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Thread: HSDS2000 Review

  1. #21
    Senior Member babybunny's Avatar
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    I've seen 4 versions of HSDS and I can honestly say that HSDS 2000 was the worst one!!!

    None of the actors fit the characters, except for Gigi Lai. She was a good Zhao Min.

    Lawrence Ng as ZWJ was just a joke. And Charmaine didn't look like a ZZR at all.

    I had no idea why they picked the cast. It was just horrible!!!
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  2. #22
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    haha, at least TVB got you to watch teh series...i mean, that is really what they want you to do, watch teh series and cash coming in to them

  3. #23
    Senior Member superboy's Avatar
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    I don't know about all the casts fiting or not because I never read about the novel, but I like the fighting of the newer version better than the older one. Some of the fighting of older versions are so fake and slow.
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  4. #24
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    On the contrary, I think Lawrence did a pretty decent job. He might be a little old but he brings out the character very well. Besides if you guys didn't know Lawrence's real age, would you say the same.

  5. #25
    Senior Member superboy's Avatar
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    And I think Lawrence looked better at his more matured years than his younger ones. Good thing it wasn't the young Lawrence protraying ZMK.
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  6. #26
    Junior Member move2tbeats's Avatar
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    Thumbs down HSDS 2000

    The series is just plain bad except for Gigi of course. I wish the producer would chose someone other than Lawrence Ng as ZWJ like Benny Chan perhaps. The reason is Benny is young and has that naive look that would fit ZWJ. And Charmaine act as ZZR is an disappointment. She was doing great in the beginning as the torture discipline, but at the end when she goes all evil she show she is acting evil.

  7. #27
    Senior Member linghuchong's Avatar
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    lawrence ng really did potray ZMJs charater really well, but didnt have the looks, gigi lai as Zho Min was really outstanding, Charmaine just dosent have the looks and the acting skill for ZZR
    If they could of took more time on thinking about the cast, then this could of turned out to be alot better then what it is now!

    Anyone agree that Yeung Siu was potrayed really well by Cheung siu fai??
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  8. #28
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Thumbs down

    I actually thought Gigi Lai was too noisy and did not have the grace of a princess. But her acting was quite good. I kind of thought Lawrence was a bit stiff in some of his acting, especially after he became the Ming Sect Leader. Actually, IMO Charmaine was pretty well off, but the screaming and crying irked me.

    Kong Hai Man can pretty much no expression on her face but I thought Cherrie Chan did the best, even though her character was written quite deviated from the novel. Joyce was well in distinguishing between the mother and daughter, but her Yeung But Fui was too loud and her hair was ugly (unmarried style).

    Now about Eddie, I thought his acting was great as usual, but i suggest him as a miscast, because he looks too young to be a father of an 17 year old. When he and Joyce were holding hands and walking, they seemed more like BF-GF to me than father-daughter.

    I think they should have swapped the whole Wu Dang crew except for Edward Mok and Li Kwok Lun. The other guys just don't look heroic!
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  9. #29
    Senior Member linghuchong's Avatar
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    but Yeung Siu had to play the part of a younger YS at the start of HSDS, it makes more sense for someone younger to play a part older than someone older to play a part younger
    good example would be lawrence ng
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  10. #30
    Senior Member qiaofeng's Avatar
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    lots of chermaine haters here i see. i actually thought she did pretty well considering the fact that shes pretty new. i gotta admit that she kindda sucked playing the evil version later on. + her screams are kindda annoying. + i thought she was kindda cute n innocent looking, which suits the role, at least in the earlier stages b4 wuji drove her bonkers. i actually kindda feel sorry for her. ive always believed that the main reason for her joining the dark side was cus of wuji ( left her at the alter, that bastard) not so much her lust for power or her duty to her sifu.

  11. #31
    Senior Member qiaofeng's Avatar
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    Originally posted by linghuchong
    but Yeung Siu had to play the part of a younger YS at the start of HSDS, it makes more sense for someone younger to play a part older than someone older to play a part younger
    good example would be lawrence ng
    i totally agree. + the yang xiao in the version is much better looking n brings out the charisma of the character. compare it to the old geezer in the 2003 version, hes the worst yang xiao ever, way too old and ugly, and definately doesnt deserve the title of xiao yao 2 xian

  12. #32
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    Wink hi everybody i am new here

    i have watched all the three previous series and now left with 2 vcd for the 2003 series. while the storyline seems to differ more and more between the series, i must say that it's more to cater to the audience. i remember the first series where it ended with an very sad anti-climax whereby zhaomin jumped off the cliff. since then, in the next two series, zhaomin is with wuji in the end. i am not sure about the 2003 series.
    i always pity zhiruo because she seemed to be forced to do many things against her wish. somehow, she is victimised - she is always forced to be "bad" so that she is not with wuji.
    while girls are unlikely to like it, i hope that one day, somehow the scene will twist that wuji married zhiruo and zhaomin and go to persia to visit xiao chao.
    one recent scene in the 2003 in my opinion can be improved too where zhaomin went to stop the marriage. bat king should say this to zhaomin:
    "at wudang san, i have promised to ask you to marry my leader. if you were willing to let them go through the ceremony, i will go and visit your dad immediately to ask for your hand to marry my leader. remember what bat king said will be carried out". just a thought.

  13. #33
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by charbydis View Post
    Now about Eddie, I thought his acting was great as usual, but i suggest him as a miscast, because he looks too young to be a father of an 17 year old. When he and Joyce were holding hands and walking, they seemed more like BF-GF to me than father-daughter.
    7 years after this comment, I have rewatched HSDS 2k recently and fell that I like it much better now. Probably cos recent newer adaptions of HSDS have shocked me with their casting.

    Looking back, Lawrence actually didn't do such a bad job. ZWJ was supposed to be boring and confused. Lawrence did look very tired and haggard, but in terms of acting, he wasn't that bad. I still think Gigi is a miscast - talks too much and too fast. Charmaine was okay. Aftre all this time (and puking while watching Zhang Tie Lin as Yeung Siu), my perception of Eddie as Yeung Siu has totally changed and I have to crown Eddie as the best Yeung Siu ever. Coco Sun cried too much whereas Eddie was able to show the sorrow and regret of Yeung Siu in a very manly charasmatic way without crying every 10 mins. He and Joyce actually look every good together, even as father and daughter.

    I actually still hate the CGI effects but at least it is more visible than the recent effects I have seen. The themesong by Lawrence is actually quite nice and the lyrics are compatible.

    Compared to 1979 or 1986 version, this version pales. But compared to later versions, it is actually quite a good production.
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  14. #34
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    I actually don't mind this adaption too much, although the changes to the plot got annoying and the miscasts were even more annoying. However, it's still okay, I mean, the music was pretty good and the ZCS/YSS story was so well done.

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    Seems like so many people dislike or even hate this adaptation o-o
    I enjoy it overall except for Charmaine Sheh as ZZR...I think the other make a good job...
    Okay I know that Lawrence, Damian, Michelle were too old for their role but their acting make through. Lawrence DID act out a confused ZWJ. As for YSS and ZCS, I start reading the novel, I'm not very far but at least I' done with YSS and ZCS's parts. When I was reading, the only ZCS that come to my mind was Damian. About YSS, I often see Michelle but sometimes Dodo during the young time of YSS.
    Gigi Lai is the best Zhao Min to me, she act out a very smart, witty, cute Zhao Min.
    Eddie as YS, Joyce as JXF/YBH, Edward as YLT, they were great to me. Eddie is the best YS. The others were just damn old...hard to believe that JZF fell for them o-o

  16. #36
    Senior Member Ian Liew's Avatar
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    I liked this serial a lot, and surprisingly, I loved Charmaine in a villain role - makes a refreshing change from all her too-good-to-be-true roles.. in this serial she really was too-good-to-be-true in a literal sense, as she pretended to be good, emotionally blackmailed Wuji, and came across as the only Zhiruo I've ever seen who I really wanted to strangle. At the end when she's screaming because wuji says he loves Zhao Min the most, and she goes berserk, I always wanted to cut that clip and subtitle it "How can you choose her? I'm Charmaine Sheh!!! Everyone loves me!!! Nobody else can compare.. I am CHARMAINE SHEH!!!". She was brilliant, but sadly never had much opportunity to play villains anymore.

    Gigi did much better than I expected (this was the first serial I'd seen her in since her renaissance as a more matured actress) while Lawrence wasn't really bad, it's just that we knew who he was and hence had problems accepting it. It was quite watchable. It's things like Three Wanderers instead of Five which get to me a bit, but I preferred this much more than the turdier serials of the 80s (Xiakexing, Lianchangjue), Crimson Sabre 2000, and given the current non-existence of TVB wuxia I'm thankful we at least had this HSDS (and yeah, even Crimson Sabre).

    Now if only they'd release the DVD for this...

  17. #37
    Senior Member smurf120's Avatar
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    What to say...I have rewatched '86 last year and in my life time have watched '79 (I don't really remember it but liked the song), '86, '00, the 2003 Taiwanese verision where the main dude (Alex Su?)cries ALL THE TIME, a bit of the most recent 2009 China one, and read the translation here on SPCnet.

    Production values the recent China one is best - hands down.

    I really enjoyed the 2003 Taiwanese one - until I read the book and found out that they turned ZWJ into a crybaby who couldn't make decisions ever.

    TVB 2000 - Lawrence is too damn old (he's playing 16-24, come on!!) , everyone is too damn old, except for Charmaine, so Lawrence/Charmaine pairing kinda became creepy. Also, when my brother and I watched this, it became a game of "spot the wirework" since we could see wires in some scenes. I loved Gigi though. I think Damian may be better actor than Simon Yam, but chemistry with Michelle seems lacking - she is also too old for cute. Loved Joyce as Yang Bu Fu - think she is my favorite one out of all the series.

    TVB 1986 - if you ignore the fighting scenes, this one ages surprisingly well. Great acting, since you get empathy and leadership from Tony Leung, its quiet authority of a young man who doesn't know what he is doing but needs to demonstrate his power. Tony's pain is subtle, not flailing like Alex Su or outwardly confused like Lawrence.

  18. #38
    Senior Member Ian Liew's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smurf120 View Post
    TVB 1986 - if you ignore the fighting scenes, this one ages surprisingly well. Great acting, since you get empathy and leadership from Tony Leung, its quiet authority of a young man who doesn't know what he is doing but needs to demonstrate his power. Tony's pain is subtle, not flailing like Alex Su or outwardly confused like Lawrence.
    If I ignored the fighting scenes I'd vote for 79 - it had a killer soundtrack and BGM, and Adam Cheng was just great. The 86 version's fighting choreography wasn't that bad, even by today's standards. The lame 80s CGI effects weren't that liberally used, while the down and dirty fighting was quite good to watch. 79's fighting choreography was well.. passable, but doesn't even come close to the Shaw Brothers movies standards. ATV serials were the ones with good fighting scenes in the 70s.

  19. #39
    Junior Member Tony B's Avatar
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    A bit late, but I have watched every version of HSDS (many times); I love Wuxia books and series.

    I will admit to only watching the 2000 version for about 30 minutes.

    We all have in our minds a picture of how the characters look and behave. However, the 2000 version gave a new outlook to this. The characters were wooden, the actors miscast and the direction awful.

    I totally agree with Suet Seung in her opinion of this version, and this is as an Ang Mo who has not been brought up in Chinese culture but finds it very interesting.

    For me, the 1986 TVB version was the best and came nearest to following Jin Yongs characters and plot.

  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by wkeej View Post
    i have watched all the three previous series and now left with 2 vcd for the 2003 series. while the storyline seems to differ more and more between the series, i must say that it's more to cater to the audience. i remember the first series where it ended with an very sad anti-climax whereby zhaomin jumped off the cliff. since then, in the next two series, zhaomin is with wuji in the end. i am not sure about the 2003 series.
    i always pity zhiruo because she seemed to be forced to do many things against her wish. somehow, she is victimised - she is always forced to be "bad" so that she is not with wuji.
    while girls are unlikely to like it, i hope that one day, somehow the scene will twist that wuji married zhiruo and zhaomin and go to persia to visit xiao chao.
    one recent scene in the 2003 in my opinion can be improved too where zhaomin went to stop the marriage. bat king should say this to zhaomin:
    "at wudang san, i have promised to ask you to marry my leader. if you were willing to let them go through the ceremony, i will go and visit your dad immediately to ask for your hand to marry my leader. remember what bat king said will be carried out". just a thought.
    A freaking 15 years have passed! I can't remember this series. Who act as Xiao Zhao; who act as Yin-li? I only can remember this part. Even then I am not sure. Charmaine (I mean Zhuo Zhiruo) lost her memory and she is living with Song Qingshu at the fishing village? Actually I can also remember the actor/actress for Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu.

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