Crimson Sabre

The Crimson Sabre is a story by Jin Yong set in the final years of the Ming Dynasty, under Emperor Chongzhen. The basic synopsis can be found in other reviews submitted by the contributors to this site.

Setting

In general, I enjoyed the Crimson Sabre a lot. Jin Yong had a penchant for integrating most of his stories seamlessly into China's history, from the Song Dynasty all the way to the Ching, and as far as I know the Crimson Sabre is the only story which deals with the fall of a dynasty within its story. The three-way power struggle between the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng and the Manchus was well-utilised, with characters from all three sides playing a major role in the story. From Yuan Chonghuan to Dorgon, the historical characters and fictitious characters complement each other, and make the story immensely believable. Major events like the death of Huang Taiji to minor issues like the rivalry between Li Yan and Niu Jinxing in the Dashun camp were portrayed and dramatised very well. Of course, this is more credit to Jin Yong than to TVB, but it definitely makes the show worth watching for historical value as well.

Opinion

Here's where I start using some Cantonese pinyin due to the show being Cantonese. Lam Ka Tung was pretty good as Yuen Sing Chi. I heard many complaints that he wasn't quite suitable, but he had that innocent, yet determined look about him throughout the show. Yuen Sing Chi was supposed to be nice, yet unswervable in his principles, and Lam Ka Tung portrayed the character well. If I have any complaint with the character is that he became too powerful too early (by the time he left Huashan he was virtually invincible, and it was a matter of who he wanted to beat up, rather than how he could go about beating up the bad guys) but that's not TVB's fault - the story was written as such. As opposed to other heroes like Kok Ching, Yeung Kuo, Ling Wu Chung and Cheong Mo Kei (all of whom had to build their skills gradually while avoiding getting killed in the early stages), Sing Chi lacked character development - the Sing Chi who left Huashan was virtually the Sing Chi in the last episode, just with more friends.

Ching Ching was well-cast for the role, even though she wasn't quite as beautiful as the character could have been. She had that down-to-earth quality, and was immensely cute and likeable. Ah Kau, on the other hand, had that too-good-to-be-true quality about her, (although I must say I was influenced by her role in Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre - I always imagine that she's never as innocent as she seems now) and I was rooting for Ching Ching all the way. Of course, Ah Kau was a victim of circumstance, but she definitely had that vicious menacing aura about her.

Ha Shuet Yee and Wan Yee were a great couple, and in many ways far more interesting to watch than Sing Chi and Ching Ching, and Ho Hong York was also well cast. Like Ah Chee in the Tin Lung Pat Pou series, she had that 'I hate her when I see her' quality when she played that character, which is brilliant for a villain. She wasn't quite as repulsive as Ah Chee was, but it was a quality performance. Ha Shuet Yee and Wan Yee/Wan Sin's character development was good, especially how Ha Shuet Yee gradually accepted that Wan Yee was gone forever and that Wan Sin deserved his love as well. That poison-lipstick scene was very touching, until of course, Sing Chi saves the day with his amazing poison-sucking frog. That frog was overpowered, and I think removed a lot of challenge for Sing Chi - with his kungfu and frog, it seemed that almost nothing could hurt him.

It was good to see Yee Chee Ming in kungfu series again after all these years - he played Mo Song. A class actor, he added some really good comic relief to his scenes. Lee Kok Lun's umpteenth villainous character was played well as usual, but it was rather anti-climatic to have him play the role of the final villain. He appears and causes trouble at the start, doesn't do much in the middle, disappears, and reappears at the end, more like a loose end to be tied than a climatic final battle. It would have been much better had Cao Fa Shun been the final villain, since he is the one who carries the evil role throughout most of the show, but we don't even get to see him die - he just gets dragged out and executed. He got what he deserved, but it's like nobody seemed to know the extent of his villainy - Sing Chi probably didn't even know that his father's death was due to Cao's scheming. Chongzhen took all the blame, although he didn't really actively do anything wrong in the series. It was hard not to feel sorry for him (played by the regal Wong Wai), and you keep getting the impression that had Sing Chi worked for him, and killed Cao, the Ming Dynasty would have been saved. Not enough was made of the failings of the Ming government, and the show left a feeling that the Ming Dynasty was brought down by Cao Fa Shun's corruption and a bunch of idealistic martial artists.

An honourable mention goes to Sing Chi's little friend Siu Wai. I liked her character very much (and the actress who played her was really cute too), and was rather sad that she had to die. Of all the women in the series she was probably the most caring and kind-hearted, but sadly never really got much screen time. Strangely you don't even get to see her grandfather's reaction to her death. Ho Tit Sau was pretty and classy too, and got a big enough role in the series. Chongzhen, Li Zicheng and Huang Taiji (Lau Tan in a guest appearance) were convincing enough as the leaders of the three factions, but then TVB has an abundance of elderly gentlemen with good acting skills. Yuan Chonghuan and Cao Fa Shun had their voices dubbed, so I presume they're mandarin-speaking actors. They both worked very well, although I felt that Yuan Chonghuan's character could have been played by any number of TVB senior actors.

In conclusion, I rate this series a 3.5. It's good entertainment, and you learn a fair bit about the fall of the Ming (it's *almost* accurate - Chongzhen is recorded as having died with a eunuch, not a general), but it's probably not good enough to merit watching more than once. I prefer it to the Wong Yat Wah version in the 1980s - I found the structure of that series not quite as easy to follow. Basically, Crimson Sabre is an enjoyable heroic story in which the good guy beats up the bad guy, most of his friends survive, and they all live happily ever after. The bad guys don't really stand a chance, and that's where the story fails a bit. The plot basically has to move along with the fall of the Ming, and as such doesn't really move much on its own. Sing Chi could have killed Chongzhen the moment he left Huashan, but history dictates that Sing Chi does not get that chance, and hence he has to go on little adventures to pass time while Li Zicheng builds up strength. The bits with Ha Suet Yee and Wan Yee/Wan Sin are the best moments in the show, but they are sadly too short.