Wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron 鹿鼎记 written by the late Jin Yong has been adapted many times to film and TV throughout the years. However, the newest remake starring Zhang Yishan, Tina Tang Yixin and Zhang Tianyang in the roles of Wei Xiaobao, Princess Jianning and Emperor Kangxi currently has a measly score of 2.6 on ratings site Douban.
It has been less than a week since The Deer and the Cauldron 2020 aired on November 15. Viewers certainly have a lot to say and it’s been mostly negative. Image wise, actor Zhang Yishan seemed like a good fit for the role not to mention that he’s been acting since he was a child. However, he ended up bearing the brunt of the blame as many found his acting too exaggerated, too comical and the interactions between the characters plain awkward.
A netizen wrote: “I am turning thirty years old this year and I have been reading Mr. Jin Yong’s martial arts novels since I was 15 yrs old in junior high school. Since then, I have become a fan of Jin Yong. For The Deer and the Cauldron, I have seen Stephen Chow, Jordan Chan and Dicky Cheung. They are all classics in my eyes. But this one? I feel that my IQ has been greatly insulted. This is the greatest humiliation to the late Mr. Jin Yong.”
There have been three Mainland Chinese adaptations in the past decade from Huang Xiaoming and Wallace Chung’s Royal Tramp in 2008 to The Deer and the Cauldron 2014 starring Han Dong. With so many actors playing the same role, it’s no wonder that comparisons will be made.
From the reviews, I am having second thoughts about watching it. What do you think about the new adaptation? Feel free to leave comments below!
Source: 1
VicoSDL
I’ve watched a bit of it. Not really bad but not extraordinary. I’d say you can watch it to kill time someday but that’s not something that you need to watch immediately.
But maybe I’m a bit biased because I’m off with the actors : I don’t hate them but none of them are my favorite and they’re certainly not the ones I hoped for in this adaptation of Jin Yong’s novel.
Rachael Nguyen
I have seen a bit of the first episode The way Zhang Yi Shan Act and his looks really fit the role. I am extremely let down by the female cast though. Its like, all the jin yong adaptation is on serious decline in choosing actors, Tang Yi San is the only recognisable face for me. surely they could have cast more popular actors. Huang Xiao Ming one, the casting was soo good. Han dong one was also not good, but there was a few middle shots in there.
This cast is so boring.
Rachael Nguyen
* Tang Yi Xin
HarvestMoon
Well to the netizen who wrote that, I have also read the novel and if I wanted to experience the original work, I will read the novel. The 08 version with Huang Xiao Ming is also the closest version to the novel as possible, so it will be ridiculous to do another one like that. I have watched up to ep17 of the 2020 version on YouTube and I have been enjoying this new yet familiar take. The only criticism I have is that the cut from 60 eps down to 45 eps really hurt the flow of the series. Things are left without explanation so some scenes leave you scratching your head if you are new to The Deer and the Cauldron. Zhang Yi Shan’s Wei Xiao Bao starts off weak but grows more in confidence as the series goes on. This novel has been done so many times and like I said earlier, the 08 version is closest to the novel as possible, if you want that then watch the 08 version. I, however, don’t want to watch that again. I just want to enjoy new takes on the novel.
Seriously
This series is unwatchable. The main actor (and I use this term loosely) exaggerated in his acting and facial portrayal. The cast has no chemistry. Majority of supporting cast is miscasted. The flow of series is awkward and uneven. Leaving accuracy from the novel aside, the series on it’s own makes no sense. The lack of big stars could have been overcome with good acting and a coherent storyline, both are lacking in this lackluster version.
henklee
On 26 eps right now, personal i’ll give it 6 rating. giving 2 is really not appreciates their hard work. yes it’s bad but not that worse and is getting slightly better in later episodes. cutting 60 to 45 eps really make it looks worse for us who now the story lines. low budget production but wrong choice of adaptation. I like the songs though.
Siboi
i’m a fans for this ‘The deer and the cauldron/Royal tramp/The duke of mount deer’, so i’ve seen the other version, and this 2020 version probably the worse. kinda dissapointed after watch first episode. the main char actor xiao bo is not quiet fit (yeah compared to the previous xiao bo, this one looks too thin yes, handsome? nah.. cute, funny? dont think so.. for xiao bo role its poor casting, ? the act maybe not bad but failed at the looks and build). even at first episode it lost story lines, too many too much detail puuff gone.. 45 ep,, want to be different/cutting budget? congrat this version is ‘the worse’. after years its getting more dissapointing. the more the tech get sophisticated, the worse this series get. kindly watch from version 1984, 1998, 2001, 2008, 2014 and maybe theres more, and you’ll see the difference. its 3/10 for the efforts. and stop making this wonderful series become worsen for any remake ??
Bram
Many story has make confused such as not explanation who other spy beside Mr Feng on the last episode and not clear mention about how to lose Wu San Gui, Taiwan and Russion region . About the map of treasure also not mentioned at all .