spy drama, it’s time to pick up steam.
Domestic spy war dramas originated from the early anti-special drama " Oath Silent " series. It started with Liu Yunlong 's "The Conspiracy" in 2006 and broke out in 2009's "Latent".
Excellent spy dramas have sprung up since then. 2010's "Before Dawn" and 2012's "The Cliff" have become their masterpieces. However, the climax of this wave of spy dramas reached its final explosion in 2015's "The Pretender" Later, he fell into a low ebb.
The late release of "Kite" in 2017 was like a flashback. After that, domestic spy games continued to be in the doldrums and lost their glory.
Looking at the spy war dramas in the past few years, there are only a few that have good reputations. The one that can be called a hit is CCTV's "Rebel" in 2021.
But the audience’s enthusiasm for spy war dramas has never cooled down. Douban’s anti-special spy war drama “Huamei” with a score of 5.9 won the top spot in the ratings of the Central Eighth Television last year, which is the best proof.
But when will this audience really have something good to eat?
Tonight, it’s time for CCTV to take action -
40 episode of the Republic of China financial spy drama "Wind Chaser", formerly known as "Riding the Wind and Waves". March 21st is the prime time for the Central Eighth National People's Congress.
What should we expect?
starring Wang Yibo is popular, the male god Wang Yang plays the spy drama of the Republic of China again, and Wang Xueqi , Gao Lu, Yang Kun, Zhu Tie...
But I think these are not the most important.
's biggest expectation is undoubtedly it - the theme, finance + espionage.
and a stable creative lineup, directed by Yao Xiaofeng, and written by Weng Liangping.
In the sea of espionage, can domestic spy war dramas catch the wind, ride the wind, and break through thousands of miles of waves?
Now, let’s catch the wind and catch the shadow.
1: Story
The story begins with a poor boy breaking into the beach in Shanghai.
But what he broke into was not a gang, but the Kuomintang Central Bank at that time.
In Shanghai in 1930, Wei Ruolai was originally just a young man with ideals and ambitions, a photographic memory and actuarial skills.
However, by mistake, he solved the mystery of Shen Tunan (played by Wang Yang), a senior adviser to the Kuomintang Central Bank.
Shen thinks it is impossible unless he knows the inside story. But where did the penniless Wei Ruolai get the inside story?
Just like that, a boy with nothing but talent was appreciated and supported by Shen Tunan and entered the Central Bank.
Due to his outstanding personal abilities, Shen Tunan not only praised him highly, but also asked him in front of everyone if he was willing to become his teacher.
In this way, Wei became an ordinary employee of the Kuomintang Central Bank. With his outstanding work ability, he grew up step by step, but he also gradually saw many corruptions and darkness in the Kuomintang's financial field.
Wei Ruolai discovered evidence that wealthy businessmen in Shanghai jointly speculated in treasury bonds, but Shen Tunan suppressed the matter on the grounds that "it would arouse greater public outrage and the consequences would be unimaginable," which became the straw that broke the camel's back.
In hesitation and depression, Shen Tunan's sister and Communist Party member Shen Jinzhen (Li Qin) used the guiding light of Marxism to illuminate Wei Ruolai's heart. Wei Ruolai, who wanted to "ride the long wind and break thousands of miles of waves", finally followed him. Shen Tunan parted ways and joined the side of justice.
In the end, under the arrangement of the organization, Wei Ruolai and Shen Jinzhen avoided the enemy's tracking and moved from Shanghai to Jiangxi together.
also participated in the war to smash the Kuomintang's economic blockade on the Central Soviet Area and grew into a unique financial expert on our economic front.
2: Highlights
Speaking of spy dramas, Liu Yunlong cannot be ignored.
There is no other wonderful spy drama besides Liu Yunlong.
Instead, Liu Yunlong created a model of domestic spy war dramas of the Republic of China: battle of wits, catching moles, and high-end officialdom. This model of
has achieved the previous pinnacle of domestic espionage, but it has also constrained latecomers and will never be able to surpass this pinnacle.
To get rid of the current predicament of domestic spy wars, especially the spy war dramas of the Republic of China, we must break through.
Compared with previous spy dramas, how is "Storm Chaser" different?
Combined with the trailer, there are at least three points of interest:
The first is the financial espionage war of the Republic of China.
This is also the biggest innovation in the whole drama.
In past spy war dramas of the Republic of China, the focus was often on the acquisition and transmission of military intelligence, as well as the battle of wits and courage between our intelligence personnel lurking within the enemy and the enemy.
And this drama shifts the focus to the financial field, showing the struggle of our party on another hidden front.
But if there is only finance, it is not enough.
From the trailer, there is a scene where the male protagonist obtains financial intelligence from the enemy.
The espionage battle on the financial front is no less important than the frontal battlefield. The small one affects the outcome of a financial war. The large one is related to how to break through the Kuomintang's economic blockade in the early days of the establishment of our red regime.
There is finally a spy war drama that examines this tumultuous history from the perspective of spy war.
Finance, central bank, espionage, high IQ showdown between master and apprentice. Is
on fire?
The second is a classic spy game.
After talking about innovation, "Storm Chaser" also has its plan B.
As a spy drama, it basically has all the elements.
For example, the thrilling sniper shooting battle during arrest.
For example, during the interrogation, the plasma spray was raging.
Not to mention the explosion, the opening has already shown some awesomeness.
A private banker in Shanghai planned four assassinations against Shen Tunan.
He must be killed because Shen Tunan, as a senior expert at the central bank, is starting a financial war to merge private banks.
Just like this, financial espionage and traditional espionage are integrated with each other.
Of course, there is also a classic spy drama, which is the master-disciple showdown between Wang Yang and Wang Yibo.
Compared with the life-and-death fight between Tony Leung and Wang Yibo in "Unknown", although there is no physical action scene between Wang Yang and Wang Yibo this time, there is indispensable a duel between wits.
The plot is like a chess game, where master and apprentice play against each other, which is the easiest place to create a good show.
The third is the story of promotion in a large factory during the Republic of China.
The male protagonist Wei Ruolai's growth path is very clear, from the Central Bank of 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 "The Pretender" in the early years or the "Rebel" in recent years.
But the novelty of this drama lies in the daily life of "newcomer" Wei Ruolai as a member of the "Shanghai drifters" in Shanghai.
In the shabby rented room, amidst the smoke and smoke of Qibao Street, Wei Ruolai wore open-toed socks and took the first step into a "big factory".
In the past, domestic dramas rarely involved the financial workplace of the Republic of China, but the opening of this drama shows the male protagonist accompanying his neighbors on Qibao Street to trade stocks, and he ended up losing everything.
The workplace illustrations of the Republic of China, the financial market and the fireworks of the Republic of China shown in the drama must also be a highlight.
Judging from the trailer, the drama has the tense atmosphere of a spy drama, with a sinister murderous intent everywhere.
has new ideas brought by financial espionage.
is more pyrotechnic.
The noisy exchanges of the Republic of China, the crisis-ridden current situation, the polarization of the rich and the poor in the Republic of China, all these constitute a historical picture of the turbulent sea of espionage.
"Storm Chaser" finally brought a new wind to domestic spy games.
3: Lineup
The starring lineup of "Storm Chaser" is a standard "old with new" model.
The protagonist and supporting actors, 8 well-known actors, including top idols, old drama stars, and old faces from spy war dramas, the lineup is very solid. Among this group of actors, I look forward to the 4 talented actors the most.
One, Wang Yang
Is there anyone more stable than Wang Yang in spy war dramas?
Which spy war fan can forget Chen Moqun, the drag king in "Rebel".
Wang Yang's unique acting skills perfectly portray Chen Moqun's gentleness, ruthlessness, arrogance and arrogance, as well as his madness when he is desperate.
This time he plays Shen Tunan, and his relationship with the male protagonist is undoubtedly reminiscent of "Rebel".
It's just that Shen Tunan, a big boss in Shanghai's financial industry, although he is equally tough and secretive, he cherishes talents more and has more conscience than Chen Moqun. The reason why the male protagonist of
admired him so much was not only because of his reputation, but also because at the beginning he dug out a scum who was working for him within the Kuomintang Central Bank.
This is not a villain in the traditional sense, but due to different ideas, he eventually broke up with the male protagonist.
This kind of difficulty in distinguishing between good and evil is naturally within the range of Wang Yang's acting skills.
Secondly, Wang Xueqi
The opposition side has such a tough hand, and the positive side cannot do without a master to hold the battle. The person holding the battle for our side is the head of the Shanghai underground party played by Wang Xueqi.
Wang Xueqi is a truly capable actor who can play both good and bad characters to the extreme.
The father in " October Siege " and Zhu Di in "The Ming Dynasty" are both vivid and three-dimensional.
In last year's "Under the Stranger", he played the role of the old master in a comedy style. He almost wiped out the villain camp all by himself. He was full of laughter and showed his domineering attitude, which was very brilliant.
This time he won the battle, and I felt confident.
Thirdly, Gaolu
Republic of China spy war dramas have a characteristic that it is easy for two women to become popular.
For details, please refer to Wang Ou and Song Yi in "Pretender", Zhu Zhu in "Rebel", and Wan Qian in "Stalker". Characters like
are often beautiful in appearance, mainly responsible for thrilling spy scenes, and are a flower in society, but their background is often tragic. It is very suitable for a royal actress with good looks and acting skills.
Gao Lu's representative works are Wu Fei, the sister-in-law in " is good ", and Lin Xiaoniang in "Do You Know", their acting skills and appearance are not a problem.
In the play, she wears a green cheongsam. She is dignified and elegant. She has the feeling of a modern beauty from Shanghai, but also seems to be hiding some secret.
I boldly predict that she can break through with this drama.
Fourthly, Yang Kun
Aunt Zhou, played by veteran drama star Yang Kun, should not be an enemy or one of ours, but an ordinary citizen of old Shanghai.
At the beginning of the story, her character was defrauded of money by the exchange. Fortunately, the male protagonist took action and stopped the loss in time.
This kind and warm character with an old Shanghai accent, it goes without saying that she is right for her to play.
In addition, Zhu Tie, Zhang Tianyang, and Liu Ting are all talented actors, and the acting content of the series is not low.
4: Success or failure
However, I think the final success or failure of the series depends on three people.
ranks first, Wang Yibo.
strength + traffic, young actors attract young audiences and traffic, and the configuration of veteran actors supporting the show has become the new standard for domestic spy war dramas.
The most successful case of this model is "Rebel" led by Wang Yang.
If actors are used to correspond one-to-one, Wang Yang corresponds to Wang Yang, Wang Xueqi corresponds to Wang Zhiwen , and Gao Lu corresponds to Zhu Zhu, then Wang Yibo corresponds to Zhu Yilong's role last time.
So just like last time, the key to success or failure lies, of course, with Wang Yibo.
Wang Yibo plays Wei Ruolai in the play. The character
not only carries the main line of the story and the main theme of the plot, but also has to fight with Wang Yang.
Wang Yibo portrayed Mr. Ye in "Wushuang". This time he plays a financial genius, and his character design is consistent.
But this character has to transform all the way and become a financial genius. It is very difficult to perform that kind of high-IQ genius. A quick glance at the
trailer shows Wang Yibo's improvement in acting and his immersion in the drama, but whether he can sustain the entire drama is the key.
As for the heroine Li Qin, I don’t think there is anything to worry about. Her cool temperament is suitable for playing the role of a talented woman in the Republic of China.
The highlight of the show is when he is ready to die, and it also allows the audience to feel the inner perseverance of the character, which is not bad.
Next, there are the other two, the screenwriter and the director.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is the gathering quality, the biggest variable.
The quality of the spy dramas of the past few years is hard to describe.
I think the biggest responsibility should be borne by the director and screenwriter, not the actors.
Just like the classic spy war, there are also veteran directors such as Liu Yunlong, Jiang Wei, and Liu Jiang behind it.
And "Storm Chaser" is reassuring.
screenwriter Weng Liangping currently has four screenwriting works in total, including "Ask the Cangmang", "The Final Battle", and another CCTV spy drama "Dark Night and Dawn" led by Wang Zhiwen.
After watching "Ask the Cangmang", I know that he is by no means an ordinary person. I don't believe that he can write an intellectual duel with low IQ and a financial game with broken logic.
Finally, there is director Yao Xiaofeng. In addition to 8-point dramas such as "The Righteousness", "Brothers Halfway", "Leaves Falling in Chang'an", "Female Flower" and "If Life Deceived You", he also has a CCTV drama on his hands, "Going North".
Watching the trailer, you can feel that the director's level is definitely not low.
switches between warm and cold tones to show the different psychological states of the characters.
has the calmness of Shanghai like before the storm, and the turmoil hidden under the surface calmness.
The only flaw is that the director and director are not veterans of spy wars, but from another perspective, this may also allow them to break out of past routines and produce innovative financial spy war dramas.
Is it possible for spy dramas to reach new heights?
I think that after the baptism of bad dramas in the past year, the audience's tastes and demands for spy dramas have begun to change.
Audiences don’t just need mindless entertainment.
is a work with online logic, reasonable plot, decent service, and characters that really touch people's hearts.
This spy war drama has the responsibility to reach the audience's aesthetic threshold, rather than being left far behind by the audience's aesthetic appreciation.
In a sense, audience aesthetics is the trend that domestic spy dramas should pursue. Can
succeed in chasing the storm? Tonight, watch "The Storm Chaser".
