“Fangs of Fortune” is no doubt the product of director Edward Guo. I enjoyed his other drama “My Journey to Love” so much that I wish I could feel the same about “Fangs of Fortune”. Unfortunately, just having a good-looking cast and beautiful cinematography are not enough for me.


What I Like:

1. Characters
The main reason I am not rating this drama lower than 8.0 is because of the characters. I like each of them, main cast, supporting cast and guest roles. Each character’s story is unique and I had a good time getting to know them and following their journey of growth. They are interesting individually and together as a group. “Fangs of Fortune” is able to make me care about each of them and their stories touched me.

2. Acting
I am happy to see a much-improved Neo Hou. He is able to convey more than just a blank pretty face. I am most impressed by Tian Jia Rui. This is only his second drama after “My Journey to You” and he has so much potential. Chen Du Ling is fine. Cheng Xiao improved from her blank look in “Falling into Your Smile”. The rest of the cast also did an admirable job and I don’t really dislike anyone’s acting.

3. Cinematography
Edward Guo’s signature beautiful cinematography and camera angles make every actor and actress look good. Screenshots of this drama flooded the Feeds with many posts throughout the airing and after the completion of the drama. But…..(to be continued below)

4. OST
This drama boasts a huge soundtrack of beautiful songs. I enjoy them all, especially ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ 春风不问 and ‘Broken-Tailed Bird’《斷尾鳥》. However…. (to be continued below)

5. Production Value
I love everyone’s creative, unique and beautiful hairstyles, costumes and accessories. I also like the use of natural lighting and the realistic sets in the indoor scenes. The fight choreography is unique and the actors did a great job with their wire work and moves. It does a great job in using Chen Xiao’s dance background in giving her excellent moves and she did not disappoint.


What I have Mixed Feelings and Don’t Like:

1. Slowness
This drama is SLLOOOWW. The characters talk slowly, they move slowly and the pace is slow. This could have been a 30-episode drama (instead of 34) if people would just walk and talk at normal speed. The last episode is a waste of time. Everything could be told in 15 minutes. What pisses me off the most (my personal pet peeve) is characters standing around during important battle scenes. The good guys would be talking amongst themselves or crying or staring at each other, and the villains just stood there waiting. I just want to shout at my screen for them to move or do something! So much time is wasted and it doesn’t make sense!

2. Plot Holes
There are so many plot holes in this drama. Actions that don’t always make sense. Why parade a suspected murderer in front of a crowd to be easily recognized and then humiliated? If you knew you were the cause of a pandemic, why not kill yourself sooner? You already knew the solution! There are powerful demons and genius human beings yet you can’t detect someone is hiding around the corner eavesdropping? I thought you could smell their scent from a mile away! Plot logic becomes secondary (or sacrificed) when the drama focuses so much on the characters and making them look good. A good drama must be able to balance both plot and character development. Even if you can’t balance it well, it can’t be so lopsided.

3. Close-up/Camera angles
I complimented on how beautiful this drama is. But if you repeatedly show me a close-up look of a pair of attractive eyes every 5 minutes, it becomes really pretentious and fake. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed but if you give me the slow-mo version of it, it interrupts the flow and the excitement. I don’t need to see them posing when fighting. This drama also loves the fog and wind machines.

4. Non-stop Music
I also complimented the OST, but gosh, the music is overplayed. Song after song, music after music. It doesn’t allow the viewer to decide how to feel in silence, but manipulates my feelings with the non-stop music. I counted one scene (one conversation between the leads) when 2 songs + 2 more instrumental music were played non-stop! At times, the music is so loud that I could barely hear what the actors are saying. I really don’t need the fight song being played at every single battle, no matter how cool it is.

5. Romance
Disappointing main romance. I enjoy the initial bickering between Zhao Yuan Zhou and Wen Xiao. A battle of wits and sarcasm! But then, not much happened and not enough chemistry or longing looks. It was boring. I had more fun watching the guest roles suffer in their forbidden love than or sad romance than the main leads.


OK, if you are a fan, don’t hate me. Go back and read what I like before throwing stones at me. LOL🤣 I will still recommend "Fangs of Fortune" because it’s a well-acted darker story with a good-looking cast, beautiful cinematography and likable characters. If you are a big fan of character development, you will enjoy this. But if you are like me and can’t stop your brain from noticing plot holes and things you don’t like, you might have a harder time enjoying this.


Completed: 11/27/2024 - Review #521