llwy12's comments on Sentinel:
Steven did brilliantly here, my favorite scenes are many: 1) his adoptive parents’ suicide, 2) his torture scenes with his demonic stare of defiance, bravado smirks, his hoarse voice ominously uttering his threats, and his fatigue and pain from torture. 3) ending, when he wearily walks out of palace hall slowly unbuttoning his imperial robe and letting it drop onto the floor. That exhaustion of mind and body was so well performed. 4) taking center stage in the ending 5) all his scenes with is his parents, monk, and father and most with Kenneth including the flag dance. And much more.
For me the biggest problem of Kenneth’s performance is his ott acting throughout the series whether with his big goggle eyes widened or his overt smirk to look ‘evil’ but failed. I find his lip twitching and wriggly mustache quite distracting, at times quite comedic; his over villain is definitely too old school cartoonish for me. Esp.in the ending when Steven scolded 5th prince for being so naïve and there Kenneth was with his 3 combo expression - big eye glare, twitching lip & mustache and smirk – very distracting. I just couldn’t take Kenneth’s villain all that seriously. It's like he's playing a villain, not being a villain. Whereas, villains have looks that can kill, Kenneth’s evil looks resemble that of a deer caught in headlights. Added to that, his scenes with Elaine also really made me cringed. He did not come across as a tragic star-crossed, mature lover but rather as a petulant and obsessive dumped lover what with his pleads and 'tantrum'. Guess maybe he was already losing his mind? Though still petulant, his scenes with Natalia were much better as the manipulated and abusive husband, but did he have to be so overt with his ‘victorious’ smirks at pulling the wool over his wife’s eyes? Overall, Kenneth gets just a passing grade from me for his performance. And being younger than Power and Steven, Kenneth was definitely miscast because he failed to project the air of a worldly older brother. Agree with you, Kenneth was a hit and miss because I did enjoy some of his earlier scenes with Steven.
Power Chan (Emperor Hong Hei)
Sorry to say, with his hands demurely held together before him, his humble posture, his ever jovial demeanor, his soft voice, his crossing of legs and his indecisiveness, his performance seemed more suited to a humble eunuch than to a powerful sovereign who had with Hao Chong's help kept the wolves at bay for so long. No matter how humble the demeanor may be, there is this inevitable and unmistakable air of authority and power that cling to a figure of power. Power did not display any.
Ching Hor Wai (Empress Dowager Hao Chong)
As an all powerful matriarch in a prominent family, she did fine, but as the all powerful imperial Grand Empress Dowager Hao Chong, she did not impress me all that much. Who was Hao Chong? She was a woman who had held the reign together for more than 8 long years. (Hong Hei ascended at 8, defeated Oboi at around 16 years of age) Her wish was other people’s commands, her presence inspired respect and awe, and her diplomacy was well perfected. Her political acumen had been honed to perfection so subtlety should be a second nature to her, so I really did not like all that overt sarcasm and raising of voice and shouting. Ching did not project a royal person with absolute power and authority but rather as a vicious grandmother. There was no years of cultivated culture in her voice or mannerisms.
I admit I’ve spoiled by Cheng Dao Ming’s and Si Qing Gao Wa’s brilliant performances in Kangxi Dynasty that I find Power’s and CHW’s lacking.
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