We are Criminal Police 我是刑警 - Impressions (Ep 1 - 4)
Link to Airing Announcement Post with Synopsis & Relevant Info
Looking at some of the posters and sponsoring parties of this drama, I initially thought that this would be another positive but boring 主旋律 ("main melody") drama, the most recent of which that I had watched was In the Name of the People going all the way back to 2017.
At 4 episodes in, I am surprised at how good this drama is. If this is the quality we can get via "main melody" dramas can I ask the "authorities" to please make/sponsor more, thank you? (And I won't mind if you venture more into actual historical dramas too lol).
What I've enjoyed thus far
1. Steadiness
This is not a drama that chases cheap highs and short term thrills. It feels much more grounded and mature in its steadiness. Being a crime and detective story, there is no Sherlock-like character(s) to stroll into the room to make some witty remarks and spot some obscene but cleverly found clues and save the day with awe-inspiring deductions. Set in the 90s, there are no CCTV cameras and digitalized records and molecular forensics to accelerate the investigation process. What we see is the tedious, manual, frustrating, and laborious process of elimination and search for any usable information. Perhaps it is because my brain has just recently been overworked by the espionage drama Deep Lurk, I am finding much comfort and immersion in this almost documentary-like enactment of the crime-solving process where I feel like I am part of the investigative journey.
Why this might be a negative point: This straight-forward approach to story telling where there are no fancy edits or suspense factors can be seen as too slow and not exciting enough. Because there's (thus far) no flashy display of "smartness", the main characters might also appear to be dull and unintelligent.
2. Grounded
One of the things that I miss in a lot of recent dramas is the sense of the characters being real and the sets feeling like they are lived in. There's a term in Chinese called "烟火气", which describes the sense of the air filled with chinmey smoke and the warmth of fire, you know, the hustle-and-bustle of life to bring meals to the family table. In this regard, I feel like this drama is a peice-of-life that just so happens to be portraying the life of the criminal police force. From the market to the main characters home, from the police chief's office to the hole-in-the-wall restaurant, from the factory residential area to the snow covered roads, from someone almost slipping on an Icey path to a character's swollen, frostbite hands... I might well be overreacting but gosh I enjoy seeing "real people" in dramas.
3. Less-is-More
From the rather "dry" and straightforward portrayal of violence in the first case, to the sparing use of musical notes at just the right times, this show understands the concept of less-is-more to create the greatest impact where necessary. And in terms of music, I was totally surprised by their choice for the end theme -- it was perfectly fitting as it was the so-called "anthem of the police force", but it's just that it's been so long since I'd last heard this song. This bel canto version with the joint chorus really added to its profoundness and depth, completing the drama's draw on me at the end of the very first episode. I was at once recognizing that this was indeed something that was endorsed and sponsored by the Police Media department in China, and resigned to the fact because of its quality.
4. Acting
Not sure how many familiar faces you will be able to spot in this, or if there's any that will draw you in, but all I can say is that if you can move beyond looks, the "uncle-generation" of actors will not disappoint. The male lead Yu Hewei played a wonderfully portrayed Caocao in Advisor Alliance -- so much that I dropped the drama for a lengthy period of time after the character's arc ended in the show, and the second male lead Fu Da Long (who is yet to appear in this drama) might be familiar as the Emperor in Qin Empire: Alliance.
I am equally impressed by most of the supporting characters. They are all quite natural that it becomes almost hard to appreciate how good they are because it becomes easily overlooked. I was especially impressed by actress Ma Su, who I had to look up the cast list to know who she was. Her layered and exquisite performance during the interrogation scene in Ep. 4 was indeed moving.
If you have read this far, I hope you give the drama a try.
If you are currently watching this, I am looking forward to hear your thoughts and impressions!
Please remember to use the Spoiler tag where necessary.
Posted Dec 1, 2024, 4:04 AM UTC