6/3 (Chinese) - ?/? (Viet)
Release Date
April 2004 (Chinese)
Ratings
Episode 01 :: 18 pts
Episodes 02 :: 24 pts
Episodes 03 :: ?? pts
Episode 04 :: ?? pts
Episode 05 :: ?? pts Background
Episode 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
Overall comments
1/2Anthony Wong
Christine Ng
June Chan
etc...
Synopsis: A Russian in Hong Kong was discovered to have a false passport. He cooperates with the ICAC to round up the big criminals forging diplomatic passports in exchange for amnesty.
Review: This case sucked. The case itself was alright, but it was just presented much too fast. Like at the beginning, I didn't get that whole thing with hiring the new guy...and they wasted a good 5 min on it. (doesn't sound like much, but when you only have 40 min to open, develop and close a case, 5 min can make a world of difference.) Anyway, just as the case started developing, all of a sudden, they solve it. It was like, where's the fun in that? I realize that these are based on actual cases, but come on...artistic liscense.
Oh, and another minor detail: it was so funny watching that guy read the Miranda rights. He was so stiff and self-conscious. You could tell he was trying to put some acting into it, but it just came out all wrong! Maybe cuz he had to do it in English, and his English wasn't that good.
1/2Shek Sau
Wayne Lai
Gordon Liu
Marco Ngai
Power Chan (guest)
etc...
Synopsis: 3 security guards for a money transport service are down on money so they dabble in a little smuggling. Unfortunately, what they thought was a small deal turns out to be worth millions.
Review: This case was kinda retarded too. Too much happened too fast. There were just too many elements that they had to fit into the case. However, there was that one cool twist, when Luk was sick and the guards couldn't pick up the goods. Sheer luck.
1/2Shek Sau
Julian Cheung
Michael Tong
Sammul Chan
Lok Ying Kwan
etc...
Synopsis: GPA (Gov't Property Agency) Property Director Au Yiu-yeung is in cahoots with property management company Lee Shum. He abuses his power to ensure that Lee Shum always wins the bids for multi-million dollar contracts with the government despite their lack of qualifications.
Review: This case was better. Acting was still kinda bad, especially on Lok Ying Kwan's part. I've seen him do better. Anyway, plot-wise, it had more twists and turns. They almost didn't catch him. I especially loved the very last part, where Au (Lok Ying Kwan) wanted to appeal. Stinkin' hilarious. Serves him right. Hrmph!
Maggie Siu
Alex Fong
Michael Tong
Marco Ngai
Edmond So
Cheung Chi Kwong
Halina Tam
etc...
Synopsis: ICAC receives an anonymous letter accusing IRD (Internal Revenue Dept.) staff of helping large companies with tax evasion. After knowing that the ICAC is following the case, some IRD staff come forward with information on Chow Ping-chung, who they know has been modifying tax returns. Thus begins ICAC's chase of 2 cases of corruption within the IRD.
Review: Ah...finally a case I semi-like. This one was unusually complex. They followed a lead and it turned out to start a completely different case. *puaha* So cool. And they almost didn't catch the guy. He only another 10 minutes of detention before he would be release and VAVOOM! ICAC found the right evidence just in the nick of time. Chết đi cha nội! XD I especially like when Michael (Alex Fong) and Paul (Michael Tong) were chasing Lau Wai-shun (Edmond So) in that...place...with the lion dance. I thought they would catch him with the tax files, but turns out he had porn. XD See? Good twist.
I also liked that this case incorporated a bit of one of the character's personal life into the story. It made the investigators seem more human and made the story more interesting. Michael and Sz Nga's (Halina Tam) relationship was actually quite sweet. I'm glad she let him accept that promotion. Would've been a shame if he passed it up. Can you imagine being married to someone who worked for ICAC though? They're schedules are totally whack and you have no idea what they're doing. I have to agree with Sz Nga: it's pretty hard to trust your significant other in a situation like that.
One major complaint though: the camerawork was so bad... Well, bad is probably the wrong word. The director was probably going for a certain effect, but it backfired for me. Made me dizzy and gave me the hugest headache.
1/2Yoyo Mung
Edwin Siu
Leila Tong
etc...
Synopsis: _ (Edwin Siu) works as a _ and is a rookie in the industry. One night, he happens to see some construction workers shortening the poles in the foundation of a building under construction (they sell the steel to make some extra change). He tells his girlfriend, Mary (Leila Tong), about it and she insists that he reports the incident to his boss. He does, but it turns out that his boss is in on the deal as well. Seeing as his boss as well as his good friend are both in the same boat, he has no choice but to follow along, behind Mary's back. Unfortuanately, no plan is airtight and ICAC uncovers this corruption case. The other participants start to flee, leaving the unsuspecting _ in HK...
Review: This was the best case of all. By far the most interesting. Also the most heart-wrenching. You see the characters struggle with good and evil, love and work. I actually really liked the story of Edwin's friend. It was so sad that he couldn't reunite with his family in the States. Of all the cases and characters, I think he had to most compelling reason for going bad.
My only complaint: a little overacting on Edwin and Leila's part, but goodness they were beautiful when takin the pix. The ending was so sad. :(
At first, I was really really disappointed. Just everything was so so bad... The cases were way too rushed, making them seem so simple... I mean, I realize that they only had 40 min to present the entire case, but it's not impossible. I mean, shows like NYPD Blue or CSI do it everyday, and each episode is really good. I started to think that maybe it was just because the scriptwriters were too used to writing for long series, so they start out a little too slowly and so are forced to wrap it up too quickly... Well, I still don't know what it is. I was tempted to give up on this series, but I thought I see it through since it's only 3 disks anyways. Doesn't waste too much of my time. It's a good thing I did cuz the stories really started to pick up. The 3rd episode was decent. The 4th and 5th episodes were actually pretty good. :)
With such an outstanding cast, you'd think that the acting would be flawless, but to me, everyone seemed under par. It's just so sad... So many great names, and yet such sucky acting. lol. I suppose it's understandable... This isn't exactly the best venue to showcase your acting skills. First of all, most only appear in one episode. Second, there's no real room for development or emotion. The main focus is the case and there is practically zero subplot. No emotional range. I guess that makes everyone seem kinda stiff. However, episodes 3 and 4 started showing a little bit of the investigators' personal lives, allowing a wider emotional range than "serious". Then you could see the actors starting to get into it. :) They all did pretty well, apart from Edwin and Leila's overacting. =P (Sorry, I really just don't understand why it was such a huge deal.)
Oh, and sometimes, the lighting and some of the camera angles seemed really bad, too. Maybe because it was filmed on location and not on a set so the crew couldn't manipulate the lighting very well. I mean, you can't exactly tear a whole in the wall of the ICAC office. =P
bottom line: I wouldn't recommend this, but if you're waiting on another series or something with nothing else to watch, this is a pretty good time killer.