap, he runs in the other direction. And her solution to every one of their problems was marriage. Her showing up in the 21st century wedding dress and heavy bling (that didn&#39;t make sense as she had a military salary) at the hospital where he was unconscious looked completely misplaced in a military drama. Many moments like that make you scratch your head in confusion. Would I recommend it? If you&#39;re a military drama fan and like Xiao Zhan as well as well done supporting characters and great action, then yes I would. But I do warn about a lot of inconsistencies that might make you very confused.

tt16752712

Wangpai buduì

I watched Ace Troops because Xiao Zhan is the male lead. I am impressed again by Xiao Zhan&#39;s ability to present the character, Gu Yiye, to the audience with flesh, blood and a lovely soul. The show is quite entertaining . As a military drama, it has the serious parts, but also very funny parts. Highly recommend it!

Without much experience with military dramas there were no expectations when I started this drama. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed watching the series. Despite its flaws it was suspenseful from start to finish. THE STORY The basic idea of showing the changes in the military through several decades is an interesting premise that worked quite well overall. The change in uniforms, technology and strategies as well as the different challenges in the lives of the soldiers and the military in general was fascinating to see. With that basis the series is also able to tell several smaller stories throughout the years. The variety of stories keeps the drama from being repetitive. While not all of these stories work equally well, the show offers a lot for many different viewers. THE CHARACTERS Experiencing the lives of the characters throughout the years was quite an emotional journey. The actors do a good job overall and make the characters feel real. Among the main cast Gu Yiye, played by Xiao Zhan, stands out. His story is a major highlight of this series, both in terms of acting and writing. Gao Liang, played by Huang Jingyu, and Jiang Nan Zheng, played by Zhong Chuxi, also have their moments, but unfortunately their relationship is a bit irritating at times. The series also profits from a well developed supporting cast. EDITING The quality of editing within the scenes usually works well - it&#39;s usually smooth and not distracting. Many scenes are very well done and hit the tone just right. However, at times the show fails in transitioning from serious to light-hearted moments, especially in later episodes the show struggles to integrate Jiang Nan Zheng&#39;s romantic feelings adequately into the plot. Unfortunately, when it comes to the overall plot the editing is the show&#39;s main weakness: it becomes obvious that there was more scripted and filmed (planned were about 60 episodes) than what made the final cut (in parts due to censorship), and the story and pacing of the show suffer because of it. For that reason, some parts of the show can feel incomplete or inconsistan, and the pacing is affected as well: some parts of the story feel too short in comparison to others or when considering how significant they should actually be, some parts of the story are missing completely. EFFECTS AND MUSIC In terms of cinematography the series looks really good. Effects were mainly needed for the war and drill scenes, and they were all convincing and well done. The music in the show is also good, with nice intro and outro songs, a fitting soundtrack, and a few well placed military songs. On the con side: in a few scenes the audio quality of the dialogue noticibly drops. I think it was most noticible during Gu Yiye&#39;s and Gao Liang&#39;s fight in the rain. OVERALL The show was enjoyable to watch and gave an interesting insight in the change of military in China from the 80ies to the recent years. The director, screenwriter and producer all have military background and could draw from their own experiences and their comrades&#39;s stories, and it shows. The impact of the bad editing on the story is very regrettable. Heart and soul are the individual characters&#39; stories, starting at the beginning of their military service and accompanying them on their paths. Xiao Zhan shines in every scene he&#39;s in.

User reviews

Wangpai buduì

A Lot to Unpack -An Honest Review

Xiao Zhan's Gu Yiye is phenomenal

Interesting premise and mostly good execution

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