The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber

Being a remake is never easy- being the 6th version to hit the small scene is even tougher (1979, 1984, 1986, 1994, 2000 being the previous versions- not to mention the numerous movie versions, including the 1978, 1983 and 1993 ones). Not only do you have high standards to live up to, you also have to distinguish yourself from all the other versions to avoid the knee-jerk “Not another Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre!” response.

In my opinion, HSDS 2003 did manage to carve a niche for itself and even set new standards on several fronts plus being thoroughly enjoyable even to viewers who have seen many other versions. In particular I thought the language used in the script and some (though not all!) additional scenes/story lines that aided character development were well done, and of course, the highlight of any serial is how the actors/actresses pull it off, and HSDS 2003 definitely shines through its leads! Yet, overall, it was not-quite my favorite, adaptation to date.

Warning: This review contains spoilers! Jump to the end in case you haven’t already seen three different versions of this story and don’t know what happens.

Wuji/Chuisan
Alec Su You Peng as Zhang Wuji was definitely one of the most watchable characters in the series. Alec Su appears to finally shed his “teeny bopper” image and gets gritty in his role as an indecisive but thoughtful and deeply feeling Zhang Wuji. Combining the fine lines attributed to Wuji by the script with Alec Su’s strong delivery of them, we get a much more eloquent and expressive Wuji than is the usual portrayal of this guileless hero. Alec’s Wuji also manages to grow in the series, from a pliant child to a true figure of authority (in particular I recall the scene in Shaolin when he overrides his own grandfather, ordering him to step down from fighting Zhiruo). By the end, he manages to exude command and confidence-a transition that is a pleasure to watch! Along with this is the transition from someone to whom things happen passively (as he himself points out, his engagements to first Zhuer and then Zhiruo and his breaking his engagement with Zhiruo were all initiated by others with him as a follower) to someone who, with great clarity and self-knowledge, makes a decision. The scene when he declares that without the prospect of Zhaomin in his life, he would rather die was astonishingly touching, so much so that though I have heard those same lines in other versions, Alec Su’s voice continued to echo in my head weeks after finishing the series.

Unfortunately Alec Su as Zhang Cuishan, as others have pointed out, was a little less effective. His makeup was unconvincing and he looked exactly like he was: a young man in a fake beard, making suspension of disbelief that much harder. And even more unfortunate, sometimes Alec cannot pull away from the startlingly youthful expressions, which even jar at points in his portrayal of Wuji. Phyllis Quek was a lovely, if somewhat forgettable, Ying Susu.

Zhaomin
Alyssa Chia as Zhaomin was, though not without flaws, overall a great choice. She navigates the balance between being a ruthless leader and a character we can empathize with, between a witty, sharp girl and a smart-alecky annoyance with cheerful ease. Zhaomin, I’ve always felt, is defined by her rapidity of thought, decision-making and feeling- going from facts to implications as quickly as she goes from complaining to laughing. Alyssa’s Zhaomin has the dynamism the character calls for- from calculative to impish, pouting to happy, tough to tender, its easy to see from her portrayal what Alec’s calm and quiet Wuji finds irresistible about Zhaomin. If there was one complaint I had to make about Alyssa’s Zhaomin that would be a tendency to be too down-to-earth and clownish. One expects some amount of classy arrogance from a Mongolian princess, instead we get a tad too much comic relief from what ought to be the series’ most towering character. Still, overwhelmingly, Alyssa’s was a very loveable portrayal of my favorite Jinyong character!

Wuji and Zhaomin
The chemistry between Alec Su and Alyssa works beautifully- they manage to dance around the edge of their mutual attraction and affection without making it either too cute or too melodramatic. The restraint works beautifully to increase the tension and make the rare love scenes the more lovely for it! Some of my fondest moments from the series are the comic love scenes, one at an inn starting with the waiter mistaking Zhaomin for Wuji’s wife, and one near the end when Wuji and Zhaomin go to the cave his godfather was imprisoned in in Shaolin. Both scenes have the pick of funny lines from the book, and in them both Alec and Alyssa show off, with their vibrance and sparkle, exactly why they have so many avid fans!

Zhiruo
Gao Yuanyuan as Zhiruo is a strong pick. Zhiruo is a complex character to play, with a wide swing in personality, from a sweetly obedient disciple to a vengence-thirsty near-murderess. There is a certain insecurity about Zhiruo that lends an edge of instability to her personality- this comes across very well in Gao Yuanyuan’s portrayal. She was entirely believable as an exquisitely beautiful and shy Ermei junior disciple and yet was convincingly frightening as a woman who was poisoned by disappointment and a demonically demanding teacher (not to mention a hurried understanding of a powerful martial arts style). Intriguingly, though the book and most versions see fit to portray Zhaomin as prettier than Zhiruo, in this series the physical comparison is close, and I’m inclined to award the prettier face to Zhiruo. This sets up an interesting dynamic for Wuji’s indecisiveness between them, and lends a little depth to his final decision.

Wuji and Zhiruo (Zhuer, Xiaozhao)
I found the chemistry between Wuji, Zhiruo, Zhu-er and Xiaozhao rather bland overall.

This might have been deliberate as a foreshadowing of the ending, but it was hard for this viewer to believe that Zhiruo whole-heartedly loved Wuji- for instance, Zhiruo didn’t seem as anxious over her stabbing of Wuji as you might expect. Its possibly a trick of the editing, since the camera focused on Wuji in that scene, when one might expect Zhiruo to get more camera close-up time in what is her first big scene of the series. Wuji’s friendship with Xiaozhao was not particularly convincing either. I must confess I find Florence Tan’s portrayal of Xiaozhao rather wooden and Wuji seemed unperturbed by her departure, just as his affection for cousin Zhu-er didn’t seem to extend to him missing her much after she died. In this version he mostly felt guilty about not preventing Zhu-er’s death and about immediately getting engaged to Zhiruo (though to be fair he seemed exuberant to find that she was alive in the finale).
Wuji had several scenes with Zhiruo where they spoke about being affianced and their future together, but the body language always seemed awkward- either the type of emotional display required there (a sad sort of tenderness rather than light-heartedly romantic) was not the sort the actors were good at, or else, they were deliberately hinting at the lack of true mutual feeling between the characters, though one might note that in the novels, Zhiruo was supposed to be in love with Wuji.

XieXun
Tsui Kam Kong as Xiexun was a good choice as well. He managed the wild and ruthless alongside the gentle and upright sides of Xiexun with aplomb and presented us with a Golden haired Lion much to be admired. In particular, his final transition to prayerful monk was well done. Having said that, he doesn’t have quite the charisma and chemistry with Wuji that makes you grieve for him and Wuji in the end.

Song YuanQiao
One of my favourite characters in the story- he, even more than Cuishan who died too early- epitomizes for me the upright swordsman. Unbendingly loyal and correct, Wang Gang as the beloved oldest Wudang disciple of Zhang Sanfeng does a great job conveying the anguish that his unyielding principles finally bring him via a son that could not quite live up to his father’s height. Though he’s not my favorite Song YuanQiao (that honor goes to the venerable actor of the 1986 HSDS- superlatives fail in describing him!) still he lived up to the role, which is sadly neglected in some versions.

Characterization and scripting:
My personal suspicion about why HSDS has had so many remakes (even more than the other Condor hero books) is that it has some elements that appeal to modern sensibilities.
It’s the strong female characters along with its emphasis on the friendships and loyalties between even minor characters that are well developed, added to some extraordinary martials arts descriptions, and you have a great basis for a big or small screen adaptation!

Foremost in my mind is the personality of Zhaomin in the cast of strong female characters. She appeals to me, and I would guess many viewers, as one of the more independent of the lead female characters. (I must confess I find some of Jinyong’s other female characters quite cloyingly dependent.)

She is a leader in her own right, is willing to (and does) cross Wuji for her own ends, has concerns and cares that have nothing to do with Wuji and actively courts him in spite of the odds, and sometimes even in spite of himself! Perhaps in keeping with stereotypes about Mongolian women, she is gutsy and not as shy or modest about liking Wuji as some of Jinyong’s other leading ladies.

HSDS 2003 takes full advantage of this facet of Zhaomin and develops that into a theme of the series: That Zhaomin is a person who, unlike Wuji, possesses a touch of Xiao1 Sa3 (debonair) and Shuang3 Kuai4 (decisiveness). For instance a great Zhaomin-moment from this series was on Snake Island, when Zhiruo leaves the cave in a huff, and Wuji is dittering over whether to chase after her to see if she’s okay. Zhaomin finally gets tired of Wuji’s hesitating, takes Wuji by the hand and personally goes with him to look for Zhiruo. Her exasperated explanation as they walk along “Yes I’m spoilt, yes I’m capricious, but I’m not unreasonable! Zhiruo’s done you many good turns, so you owe Zhiruo. Going after her and looking for her is right on every level.” Wuji’s response is an honest but hilarious “Zhaomin, sometimes, I think you’re actually quite sensible…”

Other ways in which they try to develop Zhaomin’s personality were not as successful. For instance they included a whole subplot involving a Mongolian Prince forcing Zhaomin’s father to marry her to the Prince’s son. The incidents around this subplot, including her brother pretending to die while breaking her out of her room to escape, I found it a little too farfetched. Not that I’m necessarily against plot additions or changes, but a certain level of sensibility plus consistency with the characters (here they made Zhaomin seem rather pathetic at points) is crucial when adding to a very well-known storyline! Thus, even if it was an attempt to cast some of Zhaomin’s more ruthless actions into a kinder light, and give her a story of her own separate from that of Wuji’s, it mostly fell short.

Another change they made in the sequencing of events is to have Wuji meet Zhu Jiu Zhen and family after rather than before he spends 5 years in isolation learning Jiu Yang Zhen Jing (the 9 yang internal energy which formed the basis of his future martial arts development.) This made his gullibility when dealing with them quite puzzling, especially when, within days, he is leading the Ming Cult to escape the attack of the combined “righteous” sect forces.

On the whole, HSDS2003 also tries to make the characters more sympathetic than prior versions. We are even shown all the events on Snake Island right away to make it clear that Zhiruo actually set Zhaomin afloat on the ship at Snake Island because she couldn’t bear to kill her. Her torment by her promise to her Shifu (teacher) was also brought up liberally (perhaps too liberally!) to show how much that drove her to do the things she did, and she was often remorseful about Zhuer’s ‘death’.

Qingsu’s character most benefited from the attempt to make all the characters easier to empathize with. While in most versions he comes across as mostly cowardly and weak, here he is shown to be simply so single-mindedly in love with Zhiruo that he would even agree to poison Wudang to save her from being ravished by some lowly characters from the Beggar Sect. He is also allowed to redeem himself in the end by sacrificing his life for his father, dying under Zhiruo’s hands- quite ironic and an excellent resolution for his story.

HSDS 2003’s deepest failing, however, is also in characterization. Precious few of the minor characters came across as well as they have in other versions and in the book. Jinyong himself pointed out that HSDS was one in which love other than the romantic sort, plays a key role. Brotherly and parental love, affection and loyalty between friends and amongst various minor and major characters are major themes in the book. Yet here the affection and bond between the Seven Wudang Puglists is barely visible, the moving respect and love for each other and their teacher Zhang San Feng is not emphasized. The camaradie and love between the Ming Sect Kings, Fanyao and Yangxiao (who have, afterall, endured much together and ultimately were still united by their loyalty to the Ming Sect) is given precious little screen time. Zhaomin and her father and brother, Buhui and Yangxiao, Xiaozhao and her mother, Zhuer and her father, as well as Wuji and his parents and grandfather collectively get quite a few scenes, but on the whole their relationships are superficially treated at best.

Two exceptions to this are Xiexun and Wuji’s relationship as well as Yuanqiao and Qingsu’s. The first is crucial to the flow of the story, and the second I consider a great credit to Wang Gang, the actor for Song Yuanqiao, lending some sympathy to him and Qingsu over the tragic turn of events at Shaolin.

Language:
I find that the Chinese Wuxia scripts tend to be more sophisticated in their use of language. (Its possible this is due to the fact that my grasp of Cantonese is not strong enough to appreciate the intricacies of their scripts.) This doesn’t always work in favor of the Chinese scripts though. When proverbs, sayings and flowery language are used indiscriminately they bog a series down and make the characters sound long-winded and snotty. In HSDS 2003 though, the language actually aided the flow of dialogue and action. I was particularly impressed how crisply well-spoken they made Wuji- not as tongue-tied and quiet as previous Wuji’s have been. While an eloquent Wuji might not be quite true to the novels, it is an interesting twist for what could otherwise be a very bland character, and also makes Wuji seem more of a match for Zhaomin’s witty repartees.

Martial arts scenes:
Sadly the special effects (read CGI) on the martial arts scenes were very overdone. with Odd-looking lasers flashed or silly ripple/wind effects swirled around when what is called for is solid action sequences. The effects were so contrived and awkward that they made you want to wince or laugh depending on your mood, and overall made you suddenly aware why the Wuxia genre sometimes elicits disdain from serious movie-watchers.

Overall:
My recommendation, if you already know the story backwards and forwards, is to skip immediately to the second half of the series (around episode 18). This is where the pace picks up and the major characters, which were better portrayed, get more screen time.

Overall, the series was very enjoyable, with a more dynamic feel than previous versions and though it lacked in resonance from the minor characters (that was very powerful in the ’86 version, making that, to this day, my favorite adaptation of HSDS), much of it was made up for by the chemistry between Alec and Alyssa.

HSDS 2003 is a more playful look at the HSDS story, lighter on the politics and battles involved in overturning the Qing dynasty and instead focusing on the human stories behind the fights. Backed up by star power, this version is well worth the time to get to know if you’re at all admiring of the powerful human elements of story which I feel, even more than the actual fighting, has allowed Jingyong’s wuxia stories to outlast many pop-culture fads and produce a whole new generation of wuxia fans!