Looking at the spy war dramas of the past year, there are only a few that have good reputations, and
is even less popular. Who would have thought that Douban's anti-special period drama " Huamei " with a score of 5.9 was actually the top-rated TV series in the Central Eighth Television last year. Woolen cloth?
Audiences have not had a good spy drama for a long time.
At the end of last year, CCTV officially released the 2024 new drama list. There are many spy dramas to be broadcast. Regardless of the quality, so many new spy dramas always give people hope.
So, which one will be tested by the audience first?
Is it "Dark Night and Dawn" starring Wang Zhiwen and many other veteran actors, or is it "Lone Boat" in which Zhang Songwen once again stars as the villain?
Judging from the latest developments, it is very likely that the first trailer has been released recently. A blogger broke the news about the upcoming Republican financial spy drama "The Wind and Waves" .
In the ups and downs of the spy sea, can it ride the wind and waves and successfully reach the shore?
Let’s find out first.
Compared with previous spy dramas, what is the difference between "The Wind and Waves"?
Judging from the plot synopsis, it wants to play some new tricks within the inherent spy drama mode.
The "new" here mainly refers to the rare setting of the story.
In the past, the focus of spy war dramas was often on the acquisition and transmission of military intelligence , but this drama shifts the focus to the financial field, reflecting the struggle of our party on the hidden front in a special era.
This is an obvious change for traditional spy dramas.
The play is set in the 1930s and tells the story of how a bank clerk became a red financier.
The male protagonist Wei Ruolai was originally a low-level employee of the Kuomintang Central Bank. His outstanding work ability was appreciated by senior adviser Shen Tunan and he was accepted as his apprentice.
In the process, Wei Ruolai also witnessed with his own eyes the corruption and darkness in the Kuomintang's financial field.
Influenced by Shen Tunan's sister and Communist Party member Shen Jinzhen, he resolutely joined our camp and parted ways with Shen Tunan.
Under the arrangement of the organization, he and Shen Jinzhen moved from Shanghai to Jiangxi. At this time, the Kuomintang was encircling and suppressing the Central Soviet Area.
Under the leadership of the party, Wei Ruolai participated in the war to smash the Kuomintang's economic blockade against the Central Soviet Area and gradually grew into an outstanding red financier on the economic front of our party.
A brief summary of the plot highlights:
First, focus on the financial war of the Republic of China.
financial + espionage elements are combined with to show the changes of the times from the perspective of a small person.
It does take a lot of courage to dare to play something new in the category of spy war dramas. After all, it is difficult to determine whether it can satisfy the appetite of the majority of spy war drama fans.
The second one is full of classic spy game flavor.
The male protagonist Wei Ruolai's growth path is very clear, from the Kuomintang to the Communist Party. This is the basic paradigm for the growth of many spy drama characters.
This is true whether it is "Lurker" and "Pretender" in the early years, or "Rebel" in recent years.
Judging from the trailer, many details of this drama have revealed the intense atmosphere of a spy drama, and there is a sinister and murderous atmosphere everywhere.
For example, the interrogation scene when the male protagonist is on the verge of life and death, the action scene with a hail of bullets, and the meaningful lines.
The costumes, colors, and soundtrack are all very sophisticated, which shows the excellent production level of the play.
The bustling streets, the fearful people, and the crisis-ridden situation all form a historical picture of surging undercurrents.
's popular "old and new" model, can the young top actors carry the banner of male protagonists?
Spy drama, if the cast cannot support it, the quality of the drama will be greatly reduced.
So, how is the cast of "The Wind and Waves" in terms of strength?
Looking back at the entire cast, this drama uses the popular "old with new" model, where old actors lead young actors.
The model of old actors and young actors is a very common combination in spy war dramas in recent years, including "Dark Night and Dawn" which has not yet been aired.
Among the supporting roles in the play, there are four powerful actors, and the lineup is strong.
01, Wang Yang
's performance in spy dramas is obvious to all. The villain Chen Moqun he played in "Rebel" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
's oppressive acting skills fully embody Chen Moqun's ruthlessness, arrogance and arrogance.
In the new drama, the relationship between his character Shen Tunan and the male protagonist is that of a teacher, friend and brother, but like Chen Moqun and Lin Nansheng in "Rebel", they are destined to break up.
In the trailer, there are many scenes of Wang Yang. There is a scene where the phone rings, but he is still sitting on the sofa, staring at the object in his hand, which arouses the audience's endless reverie.
02-Wang Xueqi
The best male partner for Golden Rooster and Golden Horse.
In the live-action drama "Under the Stranger" adapted from the comic book last year, he played the fashionable old master with a comedic style, which was impressive.
He plays the role of Xu Nuo in "The Wind and Waves". It is not yet known what his identity is and which faction he belongs to.
With his help this time, the foundation of this drama has become much more stable.
03. The second female lead in this drama, Su Dishu, is played by Gao Lu, a powerful Mesozoic actor.
When you hear this name at first glance, it may be difficult for you to recognize her immediately, but if you list the roles she plays, you will definitely remember her.
Wu Fei, the sister-in-law in " is good ", Lin Xiaoniang in "Do You Know", etc., are all widely discussed characters in hit dramas.
In the new drama, she wears a green cheongsam and holds scissors to prune roses. She is dignified and elegant, revealing the unique poetic temperament and classical beauty of oriental women.
How she will interpret this Republic of China woman this time also makes the audience look forward to it.
04. Another female character, Aunt Zhou, is played by veteran actor Yang Kun.
only appears for a moment in the trailer, and it is this less than one second crying scene that is touching.
Of course, what worries the audience the most is the young actors.
The veteran actors maintain their performance standards, and the young actors attract young audiences and traffic. However, this seemingly "win-win" model does not always work well every time.
The male and female protagonists of "The Wind and Waves" have respectively recruited the popular top Wang Yibo and the very popular Li Qin , which resulted in the show gaining a lot of attention before it even started airing.
Douban short comment area, you can see the praise from fans everywhere.
With two people on board, there is no need to worry about the popularity of this spy drama, but it is destined to be pushed to the "cusp of the storm" of public opinion.
So, are Wang Yibo and Li Qin qualified for these two complex and multi-faceted roles?
Let’s talk about Wang Yibo first. This is his second exposure to the spy war theme after "无名".
In "Unknown", although his role as Mr. Ye was very popular, he also gained a polarizing reputation. He was once criticized for "facial paralysis, unable to support the role".
The complexity of Wei Ruolai's character in "The Wind and Waves" is also a new challenge for him who has experience in spy war themes. In the trailer of
, we can see that Wang Yibo has improved and his performance has become much more natural.
Whether it’s the heartache of seeing the fire destroying everything, or the scene of being tortured by the enemy, the pain penetrates the screen.
Wang Yibo’s mastery of expressions and movements is quite good.
But whether he can accurately interpret a sincere and passionate young man depends on his subsequent performance.
plays the heroine Shen Jinzhen Li Qin, and is also recognized as an actress who is more suitable for the style of the Republic of China.
In the tribute segment of the variety show "Meet the Temple of Heaven", she played the role of Lin Huiyin, a talented woman from the Republic of China. Her cheongsam style and her cool temperament were pleasing to the eye.
In "The Wind and Waves", she also has many Republican-era looks. She looks full of charm, gentle and tough at the same time.
In the trailer, Li Qin's acting skills are also remarkable. He was so radiant at the dance and shed tears when he saw death as if he was going home, which made the audience deeply aware of the inner changes of the character.
How well do directors and screenwriters control the spy war theme?
Spy dramas are difficult to film and are recognized by the film and television industry. Therefore, they also have high requirements for the creative team.
The director of "The Wind and Waves" is Yao Xiaofeng . In addition to this upcoming drama, "Going North" adapted from the Mao Dun Literature Award novel of the same name is also directed by him.
Yao Xiaofeng's masterpieces in his early years include dramas such as "It's Right", "Brothers Halfway", "Leaves Falling in Chang'an", "Female Flower", "If Life Deceived You", etc., with a reputation of around 8 points.
has been nominated for Magnolia's "Big Husband" and "Tiger Mom and Cat Dad", which are also his works.
From the perspective of subject matter, period dramas and family dramas are his areas of expertise.
In recent years, Yao Xiaofeng has produced the series of works " Taking Dad to Study Abroad " and "Holiday Warmth", and his reputation is hovering around the passing line.
Among them, "Take Dad to Study Abroad" only scored 3.6 points.
In addition, he has never been exposed to spy war themes before, which inevitably makes people worry about the quality of this drama.
Spy dramas have fallen into a cold winter. One of the reasons is that the logic of the script is difficult to be self-consistent, which also places higher demands on screenwriters.
The screenwriter of "Long Wind and Waves" is Weng Liangping, who currently has only 4 works. In addition to this one, there are also "Ask the Cangmang", "The Final Battle" and "Dark Night and Dawn".
He is one of the screenwriters of "Ask the Cangmang" which was aired in December last year and has a reputation of 8.9.
However, because it was co-written with Chen Jin, a well-known party history expert, and others, it is still not very convincing after all.
In addition, the episode number when the show was reviewed showed that there were 40 episodes .
This also makes people worry about whether the plot will not be compact enough and whether the plot will drag on.
It’s not that there are no good spy dramas with 40 episodes, but there are still few good ones, and in most cases they don’t exceed 40 episodes.
This time, Weng Liangping is independently responsible for the screenwriting work, and the challenges he faces are huge. He hopes that the audience can see a high-IQ intellectual duel and a tense game of good and evil, without leaving any loopholes in the plot logic.
Overall, "The Wind and Waves" is a traffic-oriented spy drama with many bright spots, but there are also hidden dangers visible to the naked eye.
So, is its texture worthy of the unanimous praise from fans? Can it reignite the audience's enthusiasm for spy dramas?
Let’s wait and see.
Qingshi Film | Mei Liqing
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