Naqib S

i watch this after Vagabond and the quality gap is quite apparent. The scriptwriting is not as meticulous, and there are plot holes with "huh?' moment in it. The structure is weird with a lot of confusing flashbacks. My biggest gripe is how the characters doesn't age consistently. For example, you would realise this in the (many) flashback that 30 years ago the old guys look the same, but in current timeline the old guy doest get older but the kids have grown up to adults. Or another instance, in the flashback the adult reporter save the school kid and back in current time they are both in love and seemingly same age. There are few parts of the plots that are just lazy scriptwriting- things that were done at the convenience of achieving the storyline (that makes you roll your eyes). Also, it drags too much. Each episode is 1.5 hours long and the build up is so slow. Definitely need to resist the urge to play at 1.5 speed or fast forward a few times. Some scenes are repeated so many times, with a piece of new info included each time. Each episode is exhausting due to its length & not good for binge watching. The visual wasn't the best. Camera works and lighting have that typical TV drama feel to it sometimes, unlike Vagabond or Vincenzo that showcase a superior movie quality. I feel like i need to consistently find motivation to finish the drama, just because i have started watching it, not because of how im glued to the story. Not a solid one, but the finale was spectacular. Definitely the best finale ive seen, it just wrapped things up tightly, no loose end, and every character get closures. Too bad it took too long to get there. p/s: even after i finish the series, im still confused about the characters whos who. so many characters all with difficult names (to me)

Summary: The worst Disney ive seen. Just, dont. Ive been hearing great reviews about this movie and during my country lockdown, i finally get to watch it. Oh man what an over hyped one. 1. The first thing that hit me was its not beautiful. The character concept seems unfinished. The settings were half heartedly done. The animation was meh. The dragon moments at the end where they were jumping on water was nice tbh, but so many moments in the movie that made you question "is this the 2021 movie everyone was talking about? Im i watching the wrong one?". Im from SEA myself, and to my SEA friends you can relate if i say the anination is upin ipin level at times (except the dragons) 2. Its forgettable - the characters seems arbitrary. No character development that makes you emotionally attached to the characters and by the end of it, all you remember is the baby, the boy, the huge guy, raya, sisa, the villain. I cant even remember their names cos they were made unimportant in the movie. 3. Pacing & dialogues - a mess. No focus, wasnt executed properly. The dialogue tone suddenly shift from land far away to jenny-from-the-block soon as the dragon enters. 4. The theme - this was the biggest disaster. The theme was trust but over and over again the movie show how trust is easily broken, and trusting someone will result in something bad. The theme itself backfires. And in the ending scene, that to me wasnt trust. That was just hopelessness and given up. Raya did trust the undercut girl (again, the name doesnt stick), but the rest of the gang dont and they just gave up. 5. Was there even a sountrack? Cant remember a theme song. Was a first for me to finish a disney and not humming the tune. We ve been waiting for SEA disney representation and this is a disappointment.