Chang'an shi er shi chen

It's more like a long movie. Absolutely a marvel. Complex but easy to follow storyline, great characters, twists and an amazing chase scene.

A high-quality series with dynamic scenes, action in almost every episode and no wire fu. Chang'an life, architecture, and crowd scenes are well covered. I can't comment on the historical accuracy, but the attention to detail seems more thorough than in other Chinese series I've watched.

The show has many pros and the script is not one of them. The plot twists are predictable. They focus on the main character until the last episodes, where the focus shifts towards the secondary characters. As a result, it is not clear who to feel for and why.

It is commendable that there is no division into good and evil. However, there are so many characters and not one of them opens up completely. They try to use flashbacks, but it doesn't work well: here are some tough guys today, and here's a five-minute dive into the past. Now I know them well enough to drop a tear! It would be easier to sympathize with Zhang Xiaojing if he was the main character in more than just the first 2/3 of the series.

The last 1/3 of the script seems to have been censored and rewritten due to some political reasons. The conversations in favor of the poor look ridiculous. Officials lecturing the emperor in the presence of the crowd, seriously?

In short, the series raises the quality standards for subsequent shows. It's nice to watch and never gets boring. Personally, I won't watch it again: it doesn't evoke any deep emotions because of the flaws mentioned above.

The author of the original novel is the best novelist (maybe one of the best if you want to nitpick) and the show kept all its spirit and visualized all the elements from Chinese culture in a splendid way! Bravo! (It's not a paid endorsement.)

This an epic 48 episode movie. Story, dialog, cinematography, action sequences, music, intensity, costume, set design, explosions, suspense, drama, acting, character development, all on a stunning level like you have never seen before.

The Chang'an in poet Lee Bai's poems are presented so beautifully on screen here. It's like a time-machine that takes you back to this ancient world to experience all the beauty, culture, joy, sadness, loyalty, and betrayal it has to offer with its heroes, villains, and the in-betweens.

Zhang Xiaojing is a real Tang Dynasty superhero in recorded history. The actor who portrayed him went through major changes from his usual image and style and spent long hours training in combat for the show and did an incredible job.

Those chase/combat scenes intertwined with the outdoors Chang'an Idols showdown were absolutely amazing. The humbling and self-reflecting moments with the emperor were also some of my favorites parts of the story.

When the show is over I felt like I woke up from a beautiful and adventurous dream and yearning to go back to experience it all again.

Well written, great acting, awesome plots and smarts. Highly recommended. I binge-watched this for a couple of days.