TVB Underuses Raymond Lam in “Line Walker: Bull Fight”
Line Walker: Bull Fight <使徒行者3>, the third chapter of TVB’s Line Walker TV trilogy which started in 2014, isn’t getting the same love as its predecessors.
Bull Fight is set right after the events of the original 2014 drama, bringing back Raymond Lam (林峯) as the undercover (UC) cop “Bao Seed.” In Bull Fight, Bao Seed returns to the police force as a rogue cop who is on the search for Ding Jeh, played by Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) in the 2014 drama and the 2016 film of the same name (Charmaine, however, does not physically appear in Bull Fight.)
But fans are disappointed to see that Raymond, who hasn’t filmed a TVB drama since the first Line Walker, being dumbed down to only a supporting role in order to make room for the infinite amount of new characters and subplots from the now-expanded universe.
Most characters from Line Walker: The Prelude <使徒行者2>—second part to the Line Walker TV trilogy and a prequel to the 2014 drama—return in this new third season. Bull Fight also introduces additional new characters, played by Mandy Wong (黃智雯), Owen Cheung (張振朗), Sisley Choi (蔡思貝), and Kenneth Ma (馬國明), who was a guest star in The Prelude.
To accommodate these new subplots, Bull Fight writers mainly use Bao Seed as a plot device to connect main characters together. Fans noted that Bao Seed’s screentime was drastically reduced in the middle of the series.
Fans also remarked that Bull Fight had started off really slow, with stories too convoluted and difficult to follow. Poorly developed characters also made the plot less interesting.
The series picked up after a main story arc implied that Tin Tong Gor (Benjamin Yuen 袁偉豪), a character introduced in The Prelude, could be a possible mole within the police force. The revenge plot involving Wai Sir (Kenneth Ma) added more excitement to the series. Romantic subplot between Ho Yeung (Owen Cheung) and Ah Dou (Sisley Choi) was more interesting than expected.
Line Walker: Bull Fight airs its final episode in Hong Kong on December 26, 2020.
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
He’s stool lead that has a majority of the screen time and there will be a sequel. Rubbish article.
i wasn’t watching but every time i took a snip raymond was on screen.
Good actor!
Um 100000000% agree. Very little development in his story line
I am only on Episode 18. Raymond is still the star since he is in every episode but his story is dull without Charmaine. He feels superfluous because he has no deep connections except for with Michael.
Michael is more of the star because he has a more essential and pivotal role with greater integration with all the other characters. He really is the heart of Line Walker. Man still oozes charisma and cool.
There are too many characters and storylines. Each story may be interesting on their own, but because the show is juggling so many, none are able to build up momentum to be engaging.
Sisley and Owen are super cute but this storyline makes her weak. I like watching Priscilla and Benjamin, they show the comfort of a 10 year deep friendship, but I find it hard to believe Priscilla not trusting Benjamin with all they have been through. That scene of him shirtless and posing in her bedroom wasn’t really logic but I will enjoy the gratuitous eye candy. He has one of the best bodies of TVB. Lol.
@potatochip I agree, there are TOO MANY characters and storylines. I miss the first original Line Walker where everything made sense together. Priscilla is boring to watch and Benjamin is too wooden.
Raymond was definitely underused, mainly because he did not have a romance partner. The only “story” he had was with his son and ex, which was pretty unnecessary to me. It’s like TVB knew he didnt have a romance partner, so had to give him some emotional scenes.
@luye Benjamin is stiff in serious roles. I understand that it’s been 10 years since LW2’s time-line and his character likely matured, but I wish he was fun and flirty like that one. He now has 3 romance lines but really no fun in any except some platonic teasing with Priscilla. I do like her for her easy going charm. She is a much more competent agent this series and I am thankful wardrobe has been improved to be more edgy. I wouldn’t say she is boring, just without a deep purpose so far.
I am barely half way through. Hoping for a more cohesive story. So far, there’s no drive to it.
@potatochip after watching this series, I don’t just think Ben is stiff. He just doesn’t get up to par with the complex characters. He’s okay to watch in LW2 because you had the solemn guy under the flirty guy, but now that the funny layer is stripped away, there’s only one dimensional seriousness; he doesn’t have more to give. Most of Ben’s screentime should have went to Raymond. My problem with 3 is that no one was the “line walker” (aside from Cheuk Hoi), there wasn’t any focus on undercovers and their struggle isn’t the central story.
Also yes to Priscilla’s wardrobe, what an improvement! She looks the best in this series.
Sorry but you won’t find anything exciting happen, especially now that they talk about Ben’s past, the story is so fragmented I feel like I’m watching three different dramas smashed into one with no plot.
LW1 is better than LW2 for cast, and LW2 is better than 3 for plot, and better than 1 for production.
I’m not sure if underused is the correct term here… the storyline they wrote out for Raymond’s character was just SO boring. If the writers expanded it any more, I would have fast forwarded even more of this series.
Also, I guess I never was on the Raymond train… but I feel like this was an ensemble series and therefore didn’t feel the need to see him constantly either.