Review: “Highs and Lows” (By Miriamfanz)
Highs and Lows <雷霆掃毒>
Hong Kong TVB Drama 2012
Producer: Lam Chi Wah
Genre: Crime Thriller
Episodes: 30
Rating: 
Cast
Raymond Lam as Wai Sai Lok (Happy Sir)
Kate Tsui as Chan Ka Pik (Pat)
Michael Miu as Heung Wing (Gordon)
Ben Wong as Poon Hok Lai (Brian)
Ella Koon as Ko Hei Suen (Sandy)
Elaine Ng as Madam Yu (Helen)
MC Jin as Ng Dak Tim
Derek Kwok as Ho Kwai
Jazz Lam as Nin Yau Fu
Law Lok Lam as Cheng Chi Seng
Plot
Hong Kong is invaded with drugs and it’s up to the Narcotics Bureau to fight against it. Except there are corrupt officers that undermine the mission. But no fear, “Iron Man” Raymond Lam comes and saves the day! Okay, it didn’t really happen that way. Raymond would save the day if he weren’t so consumed with Kate Tsui, an informant turned Drug Queen. Ella Koon does a great job just standing there. Michael Miu and crew love to eat hot pot. Ben Wong is *gasp* the villain. A lot of people die, but if there’s one thing this series taught us, it’s that explosions can never kill.
Review
This drama does not disappoint. There were plot holes and some parts were draggy, but you would want to watch the next episode right away, and that, to me, always is an indication of a good drama. The series would be boring if it were just about cops catching one drug lord after another. The intriguing aspect comes from the existence of corrupt officers working for a mysterious “Agent”. Just when you think that ends, a whole new twist comes with the emergence of a second “Agent” that brings the series to its climax.
The series is not about good cop, bad cop as there is a very grey area due to their motives. The second interesting aspect involves Kate’s life. Her character is pitiful and certainly gained the sympathy of the audience. Her whole life is ruined by drugs, yet she still becomes entangled with the traids and drugs, eventually becoming the Drug Queen.
The talk of town is will Raymond win the TV King title based on his role? His character was inconsistent. He begins as a casual guy who never seems to be serious but who is actually a very diligent cop. Then he goes from being “Happy Sir” whose favorite line was “Nice…” to “Very Worried and Very Serious Sir” whose eyes grow exponentially larger when he yells. He was witty and charming at the beginning, but then becomes somewhat annoying for being so irrational over his love for Kate. If there ever was a need to prove that love can make one blind, Happy Sir is the ultimate example. For someone who is so adamant about upholding the law, he lets Kate walk off on several occasions when he should have arrested her. He really has no right to talk to Michael about being an honorable cop. I do believe it is Raymond’s interpretation of the character, rather than the script, that makes Happy Sir so inconsistent. For example, in those scenes with Michael where he is hinting that he suspects Michael is the “black cop”, he could have been had a more relaxed attitude. After all, it was supposed to be just a casual conversation with his best friend. My conclusion is his acting in this series is not the best, but he probably will get it anyways.
Next question is will Kate win the TV Queen title based on her role? Kate does a great job of bringing Pat to life. A silent tear would roll down her cheek every time she thinks of her past. It shows how Pat is a rather helpless person to her fate, but has to stay tough in order to survive. The much talked about rape scene amounted to nothing, but her crying scene where she recounted the rape was well done. She is tender in the scenes with her brother. Kate is at least a very worthy contender for TV Queen.
Michael is very chok and his mustache makes him look even more manly (way better than Raymond’s). Unlike Raymond, he’s serious when he needs to be and more casual for other scenes.
Ella’s character is very kind-hearted but rather naïve. She unquestionably believes what other people say. There’s nothing special about her acting because all her character really does is stand there and talk.
Elaine Ng’s Madam Yu has me questioning how she can hold such a high position in the police force. How can she be so stupid to photocopy evidence for her boyfriend? She is not convincing as a tough, career-minded woman because she looks very weak. A lot of times, it’s as if she’s on the verge of crying.
Now if anyone deserves an award, it should be Ben Wong. He is excellent as the pain-in-the-backside superior, shows a softer side in the scenes with Ella and when he became the ultimate villain, you could see the pure evil in his eyes. However, the scripting for his character was illogical. It’s a little hard to believe that a former police officer would turn so evil so quickly. Yes, he wanted to get revenge, but to go to the extent that he did? Also, the way he was forced out of the police was stretching it. There was only circumstantial evidence pointing towards him for not saving Kate and even if proven, it amounts to a mere error in judgement. It would be a different story if they found out about the arson and tampering with the memory card, but they did not, so I don’t see why the big fuss about it.
The ending was good, neither too rushed nor too draggy. It was exciting almost right to the very end. There are a lot of people dying, but unlike other dramas, the deaths are appropriate to the story. Many people might have wanted Kate to live and end up with Raymond, but it is a rather fitting conclusion to her tragic character. She will probably be worse off living and being haunted by the fact that her loved ones are all dead, plus she would have to raise the child that she has with the man who caused all those deaths.
I’m glad Raymond and Ella didn’t end up together because throughout the whole series, he never liked her and it would not make sense if he suddenly realized that he loved her.
The only problem I had was that Jazz Lam and Law Lok Lam would confess to their crime after Michael had died to protect them. It makes Michael’s death almost meaningless. The only reason they would confess is because some viewers would throw a fit if justice is not served for the bad guys.
The review is written by Miriamfanz, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com. Visit Miriam’s blog!
haha.. yes, Michael Miu and crew sure love their hot pot!
I know, I had pot twice in one week because they make it look so good lol
I also like “Hung Siu”..the triad leader/casino owner who dated Kate while she was an informant. He had a chance to kill her but he loved her so much that he didn’t.
i really liked him too. i think his storyline with pat was the only thing that really, really interested me LOL. i wasn’t really feeling happy/pat pairing because happy was getting so clingy…every time he saw pat, it would just be the same lecture about how he’ll protect her and what not.
I still couldn’t believe that he never actually made Pat “put out”. A mob moss that has such innocent love? Quite funny.
The worse part was how later Pat slept w/ that bastard Poon sir. I don’t understand how sex w/ the enemy helped her revenge plot.
when she actually did it she was under the affect of the drugs so she pretty much didnt know what she was doing so poon sir took advantage of it, but after she did it, no one actually forced her, she did it at her own will, so she had to accept the fact it happened, but then the baby thing and >:(
I thought she was high on drugs then poon sir kinda had his way with her?
Even though she had just shot up, she clearly looked at him and kissed him back. She totally could’ve pushed him off if she was repulsed by him.
maybe she looked at him and saw someone else 😛
saw happy sir maybe
You should have mentioned MC Jin too. I thought he did a good job in this series as “Saa Daam Tim”.
I agree! His performance was pretty good! Ah Tim was a tragic character for me too! His love for Kate was the cutest thing!
I liked him too, but I dont like how silly it was that to kill Brian, he in a drunken stupor climbed outside Brian’s apartment wall to kill Brian. How stupid can that be? Why can’t he wait for a better opportunity to kill Brian? He died for nothing.
i want to know how he even managed to make it that high while drunk lol. i was starting to really sympathize with him but then he had to try and kill brian, which was the stupidest idea ever
@ ron, he was really drunk ? thats the point
Right, forgot about MC Jin.
I definitely find him less annoying here than in LOO. The way he talks does sound like a gangster. I admire his loyalty to Pat, but it was dumb to try to kill Brian just like that (well, he was drunk). I thought his character would have a bigger role in the end, like an undercover or informant, but he got killed off pretty quickly in the finale.
I actually liked MC Jin better in LoO. He and Laughing had a natural rapport that was funny.
The only scene I liked of ah Tim was when he was dying and expressed his love to Pat. That was touching.
Elaine Ng was definitely a miscast in my opinion. She did not portray her role convincingly at all. I believe her role was supposed to be tough in character but her portrayal did not even come close. Her acting was very mediocre to poor and was probably due to her acting hiatus in the past few years.
No I disagree. Kate is the miscast one. As the role is too hard for Kate to handle.
If it was too hard for her to handle, than why all the compliments? Who do you think could take up that role instead of Kate?
I don’t really know cause I’ve only watched the 1st few eps of this drama and still need time to see which actor did well and which didn’t, but I am sure that Elaine Ng really did not do a good job. She doesn’t really look like a tough person and did not act that strong either.
I beg to differ as I think Kate did a fine job of portraying Pat. If you think that she was a miscast then who should have been given the role instead?
Kate did really well I think! At one point, she made me want to cry because pats character was just so sad
lol, as raymond says “pat was pretty much written for kate, there is no one who could take up the job any better”
I agree that no one is better than Kate in this role. I can’t imagine any of the other fadans (Myolie, Linda, Fala, Tavia) acting as Pat. Kate looks the part and did well.
I don’t think Elaine Ng is a miscast. She actually looks the part. The problem is her acting, which is not up to par to do the character justice.
Elaine’s acting skills need a lot of brushing up. It was painful watching her on screen
she is annoying.
yeah i agree she was just awkward at some times. she gave no emotions on some scenes. maybe it cause she didnt act for a while. i liked her in a legal entanglement, she was funny in it. that all i remember her in
She has just come back. She did pretty bad but not that bad, when she acts a see lai she us cute.
Could say the same thing about Vincent Lam, no? His acting is stellar compared to Elaine lols
This is Lam Wai’s recent filmography.
2006年： ATV《香港奇案实录》之《重装悍匪》单元 饰 丁反
2006年： ATV《义无反顾》饰 张海滔（青年）
2007年： ATV《大城小故事》
2007年： ATV《十六不搭喜趣来》饰 蓝盛伦
2008年： ATV《今日法庭》高官、冒警追女仔
2008年： ATV《火蝴蝶》饰 岑家强
2009年： RTHK《海关故事》之《烤炉行动》
2009年： ATV《胜者为王》饰 欧阳（2010年播出）
2010年： RTHK《没有墙的世界》之《说不出的愿望》
2010年： RTHK《证义搜查线》 客串
2010年： RTHK《火速救兵》第三集《高温任务》饰 郑家杰
2011年： RTHK《非常平等任务》第四集《倒转魔法师》饰 Kelvin
He has always been acting, just in bit parts. So can’t compare him to Elaine. Comparing Elaine and Idy is much more adept. But both are quite stiff in acting.
Oh thx for the info. Didn’t know he was still acting since I last saw him in “Flaming Butterfly”
Idy and Elaine are equally stiff lols
But at least Idy’s face is more pleasant to look at 😛
Yes, Idy is much better looking and elegant than Elaine.
I actually thought Vincent looked stiff and wooden. His reactions were always a beat slower.
The number of inconsistencies and plot holes makes this series a laughing matter. Probably one of tvb’s worse this year and likely worse all time for a police drama.
IAWTC.
Gave up watching halfway because the plot was going nowhere and was getting very, very ridiculous. Skimmed through the remaining half of the drama, and then watched the last two episodes thoroughly. Instead of feeling like I’ve missed out a whole lot, I just felt like I wasted too much time on this drama when it really wasn’t worth it.
Was the series really that bad? But why did it get such high ratings compared to “Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles”. I’m really liking both dramas so far on the first few eps.
@YanYanKong – “Highs and Lows” actually started off pretty well. I was very much into the story in the first ten or so episodes, but it went down the drain fast. IMO, it was Happy Sir and Pat’s “love story” that dragged down the whole show. Well, I shouldn’t say that their characters are to blame, but I definitely lost interest because of them. It also doesn’t help that I never liked Pat the first place. I liked Happy for a while… Until he began falling for Pat, and then he went completely off character and OTT.
This is all my opinion of course.
The ratings were decent… I wouldn’t say they were exactly high. But cop dramas has always been well-accepted by HK audience regardless of quality.
Gave up watching halfway because the plot was going nowhere and was getting very, very ridiculous. Skimmed through the remaining half of the drama, and then watched the last two episodes thoroughly. Instead of feeling like I’ve missed out a whole lot, I just felt like I wasted too much time on this drama when it really wasn’t worth it.”
I couldn’t agree more with you Addy.
I was often watching in the background and I still notice the logical inconsistencies and lazy direction. The only thing I can think of thats worse is probably forensic heroes 3.
i thought i was the only one. it really started w/bang and then sucks in the middle and esp towards the end. The plot is all over the place and the PAT character says she was going for revenge but she’s just sleeping w/losers and enemies for no set reason. didnt get it at all. it started off so well but then TVB is always like this, always sucking endings esp investigation series.
I think its the best of this year despite the holes in plots.
Of course you would think its the best serie of this year. you are a raymond fan.
I’m a Raymond fan too and not even he was able to save the series ~_~
im a raymond fan too but fox is a hardcore raymond fan. whatever raymond does fox thinks hes the best. i think raymond has room for improvements. he was inconsistent in the show. i think michael did better than raymond
I agree. Raymond’s acting was a bit OTT most of the time TBH @_@
@Cindy,
I think its easy to tell right? lolz
@momo, i think hes ott when he yells or get mad.
@veejay, of course. HAHAHA
i think the overall of the show was alright but of course it cant be compared to other cops series like dif, ue, ar and such
Haha no dear. I dun think he did the best in this one. He did the best in Growing through life. I think his acting in MWNS last year has more layers and room ti development than Happy, too. He did good as Happy, nothing special.
I like HAL as a series not mean because its LF’s. 3K is also his and its crap. Crappest of the year. HAL left me an impression, dont like the other series, watch, forget and watch a new one.
And your efforts to make me like a blind fan who support him all can fail. Regardless, I think he can develop more because he has potential. To his peers, I like him because of this. Its the eye acting. I dont know you so you dont need to say like you know me so well. In fact you know nothing about me.
Last year I praised HAE as a very good series with depth and comtent, where is LF in it?
Again, look back to HAL, why cant it have fans who simply enjoy the cast and the plot? It has errors but wat Txb series now dont have? At least it has content, not the boring and forgettable ones only lean on erotic scenes and promotion to drag the rating.
@Cindy,
besides OTT acting, I find LF never fail showing his chok looks on screen always. LOLz.
Watever, I recognized wat is the chain effect and same group same mind so you can keep thinking so about me. You can join Veejay’s watever party she is openning because you guys are too alike. And live a life with honest and friendly atmosphere later on. Have a good day.
whenever raymond had the “angry” scenes, his eyes would kinda pop and it looked like one eye would be bigger than the other haha. other than that i thought he did a decent job
@Fox,
Come on Fox, Cindy and I are hardly “friends” since we just met today? And also, Cindy’s is also a LF’s fan and she was just saying what she thought about LF’s acting skill which still got rooms to develop. And I was just adding some of my thoughts on LF’s acting way too chok in his series. We’re certainly NOT against you at all. :)I didnt say your name until now right?
@Veejay: I’m so tired with my flu that I even don’t want to reply you. Have a good day. I said wat I want and don’t have time and effort to explain for you.
Cindy,
If u are actually a LF fan, why is your first reply to @fox so sarcastic?
I’m not a LF fan, but i agree with Fox, it is the best series of the year 😀 Much better than WI where my fav is in 😛
I beleive high and lows only average around 29 the first week or so, improved, but drop back down to 29 during the middle of the series. THe highest was 35 for the last two episodes- ending usually gets higher rating comapared to previous weeks for MOST series. SSS also got 29 the first weeks so its doing the same as HAL.
TVB spoiled eveything, no wonder why it got so low -.-
Once Raymond Lam’s out and about, He takes over everything. Now everyone is talking about him and the best male actor award. What happened to all the praise that Kenneth got not too long ago?
Everyone says Ray will win, but I have a feeling TVB will give the award to Kenneth. He’s been waiting and they don’t want to loose another good Siu Sang to mainland companies.
(don’t think the audience voting thing is real)
The Hippocratic crush aired waaaay to early while Raymond’s drama just finished airing so I’m not surprised. And even though Kenneth is in SSSS his role is not prominent as there’s also Damien and Ron and lots of Female casts too. And not to mention his role there isn’t as exciting.
It happened to Bosco too! Witness Insecurity got high ratings Hui sir was well praised and likeable. But suffered the same fate aired too early.
But if I had to choose I think Kenneth deserves the award
I will laugh out loud if this THC airs later and gets lower rating, then MM can rant that if its air sooner, lolz.
I will use a quote ppl love to use these days: Kenneth Ma is not up to the standard/level/stage/status of Best Actor yet. He has to wait because he is not good enough.
LMAO dont ask me wat is this so-called standard because at least 3/4 of ppl used it dont have a definition. Its simply their support and mind, but they use it as the common standard of everyone.
To me, Im not a fan of MM so I dont support him. I think he overacts and cannot show the emotions properly. Thats my opinion. And his fans are driving me nuts because they keep bashing me just because I translated the news MM said LF used social while he didnt like they translated. One of stupid attacks ever. This is why I hope he loses in everything to let them angrier, lolz.
And since he is still with Txb and cant go anywhere, he will win one day. Let him wait for more and let his senior win first. Although he is old, he is a junior to his peers.
the standard is only used because people don’t have a better answer, or don’t know how to explain why they don’t think the actor/actress is good enough or simply they just don’t like them lol
Dont think Kenneth will get it, in terms of performance. If Wayne doesn’t get it for his acting in TC, Raymond will get it.
Obviously, the OVPP is to lend credibility to Raymond’s win, bc of the number of his fans. In front of a professional panel, people will cry bloody hell if they award it to raymond over wayne for acting.
Lolz, you really think there is an existence of this board of judges ever before?
I agree with Nicole. The OVPP is just another step to push LF to be tv king. They tried to make it look fair by introducing the online voting but truth is most of the people choose LF solely based on other factors other than his performace in High and Lows. I’d rather choose damien or wayne when it comes down to acting skills only.
If Raymond wins TV King this year through the OVPP, people are going to say he won because of his huge fanbase, not because of his acting. If he is awarded based on the criteria from previous years (executive votes, TVB management selection, etc.), people will still complain arguing that it’s favouritism and networking. There will always be people who will be unhappy with the results but I definitely will support Raymond even though I won’t be able to vote for him.
Haiz so much noise about it. Give it to Ron, I want to see the reaction from the audience HAHAHA…
I think they will give the award to Raymond before they give it to Kenneth lols
While I liked both “happy sir” and “yat gin tao” neither were breakthrough roles for them IMO.
The only two saving graces for the show are Ben Wong and Michael Miu. The rest are mediocre. And Elanie Ng was a pain to watch.
BY THe way, is elaine still together with Jackie chan? Since Jackie is still remunerating Elaine and her child.
No. Jackie live with his wife Lin Feng Kiu while Elaine with her daughter. Rumours that Jackie once away ran from the responsibilities to stop the remuneration to her and her daughter so she has to work again.
the series could have also better if roger and kevin stayed in it u know peoples better actors
Apart from Elaine I thought they were all good. There were some inconsistencies but then somewhere along the line I figured out that you have to fill in your own assumptions. Perhaps Ah Lam didn’t want to make it less exciting by showing all the nitty details that will bore the show. Like how I wondered about Happy’s background which wasn’t clear, no mention of his father and who and how his mother died, just Gordon raising him up. Then the ending part which was too sweet of his relationship with Pat’s son I thought about him now doing to the child what Gordon did to him. Just my imagination.
MM & Raymond, I like both actors in different ways. But I feel Kenneth is now where Raymond was years ago and popularity needs to catch up. Offscreen with this awards thingy, Kenneth puts me off with his ways and comments. I didn’t THC was that great either, enjoyed HAL more.
My goodness, I absolutely agree with you about Gordon’s team turning themselves in. Gordon did everything to cover for them, even erase that footage of Law Lok Lam’s character stealing the money while he was practically dead. With that evidence gone, it would have been better if they continued to be cops as they were before they became black cops, as part of Gordon’s legacy. But you’re right in saying that people in HK would have complained to say bad people didn’t get what they deserved.
I actually agree with everything you wrote in your review. It seemed so hypocritical of Happy to make such a big fuss about black cops when he did all of those things for Pat, including letting her go.
Michael Miu & Ben Wong really were the standouts in this series.
Good job with the review!
I’m in love with vincent.
Yup, I like him in this one, too
Did I miss something? Who is Vincent？
He only appeared in ep 16-20.
he’s the drug dealer that fell in love with pat. i loved his character too, definitely my favorite
OMG i haven’t seen Vincent for so long! I always thought he was good looking even though he had this ham sup look about him.
lolz he did heaps of category III films back in the day which prob explains why.
haha sushiroll, you could be right! i don’t think lawrence ng looks hum sup though.
This show is so blah. Like many has said, there are too many inconsistencies with mediocre acting skills by majority of the casts except for some veteran ones who can really act. Raymond Lam is unnatural, I don’t know why people kept thinking he’s fit as TV King. Kathy Tsui failed…so inconsistent. I hardly felt as pitiness for her character! Something is just not right with her portrayal. Ella Koon was so-so. Other characters…let’s just keep this short.
The series on its whole is so draggy with no ‘highs and lows’. I don’t know why this is an anniversary series -_-”’
Get your facts straight before you judge. It’s Kate not Kathy. Also, Highs and Lows isn’t an anniversary. And it doesn’t need to be to grab all the attention. SSSS is an example of a trashy anniversary series.
Well, get ur facts straight. In what way is SSSS a trashy anniversary series? The grand cast and great acting performace by the cast? Just because you like fast-paced series doesnt make snother series trashy. And i agree that high and lows is disappointing on so many levels.
In every way. Grand cast does not mean great series. Please!
I enjoyed watching this series and to me it is best series of 2012. I like the chemistry betweeen Happy sir & Pat. Kate deserves to win the TV Queen title or at least My Fav Character. After this we will hardly see Raymond couple with Kate again due to the fact he will only film 1 series/ year. I’m looking forward to see Kate + Bosco pairing up in some new other drama. Hope both Ray + Kate win the awards.
I’m kinda mixed on the ending of Happy and Sandy. By what Happy said in the bubbles scene, he was leaving the door open for a chance btwn them. If sandy stayed in hk, she would probably keep waiting for him. But b/c she left for England, I think she would probably meet someone else b/c sandy’s quite a catch. Too bad.
Btw, Ella cries very pretty.
By taking care of Pat’s child, it means Happy will always have Pat in his heart, so I don’t think it would be good for him and Sandy to be together. I think this is a good ending for Happy/Sandy to remain friends.
i like this drama and everyone in it is ok but have to say i agree when happy became obsessed with pat then things started to fall apart. i love happy sir in the beginning so i will only rewatch first 10 or so episodes. ending is sad but intense and i like all the action scenes
overall not bad and better than ssss many many times lmao
You guys don’t like SSSS because you guys do not know how to appreciate the story line. You most probably like action and modern kind of drama so you guys will say HAL is better than SSSS which is not true. You guys should learn how the story line works and how the period of drama works and what the drama is actaully about. Don’t go around saying that SSSS is bad and you already said it yourself that you like action scenes. Please think before you write something. In my opinion, HAL and SSSS cannot be compared as they are both totally two different dramas.
Personally I dont like shows depicting this era… But SSSS is quite OK so far in opinion (have not watched HAL though). I like to see women bickering over a guy, hahaha. And this shows will also see the time of abolishing slaves and 1 husband 1 wife policy. Do you know it started in 1971? I dont know until Damien said that in the 45th Gala recently.
firstly get it right. i never say ssss was bad but i say hal is much much better ok? Bad can be consider for 3 kingdom which is much worse than your ssss. you already answered for me and yes cus i like action drama so i think hal is better. i did not go around telling people and forcing them to think ssss is bad .. i never even wrote the word bad. i only stated my opinion that i think hal is better than ssss (lmao do i have to write IMO all the time for ppl to stop jumping on me cus i diss their fave series??) And excuse me but i dun see why i have to think before i write as i am stating my opinion that hal is better than your ssss but never say it is bad so dun go around shoving words in my mouth and making facts on whether this is true or not.
Like you said it depends on what kinda series you like, but even that she find SSSS to be more bad than HAL don’t mean that you need to like it less. It’s like I should say that you don’t like HAL because you don’t appreciate the story line of HAL (I don’t try to say that you don’t like HAL it’s just an example) It’s everybody’s oppinion, some may think SSSSis boring, while other find it really good, same goes to HAL so chill out 😀
everybody’s own oppinion*
ops she/he
@loop, story line? you mean 4 women fighting for 1 man? lol. sure, the drama is supposedly about damian being the first barrister in colonial hong kong, but it seems like they like to focus more on the romantic relationships…wouldn’t really call that a great storyline. and you said “Don’t go around saying that SSSS is bad and you already said it yourself that you like action scenes.” just because someone likes action scenes doesn’t mean they don’t like anything else.
purplepaw – is the storyline about Damien being the barrister? I dont think so. Look at the Chinese Title and it should be about family matters and the feuds.
So much noise on the comments, High and Lows gonna get few awards this year.
Only like Michael and Ben in this drama. Raymond doesn’t do anything for me. No idea why he should win TVB King… still need more practice!
Nice. Nice review. The support cast like MC Jin worth honourary mention like above.
The script should be more consistent and shorter like 25 eps.
Should had exploit the Ben as black cop instead gone crazy drug lord.
This series was more enjoyable to watch than SSSS. After episode 5, I gave up SSSS, what a big disappointment.
Kate Tsui sucks in this drama. The best drama I had ever seen her act is Moonlight Resonance other than that she sucks. Too dramatic. Too EXTREME!
Funny..to me she act badly in Moonlight Resonance where this drama she is just fantastic , enjoy seeing her silent tears. Not many actress can do that.
Different people have different opinions my friend. =.=
tatswee is also stating her own opinion so why the anger? lmao.
but “IMO” i agree with tatswee.
subtleness- maybe there is some misunderstanding. In what way did you see anger in this discussion?
regarding the silent tears, i was actually thinking it would be harder to have a full out crying scene…since with the silent tears, you could just use eyedrops and make a sad face haha. maybe i’m thinking of this as too simple. definitely didn’t like kate’s full out crying scenes because i couldn’t understand half the things she was saying while crying
loop being gentle on her/his reply
You will see anger when you type like WHY THE HECK *** or many !!!!!! exclaimation mark after your sentence LOL.
lmao maybe her “=.=” made me think she is frustrated and angry
maybe you should interpret it properly.
IMO, I feel that Kate acted way better in HAL. For some reason her acting in MR was a bit stiff and her crying scene near the end was a bit awkward. She did really good acting as a “bad girl”. It was when she started to rat out about Aunt Red, she was a bit weird. I don’t know. It didn’t get me to tear up. In HAL however, she made me tear up multiple times. This is just my opinion though. 🙂
Nice review. IMO the series was rather mediocre and draggy. And you are so right in saying that explosions never kill. The ending was clear proof of that.
One of the most memorable scenes for me was when Raymond threw Kate out of the car and she was knocked unconscious, and the car drove into something and burst into flames (or did it explode?). Kate ends up in the hospital whereas Raymond, who was in the flaming car, was completely fine, at home and ready to “get it on” with Kate when she had made her escape from the hospital to his apartment. Bravo.
YEAH!! That’s exactly what I thought about that scene. That’s why I’ve named Raymond “The Ironman”. This is the post about that scene: http://casualtvb.blogspot.ca/2012/10/ironman-raymond-lam-returns.html
All Raymond’s fans, please support Raymond to be TV King this year…If you can vote, please vote for him..I agree he has room for improvement…but this year is good timing for him…it is voting system (good chance for him)….at least TVB give him a good drama this year…look at the dramas that TVB give to Raymond last year…so bad..even i am his fans and don’t want to watch it!!! Raymond only will act one drama in TVB from now on…if he pass this year…not sure when the chance will come again. Also, this year Kenneth, Bosoc, Ron does not have very very very outstanding act…so Raymond has big chance…we are going to support him. VOTE FOR RAYMOND TV KING 2012…thx
Sorry, I can’t vote, but I will love and support Fung forever
TVB has not announce how to vote yet! I am in US too. We might be able to vote! I voted at TVB 8 for music award (for Raymond of course). so Stay Tune…or visit http://www.TVB.com often in late Nov or early Dec for more detail…thx
If only I could vote….*sigh*. Nevertheless, I’ll support him across the world.
TVB has not announce how to vote yet! I am in US too. so Stay Tune…or visit http://www.TVB.com often in late Nov or early Dec for more detail…thx
hahaha, if he is not that good yet, cannot be Best Actor. But most popular actor, sure win.
The drama story is unreality espc Ben’s character. How come Ben was a top police officer turn into too evil? No way. When you are cadet you are kind of old, mature to know what legal. How come he acted levil like that. Why Gorden acts to cover for his friends? No need to suffer too much like that. Unreality in HK 🙂
you know Lucifer went from been God’s angel to devil’s angel. Everything may happend lol
agree. i thought im the one think this drama has irrelevant plot and character >.< messy storyline
Loved the drama but at some points I wished that it could of been better. But I do know that people in HK loves to make complaints left right center from the smallest things so I felt they probably had to held back a lot. I was expecting the ending to be super sad like to have a lot mourning, they should of made Happy cried out his eyes when Pat really died, also the extended her last speech when she passed out. Just like Michael miu’s death was just like blah nothing more else to it.
Love the beginning. Hate then ending. HAL should have ended in episode 20! After Happy rescued Pat. But no, they had to drag it on with many ridiculous events and messy story lines. But it’s still the best series of 2012. (***IMO***)
I stopped @ eps20 i don’t know why, maybe it getting boring.
Thanks for the review.
I got confused in the storyline and so bored even though i loved Ray-Kate but i think Heung sir is more interesting. T,T I stopped at ep.14 can’t go on
A really intelligence testing no brainier of a script. TVB has finally lost their way. Time to foldup and hand everything to CTI from now on. Arf, Arf…..
HAL cast should win awards!
TV King: Michael Miu!
TV Queen: Kate!
Best Supporting Actor: Ben Wong!
Anyone notice that the picture of Chiu Sam Kau’s son that they use is the picture of the vampire boy in ‘My Date with a Vampire’?
Vampire boy
http://evchk.wikia.com/wiki/%E6%AA%94%E6%A1%88:1351843217_5d47.jpg
Just finished the series. Must say that sedated people and dead bodies are so easily moved. First, Heung Sir moved the contracted killer and sedated Ghost to the safe house. Then Ghost moved the killer and Agent’s bodies and buried them. And easily, Pun Sir found their bodies and moved them into abandoned hut. All undetected! All single-handedly! Wow!
I really enjoyed watching Highs and Lows. I thought Kate Tsui did a great job portraying Pat Chan Ka Bik. She just gave the viewers a look at her sad past life. I think Raymond Lam ” Happy Sir” showed that he liked Pat too much. He would suffer himself in order to keep Pat safe. Happy sir never thought about the outcome but I liked the show overall especially Kate Tsui. After watching Highs and Lows I started to become a big fan of Kate Tsui. I always liked her but I never really watched a show or finished a series because of her but now I like her show much I actually watch the show because of her. The way she died was very upsetting but I think she wouldn’t be happy even if she survived because she would have to take care of her son and live with the fact that everyone close to her life had died( beside Happy Sir and Ella)
I never finished a show or series just because of Kate Tsui is what I meant to say in the previous comment
I really hope Kate Tsui wins TV queen and highs and lows win best series 😀
Completely agree with the fact that the two remaining “black cops” shouldn’t have confessed. I was screaming at the screen when I watched that part.