Legal Mavericks 踩过界 // Review

Overview:

Legal Mavericks is a drama series that falls under the genre/category of legal drama, crime film and
detective fiction which is a handful for a series that only lasts for 28 episodes. This drama is one of the
dramas of 2017 and it aired during April and May. Legal Mavericks is also the first drama that is a
collaboration between TVB and iQiYi (Chinese Broadcast Company), the story has been split into 2
seasons of <盲侠大律师 > in Mainland whereas it was aired as one season named < 踩过界> in Hong
Kong and Malaysia. Nonetheless it was a hit and had a total of more than 100 million views in total.

P.S. Sorry for the over-referencing to Over Run Over

Main Casts:

Vincent Wong as Hope Man

Sisley Choi as Deanie

Owen Cheung as Gogo

Ali Lee as Never Wong

Gilbert Lam as Gotham

Pal Sinn as T.Y.

Tracy Chu as Yanice

Plot:

This story revolves around Hope Man who became blind due to a car accident during his childhood.
Because of this he was constantly despised and looked down by others around him as he was growing
up in an orphanage because his dad ‘abandoned’ him after the accident which has caused him to have
a deep hatred towards him. Through his perseverance and determination, Man Sun-Hap managed to
qualify as a professional barrister. As he is blind, his other senses have been heightened due to this
which has allowed him to gain the status of Hope Man or Blind Legal Knight in the legal industry.
However, he tends to shut himself out from everyone which explains why no one really knows his true
character. Fortunately, his roommate and private detective, Kuk Yat-Ha and Chiu Ching-Mui who is his
assistant and a legal executive with a triad upbringing are his two buddies that he can rely on. This trio is
known as the Three Sword Fighters who never bow down to power and are always ready to seek justice
for the underprivileged.  Hope Man’s unique style has caused female judge Never Wong Li-Fan to fall for
him. But Hope Man’s heart is only reserved for a person, Yanice, who was his first lover that he met in
college and become soul mates. However she had to leave him due to her father’s threat to ruin Hope
Man’s future. Left with no choice, she had to leave and decided to further her studies overseas as an
opthamologist with a hope to cure his eyes. Hope Man’s life changes when Yanice re-enters his life after
leaving him twelve years ago followed by his dad (played by Law -Lok-Lam), who he took non-existent
the moment his dad decided to leave him at the orphanage when he was six , shows up again and is
diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic  lateral sclerosis) and would like to be euthanized, an action which is
illegal in Hong Kong . Expanded to a quartet, they encounter several cases that puts their chemistry and
friendship to the test.

Song Thoughts:

Theme Song 主题曲 － Insight《心眼》王浩信

Ending Theme 插曲／片尾曲 － 《爱近在眼前》何雁诗

I thought that the song choices made for this song was really fitting for this drama. Insight by Vincent
Wong really suited this series as he brought out the feelings of Hope Man in that song showing almost
how he is ranting about injustice in the world and the fact that most people today are only making
assumptions solely based on what they see and neglecting the details of the events and/or what their
heart says. I fell in love with the song《爱近在眼前》by Stephanie Ho as this songs brings back so much
memories from Over Run Over. Over Run Over’s  theme song which sorts of depicts the love story of
Vincent Wong and Tracy Chu named《最真心一对》in its story line which was also sung by Stephanie
Ho absolutely brainwashed me after I’ve finished the series and is still obsessed with till today. I am as in
love with 《爱近在眼前》 as I was with《最真心一对》because of the soothing melody that they both
share and the meaningful lyrics with has references to the storyline. The ‘MV’ of《爱近在眼前》was very
well made as it followed the theme of Legal Mavericks by having the slightly grey, black-and-white theme
and clips from the video which have been derived from the series did not reveal too much as to what
would be happening in the story.

Review:  

Being a huge fan of Over Run over which aired last year (2016), this is a series that I had been waiting
for as they have brought back most of the cast from Over Run Over. I was absolutely amazed at this
series and was not disappointed at all after finishing it . Despite having a completely different genre and
plot from Over Run Over, this series shone and stood out as its own and kudos to the scriptwriter for the
references mades from Over Run Over, which would definitely satisfy a fan of Over Run Over, I know it
did it for me as a fan of Over Run Over . Okay, stop the comparison and get on to the actual review. This
series has absolutely blown my mind. In this series, they covered controversial topics that were rarely
brought up in the society such as nudity as a form of art, animal rights and the legalisation of euthanasia.
The court scenes were really interesting to see what arguments they had to offer for each other and
Walter (played by Hugo Wong) was really persuasive as a lawyer and was really surprised to see him in
here and took me a while to realise that he played Tim in Over Run Over. Over the course of the series,
the way which the quartet went about to solve the cases that they had was really hooking as I thought
that it was really smart and could be really fascinating to a certain extent.

The 4 main characters (Hope Man, Dino, Gogo, Never) worked well together and the chemistry between
them was really nice to see, the way that they backed each other up, especially during the last case was
really touching to watch and almost experience with them. The ending of this show was wrapped up
nicely but the scene where Yanice died was really sad to see. She promised Hope Man that she would
be the first person that he would see after his eyes have recovered from the surgery, not only was she
not the first person he saw, the first time he saw her would also be the last time he sees her. That scene
tugged on I’m sure many people’s heartstrings and it reminded me of the scene where Tracy Chu died in
Over Run Over and how heartbroken Ditch was. I’ll elaborate more on the individual's performance later,
or right about NOW.

Vincent Wong → Hope Man／文申侠

Vincent Wong’s portrayal of Hope Man was astounding as he was really natural and his portrayal of a
blind man was really persuasive and believable from the way he thinks, to the way he walks and even to
the way he eats/cooks. How acute his senses were could sometime seem too unrealistic because how
accurate they are but Vincent manages to pull it off really naturally and in a really believable manner. I
really enjoyed the court scenes in this series as I was really fascinated at how sharp he is and how
quick-witted he is, the way of which his lines were delivered sounds extremely professional. Vincent
Wong presented Hope Man as an individual  which is serious at times but is really humorous at times
and times where he just doesn’t even accept the opposing parties B.S. is absolutely hilarious. Calling his
opponents ‘小学生’ and telling T.Y that ‘我想你想我死多过我想你死吧’, the tone where he delivered these
lines were really different to his usual ‘professional’ self. Hope Man became my idol after this series
because of how unbelievably smart he is and how he is very subtle about his love towards his friends
and family. His crying scenes were all really touching and the way he delivered his lines was really ‘real’
and he really poured all his emotions into his acting. I was really impressed with his acting and became
a huge fan of his after this series. Lines that he had which had reference to Over Run Over got a fan like
me to go berserk and there were scenes that were to dejavu to me as it kind of echoed from similar
scenes in Over Run Over.

Over Run Over EU超时任务

Legal Mavericks 踩过界

Sisley Choi → 癫姐/ Deanie/ Dino

I think that Sisley Choi did really well in this series than she did in her previous ones, the way that she
enunciates was really accurate considering the fact that she was wearing a buck-tooth prop. Sisley
managed to make Dino an extremely likable character by showing how loyal of a friend she is at times
where she would stop at nothing to help her friends and how she would always believe in her friend no
matter how bad the situation is. The only thing that I would nitpick from Sisley’s performance in this series
is the way she delivers her lines where the tone can sometimes sound extremely similar, despite her
change in emotions. I liked the chemistry that she had with the other casts such as Hope Man
(Vincent Wong) and Gogo (Owen Cheung) who she shared the majority of her screen time with and I
think that she strives when she acts with them. But other than that she did extremely well and I think that
this is a breakthrough performance from her and for her as an individual.

Owen Cheung → GoGo／谷一夏

Ever since he has joined the industry, Owen have been known as the guy who looks like a mix of
Cheung Chi-Lam and Bosco Wong who also happens to have a great impersonation of Chilam. I think
that this is the show for Owen, his character, Gogo was such a great addition to the mix of the quartet.
His character was humorous, smart, down-to-earth and understanding. He contributed most of the
comedic factor to this show and it was really nice to see him being so natural in a series. Ali Lee brought
up in an interview that Go Go's personality was really similar to Owen which may have explained why his
portrayal of Gogo was so likeable, him being casted for this role 简直就是 fit 过伦敦. Gogo and Hope
Man’s relationship in this series was really likable, the way they behaved around each other were just
like brothers and the scenes of them on Gogo’s motorbike could really show how close the 机车巴打
were to each other (despite a lot of viewers shipping together after those scenes were aired).

Ali Lee → Never Wong / 王勵凡

Never Wong played by Ali Lee, this was quite a change of roles to see Ali play, like she said at the
Starhub's Awards 2017 at Singapore, she normally plays the homewrecker role and this is one of the
few main role she has gotten in a drama given the short time frame that she has joined the industry.
I have to say that she did great in this series, I think that her character is the one that has embraced the
idea of ‘踩过界’, which literally means ‘Crossing the Line’, definitely not a very stereotypical court judge.
Despite being a court judge, Never enjoys clubbing and having a night life which is a huge taboo to
Gotham, an established and famous lawyer who helped Never to the position that she is in today due to
his involvement in a committee. Just like Hope Man, Never dares to challenge the conservative natures
of the legal system. Ali totally pulled off Never’s outgoing personality in this series and the way she
portrayed the character showed how serious she can be and also how open she can be. Ali’s way of
delivering her lines as Never was amazing as her tone changes as her emotions changes and you can
easily tell that her emotions has changed just from her voice which may help with her limited range of
expressions she had in the series. Never’s chemistry with Hope Man in this series is undeniable, from
the way that they know how each other thinks just from an action or a note is absolute #goals right there.

Partners:

Hope Man & Gogo → Vincent Wong & Owen Cheung

Hope Man and Gogo, the 机车巴打, this duo is absolutely amazing together. The chemistry that they
have each other is amazing. Their contrasting personality I think is one thing that makes this pairing
work so well. They deal with each other. Gogo deals with Hope Man’s temper while Hope Man deals
with Gogo’s humour, jokes and occasional kisses. I think that they worked really well together and they
enhanced each other’s acting when they acted alongside each other. You can really see their
brotherhood through the things that they go through together and in the Yanice’s case was one where
you can really see how brotherly both of them are. You can also see this previous but I just thought that
the last case was one that really showcased it.

Hope Man & Yanice → Vincent Wong & Tracy Chu (excessive reference to Over Run Over)

Hope Man and Yanice, college lovers and best friends. I think that they are really cute together as a
couple and also each other’s best friends and borderline soul mates. Flashback to the college lifes really
show how close they were as friends and how sad it would’ve been for both of them when yanice was
forced to leave. Despite the 12 years that Hope Man waited for Yanice, both of them have a special
place for each other in their heart. While Yanice was gone, Hope Man still kept the MD machine that
Yanice left behind for him and has been listening to it before he has a case which might show just how
much Yanice motivates Hope Man in his life. I think that as touching as their love story was in this, they
are still second to 渠头 and 臭婆娘. I was touched by their love story and how cute they are. It’s really
sad that Tracy Chu died in both of these series and how sad Vincent Wong was in both of them was
really touching. In Over Run Over they have an object which sort of signifies their love which was the
hourglass necklace. That is the most meaning an object has ever had, that necklace signified everytime
they time travelled and everything that they went through together. (Sorry for that fangirl moment there of
their relationship. ><) Back to Hope Man and Yanice, I think that in this series one of the things that
signified their relationship was the green tea ice cream and wasabi which has made an appearance from
their collage flashback and also at the college again but 12 years later. I just can’t get enough of Vincent
Wong and Tracy Chu together !! This is the only series that Tracy filmed this year as she is currently
studying but I was really glad that the only series that she filmed was this.

Hope Man & Never →  Vincent Wong & Ali Lee

Hope Man and Never. Interesting pairing, cute nonetheless :) I think that this pairing of character was
really lovable. The chemistry they had with each other as their roles and of course between the actor
and actress as well was unquestionable. The way that they understood what each other needed during
times was nice to see and also how they know how each other feels and thinks through very simple
actions or speeches was really cool and the friendship that they had with each other was a really great
pairing as both of these characters are extremely knowledgeable with ,I’m pretty sure, extraordinary EQ
levels. Sometimes how well they are able to understand each other could be quite unbelievable given
the time that they have known each other. But the bond that they have built by the end of the series was
amazing to see build-up but sad to see end.

Deanie, Gogo, Never, Hope Man  → Sisley Choi, Owen Cheung, Ali Lee & Vincent Wong

This quartet was absolutely the spotlight of the series, I think that these four were the ones who made a
name for these series. Their friendship in this drama was amazing and how they were always there for
each other was extremely commendable. How supportive of each other during hard time and how they
understood and trusted each other was a really touching scene to see. Although they quarrel sometimes
but that’s how friends are we quarrel all the time but it’s only for the better of each other. They would also
give advice to each other through difficult times and get physical with each other when needed if they
think that they are making an irrational decision which would be an amazing way to showcase their love
for each other. Even though these four also has a complicated love web behind of it. But I think that
through this love web we as the audience would also be able to see more of each character’s
personalities such as how loyal Hope Man was to Yanice and how 癫姐 was subtly and quietly supporting
Hope Man all these time. Really hope to see these four on screen together soon :)

Quotes from series:

“ 我怕开始是因为我怕建立，我怕建立是因为我怕结束” － 文申侠

“ 你要我抱住一个期望，你说我睁开眼睛就能看见你。为什么我睁开眼睛会看见你的遗容。我不想再看得
见！为什么你要把我的眼睛治好？为什么你要给我期望然后给我的却是一个遗憾？我连你的信也还没看，
我连你的名字也不会写。为什么你就这样离开我？为什么我要封闭自己？为什么？为什么我不说出来？
为什么我不还能更你说清楚之时告诉你我有多么爱你？“ － Hope Man