Sushi's TVB Dramas

English Title: A Fistful of Stances

Chinese Title: 鐵馬尋橋

Cast: Kenneth Ma, Kevin Cheng, Yuen Qiu, Stephen Wong, Alex Lam, Natalie Tong, Shirley Yeung, Chung King Fai, Eileen Yeow, Lee Sing Cheung, Dominic Lam, Kara Hui, Selena Li, Jacky Heung, Nancy Wu, Angela Tong, Tavia Yeung.

Download Links:

Episode 1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RXI6UGAO

Episode 2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F9MA5DHZ

Episode 3: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X1L6VGTO

Episode 4: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPZB8DAX

Episode 5: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O2M0TRCF

Episode 6: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=12FR08XT

Episode 7: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q1OOQNNA

Episode 8: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OBPNWB6X

Episode 9: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BV083PC8

Episode 10: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JEA20C2D

Episode 11: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R6BN6B17

Episode 12: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=23GALCP3

Episode 13: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U08M2M62

Episode 14: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NI7OS6Q9

Episode 15: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JUBWFPJ2

Episode 16: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WK31C7S0

Episode 17: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=97RWEKXV

Episode 18: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DWII3HRK

My Thoughts (SPOILERS!)

I did not have high hopes for this series – the cast wasn’t appealing, the plot seemed to be a typical kung fu series storyline, and the poster failed to catch my attention. I’ve never been a fan of Kevin or Kenneth, so the two main leads, to me at least, was not strong. So one day, I was just bored enough to actually download the series and begin the first few episodes. Boy was I surprised! The series was captivating from the start, with many of the main leads already introduced and the significant climax plot already established. By doing so, the series just gets more and more exciting with each new episode, as our main leads uncover more of the mystery – how their grandparents died, where their older brother went, what happened when their father left home that day, etc. I’m not going to give an episode to episode review, but this is one of the better series produced so far in 2010. It was only after I watched this series and researched it a bit did I realize it was from the same producer as “Rosy Business.” This ought to explain the intense confrontational moments at the end of each episode (or at least a lot of the episodes)!

Kevin and Kenneth

Although Kevin is supposedly the main lead, Kenneth instead is the one who stands out most and is my favorite character out of the whole series. His character “Goo Wing Tong” is selfless, giving and caring to his family, humorous, and is always the one to solve problems around the house. Even though Kevin is the “big brother,” Kenneth is always the one resolving conflicts that the family encounters.

Kenneth and Selena

At the beginning of the series when Kenneth and Selena first meet, I was quite intrigued by this couple – even though they have been paired up numerous times before, I still have not gotten bored of this pairing! But as the series progressed, the friendship became dull – was there anything that was going to happen between them? Other than this one moment where Selena looks back at Kenneth while he walks the other way and shows a hint of interest, their relationship was not all that memorable. However, it was cute when he would flirt with her sometimes when they were talking. But otherwise, promising couple at the beginning that eventually becomes dreary.

Kevin and Natalie

Kevin and Natalie.. although I quite like Natalie’s character, she did not play the part well. She wasn’t terrible to watch, but I felt as though she couldn’t evoke the emotions that her character, Ah Ngan, was feeling appropriately. One noteworthy mention of her performance was when she was at the hospital after getting raped – she seemed very into her part and her crying and “going psycho” was quite heart-wrenching. However, this could be because of the given situation. I mean, we always feel sympathetic towards the characters who get raped, right? Hopefully I wasn’t being sympathetic and lenient to her acting in that one scene just because her character was raped =P Ah Ngan was the shy, timid adopted little sister who crushed on her older brother.. who, did not seem to have the slightest interest in her throughout the whole time. And is it just me, or is the idea and typical storyline of unrelated siblings liking one another disturbing? (i.e., Born Rich with Gallen and Anita) Though they’re not biological siblings, the idea that they ARE your sibling is quite disturbing. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t interested in this couple from the start.

The Gu/Goo Family

I enjoyed their interaction a lot – whenever anything came up, Kenneth was always there to support his younger siblings and help them out. There were moments of humorous times, and critical periods as well. However, when Kevin came into the picture, all the family humor seemed to be gone. All in all, I feel that once Kevin’s character came into the picture, the family did not seem as close anymore. This was probably the producer’s fault. If they have had more intimate family moments once Kevin joined in, his character probably would’ve fit in more in the audience’s eyes. Because honestly, other than feeling as though he didn’t play his part as the big brother well, I did not feel he seemed to even actually BE a part of the family. Yuen Chau did a great job as the “cold on the outside, caring on the inside” mother. Not much to say about her character, except her crying scenes were heart-wrenching!

The Wing Family

The boys were evil, and the girls were upright and full of morals. Good guys are always liked, right? Not in this family. Other than the mom, Kara Hui’s character, who seemed “real” (as in, she had her morals and helped Natalie’s character be able to justify against the evil master of Ling Man Kwan, she would never do anything that would hurt her family). On the other hand, Selena and Angela Chiang (the two daughters of Dominic) stubbornly stuck to their morals. I especially did not like the fact that they did not seem to care much about their brother. I was very pleased when Dominic finally spoke up about how his two daughters never even once consoled their brother after he returned home from spending half a month in jail. Although he was “evil,” he made a really good point! Now when was the last time an evil character made a good, legit point? And, even though their brother, Wing Man Kwan, was also evil to the core, he was indeed their biological brother! And given the circumstance of the time where he was no longer a suspect (and Selena even said during the confrontation that she “didn’t believe Wing Man Kwan was the one who killed the person”), she and her little sister never once consolidated him! Now what kind of a good person, good sister is that? Go Dominic for the lecture! For the first time, I actually felt that they were a family!

Wing Man Kwan – Jacky Heung

A noteworthy mention … for being a really horrible actor. Though he had the evil character look and aura, he did not play the character well. And is it just me, or did it seem like he couldn’t pronounce his Chinese words correctly or enunciate properly either? I have also never seen this actor before, and to gain such an immense role out of the blue? Maybe that’s why the character wasn’t evil enough to wear I was screaming in my seat and wishing Kevin’s character would’ve killed him in their first tournament fight. Thumbs down.

In Conclusion

All in all, there were good and bad points in the series. Though the plot was good and Kenneth’s character was lovable, it was not enough to gain the series much attention. I still say this series is a must watch – for it’s plot and all the pros I’ve listed throughout the review. However, be aware of the bad points. I’m not an anti-Kevin fan (I’m too old to care much about these things), but his acting is one-dimensional and definitely not up to par. I question why he got the Best Actor award. But that’s a whole different story. Anyway, my only advice to the producer of this series: you don’t have to cast in big name, A-list actors and actresses (like Charmaine or Raymond or Michelle Yim, etc.) to get a good series going. What IS important, however, is that you cast in those who are suitable and capable of taking on the role and playing out the part well. Swatches? Natalie Tong and Jacky Heung – their characters were quite significant, so casting more experienced actors would probably have been a smart choice. Why did I not include Kevin? His character (not him) did not seem important to me at all – other than being a “natural talent” in Kung Fu (that was only necessary at the very end of the series), what else was he needed for?

Rating: 3.5/5