My Date with a Vampire III

The direct sequel to My Date with a Vampire II (A.k.A The Ultimate Sappy HK Drama with Vampires, Exorcist and Cheap Matrix-like SFX) or simply the HK Answer to Buffy : Vampire Slayer.

The rule of the game is simple.
-Get a Vampire and pair it up with a slayer ( which is already done for 2 series already)
-Get a catastrophe that will destroy the world (as in the 3 realms in Chinese Mythology) and set it in Hong Kong.
-Gods and Demons. Ghost and Ghouls. Vampire and Slayer. Endless fighting action in the form of Cheap Affordable CG without style or form.

Plotwise, MDwaV III tried to simulate the brain by trying to be clever. Or too clever resulting in a bored viewer if he/she cannot catch on. The last 'clever' plot device results me in a yawn because it's too dumb and anyone who saw it would agree with me.

The script crosses Back to the Future, a standard brotherhood HK SDU movie, a movie about SARS (YES!IT IS!), a warring state period romance drama and the pretty standard Vampire/Slayer "My Date with a Vampire" stuff.

Xiaoling and Tianyou were brought into the Realm of Pan Gu after II ended. Their bliss is short-changed after a rogue goddess, Yaochi Shengmu, broke free from the seal that imprisoned her. She casted a plague, killing all Pan Gu ( vampires are genetical descendants of Pan Gu) and fled to the mortal world. Hope now lies on Xiaoling, the sole survivor of the ordeal. She is entrusted to go back to Song Dynasty and to bring Jiantou, the previous incarnation of Tianyou to 2004.

Apparently that's when the logic collapse for Vampire III since it's apparent that if Jiantou never dies....how can there be Tianyou???And so the series degress into one which is "I don't care how you do it, just do it - Entertain me" show.

The script writer nevertheless tried to cover their ass by saying that Timeline is governed by the Book of Heavens. It records everything from the Start to the End and when Xiaoling brought Jiantou back, she totally 'hang' the Book of Heavens and that the future will start to change because the Book of Heavens will have recompile itself.

The plot is engaging nevertheless because the storyline shifts around, making it fresh and entertaining at every turn. The main focus is actually on Xiaoling as her screen time is relatively high compare to other characters.The other focus will be on Yaochi Shenmu the Beautiful Female Villain who would in the near future destroy the entire 3 realms just because of a word - LOVE.

Sappy and perhaps even naive the chief concept is.
But the worst part is of the cheap special effects. In fact I prefer the SFX style in Vampire I rather than II and III.
Luckily the fights are brief and few in between.The drama factor is higher in this one and I suspect the producers rather spent more money on clothes and cheap SFX rather than hiring stunt co-ordinators. If you think the SFX in Feng Yun is ridiculous, wait till you see Vampire III. It's embaressing.

And on the wardrobe factor....if you see the picture above...it's actually costumes meant for the last episode. The fun part is that these costumes are like suits in Sentai. Costumes and normal wear can be switched with a blink of an eye.

Cast wise, the casting is good except Yi Tianzhao is losing it. He looks like a bloated middle aged man and Chen Haonan is equally bad as a donkey faced middle aged man with a tuned body ( Simon Yam looks way better even he is slightly older). I cannot imagine a part IV because Yi Tianzhao will look....I cannot imagine.

Overall this series is ok to pick up if you watch the previous series. However the interest will die if you jump straight into this one.

PS: If you watched the VCD, the ending is 'open'. However the ATV ending is a step closer to 'Close' rather than 'open' with an additional scene. I suspected due to religious/moral sensitivity, that scene was obmitted from the VCD edition.