"The Other Truth" Review

"The Other Truth" is the most case driven drama of the year, which is a shame since it had so much potential for intriguing and sweet love relationships and enjoyable character interactions.  While it is above average compared to other series this year, it falls significantly short of the preceding lawyer drama "Ghetto Justice", which better balanced cases and characters.  Putting aside my love and bias for Ruco Chan, I neither hated "The Other Truth" nor loved it.

Characters and Performances

Ruco Chan - "Keith"
After 17 years of struggling in the entertainment industry despite immense talent and good looks, Ruco finally landed a lead role and received the recognition and praise he deserves for his portrayal of "Keith".  The character feels tailor made for him, as Ruco excels at portraying gray characters.  Ruco has consistently delivered solid performances as semi-villains since returning to TVB, which caused many people to be biased against him.  I am very satisfied that not only did he get the chance to portray a good guy for a wider audience to like him, but was also given the chance to portray such an intriguing character that allowed him to showcase his talent.  Keith highly believes in justice, and is not afraid to take risks and come dangerously to the bottom line in order to achieve it.  Not only does Ruco have charisma that makes Keith ridiculously attractive, but he flawlessly brings out the rebellious and independent nature and unconventional thinking the character is supposed to have.  Ruco portrays Keith in such a charming, subtle, and natural fashion and has my vote for Best Actor as well as Favorite Male Character.

On a slightly off topic note, I usually don't like Producer Amy Wong much, but she gets major bonus points for seeing the talent in Ruco and finally letting my favorite artiste the chance to shine!

Tavia Yeung - "Mavis"
When I learned that Tavia would be portraying an independent and strong lawyer, I was ecstatic.  I thought that she would finally be able to break out of the weak and emotional characters she has been portraying lately.  However, other than being independent and intelligent, Mavis is a flat and uninteresting character.  In return, you wonder why Keith and Wallace both fell for her so hard.  Tavia brings nothing new with this portrayal.  She was sick during filming, which resulted in her screen time being distributed to others.  This makes me wonder, had Tavia not been sick, would Mavis have been more developed?

Raymond Wong - "Wallace"
Although Raymond Wong is another one of my favorite actors, I am glad the writers sidelined him more in favor of promoting Ruco, who has been in the industry a couple more years than Raymond.  "Wallace" was a more laid back and playful character compared to the ones Raymond has portrayed since being promoted to lead with less challenging material.  As a result, he portrays Wallace with ease.  Raymond is a handsome and great actor, but when standing with Ruco, the latter seems to outshine him in both aspects.

While Tavia and Raymond did share many cute scenes together, I preferred Ruco and Tavia together since I think they were more compatible personality wise.  They had things in common, but also had many differences that compliment each other.  Mavis encouraged Keith to be more structured and responsible while Keith encouraged Mavis to act outside the box and be more unorthodox.

Natalie Tong - "Cecillia"
Cecillia was perfectly likable, and her crush on Keith was sweet.  Natalie's performance was average, but I'm starting to feel like all her performances are the same.

Louis Yuen - "James"
Due to him not being nowhere as attractive and professional looking as Keith or Wallace, James is a hardworking and modest yet klutzy lawyer who strives to be taken seriously as a professional.  Although I don't like Louis too much, this was a nice role change for him.  I was annoyed with the amount of screen time he had in the beginning, but he grew on me later on.

Kenneth Ma - "Alex"
Kenneth's portrayal of Alex generated much discussion while the series was airing.  He takes a break from his usual righteous roles, which is a nice change.  There were certainly flaws in his performance (he seemed innocent at times), but overall he delivered.  His last scene was very chilling and realistic!

Highlights 

• Ruco's performance as Keith.
• The jury trial.  It was refreshing and interesting to see the jury interactions.  Not only was it a fantastic new spin on handling the cases, but we got to learn more about how a jury worked.  I commend all the actors featured in the case's jury as well, especially veteran Angelina Lo.
• Keith and Mavis' bickering and bantering scenes.
• Wallace's pursuit of Mavis.  Love how their code for help is "I love you"!
• The scene with Mavis, Keith, Wallace, and James at the restaurant where Keith and Wallace fight over the cheesecake, which is supposed to symbolize Mavis.  James takes the cheesecake away from them, but ends up being too scared to eat it himself.

Overall

The second half of the last episode felt like a slap in the face for me due to most of the time being spent on Louis and Kristal Tin.  I wouldn't mind seeing them get their happy ending if it didn't drag on so long.  It angers me even more that the disappointing conclusion of Keith, Mavis, and Wallace's storyline was simply squeezed into the last minute.

While "The Other Truth" was certainly entertaining and addictive, it left much to be desired.   Some of the cases were poorly executed, such as the "kill the cop" case.  It had a lot of potential and started off strong, but the conclusion could've been better.  Meanwhile, the case with Rosanne Lui and Leanne Li dragged on way too long.  We were introduced to great characters with so much potential.  However, with the exception of Keith, the script fails to dive in and fully explore these characters and their relationships.

Do I want a sequel?  Yes, especially since it will be a direct sequel.  That way, the scriptwriters and producer Amy Wong get a second chance at further developing these characters.  Hopefully, the sequel will balance the cases and relationships better.  I am wary of how it will turn it, but I'm looking forward to it.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars