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http://www.spcnet.tv/reviews/review.php?rID=403 The Breaking Point
*Reviewed by TKL
Number of episodes: 40 Thanks to the new Multimedia section in SPCNET, the theme song brings back much loved memories of the series and reminds me of a time when the TVB trailers did not reveal much about the plot. Like many other TVB series back then, the plot revolves around revenge, hate and love. We have Ching Long (Leon Lai) in the role of a son who was sent away because his father believes that he will bring bad luck to the family, so Ching Long always holds grudge against his father. Ching Hung (Kwok Sau Wan) is Ching Long’s sister, who has a best friend named Sum Mun Yee (Kathy Chow). Sum Mun Yee lives in Taiwan, but later comes to Hong Kong in search of her father. During this time, Ching Long also returns home and starts to rebuild his life. Ching Long meets his classmate, Ko Tin Chun (Deric Wan), who is now an architect. Sum Mun Yee is secretly in love with Ching Long but Ching Long treats her like a little sister. On one occasion, when he is doing renovation in a house, he and his friends get into an argument with Chin Qiu (Maggie Siu) who is a Vietnamese refugee. She is allowed to go out of the refugee camp to work. After the initial bickering, they get to know each other better and later become lovers. Chin Qiu and her brother are the only survivors in their families but her brother still remains in Vietnam. Chin Qiu’s only aim in life is to reach Australia and to sponsor her brother to come with her. She did not plan to fall in love with Ching Long. Sum Mun Yee is heartbroken to see the relationship between Ching Long and Chin Qiu develop but she still wishes them happiness. Ko Tin Chun is quite taken with Sum Mun Yee’s beauty and demure, gentle nature. He starts to court her and Sum Mun Yee agrees to an engagement. However, as she realises later that she does not love Ko Tin Chun, she breaks off their engagement. Ko Tin Chun is really devastated by the news because he loves her very much. Things start to get complicated when Ko Tin Chun overhears Sum Mun Yee confiding in Ching Hung that she loves Ching Long. In addition to this, Ching Long also interferes in his business. Tin Chun swears that he will take revenge on Ching Long. Ching Hung has been secretly in love with Tin Chun for a long time and he sees this as an opportunity to make Ching Long’s family pay for his loss. He marries Ching Hung. During this time, Ching Long and Chin Qiu break up because she does not want to stay in Hong Kong with him. She is determined to go to Australia at all cost for the sake of her brother. Sum Mun Yee finally finds her father but she does not let him know that she is his daughter. Tin Chun gets close to Mun Yee’s father and becomes his adopted son so he takes what is rightfully Mun Yee’s inheritance. Ching Long decides that he needs to move on with his life and seeing Mun Yee, who has always been by his side supporting and encouraging him, he asks her out. Just when everything between Ching Long and Mun Yee is perfect, Chin Qiu comes back from Australia. Her brother has died in a plane crash and she realises that the only other important person in her life has always been Ching Long. She comes back for another chance at their relationship. It is also the time that Tin Chun starts to take his vengeance. This was a good series with a well-selected cast. We also get to see Michael Tao and Bobby Au Yeung in supporting roles when they were still struggling actors in TVB. Michael Tao played the role of Ching Long’s friend while Bobby was the perfect friend of Chin Qiu. THE CAST: Leon Lai aka Ching Long: it was another typical role for Leon, just like his role in “The Challenge of Life”. He played the role of a cool, collected but also fiercely loyal and loving man. His acting skill was still raw in those days but he had already become one of my favourite actors. I think this was one of the series that set off the sparks between him and Kathy Chow. They were compatible on screen and the chemistry was undeniable. The romantic moments between Ching Long and Chin Qiu were also enjoyable. The relationship between the three characters was nicely set up. When Chin Qiu comes back from Australia, Ching Long was faced with the inevitably difficult decision. For us, the viewers, also found it hard to choose between the two female characters. They both have their flaws, their perfection, and each has loved him dearly. One other thing I enjoyed about the series was the father-son relationship between Ching Long and his father. Thanks to the actor playing the role of Ching Long’s father, who has always played the father role to perfection in the series he appeared in, the transition of the relationship from a distant to a closed bond was convincing. Deric Wan aka Ko Tin Chun: I have always admired Deric for his versatility. He could ease into any roles, be it the Prince Charming or the villain, he always brought the character alive. He played the role of cold-blooded, revenge-driven Ko Tin Chun to perfection that it hurt his career. Tin Chun was a despicable and evil character. He would not hesitate to kill to achieve his goal. If you have already watched “Blood of Good and Evil”, do watch this series to see the amazing transformation. Kathy Chow aka Sum Mun Yee: She played a likable role, a gentle, demure, perfect girl-next-door. However, it was partly because of her that Tin Chun decided to take revenge on Ching Long’s family. She went out with him, accepted his proposal and then turned him down. Were there any other cruel things that she had not done to him? It was not surprising that he ended up hating her for it. Kathy was alright in her role and she did not leave much impression. Maggie Shiu aka Chin Qiu: I like how she plays a headstrong girl who knows her priority. She always excels in the roles of an independent woman, like in “The Threshold of an Era”, “Healing Hands 2”, etc… Chin Qiu might have appeared as though she did not love Ching Long as much as he loved her but deep down, he was the most important person beside her brother. I still do not understand one thing. It does not seem too hard to go from Hong Kong to Australia. Why could they not continue their relationship even if she went to Australia? I guess the scriptwriter really wanted to break up Ching Long and Chin Qiu. Yet the story of her character was rather sad. She loved one man then she had to sacrifice their relationship for the sake of her beloved brother. Unfortunately, the brother died, she came back with the hope that Ching Long still loved her but he had fallen in love with someone else. Yet her miseries did not stop there and you should embrace yourself for an unexpected ending. The series was enjoyable. The script was written well with care taken to minor details. The events in the series, such as Tin Chun’s plot of revenge, were rather convincing. I have a feeling that scripts for series nowadays are written in haste with no consideration for viewer’s intelligence as they are filled with ridiculous events. There is no complaint regarding the cast as they did a fantastic job. This series is one of must-see TVB series and offers a great story of love and hate. TKL's Rating:  (Scale of 5)
[此贴子已经被作者于2006-11-4 14:04:18编辑过]
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狗仔卡
发表于 2006-11-3 08:13:01
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楼主
发表于 2006-11-4 19:57:53
). Maggie played a headstrong girl perfectly as always. Love her character in this series. Love the part where Chin Qiu and Ching Long met from time to time and finally became a couple. But dislike her miseries's storyline at the end.