I was drawn to two lines from the trailer.
"You have to memorize every number, every equation, to make sure that you and the corona still have this information in your head, and leave Shanghai safely."
"If there is a Japanese spy in Chongqing Station, it will be all over."
As soon as the dialogue came out, the atmosphere of spy warfare was directly filled, which set the tone for the drama style of "Lonely Battle in the Lost City".
On the eve of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the Sino-Burmese border.
There was an inexplicable outbreak of a serious epidemic in the camp of the expeditionary force, but an unknown person dressed in Japanese military clothing was not infected, and he certainly attracted the attention of the military commanders.
Qin Moqing, a member of our underground party who penetrated into the enemy, also participated in the identification.
"Yes, that's him. Chief of Staff Du, Section Chief Qin, I just felt that he was a little familiar, and I had seen a photo of him in the archives of the military command. ”
"He is Wen Yishan's most important apprentice, Ou Xiaoan, who killed the brothers of the two military commanders and became a lackey of the Japanese."
Qin Moqing's face was stunned, and he immediately asked, wasn't he executed back then?
"That's right, he was shot dead by Stationmaster Wei and Xiao Miao in Hong Kong. Hey, back from the dead? ”
It's a big drama of a mysterious man "coming back from the dead" with serious injuries and amnesia, and the secret in his mind is about to become a treasure for all parties to compete for.
And the bigger puzzle has just begun, who is this Ou Xiaoan?
What's the secret behind it?
What kind of conspiracy will he reveal?
Who is secretly hidden? Who's playing whom?
This is a scene in the domestic spy war drama "Lonely Battle Maze".
In this spy war scene, there are rescues, explosions, amnesia, interrogations, traps, and yellow finches behind.
Domestic spy war drama, and you want to break the game again?
In the first half of this year, three spy war dramas detonated domestic spy wars in a row: "The Wind Chaser", "When the Stars Shine" and "Harbin 1944", although the traffic popularity and ratings are quite good, but they also left word-of-mouth controversy.
Who's going to break the game?
Tonight, this 40-episode spy war drama "Lonely War Maze" suddenly landed in Taochang and Goose Factory, and next, the show will be broadcast simultaneously on Dongfang and Beijing two first-line satellite TV in mid-July.
After an hour and a half of the premiere, it has already won the first place on the platform's soaring list.
Why?
Looking at the lineup, Huang Jingyu , Xin Zhilei starring, as well as Ma Sichao, Dong Xuan, Zhang Xilin, Zhang Zijian, Zhao Da, Xiao Shunyao and other powerful factions.
What attracted me more was the subject matter.
Finally, there is a spy war drama aimed at the Japanese army's bacteriological warfare.
Whether it is for the subject matter itself or a spy war drama, this is a very new attempt.
Can you break through the maze of spy warfare? Let's look down.
1: Story
The opening four episodes are full of fog, and the main plot of this show, as well as the potential dramatic conflicts, are already clear and clear.
Core figure: Ou Xiaoan, an underground member of the Communist Party of China, but he also has an identity, that is, a member of the Chongqing Station of the Military Command who has "been executed".
Core Event: Searching for information on biochemical and chemical poison gas in Japan.
At the beginning of the story, three lonely battles have already begun.
The first battle, escape.
In 1945, near the end of the Anti-Japanese War, a Japanese poison gas research institute codenamed 810 manufactured thousands of poison gas bombs, secretly transported them to China, and could be dropped at any time.
Although Ou Xiaoan, who was ordered to investigate in the shadows, successfully escaped from the "Japanese Army Biochemical Gas Research Institute", he lost his memory.
By chance, it was discovered by the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
By chance, he met Qin Moqing, an underground member of the Communist Party of China, but after waking up, Ou Xiaoan injured his head and lost his memory of nearly four years in prison.
Qin Moqing, who found something different, decided to save Ou Xiaoan and find out the secret hidden in his mind.
Next, how does Ou Xiaoan take the end of his memory four years ago as a starting point, pick up his memory, reveal the secrets of the Japanese military biochemical research institute, and expose the true face of Japanese spies?
The foreshadowing has been laid.
The second battle, lurking.
With the awakening of Ou Xiaoan's memory, the details of his lurking 6 years ago will gradually appear.
Six years ago, he was ordered by Wen Yishan, then the head of the Chongqing Station of the Military Command, to infiltrate the Japanese army.
The key person to be approached is Kazuno Ohashi, the commander of the Japanese intelligence command.
Here's your chance.
In a military commander assassination operation, Ohashi Kazuno was held in the car by the assassins and died together, and at the moment of life and death, Ou Xiaoan pulled out Ohashi Kazuno.
Then he took Ohashi Kazuno all the way to dodge in the midst of the war.
When he encounters two military commanders on the road, he can only knock down the billboard and block them.
But at this moment, Japanese reinforcements arrived and shot and killed two agents, and Ou Xiaoan knew at that moment that this account would definitely be counted on his head.
It was this rescue that laid the foreshadowing of Ou Xiaoan's next fate: he was trusted by Ohashi Kazuno and had the opportunity to get close to intelligence, but he was also recognized as a traitor by the military commanders.
Next, it's the third battle, the secret war.
Ou Xiaoan's hidden mission was to obtain the chemical formula of the "810 Poison Gas Research Institute", and with the assistance of his companions, he succeeded.
But time is limited, Japanese agents are rushing to his house, and time is running out.
He was alone, and he couldn't leave with the information, so there was only one way: burn the information, and before that, keep all the information in his head.
At one end, the Japanese agents had already rushed to his door and banged on the door desperately.
On the other hand, Ou Xiaoan could only shorthand the intelligence equation and burn the intelligence at the same time. Later, the "9548" that Ou Xiaoan had been thinking about was the key to intelligence.
Intelligence, remember.
Companion, arrested.
Ou Xiaoan had no choice but to kill his companion with his own hands.
How will Ou Xiaoan break the game next?
Will he be able to get away with the intel with him?
Ou Xiaoan, who obtained information back then, lost his memory because of what?
In 1945, how did Ou Xiaoan recover his memory and crack the enemy's biochemical gas warfare conspiracy?
The opening story, one link after another, constitutes a spy war maze.
And spy war dramas, especially spy war dramas of the Republic of China, the biggest attraction is never the ending.
Instead, let the audience feel the psychological oppression of the characters in a game of cat and mouse.
The thrilling storyline at the beginning not only integrates the overall framework of the agent's amnesia story, but also cleverly uses suspense to integrate the elements of the Japanese army's bacteriological warfare.
is both true and false, life and death, and the escape and wit fight of fiction and reality also support the thickness of the story of "Lonely Lost City".
I'm in the play.
2: Follow-up highlights
Ou Xiaoan's successful acquisition of intelligence and amnesia is just a prelude, the real core of the dramatic conflict in this play is that after he returns to Chongqing Station and gradually retrieves his memory, if he gains the trust of the military commander, how to find his identity, distinguish friend from foe, crack the conspiracy, and complete the task.
In this play, Ou Xiaoan mainly faces 2 major problems.
First, military infighting
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the Kuomintang at this time was ready to receive all the "people, money, and materials" left over from the Japanese army's biochemical and poison gas research institute to prepare for future battles with us.
At this time, Ou Xiaoan was also taken back to Chongqing Station for trial, and gradually regained his memory, it turned out that he was an agent of our party lurking in the military command, codenamed "Lone Star".
How could he continue to lurk and at the same time defuse the Kuomintang's conspiracy to receive biochemical poison gas from the Japanese army?
The answer is, to use strength.
Like Yu Zecheng in "Latent", the best way to complete the task is the internal fighting within the enemy.
For example, the contradiction between Wei Qingming, the head of the Chongqing station of the military command, and Wen Yishan, the deputy station chief.
Wen Yishan was originally the head of Chongqing Station, but because Ou Xiaoan was judged to defect to the enemy, he was demoted, and he and Wei Qingming were naturally incompatible.
Wei Qingming's trial of Ou Xiao'an is actually a mountain of trials.
For Wen Yishan, Bao Ou Xiao'an, to find his innocence, is to protect himself.
This drama of military infighting is interesting.
Second, work together to break the game
At the beginning of the story, it was my underground party member Qin Moqing who saved Ou Xiaoan.
However, our underground party is good at using one-line contact, which has the advantage of being easy to conceal, and the disadvantage is that our own people are face-to-face, and they may not know each other.
But Ou Xiaoan and Qin Moqing can only break the situation if they join forces.
How did Ou Xiaoan, who survived, bear the charge of being a traitor to Japan, piece together the past from memory fragments, and at the same time go from mutual suspicion, questioning, and temptation with Qin Moqing from the beginning, to joining hands to cooperate with the rape, and even uncover the conspiracy of the Japanese army's "Falling Sakura Plan"?
The rivalry between them will undoubtedly boost the clues of the whole play all the way to the climax.
Fighting alone, after all, not alone.
3: Perception
After watching the first 4 episodes of "Lonely Lost City", you have to ask me what is the most direct impression?
I would use three words to describe it, that is, "dark, dangerous, mysterious"!
The atmosphere of the story, dark.
The rhythm of the plot is dangerous.
Spy warfare, fan.
First, the atmosphere of the story is dark.
In spy warfare, first look at the general environment.
In 1945 and 1939 in this play, the Anti-Japanese War was at a critical moment.
Just like the Japanese army said in the play, the lights of Shanghai at one end are red and green, and it is a paradise on earth, but there is an undercurrent.
The Japanese biochemical laboratory at one end is hell on earth.
And the Chongqing Military Intelligence Station, which is calm on the surface, can also be said to be extremely dangerous.
The director uses multiple time and space interspersed narratives, which makes the atmosphere of spy warfare like a lost city.
Second, the rhythm of the plot is fast
This drama is a spy war drama at the beginning, the male and female protagonists don't know each other, and then the story keeps going back and forth between 1945 and 1939, introducing everyone to the spy war plot, and then through the details of the struggle between the enemy and us, the plot rhythm is as fast as lightning and clean.
The overall rhythm gives me the texture of a classic spy war drama, although it is a bit cliché, but the perception is exciting enough.
Third, the atmosphere of spy warfare is full of fog
Filming the atmosphere of spy warfare, "Latent" is the best in this, "Latent" throws Yu Zecheng into the military unification Tianjin station, and "The Lonely Battle in the Maze" throws the male and female protagonists into the military unification Chongqing station.
put spy warfare into the workplace, and then cooperated with the background of anti-Japanese resistance and civil war, so that the whole story is not only intertwined with strong dramatic conflict elements such as gas warfare, spy warfare, and psychological warfare, but also full of the heaviness of the times, pulling the audience's nervousness in the horror of being recognized again and again.
In the midst of darkness, danger, and mystery, the story slowly unfolds, and the military commanders, underground workers, Japanese troops and other forces compete at all levels, which is both intricate and tense.
This lonely battle in the maze can be regarded as a real play.
4: Actor's acting skills
In addition to the male and female protagonists, Dong Xuan, Zhang Xilin, Zhang Zijian, Zhao Da, Xiao Shunyao, etc., are all old acquaintances of everyone's spy war dramas.
In the opening four episodes, the acting skills have been revealed.
The first place, Huang Jingyu
He plays Ou Xiao'an is the core character in the play, not only has intelligence secrets, but also needs to regain his memory in the mission, which is also the core of the story of the whole play.
From Gu Shun in "Operation Red Sea" to "Icebreaker" and "Punishment", Huang Jingyu has become a tough guy representative in domestic entertainment, but this is the first time he has played a major role in a spy war drama.
At present, Huang Jingyu's performance is good, and his performance has a strong sense of substitution, but the real challenge is still to come.
second place, Xin Zhilei
There is a saying in domestic martial arts dramas: There is no chivalrous woman after Ding Baiying.
After becoming famous with "Embroidered Spring Knife 2", Xin Zhilei played along the begonia blossoms and Li Li all the way, and her performance gradually improved.
This time, he played our spy who broke into the enemy, and he was also the key person to wake up the male protagonist, with a high-intelligence face, which was already very convincing.
In the play, she is not only keen and resolute, calm in the face of various dangers, but also swaying at the same time.
This pair of spy war combinations is interesting.
third place, Zhang Xilin, Zhang Zijian
put these two together because their roles in the play are a pair of sworn enemies of the Chongqing Station of the Military Command.
Zhang Xilin's famous role is Qi Peilin in the spy war drama "Before Dawn".
Over the years, he has played Cai Chenggong in "In the Name of the People" and Ma Yunbo in "Icebreaker", this time he played Wei Qingming, who is the head of the Chongqing Station of the Military Command, with a cold face that makes people shudder, and the gloomy face makes the audience's disgust for the military commander concrete.
Look at Zhang Zijian again, the former "Yan Shuangying", this time he incarnated Wen Yishan, the deputy stationmaster of Chongqing Station, with a hysterical sentence of "Whoever stands in my way as the stationmaster, I will let whoever dies", so that the character is crazy at a glance.
This military infighting is wonderful.
In addition, there is also Dong Xuan, who made a stunning appearance in a cheongsam.
Yao Anlian, who is upright and awe-inspiring.
Yishui's acting school, everyone can watch the drama with peace of mind.
5: Spy War Maze
After watching the entire 4 episodes, the rhythm of the spy war plot is not delayed, the logic of the outwitted plot is online, and the actors' acting skills are solid, but the audience will definitely have the same question: Can the spy war drama crack the maze?
There has been an old saying over the years: after "Kite", there will be no spy war dramas.
Domestic spy warfare started from "Secret Calculation" in 2006 to "Kite" in 2017, and experienced an 11-year creative peak.
Many excellent spy war dramas such as "Latent", "Cliff", "Kite", and "Before Dawn" were born.
is Liu Yunlong at the end and at the end, no wonder he is called the "father of spy war dramas".
But after 2017, the creation of spy war dramas encountered a bottleneck.
"Latent" and "Before Dawn" have filmed all the tricks of spy war dramas, and "Kite" excavates the human thinking of spy war dramas to the end.
The creative space left for those who come after is destined to become narrower and narrower.
7 years have passed, and the real classic spy war dramas have not been seen, and the spy war hits are only "Wind Chaser" and "Rebel".
But I saw a glimmer of hope for a spy war breakthrough from "Lonely Lost City".
Because it has completed the upgrading of traditional spy warfare in a new way.
First of all, "Lonely Battle in the Maze" abandons the growth mode of "cultivation system" heroes, and directly allows heroes to complete their growth, losing their memories at the beginning, and next, they are trying to retrieve their memories and complete the task.
Secondly, it is a breakthrough in the theme, telling the story of the protagonist's difficult lurking and smashing the Japanese army's poison gas warfare conspiracy.
In the end, it is the drama that is trying to find the spy war drama - faith.
In Chongqing in 1945, the situation was changing rapidly, everyone could not see the future clearly, and many Kuomintang people were already full of holes in their hearts.
But there are still people who are sacrificing their lives for the country and the nation, such as the male protagonist.
The process of retrieving the memory of the male protagonist, who is regarded as a traitor, is also a process of reshaping beliefs.
This story reminds me of Zheng Yaoxian, the "sixth child" in "Kite".
In his old age, he was riddled with illness, and his only last wish was to go to Tiananmen Square and watch the national flag raising with his own eyes.
Ou Xiaoan's beliefs, Zheng Yaoxian's beliefs, are all the same.
All their dedication and sacrifice are just for today's China.
And this belief, about national complexes and patriotic sentiments, is the real core of all spy war dramas.
As long as there is this emotional foundation, the core of the spy war drama will not collapse.
There are no outdated spy stories in this world; Outdated, nothing more than a way of telling a story.
I hope that "Lonely Battle Maze" will open a new game for a spy war drama.