[HK-Drama Review] Gun Metal Grey (2010)

“Gun Metal Grey” is a 2010 TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) grand production drama that ultimately questions the viewers and characters themselves about “what is actually good or evil” and “what is that fine line that separates the two”. Besides the classic focus on family, loyalty, good versus evil, etc. that are found in many TVB dramas, “Gun Metal Grey” digs deeper into the psychology of human beings by exploiting the politics that occur within a government agency such as the police force. This series hold true to its classification of being a grand production with its focus on murder cases and the suspense and horror that accompany each case.

Despite this series being a grand production and attempting to draw in its viewers through the cases presented, “Gun Metal Grey” lacks that little something to make it the top drama of its year. It is not one of those dramas that keeps you on your toes or itching to watch more as the plot plows by. The cases may be based off of real crimes but the characters themselves are not as realistic. Being a drama, the series is not asking to contain realism but I found that this series is missing something for either 1) the viewers to relate to or 2) the viewers to yearn to know. It was interesting to see how each case unfolds itself and who the culprit is but the drama just lacks that connection with its viewers. This reason is most probably why the series did not hit as high of a rating as some of the other 2010 TVB series such as “Can’t Buy Me Love” or “No Regrets”.

Now let’s take a look at some background info below:

Shek Tung-sing is an excellent police officer, known as Stone Sir, until he was wrongfully accused of a crime he did not do and put into prison for more than a decade. However, with the help of Kim Hui (who is the head reporter of a magazine), he is able to get his sentence overturned and is released from prison. Stone Sir then rejoins the police force under his best friend’s division (the best friend being Mai On-ting who is known as Mad Sir). However, the impact of being wrongfully accused of a crime did not just go away. The anguish that Stone Sir feels because of the “lacking” of the judicial system leads him to question what is good and what is evil or rather, what is the fine line that separates the two. Although initially a “good” officer, Stone Sir becomes an “underground judge” and takes the law into his own hands. So here are the questions posed: Who decides what is good or evil? What and where is that line that defines the two extremes? Is there a grey area where good and evil are hard to separate?

Side notes: the Vietnamese title for this series is “Pháp Luật Vô Hình”. The series is 30 episodes long.

You may visit the Phim4Vip community or Vietdownloads community to find the Cantonese audio raw (with or without English subtitles) and Vietnamese dubbed (US Lòng Tiến) videos. Remember to support TVB and the artists whenever you can by purchasing their merchandises (such as drama series boxes or OSTs if available).