Love Me If You Dare (2015)

This starts off really atmospheric as we meet the main characters. Then the story goes into a couple of cases and then things get really twisted as matters get complicated and personal.

I really enjoyed the ensemble parts of this with the three main leads. All of them play their roles well and are a lot of fun. The super complicated second half with the big serial killer was a bit too much for me when I really wanted them to get back to the characters and less on the story. I like Wallace and Sandra so I was hoping the end story would also include them more, but it’s really plot focused.

People who love crime thrillers will undoubtedly like the second half more than I did.

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Adrenalina e un protagonista magnifico

Una produzione adrenalinica, che conosce pochissimi punti morti e una solida trama, per quanto forse leggermente troppo allungata nel finale. A parte la solita logica che vuole sempre permettere ai cattivi di fare il loro discorsetto e ai buoni di spiegare quanto sono stati furbi a incastrarli (spesso permettendo a detti cattivi di scappare), uno dei pochi punti negativi di questo drama risiede negli ultimi 10 secondi, che vorrebbero – forse – gettare una nuova luce su tutta la vicenda. Dicono tutto e niente. Dato che non esiste una seconda serie, propendo per il niente.
Altra cosa fastidiosa è il fiorire gratuito di tante coppie negli ultimi 5 minuti, ma accettiamo la cosa in nome del lieto fine. Si tratta comunque di quisquilie.

La solida realtà è che questa produzione è sicuramente una tra le migliori che abbia mai visto. Il Big Boss finale non è che non possa essere mai sospettato, e in effetti l’idea viene, durante la visione, ma così come si sospetta di tantissime altre persone. Semplicemente, la storia è complessa e ben condotta a livello di sceneggiatura. Il commento musicale aggiunge pathos alle scene più pregnanti, è veramente ben fatto.

Ma, soprattutto, è la recitazione a rendere indimenticabile questa serie. Non solo Wallace Huo è molto piacevole da guardare, è un attore coi controfiocchi e i pappafichi. Sandra Ma ha recitato alla grande e Yin Zheng, per essere all’epoca praticamente un novellino, se l’é cavata benissimo. Anche gran parte dei comprimari e secondari ha recitato sopra la media, pur se qualche finto americano lasciava un po’ a desiderare. Alcuni possono aver trovato sconcertanti i dialoghi mezzi in inglese (non ottimo) e mezzi in cinese. Posso capire lo scombussolamento, ma essendo italiana per me sono tutti stranieri e, seguendo comunque i sottotitoli, la cosa non mi ha disturbata più di tanto.

Avendo seguito questa serie a botte di 10 episodi al giorno, mi sento ora in crisi d’astinenza. Le vicende si svolgono in maniera pressante, incalzante, senza lasciare allo spettatore il tempo di tirare il fiato, si arriva alla fine ansimando… L’unica cosa che veramente mi delude è il fatto che ci sia una stagione sola. Ho adorato il complesso di superiorità del bel Bo, che ne ha ben d’onde: un Q.I. di 180 non si trova ovunque. Pazienza. Dovrò cercare qualcosa di simile. Buona fortuna a me.

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I think the main couple matched each other quite well because because the man is rather cold and the women is warm. In my opinion they match each other also quite well from their looks. From the first episode on I was so into the story that I didn't even want to stop it.
Up to now I've watched it over 4 times and I plan to watch it again soon because it was so nerve wrecking and I felt like this drama was real because the actors did such a great job with their acting. I also liked the mysterious part of the drama and also that you're able to think with them and also make your own thoughts about who the murderer is.

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Not Bad but Not Amazing

Before I started to watch it, I saw a comment here saying that it had too much romance... I thought it was strange, I even thought "is it that romance that even makes you sick of watching?"

But I decided to go ahead and see it, and after seeing it my question is: "where is the romance at all?"
Each person has their own definition of romance, and maybe I'm used to dramas with more intense romances, but for me, this had very little romance, I even think the leads didn't had any chemistry at all.
So in terms of romance I found it very weak, I even think that the name of the drama does not match its content very much.

Leaving the romance aside, I really enjoyed the rest, it was interesting to see how the leads solved each case. But after the leads got together, it got a little boring, but it got interesting again with the new villain and Tommy having escaped from prison.

Overall it was a good drama, I just think it could have been shorter for the type of story it had.

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Simply Brilliant!!!

Should you? Would you? Could you?

You should watch this one (YES! )
You would recommend this to others. (YES!)
You could watch this again. (Depends!)
Ending: Happy

This drama depicts the perfect balance of romance and mystery. What a great psychological thriller this turned out to be! One of the best I have seen. The performances by everyone are top-notch. The only disappointing factor for me was the revelation of the main villain but that's because I was expecting it to be someone else (duh, me). The lead pair is awesome. They share brilliant on-screen chemistry. I just love the fact that she has unwavering faith in him and vice versa. You cannot sit still from episode 18 onwards. It takes what a fab turn! The mystery is just brilliantly depicted.

Don't miss this one. It should be a must-see on everyone's list.

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This was a great show with some minor annoying and bad parts. Here is my detailed review:

The good:
It makes you addicted! After watching the first episode I got immediately hooked and literally couldn't stop watching, I stayed up all night just to finish it. The story is exciting, there are separate cases in the beginning while in the end we have one big case with an ultimate villain.
The acting of the main actors are also very good Wallace Huo never fails to deliver a complex personality and multi-layered character. Jabber Xie Han crazy character is also very interesting to watch, and Fu Zi Yu is the perfect side kick best friend character, super smart and funny. Andy the car is one of the best characters as well!
The music is superb, really helps to create the atmosphere of the show.
I loved the references to the Sherlock and Knight Rider and I even got a hint of Poirot in the show.

The bad:
The American actors were awful, except for dr Barnes. I don't exactly get why a native English speaker talks like a robot, I found their slow placed way of speaking to the Chinese characters offensive, it sounded like they were force-explain things to 5 years old and expect they won't understand a thing. It sounded very UNNATURAL! Susan was semi-bearable but the actress seemed to not be able to decide whether she wants to play a flirty hot blonde or a professional FBI agent. Also can't really get the scenes where they talk in English and the Chinese actors reply in Chinese? Like wtf, how does that make sense?
I loved Jian Yao character first, she is smart and brave, and a challenging character for Wallace Huo. However after mid-season, Sandra Ma started speaking in a very hollow voice, (as in the voice someone uses when they are on their death bed, high and overly soft), this annoyed me sooo much, she also had soo much crying scenes, her character was literally useless in the second half of the series. The only shining point was that she did act again smart and brave when she was abducted but that is all.
There are some useless overdramatizing in the show, what I mean is without giving spoilers is the continuous question of who is behind the crimes. The very last scene just simply pissed me off, it was unnecessary, the typical "we are shooting a horror so let's put a cliffhanger scene in the end so people can get confused what really happened. WHY??? There is no need for useless hints and such.

All in all I very much enjoyed the show, especially the first half. I preferred the individual cases ad the series had a bit of downfall after they started focusing on the main villain arch. The acting was mixed, the main chinese actors were good, the secondary characters especially the English speakers were horrible. Still the story was exciting enough to keep me watching, so all in all this is a very well delivered show with some annoying details.

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Wallace Huo saved this from being rated lower by me

I would have given the first half more than 10 stars, if possible. Wow, was it ever good! So well-written, with smart dialogue, excellent acting, mystery and tension throughout. The music was very successful in addition to the tension.
Their voices were good and not screech-y (why do most C-dramas insist upon dubbing?). This was my first time of seeing Wallace Huo in anything, and I was impressed. his character, Simon Bo, was a criminal profiler and seemed able to pull the answers to clues out of thin air (suspend disbelief here). The developing relationship between the male and female leads was a pleasure to watch, and so amusing, since he had no people skills whatsoever. I didn't feel that them sleeping together that first date made any sense, since she could barely even kiss him on the cheek. However, her describing to him how he kisses? That was hot! The writers would have been better served to extend that "will they/won't they" tension, because the couple got boring after that. I loved that they were working on new crimes every couple of episodes, which kept it fresh. I also really enjoyed Andrew Yin as Simon's assistant/secretary. He and Simon had a wonderful bromance relationship going on and a lot of his lines were very amusing. I had to downgrade my rating because of the second half of the story when they were in America. Really bad American actors, and they kept changing the female lead's name. And the Chinese actors spoke in only Chinese, but everyone was able to understand one another? However, I'll definitely be watching the first half of this again sometime soon.

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Take the plunge! Love Me if You Dare is great.

First: there is Wallace as Simon making white button downs look Amazing. His face is a joy to watch in this show, he makes the best expressions, especially later in the show when he's gotten comfortable around her.

Secondly: Simon has the BEST friends:

1. A talking car that likes to play mood music to match the conversation until chastised and it sometimes follows Simon around like a big puppy.

2. A turtle that apparently shares his bed.

3. A wealthy, ultra smart tech guru of a best friend who supposedly has a job because we see his office suite, but really seems to just play laser tag, help Simon with his housing issues, give Simon all the best tech toys (like the car), and work with Simon when the case requires a computer guy. And be sweet and charming and supportive at all times.

Plenty of mind games and creepy psychos too, but all the great supporting characters and the charming romance keeps it from getting too dark.

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Hmm where do I start on describing this drama..... intrigue, excitement or mystery with bites of romance something a long this line of thought. Boy I love Bo Jin's character and actor he is sooo smooth; yet, cute when he means to be. I'm sorry I'm going into fan-girl mode (>o<). Wait a moment, I shall control myself ummm. ............. Oookay I'm back on topic - yes the acting was awesome, original and very well developed with out the wasted effort on unnecessary episode. Now that I'm on this idea every episode made sense. Hence very enjoyable moment at every critical junction, even he English actors did a good job in their roles. On soundtrack, I can't and will never complain cause it had this mellow, jazzy vibe that just worked with the story line in mind; because, I'm telling every note transferred each case issues that had me on constant alert of what will happen next. This needs to re-watch several time the only reason I haven't is it a psychological crime drama so be warned about scenes.

There is just so much I could talk about in this drama, but I will not get start instead i recommend this drama to anyone interested in criminal investigation viewed from the criminal behavioral psychologist. Anyone who love a good thriller without the whole intense horror associated with the genre. Anyone who loves not just a good mystery, but a great one that just keeps you guess till the very end.- What, Why, When, Where and Who - the five 'W'..

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Mindblowing is the word for this drama!
The story is pulling you in...right away! It makes you use your brain...lol...it makes you think while you watch it... about what's happening, what is going to happen. Your brain is full of questions and you want answers! There is romance, crime and everything else you would want in a drama.
At some point 24 episodes were too much for me, i think it would have been better with 16 or 19 at most, instead of streeching the story to get more money. Anyway, the acting soo on point. You cant say that they are not good actors, perfect for the roles.The music is perfection it goes well with the story and it sets the mood. I would watch it again and you would too. Overall its the perfect drama to get you into chinesse drama's if you aren't already! ;)

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