The Brothers Sun Series Review: Go Watch It!
I am quite excited that i discovered a hidden gem of this season. The Brothers Sun is a series that to tell you the truth didn't quite get the advertisement other series have, so i am happy that i managed to do my research and see this gem. The series has 8 episodes that are around 1 hour each and were released on 04 January 2024.
Plot
So we are talking about a series that revolves around 2 main things. The first one is the typical Asian family with all of the stereotypes that are coming along and the second one is the Asian crime families aka known as Triads. So in this kind of set, we get introduced to one of the main protagonists Charles Sun ( Justin Chien) baking in his luxurious apartment until 2-3 assassins try to kill him. During this scene, we experience some quite awesome martial arts fights.
After he wins his father and a couple of other guys come to his apartment and there we learn that Charles is actually the son of Big Sun who is a crime boss in Taipei and to be exact he has the strongest Triad and basically mostly everyone else fears him. He has also trained his son Charles as an assassin. So during this scene, a sniper shoots the father and before he passes out he tells his son to go to L.A where his mother and brother are and protect them at all costs.
So Charles does exactly that and takes the first flight to L.A. Ofc the trouble follows him there as well. The interesting thing is that in Los Angeles we have Mama Sun and Charle's brother Bruce who live in a different kind of reality. What i mean by this is that Mama Sun ( the one and only Michelle Yeoh) works as a nurse and Bruce studies to become a doctor (typical Asian family you may say). Bruce also doesn't know the fact that his family runs the top crime syndicate in Taipei nor that they are actually filthy rich. He only remembers his father and brother since when he was a child.
Now not only does the family need to reunite together, but Bruce needs to learn what the hell is going on, Charles will find his brother and mother again as well as highlight his actual desires and face the truth of what he wants to do with his life.
What I Liked and What I Didn't
I really really liked everything. To begin with, we have seen a lot of woke elements in almost every series nowadays and that's the main reason most of the series are failures not just in my eyes but moneywise. Too much focus on wokeness that the scenario or the acting falls behind. Here we see something completely different. An actual series that is about an Asian family, which is quite rare to see, merged with assassins and kung fu, with great acting and scenarios.
Thus, the outcome is magnificent. The acting is on spot, the actors get quite funny when they have to, and quite serious as well. The character development is real and with these actors, it gets done as it should be. Other series should take notes. The fight scenes are extremely well-orchestrated and hardcore to some extent. If you have watched other popular Korean, Chinese, or Japanese movies/series you might see some familiar angles and ways of camera movement during these fights. Some fights are cool and funny at the same time!
Honestly, i don't have something negative to say. Possibly more episodes and thus more screen time for other cool side characters but i think the first season is always experimental in a way. Also, even though Bruce is a cool character and funny, i think that the writers paid more attention to the other main characters and their development. Bruce seems like he lacks that but hey if a second season comes up possibly the writers may focus on him.
Overall, the series is quite amazing and i believe that you will definitely like it. So far it has 7.7/10 on IMdb and i would rate it with an 8.5/10. I believe that we need more series like this one. Still hasn't been renewed for a second season but i stay optimistic!
I am a fan of Michelle Yeoh, with that being said, I am going to check this out.