Jane Zhu

In a day and age where every poorly written Netflix series is getting rave reviews, and films with decent acting and storylines like these are getting panned. I wanted to say that if you enjoyed anything these two actors were in, you'll likely enjoy this film. It was a solid watch and a great throwback to a different time in cinema.

The voice acting for the main character is so annoying it's distracting.

This was so disappointing. If you're a millennial, classic Chinese film/show fan like me (mainland/HK/Taiwan), there's a slim chance you will find this show even half as entertaining as any of those productions. This show needs to figure out who their audience is because it plays out like an Asian show trying to educate their audience about Asian culture, rather than just a show with Asians in it. Episodes are written like their fans are all suburban non-asian folks that have had absolutely no exposure to Asian culture. I'm all for a little easter egg or witty reference every now and then but this was so excruciating to watch. It's like the show was announcing "hey look I'm an Asian" every five seconds, or some "How to Asian 101" guide in television format. The worst part? A lot of the crucial depictions of Chinese culture were clearly portrayed from the observations of a non-native/westerners perspective. ie. The high end cuisine? Fancy dimsum. Nicely plated duck wraps. If you're going to led any authenticity to the fact that these highly prestigious people flying in from Asia with unlimited financial resources who are going to eat a high end meal, at least make it seem somewhat believable. Even if it's supposed to be an amateur cook, even if they're supposed to be seated individually Western style. Not even crab, or lobster, or even a fish? Come on. I know these are details but this is the stuff that annoyed me to no end. All in all I liked the production value, and the story was interesting, but the writing and the overt pushing of "Asian culture" were cringe/cheesy at times and made it hard to watch. *Also I agree with some of the other viewers about the casual treatment of death interspersed with what seems to be attempts at humor to make it palatable. "The Marvelization" of death and killing if you will. tldr; if you like Crazy Rich Asians, you'll like this. If you like mainland/hk/taiwanese cinema, this isn't for you.