The Vigilantes In Masks / Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei

  

Summary:
Li Ge Xiao is skilled in martial arts and has the brain to match it. In his former life, he was a high ranking Marshal with great law enforcement authority. But after his enemy framed him with false crime and executed his family, he went on the run. Years later, he came out of hiding to help a former colleague recover stolen gold for disaster relief. With his new partners, thief Yan San Niang, grafter He Xiao Mei, and muscle Chai Hu, they formed a bandit called "Yi Zhi Mei" that robs the rich and the corrupted and gives to the poor and the helpless.

- Dramawiki



Cast:

Wallace Huo as Li Ge Xiao 

Liu Shi Shi as Yan San Niang

Ma Tian Yu as He Xiao Mei 

Shi Yan Neng as Chai Hu

Edwin Siu as Ying Wu Qiu 

CoAige's Review:


If you're looking for a sweet romantic story, this is definitetly not your choice. There's not much romance in it, and Li Ge Xiao and Yan San Niang didn't officially end up together until the last three episodes or so. But, they did have quite a cute chemistry together. It's not your typical "I love you for the rest of my life, and I can't live without you" type of love either. Li Ge Xiao was actually married to Ru Yi first, until she died... Then it took hecka long for Li Ge Xiao to actually start liking San Niang. Yeah... definetly not a cute love story.


But, if you're looking for cool fighting scenes, evil plans, save the world type of dramas, you've found the right one! (Talking about evilness, if you know someone like Ying Wu Qiu who hates you, I sincerely feel sorry for you. If you're as genious as Li Ge Xiao, that's great to hear, but if not, good luck to you.) The fighting scenes are pretty good too. Lots of hand- to hand fighting and not too much colorful special effects. (Nowadays, those special effected fighting scenes are so colorful. So much for being creative. They're not really even "fighting." Soon, I bet they're going to be shooting out bullets and trees.)

I really enjoyed how this drama emphasized alot on Yi Zhi Mei's friendship. The faith, courage, and bond they had together was so strong. I mean who doesn't want good buddies for life? They exchanged their life with their family and lots of money for a life as bandits and nearly getting killed all the time... Which doesn't exactly sound tempting to me, but luckily they always got out safely.
The most disappointing part was the ending story with Yan Shi Fan. Apparently, he's a genious, and posed the biggest threat to Yi Zhi Mei. At first, he did outsmart Li Ge Xiao, but after that, Yi Zhi Mei defeated him in one shot. So much for a genious. I expected him to pose a bigger threat. It's not like I wanted my precious Li Ge Xiao and Yi Zhi Mei to get injured, but come on... really? Was that all he could do for a genious? I don't expect him to be Albert Einstein, but at least he showed off his so-called geniousness. The other disappointing part was the cherry tree scenes. Seriously.... can it get faker than that? With the wonderful sceneries in chinese dramas, was it really neccessary to have fake cherry trees? Everything was nice until the cherry trees.... it just killed it.


The ending itself was pretty good. They didn't rush it like most dramas do. Of course, the good people win, the bad people die, and everyone is living happily ever after. The End.

Wallace Huo as Li Ge Xiao
 Li Ge Xiao is a true genious. Of course, he doesn't "e=mc^2" everyday. He's the mysterious, thinks of an awesome super cool plan without telling you, type of guy. He's the definition of a perfect guy. Smart, nice, good looking, and humorous at times. What else can you ask for? I'm quite impressed with his actings. I've always liked his acting, but this time, he was able to portray the different sides of Li Ge Xiao so well. Of course, I have to give credit to the scriptwriters for writing such a good story and awesome character like him.
I also like his hairstyle during the drama. It looks good on him. Hehe =] Definitely better than his style as a marshal.


Liu Shi Shi as Yan San Niang
I've got to say, Liu Shi Shi improved alot. From Mu Nian Ci(Legend of the Condor Heroes) to Long Kui (Chinese Paladin 3), she is more expressionful (not sure if that's a word) now. Plus, the character Yan San Niang is a bit different from her previous "innocent" roles, so she can show a different side of her. Honestly, I like San Niang's character. It's not like the drama gives you another choice since she's the only main girl, but she's tough and she's not useless. (You know, those girls who can only whine and can't fight and has to be saved and is so super annoying and isn't even pretty when she's "supposed" to be and is bossy and.... I'm not even going to rant on.)

Edwin Siu as Ying Wu Qiu
He definetly improved a whole lot too. He was EVIL. VERY EVIL. I seriously wanted to punch him in the face. But, that proves his acting. It was quite a breakthrough role for him compared to the TVB drama "Can't Buy Me Love." The two character was completely different. I felt that his character had the most depth compared to everyone else. (You'll understand if you know his intentions and love for Ru Yi. I don't want to spoil it for you.) But, his character was quite pathetic. Everytime he tried to capture Yi Zhi Mei, he fails cause Li Ge Xiao is smarter. (Have you ever realized in dramas, the bad people are always succeed in their missions until they meet the main character. After that, they are doomed to failure everytime. They should realize that the scriptwriter won't let them succeed. That way, they can just give up before they die.)


Ma Tian Yu as He Xiao Mei
I never understood how Xiao Mei can change his appearance like that. Does he just bring masks around with him all the time? It's logically impossible. (Not like wuxia dramas are logical anyways. I'm sure people can "fly around" and "dodge every single arrows.") Ma Tian Yu did quite well, though Xiao Mei's character wasn't really a hard character to play. The character didn't really have any character developments and he never needed any expressions in general. But, the person who dubbed Ma Tian Yu's voice was quite good. It pretty much portrayed Xiao Mei's wimpy character.


Shi Yan Neng as Cai Hu

I don't like people who don't think and acts rashly, and that's pretty much Cai Hu. But, he can be funny at times, so that helps a bit. His character was pretty average and his acting was quite average too. Nothing superb about him.