[review] Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kao Pai

shaw_mag

YOUR REVIEW IS WELCOME !!!

INDEX :

1. Reviewer : spcnet @ SPCnet   (p.1)

2. Reviewer : multiple @ YesAsia   (p.1)

3. Reviewer : legacyrealms (p.2)

More about Kim Mo @ http://www.maggieshiu.net/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=1014   (chinese)

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-10-30 14:20:00编辑过]

shaw_mag

http://www.spcnet.tv/reviews/review.php?rID=708

Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kau Pai
*Reviewed by spcnet

TVB surprisingly had made a series in the past on this Jin Yong character, Dok Gu Kau Bie. Naturally curious and psyched to see a series about one of the most powerful fighters in a quest to become the greatest swordsman, the series was rented and the rest of the story went down a slide from there. "Kim" stars Felix Wong Yut Wah, Maggie Siu Mei Kei, and Hugo Ng.

Those who are die-hard Jin Yong fans would know that Dok Gu Ko Bie is a legendary character that Jin Yong had created who had never actually made a physical appearance in his stories but related through the tales of others after his death. The heavy sword that Yeung Gor of the "Return of the Condor Heroes" found and that was later melted to form the parts of the YiTin (Heavenly) Sword and Dragon Saber in "Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber" once belonged solely to Dok Gu Kau Bie. Then in "State of Divinity", Ling Wu Chong learned the special sword techniques, "Dok Gu 9 Kim", that Dok Gu had invented to defeat all the martial arts of the world--thus the name, Dok Gu Kau Bie, which yearns for a single defeat in battle.

With so much free space for the producers and script-writers to innovate from, the series unfortunately followed the then growing trend in the martial arts genre. The plot is atypical, starting off with the parents generation, Dok Gu Tin Fong, who is off on a fighting spree, challenging all the great fighters and obtaining their secret martial arts manuals if they lost. Deemed as "evil" by the martial world, the "good" clans got together and ganged up on Dok Gu, whose pregnant wife was ready to labor at the same time. Switching her baby with a peasant who happened to give birth to a child on the same day, the wife runs off with the peasant's infant. Of course Dok Gu is captured while his wife fell off a cliff (one can already guess whether she died or not). Their son is unknowningly brought up the kind peasant family and grows up under the name Lam Hong (Felix Wong). The grown up Lam Hong meets, and quite quickly falls in love with, Lang Zhi Yee (Maggie Siu), who was on a avenging mission for her martial teacher. The story goes on with some tangled misunderstandings and relationships.

 What is most interesting is that a Wu Dang Clan actually existed in the series--a careless mistake by TVB because during Dok Gu Kau Bie's time, Wu Dang's founder, Cheung Sam Fung, has not even been born yet! What was expected to be a tale about Dok Gu Kau Bie, who was the world's greatest swordsman of his time, analyzing the world's martial arts turns out to be more focused on the revenge of his parents on the "good" clans. Only by the latter parts of the series does the story finally turn to how Dok Gu Kau Bie developed his unique sword techniques, but even then, it is so improbable for him to suddenly understand the theory behind the techniques and how each move could be created without a very wide knowledge of the world's different martial arts (Remember that each move of "Dok Gu 9 Kim" supposedly can defeat all different types of a weapon category). Also, it was mentioned in "Return of Condor Heroes " when Yeung Gor got his sword, that Dok Gu Kau Bie buried the swords that he had used at each age interval until using the heavy sword. It was not even hinted at in the "Kim". The series conveniently has Dok Gu Kau Bie discover some underwater secret cave with martial arts written on it but who or why it was there was never explained. Nor was the heavy sword ever founded.

Despite all, the events of Dok Gu Kau Bie's life and how his parent's death influenced him was acceptable. The love relationships were not too ideal though, especially since Dok Gu Kau Bie didn't seem like a very devote lover. Felix Wong's performance was excellent as Dok Gu Kau Bie--perhaps one of the best choices for the role, portraying the turn of Lam Hong into Dok Gu Kau Bie very well. The villain played by Hugo Ng is actually quite comical in this series, or at least he seemed so in today's terms. However, he seemed too powerful by the end, though TVB probably wanted one of those super battles between hero and villain.

spcnet's Rating: (Scale of 5)

shaw_mag

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/aid-12070/section-videos/code-c/version-all/pid-1003887752/

Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kau Pai

General Review :

Another masterpiece from the Jin Yong legacy! Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kau Pai (1990) abounds with the dazzling performances given by Felix Wong Yat-wah, Maggie Siu, Hugo Ng and Man Suet-yee. While Felix Wong further secures his seat as one of the most well-received heroes in costume dramas, Hugo Ng also stands out with his role of Bai Cheng Zhong. Although an evil character may not be as likable as the good man, Hugo still manages to give an impressive performance as the man whose will to revenge is too strong to drive himself into a dead-end road.

Labeled as one of the Five Tigers (the five hottest actors) in TVB, Felix Wong steals the thunder again playing the role of Lin Kang. If you are one of the millions of viewers captured by his playing Guo Jin in another costume drama She Diao Ying Xiong Chuan, you will definitely fall for this all-time hero again simply because the character Lin is just as kindhearted and gentle as that of Guo. But this time Lin gets himself into a big dilemma when getting involved at the same time with Liu Ao-shuang (Man Suet-yee), the lady from a notable family, and Leng Zi-yan (Maggie Siu), the killer of a cult. At the end, Lin is forced to turn himself into a loner wandering around because of his inexplicable enmity he has against his own father.

 

Customers Review : 

Reviewer: Puppet  A great series but underappreciated

Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kau Pai (KMTKKP) is another of Gin Yong's brilliant legacy. Though the character is only implicated in Gin Yong's novel, the narrative of KMTKKP is captivating and most certainly live up to the martial art genre. Perhaps the appeal of this series is the casting.

We once again see Felix Wong playing the heroic lead as Lin Kang - upholding the ethos of a 'lonely wanderer' trapped between good and evil. As the son of the 'marginalize' cult headed by Tuk Ku Tin Foong (played by Loh Lok Lum), his identity was a matter of political dispute. On the day of his birth, his mother Yuen Yiu Ching (played by Lee Lai Lai)was forced to swapped her baby with the newborn son of a poor villager. In pursuit by the so-call 'respectable' martial art clans, the notorious couple was forced into separation - Ching fell into a deep valley while Foong was held captive by the head of the martial clan, Tien Shan. As for Lin Kang, his identity remained concealed and live the ordinary life as a farmer's son.

Ching has survived her injury and has since re-established her cult at the depth of the valley, where she fell. She began training young orphans as her 'killing machine' in the hope of avenging her enemies and to search for her long lost son. The most beloved of her students was Lang Zhi Yin (Maggie Siu), whom she adopted in her infancy. The casting of Maggie Siu as Lang is most impressive. Maggie's reputation as an actress was in my opinion deeply enhanced. The embodiment as an emotionally stunted killer coupled with her innate sense of humanity was most fascinating when she struggled to reconcile the two.

While on a killing mission, Lang encountered Lin, whose village simple lifestyle deeply captured her. Ignorant of her background, Lin fell in love with Lang. In her quest to escape the innertia of her life, Lang finally agreed to marry Lin. Unfortunately her 'escapism' sparked off another killing spree by Ching which left Lin as the sole survivor of his family. Lang was forced to return to her cult.

While not wanting to give too much away, the narrative continues to uncover the twist and turn of Lin's journey - being taken in as the disciple of Tien Shan and his subsequent discovery of his real identity.

I hope that the little narrative above spark your initial interest of this great, yet underappreciated series. Though not as popular as the like of its predecessor (e.g. The Legend of Condor Hero), that is by no mean equivalent to inferiority. Some may argue that the series has not uphold Gin Yong's characterization of KMTKKP, but it is still a great improvisation and for me at least, one of the best unappreciated martial art series in TVB history.

Reviewer:   Anonimous   One of the classic series!

Glad they finally release this series. It've been over then years since I watched it. However, I still remember how crazy I was when I saw this series. It's about the story of Tuk Ku Qiu Bai (Lonely searching to loose???) and how life plays trcik with him. Felix is cool, but I think Lo Lok Lam and Hugo's characters are more interesting. The theme song such by Roman Tam was great too. Too bad they didn't release the album.

yi

oh, it's a traditional drama

mimi

I won't call this drama a crap but its ending sucks...

elainehe

Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kau Pai

The translation is really......haha!

WST

QUOTE:

以下是引用elainehe在2006-10-11 10:11:48的发言：

Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kau Pai

The translation is really......haha!

Exactly !! I simply can't bring myself to watch it - ancient serial right?

elainehe

QUOTE:

以下是引用WST在2006-10-11 22:21:19的发言：

Exactly !! I simply can't bring myself to watch it - ancient serial right?

Of course la.

charmed

I have this series at home. I watched one disc...and I didn't watch the rest. Maybe I didn't find it very interesting....the story didn't catch my attention too much. One day, perhaps over Christmas, I'll sit down and watch it all I think...

mimi

QUOTE:

以下是引用charmed在2006-10-12 1:34:38的发言：
I have this series at home. I watched one disc...and I didn't watch the rest. Maybe I didn't find it very interesting....the story didn't catch my attention too much. One day, perhaps over Christmas, I'll sit down and watch it all I think...

And you will be mad, furious and upset over the stupid ending... it sucks X 100000

charmed

....That bad? Hmmm...but I bought it, so I have to watch it...but now I don't want to! How is Maggie's screen time?

mimi

QUOTE:

以下是引用charmed在2006-10-12 15:50:20的发言：
....That bad? Hmmm...but I bought it, so I have to watch it...but now I don't want to! How is Maggie's screen time?

screen time is big...as she is the leading role....Lang (Maggie's part) was raped and killed at the ending to protect that stupid Tuk Ku Kau Pai and that stupid TKKP had a happy ending with another stupid woman without even shedding a tear for Maggie...that pissed me off....

charmed

Ohh....

Well I guess, maybe I should stop before I get to the end part I'm not actually a very big fan of Felix WOng anyway.....

elainehe

QUOTE:

以下是引用mimi在2006-10-13 1:06:27的发言：

screen time is big...as she is the leading role....Lang (Maggie's part) was raped and killed at the ending to protect that stupid Tuk Ku Kau Pai and that stupid TKKP had a happy ending with another stupid woman without even shedding a tear for Maggie...that pissed me off....

Me 2!

A dad-burned... stupid...blind...rubbish!

mimi

QUOTE:

以下是引用charmed在2006-10-13 1:16:44的发言：

Ohh....

Well I guess, maybe I should stop before I get to the end part I'm not actually a very big fan of Felix WOng anyway.....

In Treasure Hunter...Felix also played a similar role...so disappointing... but I love Maggie's part in both dramas...