50-year-old actor Peter Ho suddenly became famous again thanks to the role of Xiang Yu in the movie "The Legend of Han Chu" 14 years ago. In just a few days, his Weibo account increased from 3 million to 4.66 million followers, and views on related topics also exceeded 1.2 billion.
This spontaneous "re-digging of old films" wave is not simply a nostalgia for a role, but also reflects a profound change in the aesthetic taste of the Chinese film industry.
When the "foundation maker" stands next to the "fiery king", viewers have used likes and shares to express their boredom with the fake, too meticulous general image in today's historical - martial arts films.
In fact, when "Han Chu Legend" aired in 2012, Ha Nhuan Dong's Xiang Yu role was once involved in controversy because of his "handsome man" image. The media criticized him for "showing off muscles", "lacking hegemony", netizens even mocked "Xang Yu is like the male lead in the movie Quỳnh Dao".
But when Truong Lang Hach's general role in the movie "Axis of Jade" aired recently and was criticized for being too flashy, the audience realized: Ha Nhuan Dong's "rough" quality of the past is what brings a true historical feeling.
To wear the armor weighing more than 20kg, Peter Ho practiced for 7 months, gaining weight to 95kg; filming topless scenes at -17°C; a figure suitable for the description of "power that can lift a bow" in history books.
He refused to shoot close-ups in slow-motion, all horse riding and fighting scenes were performed by himself, blood and dust soaked in the costumes.
Even Tran Dao Minh praised: "He has shown the punishing spirit of Hang Vu".
Ha Nhuan Dong also read more than 20 ancient books, analyzing and depicting Xiang Yu's pride, weakness and tragic nature.
Controversy surrounding the movie "Axis of Jade" has become a "detonator", reflecting 3 major issues of Chinese historical dramas today.
Martial arts general characters are gradually being "gender-neutralized" to suit thị hiếu; the image of generals has an appearance and makeup that are too perfect; combat scenes depend on slow motion and cable, being ridiculed by netizens as "like stepping out of a cosmetics livestream room".
While Ha Nhuan Dong's Hang Vu shows the aura of "pulling mountains and moving mountains" just with his eyes, many male leads today rely on "emotional interaction" to cover up the lack of depth of the character.
Some film crews even save costs to the point of being heavily armored just for display, the battlefield is all CGI, making "generals like AI puppets".
According to Sohu, audiences do not hate traffic stars, but they do not accept the type of film production that "respects beauty, lightly quality".
Ha Nhuan Dong's sudden "return to hotness" is not accidental. In the era of AI and rampant image editing, audiences are even more eager for an "imperfect" authenticity - blood-stained armor, sunburned skin, hoarse voice - these "deficiencies" create the soul for the character.
