Me too. Just Ep1 and glimpses of Ep2. The 2002 version totally have no appeal. The acting are mediocre too. Though the lead seem to fit the role, Shi Potian... but gosh, his hair and costume are so ugly.
I'd really like to see Tony Leung and Max Mok's versions. Any streaming link?
Interesting Facts:
-Zhang Jizhong decided to go with new faces because he said he can't afford to cast big names such as Huang Xiaoming and Deng Chao anymore, though they were affordable back when he casted them as Yang Guo / Zhang Wuji. Most of wuxia productions would spend half of budget to pay the actors (to get ratings), ZJZ thinks that it's ridiculous, he prefer cast affordable new faces and spend the rest of the budget for other props. He doesn't care about ratings, he just want to make an adaptation that does justice to the novel.
-Zhang Jizhong had been going back and forth to Hongkong, July last year, to have discussions with Jin Yong himself about the details in "Xia Ke Xing" novel. The script had been modified 5 times based on his discussions with Jin Yong.
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lol, I like how JY and ZJZ looks like buddies.