Showing posts with label Edwin Siu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edwin Siu. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

"A Great Way to Care 2" Review by Lynne


If you ask me whether "A Great Way to Care 2" is better than it's prequel or not, the answer would be no. But if you ask me whether it's a good series or not, I would say that it was an enjoyable watch. So depending on the question, this review will come out differently. For this review, I'm just going to be talking about "A Great Way to Care 2" without making any comparisons to it's prequel. (I will then later write one comparing the two.)

General Storyline: With a mixture of psychiatry and police work, "A Great Way to Care 2"'s story line weaves in between the two forces as they work together and solve the cases. From the forensic psychiatry branch: Alex Fong, Yoyo Mung, Edwin Siu, Power Chan, Oscar Leung, Eric Li, Henry Lee and Christine Kuo. The police force consists of Ben Wong and Tavia Yeung. Aside from these two main teams, other supporting characters also includes Ram Chiang, Aimee Chan and Leanne Li.

Waste of a Good Cast? I initially wanted to list all the character names of the artistes but as you guys can see, there were just too many names. Unfortunately out of that chunk, only a few were focused on. There were just too many necessary characters, or should I say, the characters were too small for the assigned artistes. With other series lacking artistes, they just had to throw a bunch into "A Great Way to Care 2". Trying to make it 'star-studded'?  Meh.  I found it frustrating.

You know what? It would've been alright if the series focused on the cases alone. But no, that didn't happen.  Instead, there were a bunch of unnecessary side-stories thrown into the script to distribute the screen time to all the characters. That's why the typical cases that are usually 1-3 episodes long stretched to 6-7 episodes. While I was okay with it in the first 1-2 cases (because they had to introduce the characters), it got on my nerves afterwards as I struggled to focus on the continuously "disrupted" cases.

Overall comments, a lot of the cast members could have been put to better use.

Characters and Acting:

Alex Fong
I was not a big fan of Alex Fong, but I've begun to like him since "A Great Way to Care". Resuming his role as Ko Lap Yan, his character did not differ much beside the huge screen-time cut! It is such a pity because I actually like Ko Lap Yan alot, and was looking forward to watching him every time he appeared onscreen.

Best scene? It'd have to be the one where he was reading Monkey's (Kate Tsui) letters. Didn't think Alex would be good in an emotional scene like this, but he proved me wrong.

Though Alex often comes off monotone, there is something about the guy that makes him interesting to watch. I cannot clearly describe it, but it's definitely not something a lot of actors can do nowadays. So despite the fact that he had little screen-time in each episode, I can still feel that he's leading the series.

Edwin Siu
His character had the potential to shine but that did not happen. If I were to define Leung Kai Wing by a geometric shape, he'd be a circle. Absolutely pointless. Wanna know his story line?
"I have a crush on this girl and is trying to woo her (lasted for half of the series). Finally got together with her! But wait, my childhood friend. I want to be there and protect her too. So in the end, who should I choose? I love both Q.Q Becomes a two-timer. Busted. Realization. Too late."
While I may have exaggerated this a bit, it's still pretty close to what actually happened.  Honestly they should have just crossed Scarlett (Christine Kuo) out of the whole picture (bias here because I actually really enjoyed the scenes he had with Aimee Chan).  Personally disappointed by how much they focused on his love life instead of his profession when he's one of the main characters.

Acting wise, Edwin is a capable actor and was funny at times in the series.  Unfortunately his story line was just nonsense.

Yoyo Mung
Don't let her position on the poster fool you. As a matter of fact, she and Edwin should switch places on that thing! Yoyo Mung barely had any screen-time and when she did, her sub story was boring and random. Maybe the scriptwriters/producers realized that they did not give her any screen-time even after the first 8 episodes or something, and so had to squeeze in that story about Franco And speaking of Franco, we never got to see his face or anything but at least we got to see his shadow right? Had an entire episode dedicated to that guy! Overall, she serves little purpose to the series and is only there because TVB wanted to push more stars in.

Putting my rants aside, Yoyo's "Cheuk Wai Kui" was pleasant to watch. I really liked her personality: stubborn and straight forward. Her relationship with her subordinates is quite cute and I love how they call her "Big Brother". And when she got "together" with Alex Fong, they called Alex dai sao (sister-in-law). Though this character is nothing new for Yoyo, I still enjoyed seeing her again (which is why I am unhappy that she did not have much screen-time).

Tavia Yeung
If there's a character worth watching for, it would be Lam Chung Yan. She first appeared as the daring and spunky prostitute who then turns out to be an undercover cop. TVB always like to surprise us don't they? Anyways, after she finished her case, Chung Yan returned to being a cop and begins to work under Chung Kwok Ban (Ben Wong). Growing up as an orphan, Chung Yan endured many hardships and there were a number of times when she almost lost her life too. But even then, she continued to live on an optimistic life. Unfortunately there is a limit to all of us and she eventually reached the level that she herself could no longer handle...

To be honest, I think a majority of the series was dedicated to Tavia Yeung. Thus she ended up being one of the very few with a decent character development. Thoroughly enjoyed Tavia's performance and notably in episode 23.

As for her pairing with Ben Wong, there was nothing special going on. Instead, I think that it would've been better if Alex paired up with Tavia since I liked the two of them together. But then, Alex would be dating another police woman like he did in the prequel. What are the possibilities of TVB copying something from the prequel into the sequel? BTW, this is within that rare percentage that they did not.


The 'Others' While I would love to talk more about the other characters, there is little to talk about due to their minimal screen-time. So I'm just going to sum it up that the rest of the cast were great with the exception of Christine Kuo.  I'm relatively easy going when I talk about newcomers (or at least I think I am), but Christine has driven me to the point where I want to bang my head against the wall.  More so than the bad acting, it's the fact that her acting is going absolutely nowhere.  Back in "Ghetto Justice 2", I understand that her character in there may have been too complicated for her to portray.  But even in here, she's still not giving me much to look out for.  Acting in 8 or so series already, I expect her to be a bit better than now.

**To make it clear I am not criticizing her accent because I do not know Canto :P  Just the acting (ie. facial expressions, body language etc).

The Cases:  I would talk about each individual case if I wasn't so confused which case is which.

While there are a few main cases that are featured in the series, there were also a lot of sub-cases within those big cases that confused me.  So I'll only talk about a few:

Otto Chan and Aimee Chan:  Wrote this in a separate post before-hand.

The Pedophile Case:  This case focused on Chung Yan (Tavia)'s childhood friends, who she considers as brothers.  They grew up together in an orphanage: Chiu, Wai, Man and Yan.  Unfortunately Man disappeared when they were young.  Chiu and Yan then ended up working for the government (police officer and the other a lawyer).  On the other hand, Wai is crippled and often went into debts.  On with the case; a few murders took place.  Father, the one who took care of them (Yan, Chiu, Wai and Man) then confessed that he was the one who killed them.  Why?  Father works as a volunteer for a kids recreation center and cares a lot for the kids.  Later, he discovered that some of the kids were being sexually abused by a volunteer, foster father etc and thus couldn't stand it and killed all those pedophiles.  Eventually, we find out that he's taking up the blame for someone else (though the true murderer is also killed for the same reason).

While the identity of the murderer did not surprise me, I liked how the case slowly unwrapped itself.  Though the subject (issue) is something that's also used in other series, the length and the pace this one went at made it even more disturbing.  Honestly, I just really wanted the case to end because as it goes on more victims would be discovered and I just couldn't handle it.  More so, as it progressed I began to think of such situations happening in reality (which I know are not rare cases) and I just felt worse from there...

There are things in life you just wish you did not know because you won't have to worry or get hurt by it.  But then if you don't know about it, you can't do anything to help solve the problem.  On the other hand, there are so many things that is not within our power to resolve even when we do have knowledge of the issue.  I find it quite ironic how Ah Chiu is the murderer even though he's a lawyer.  Though he may work in the legal field, Ah Chiu couldn't see how law can punish those pedophiles and therefore took the matter into his own hands.  Thus this case in turn displays the imperfections of our justice system (nothing is perfect).  I personally pity Ah Chiu despite his wrongdoings and was saddened by his death in the end.

***Pedophilia is actually a psychiatric disorder.  

Serial Killer Case:  A number of people are killed and the police is investigating who the murderer is.  This is the last case of the series and it was quite interesting to watch.  Though I must say that its ending felt kind of disrupt.  (Not going to talk about it anymore since I don't want to give away spoilers.)

The Unnecessary Bits:
1)  Just cross out that whole love triangle between Edwin, Christine and Aimee.  More so, just cross out Christine because I liked Edwin's and Aimee's characters together.
2)  Yoyo getting a sperm donation from Alex.  While it increased their interaction with each other, it just felt ridiculous.  Although I know that they wanted to get the two 'together', this development was too hard to absorb.
3)  You know what, there's probably more but those two up above were the most frustrating to watch.

The Ending:
Here we have two professional psychiatrists helping a murderer escape.  Sounds a bit sketchy?  I can understand why they would want to help her, but yet at the same time, their whole set up is kind of ridiculous.  More so, even if she did manage to escape from the police, how in the world is she going to board the plane?  I'm sure the police would have restricted her (passport profile) from crossing the borders (or something like that).  Overall, it just seems too irrational.  I guess TVB wanted to be creative and add a "twist" to the ending.  Unfortunately, it didn't turn out so well.

Overall Thoughts:
"A Great Way to Care 2"'s story line did not run as smoothly since it kind of jumped from one character to the next, but the series overall is not bad to watch.  It's actually one of the more enjoyable series released this year and if you have time, I would recommend it.  But if you're one of those who loved the original "A Great Way to Care", just watch this without comparing it too much to the prequel, since it focuses less on psychiatry and more on the police force.

Monday, June 25, 2012

A.E. Insights: Current and Rising Siu Sangs of TVB

It's been many years since TVB raised and promoted their last group of siu sangs (Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong, Ron Ng, and Kenneth Ma). These four men all had different strengths and weaknesses, and are all now at varied peaks and lows in their careers. With many artists busy with looking for other work and money making opportunities, TVB is now left in a dilemma. So our question is...

TOPIC: What is your opinion of the previous promoted siu sangs and how are they doing so many years later? Also, with the drainage of lead actors, who should become the next siu sangs?


Iris: Raymond, Bosco, Ron, and Kenneth are all successful now, but at differing degrees.  I personally think they're all talented and handsome guys, but very different from each other and now all at different positions.


If you had asked me who was my favorite out of the four before "Moonlight Resonance" came out in 2008, I would've quickly said Raymond Lam.  Besides being good looking, he had the best acting chops out of the four and most charisma.  He delivered memorable performances that left an impact.  From 2002's "A Step into the Past" to 2006's "La Femme Desperado", there was no question: Raymond was definitely the best actor out of the new generation.  I absolutely loved him in "Survivor's Law".  He shined as the kind, witty, passionate, yet slightly gullible lawyer.  Unfortunately, his career made a turn for the worst following the hugely successful "Moonlight Resonance". His popularity skyrocketed, and he received characters that capitalized on his success as an idol/pretty face instead of the talented actor he truly is. All of his roles since MR have been boring and fail to show his versatility and charm.  Nowadays though, I wouldn't say I have a favorite out of the four.  What about you, Niki?

Niki: Now I'm desperately trying to remember some of the older series I've seen them in and drawing a blank, hehe > u <; I did remember Raymond in "La Femme Desperado", Raymond did have a very likable character. His acting was natural and playful and he carried the emotions well. Yeah, his characters now emphasize on his looks and the characters themselves had nothing much to them. But I don't think I had a favorite, just because I didn't really know or bother to pay attention to the actors back then. Now, I think I would choose Kenneth as my favorite. He's a pretty good actor and his sweet and innocent personality outside just makes me favor him a bit more.  


Iris: Kenneth would probably be my current choice in terms of solely acting and personality.  He's shown acting skills and vast improvements.  I also really like his offscreen personality as well, as he is a modest, humble, shy, yet playful and youthful person.  However, like many people have noted, Kenneth lacks the charisma.  He has the likability and sincerity, but not the "X-Factor" that some people are just born with, which affects how memorable he can or can not be in his performances.

As for Bosco and Ron, they were more of the "heart throbs" back when they first started with mainly teenage fan bases.  In contrast to Kenneth, they have the charisma, but are not as skilled in the acting department.  In recent years, they've been demoted to second lead roles.  In Bosco's case, this has actually come to benefit him.  Not quite ready to take on lead roles, being demoted allow him to take on different roles and develop his acting more in a smaller capacity.  This setback paid off for him as he received critical acclaim for his supporting role in "Lives of Omission".


Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse for Ron.  He gave the most memorable performance of his career when reprising the role of "Chung Lap Man" in "E.U." in 2009, and was the most natural and emotive he had ever been.  He continued giving solid performances in "A Chip Off the Old Block" and "OL Supreme", successfully shedding his "impulsive hothead" typecast.  However, with his vast improvements, he became demoted to second lead and 2011 became the worst year for him so far in terms of roles and performances.  They all either lacked a dynamic, were underdeveloped, or just plain unlikable, not allowing him to show his acting skill.  Even in "L'Escargot", he was only able to show his acting in his one crying scene.  Real life girlfriend Viann Zhang has only caused the actor more trouble and career bumpiness.  What is your opinion on Bosco and Ron?

Niki: Yeah, I get what you mean. Kenneth is sincere, but when it comes to charisma, he's beaten. For Bosco, I did take notice that he has a broader range of characters to work with. He turned from a witty and playful cop in "7 Days in Life" to the sly and manipulative gangster in "Lives of Omission" and managed to portray the characters well. Bosco can definitely take advantage of the demotion as his chance to improve his acting skills and he also has Myolie supporting him mentally (and also perhaps through the very expensive gifts they like to give each other). As for Ron, I really feel sorry for him. When he finally improves, his characters couldn't get more boring. I hope he gets better characters soon and also that his girlfriend won't keep making trouble for him to fix. Speaking of "OL Supreme" though, I really liked his dorky character "Ah K"; he was so cute there. This year, I would say his character in "Forensic Heroes" was likable and had potential. But in the end, he didn't have enough screen time and the character ended up being under developed. If it wasn't for that, maybe that character could have been a pick up for Ron this year. For "L' Escargot" though, I remember you mentioning that even though his acting was solid during that emotive scene he was still over shadowed by Linda?


So, Ron's heart breaking tale aside and moving on from our old siu sangs, who do you think will be the up and coming ones?

Iris: Yes, Linda received praise for her crying scene when all she did was scrunch up her face and force out a couple tears. Meanwhile, Ron fully emoted and even had snot coming out of his nose. I hope in the future, Ron will get better roles before I completely forget he's a decent actor.

And now to discuss the next siu sangs of TVB.  Ruco Chan and Raymond Wong are the latest to have been promoted to lead actor, and both came with over a decade of experience.  This makes it hard for the young and newer actors to catch up.  Most recently, Jason Chan has been given the chance to lead in an upcoming series with Linda, so that will be interesting to watch.  Jason's handsome and friendly exterior, coupled with his educated and modest personality make him very likable.  However, his acting is still green and could use a lot of work.


Niki: Ah yes, Jason. I heard that he was being promoted lately. What is his drama with Linda? His acting should improve as he goes along.

There's also Matthew Ko, who was recently in "Sergeant Tabloid". I don't know if he's going to be a siu sang in the future, since his acting still needs work. But his character in "Sergeant Tabloid" was cute and likable, and he was able to garner some attention. It was a good improvement from when he was in "Man in Charge", where he was still unnatural and quite wooden in front of the camera. His handsome and charming looks makes him a good candidate to promote though. I also appreciate his straightforward personality.  It's quite refreshing.

Iris: Jason and Linda are starring in "Ferris Wheel of Happiness", which is a romance drama I think.  It is a smaller production, so it'll allow Jason to improve without having such a large weight on his shoulders.


I agree with what you said about Matthew.  He showed significant improvements in "Sergeant Tabloid", but I'm unsure as to if his acting truly improved or if it was the character.  Whatever it is, he shows potential.  He has the looks and charm, and is starting to improve.  I also like his straightforward and honest personality, which is hard to come by in the entertainment industry.  He's not ready to be lead yet, but I hope TVB gives him good supporting roles and potentially groom him into a siu sang in the future.

The one I have the most confidence in being the next siu sang though, is Edwin Siu.  He has been in the industry since 2002 and starred in "Aqua Heroes" in 2004, where his acting was mediocre.  However, since returning to TVB in 2008 and restarting his whole career, his acting has improved by heaps and bounds.  He's worked very hard, and it shows.  This year, he surprised and impressed everyone with his comedic talent in "Daddy Good Deeds" and made a complete 360 in "Gloves Come Off" as a semi-villain.  He has the hardworking and modest personality, charm, talent, and handsome yet cute looks.  He definitely has what it takes, and has the most range of all the rising actors right now.  All I'm saying is, he better get the recognition and promotion he deserves!


Niki: Edwin definitely has what it takes to become a siu sang. If TVB would open its eyes and promote him better I would be so happy. He was adorable in "Daddy Good Deeds"; he and Steven were the best part of the show. He really surprised me with his role in "Gloves Come Off". I didn't expect it, but he was actually able to scare me. His character didn't get that much screen time, being a minor role, but Edwin really shined and made the most out of it.

But speaking of recognition, Him Law is getting a lot of attention lately and all for the wrong things. All we've been hearing lately is rumors and scandals of Him, from him dating Tavia to the photo shoot case, as opposed to his acting. However, he is a pretty good actor, and his popularity is growing right now. So what do you think of him as a future siu sang?


Iris:
Out of the younger guys, Him is the most natural actor. He has a lot of potential and has improved. However, he is definitely getting recognized for all the wrong things and has become a regular tabloid target. His real life personality is probably the worst out of everyone's with a history of domestic violence and several scandals, which makes it hard for me to look beyond it and truly enjoy his acting nowadays. Him is probably TVB's first choice to promote right now, but I hope Edwin gets the recognition he deserves too and that Him matures. In general, Him is an actor who I like as an actor, but not as a person.

In contrast to Him, Vincent Wong is someone whose real life personality is very likable but his acting leaves much to be desired. I have heard good things about Vincent being a friendly
and down to earth person, and something about him makes him seem approachable, unlike Him. His acting though is only acceptable. He presents likability in his performances, but doesn't possess a lot of charm and his acting still needs work. He is most likely not becoming a siu sang anytime soon too, as he is a new father and he and wife Yoyo Chen are taking off time from acting.


Niki: Him really does have the worse personality out of the potential stars right now. He should change that soon or it could be what ruins him. And I agree with what you said about Vincent. His acting is nothing special, but his personality is very likable. Even though he's not going to become a siu sang anytime soon, it's nice that he's spending some time with his family.

Another rising star seems to be Benjamin Yuen. He has been getting praises lately for his acting in the sitcom "Til Love Do Us Lie" and in "Hippocratic Crush". After watching these two series, I can say that Benjamin has good acting skills. He's natural in his performance and is likable, but his roles are still limited. Looks wise, he's not extremely handsome but still possesses a good amount of charisma. While he's a good actor and has the charisma, I still don't see him in a lead role yet. Perhaps it's because he hasn't gotten too many significant roles yet, but he's someone to look out for.


Iris: I didn't watch either series, but I have heard many good things about Benjamin's performance and character. I actually first noticed him back when he debuted in "Your Class or Mine", which was also where I first noticed Him. It's nice to see that he's showing more potential and talent. He's far from being lead actor material right now, but it's nice to see him getting praise and more major roles.

One last notable actor is Oscar Leung, who has consistently given solid and memorable performances despite portraying minor roles. His popularity and recognition level has increased since "L'Escargot", which makes me happy. For some reason, I can't seem to see him in a lead role though. He's probably not very favored by TVB executives. Perhaps second male lead?

With the drainage of artists and amount of artists that are still relatively green, it's hard to choose who has what it takes to be the next few siu sangs. I think just having the guys experiment with different and increasingly major roles will tell. If I were to pick a few that could potentially be the next group of siu sangs though, I'd say promote and invest in Edwin Siu and Him Law, then train Jason Chan, Matthew Ko, and Benjamin Yuen to eventually fill the void. The one with the most popularity is definitely Him, but I think Edwin will have the most successful long time career. All these guys have their individual charms, strengths, and weaknesses, and I'm interested in seeing where their careers take them the next few years.


Niki: I can't see Oscar in a leading role either, but he does definitely deserves bigger roles. Second lead should be appropriate, he'll be able to expand his abilities further.

The next couple of years will surely be interesting. The artists drainage will provide a great opportunities for these new batch of artists to rise. Their career roads should be bright if they take this chance to improve themselves. With so many artists leaving now hopefully TVB will take good advantage of these potential stars. In time, with some polishing, training, and investment Edwin Siu, Him Law, Jason Chan, Matthew Ko, and Benjamin Yuen will be ready to make up for the lack in leads.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

TVB: "Forensic Heroes 3" Review



Watch with low expectations and an open mind.  By doing so, this reboot of the beloved franchise can actually be very enjoyable and relaxing to watch.  While not extraordinary by any means, "Forensic Heroes 3" is one of the standouts of 2011 for its decent entertainment value and great cast.

Characters and Cast Performances
A reboot of such a loved series with a new cast and characters could've been a disaster.  However, TVB was able to assemble a great cast that worked extremely well together.  Nevertheless, I wish they had just given it a different name.  By carrying the "Forensic Heroes" name, it angered and turned away (close minded) fans of the first two and ended chances of another installment with the original cast.



Wayne Lai - Pro Sir
Good actor, solid performance, but flat character with not much substance.  Pro Sir was likable, but more could've been done with him.  However, I enjoyed the scenes with his family (played by Yuen Wah and talented child actress Moon Chan).

Maggie Cheung - Mandy Chung
Finally, a character and performance from Maggie I can actually consider a good comeback!  Having been the original choice to play Yoyo Mung's character in the first "Forensic Heroes", it was nice to TVB to invite her to replace Charmaine Sheh.  This worked out well, as Maggie did a solid job portraying Mandy's professional as well as off-work side.

Kate Tsui - Ada Ling
Is it unrealistic for a senior inspector to curl her hair every morning?  Yes.  But you have to cut Kate some slack as it is TVB's wardrobe and hair and make up department that dictates artiste's look for the series.  For whatever reason, they always make Kate look most feminine when she's playing a cop.  How contradicting.  I can't deny that she looks very pretty and stylish here.  Loved her hair and clothes!  In the time where the young people are taking over TVB, I was able to overlook how oddly young Kate and Ron were to be senior inspectors.

Appearance and casting decisions aside, Kate was cute and fierce as a tough and smart cop.  Her reactions to Ko Sir's pursuit of her were too hilarious and adorable.  Her acting has become a lot more convincing and gradually becoming more natural.

Ron Ng - Wind
"Wind" is one of Ron's worst roles in years.  The character was boring, undeveloped, and had very little screen time.  Even Edwin had more to do than him!  Ron has improved so much as an actor, but hasn't been able to show it for a while.  At the least, he was likable, unlike in "Wax and Wane".

Edwin Siu - Ken Ho
I know Edwin's acting has vastly improved since his return to TVB, but his performance as "Ken" justifies it.  He is cute, lively, and extremely likable.  However, it was his acting in the finale that blew me away.  His emotional and crying scenes were superb and he definitely should've been nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Most Improved.  Happy to see TVB is promoting him and am looking forward to seeing him in more major roles.

Aimee Chan - Angel Chiang
Her accent is still strong but it was funny how everybody poked fun at her for being an "ABC".

Ruco Chan - Jim Fong
A huge step down from "Keith" as "Jim" lacked substance, but he was still likable and charming as always.

Nancy Wu - Eva Chow
What a refreshing and different role for Nancy!  She was superb as the driven and capable lawyer.  Although she had a strong desire to win cases at all costs, she was proven to still be human.

Character Dynamics
Wayne and Maggie's relationship was subtle and sweet.  It was too obvious how compatible they were from the beginning.

Despite the age differences and appearance incompatibility, Wayne&Nancy and Maggie&Ruco's relationship as well as Maggie and Kate's friendship were all convincing and enjoyable to watch.  Wayne, Nancy, and their family were fun to watch.   The family's subsequent struggle was sad.

Maggie and Ruco's short lived relationship was sweet.  It was refreshing to see that both consistently acted like the mature and logical adults they were, right down to their break up.  This made it very easy to watch them.

Kate and Maggie were a great representation of modern career women who are best friends.  They look so incompatible appearance wise, but Maggie's professionalism and Kate's ability to get along with her co-stars makes it work well.

Kate and Ron's "brothers to lovers" love story was disappointing. They were cute together and Ron's confession to her on the rooftop was sweet.  Due to Wind's flat characterization, the two's relationship was mostly unfulfilled potential.

Finding the Balance
In the first half of the series, case after case is thrown at you.  There was barely any focus on the characters themselves.  The dominance of the cases in the storyline made me worry it'd go down the road of wasted character potential.  Luckily, it started to slow down and balance cases and relationships in the second half.

The Cases
Decent yet forgettable, and most of them predictable.  As I'm writing this, I've already forgotten most of them.  The first one was extremely predictable, most likely to throw us off that the rest would be as equally predictable.  The cases could've been better, but could've been a lot worse.  The forensics here were less impressive and not as focused on as in the original.

Conclusion
"Forensic Heroes 3" isn't outstanding, but addictive, entertaining, and enjoyable.  Unlike the first two, it branches beyond the field of forensics and has a more diverse cast.  With low expectations, I was able to enjoy FH3 more than almost any other series this year.

Rating: 4 stars

*Written by Iris.
*Originally posted on TVB Interaction
*View on original site here.