Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

Formerly known as Passion Heaven and Summer Tears in Paradise, it is now called Sweet Sixteen and is based on a novel (夏有乔木,雅望天堂) written by Zi Yue about the complicated romance between one woman and three men. One man is enough problem, and she has three?! It’s a joint production between China and Korea and is being directed by Jo Jin Kyu (My Wife Is a Gangster, Man on the Edge). I read some spoilers and Sweet Sixteen is not what I would call the movie… here we go..

Stills:

The gist of the story I got from the book: Amber Lu Shan plays our heroine Shu Ya Wang. At 16, she takes on the job of teaching a child named Xia Mu (Kris Wu). He’s described as being detached from the world after witnessing the death of his mother at an early age (he spent days with the corpse.) Ya Wang’s bright and warm personality melts his heart and she unknowingly creates a Xia Mu who only lives for her. However, she does have a childhood sweetheart in Tang Xiao Tian (Han Geng) who enlists in the army shortly after graduation. In the army, he meets and befriends rich boy Qu Wei Ran (Joo Won). Wei Ran becomes extremely jealous of the sweet love between Xiao Tian and Ya Wang and desires to possess her for himself. They meet officially when her company works with his company. Then after a company party, Ya Wang is drugged and raped by the devil himself…and the rest is just melo all the way through. Two people die and no one gets a happy ending.

Oh gosh. This is the book’s ending so whether the movie follows through is up for debate.

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Kris Wu. Looks like the bulk of the story surrounds his character’s tragic story. A challenging role.

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Han Geng as the heroine’s childhood sweetheart.

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Joo Won as the rich illegitimate son who wants to be in control of everything in his life. He’s vindictive and will be the source of everyone’s misery. WHY JOO WON?!! WHYYY??!!

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Tong Da Wei Bao Bei Er! Omg. Lol.

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Zhang Yao.

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Trailer:

Sweet Sixteen hits theaters on April 29th, 2016.

Via: 01 // 02

  1. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    Can I just say I’m not too confident about Kris’s portrayal of this character? Kris can’t really do the nuance-angsty dude very well. In all the stills, he’s got basically the same sullen, expressionless expression. Even in constantly sad pics, shouldn’t there be some slight subtle variances?

  2. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    The hate for Kris on this site is so weird. It’s like people are bitter about him or something. There are legitimate criticisms and there are ones like the comment above. Like seriously, would you say pics 5-7 have the same expression in all of them?

    Such a nitpicky and unfair comment. Some people obviously have their preconceived notions about him and nothing he will do will change that.

    Anyway, I can’t wait for this! I watched one of the trailers, I believe it was released on Kris’ birthday, and his acting there was impressive. It encompassed what I imagined Xia Mu to be as someone who was a fan of the novel before Kris was chosen to play the lead. It also helps that his face and aura fits Xia Mu to a tee! Joo Won is one of my favorite actors too so it will be interesting to see him in a Chinese movie. Hope the dubbing isn’t as bad as Rain’s in his movie with Liu Yifei.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      How is this site weird? Like you said, there are legitimate comments on here. There will always be bad ones and good ones. If anything, this site is normal for having both sides. Its just that Kris supporters arent as vocal like other commentators. I have seen much worse comments abouy him on DB and such. Comments here are child’s play. Lol.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      I can’t do anything about it if you see it as a hate comment. I do not have anything against Kris, my comment was made based on my own opinion and on what I saw from the photos so I view that as something legitimate. If anything, I will be waiting for him to prove me wrong with his acting in the movie.
      From the moment he stepped into the acting industry, he has to cement his image and job as a capable actor since he started out as an idol, so comments that question his capability to portray a character would be common since he is considered a ‘newbie’.
      People have different opinions. One may feel that Kris can portray the character well while another may feel that he may not be up to it. Try not to be too sensitive about it. 🙂

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        Haha words right out of my mouth. Kudos to pech. These comments are really nothing. All of them have been critiques, maybe too critical sometimes, on his skill and/or acting. That’s nothing weird considering he’s a newbie. I haven’t seen anyone on AVV attacking Kris or anyone else on a personal level, hating on his character or person, since none of us have the right or the knowledge to comment on Kris’s person since we don’t know him. However, as the public audience and consumers, I don’t see anything wrong with complaining about his skills or lack thereof. This is his chosen profession, and as a newbie, he’s going to get criticisms until he proves himself. As of now, he has a lot of fans from his music career, but as an acting, he has very few representative works, and is very raw in his skills, yet he’s lead in a lot of on-the-radar works. Since he’s chosen to stand in the spotlight, then he’s going to have to deal with people’s opinions of him. People here on AVV and various other blogs, for example, love Wang Kai. However, as shimo’s mentioned loads of times, Wang Kai gets attacked on not his potential, but his character, sexual orientation, and private life. As someone who’s been in the industry for at least a few years, he still has people hating on him.

        I’m not saying you’re not entitled to your own opinions, but we’re also entitled to our own opinions. I feel like no one here on AVV has crossed the line to criticizing Kris’s person, just his unfairly advantageous opportunities and his subjectively bad acting. Perhaps you find my critiques unfair and “nitpicky”, but that’s my opinion. Just like your statement here: “Some people obviously have their preconceived notions about him and nothing he will do will change that.” Clearly, you also have your preconceived notions about me. Take Yuan Shan Shan. I used to think her acting was generic and weak. But after many different works and continuously improving performances, I rather like her now. Kris has yet to prove himself, and I will continue to find his acting lacking until he improves. Like peach, I am also waiting for him to impress me.

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        I don’t know if you’ve checked other comments about him on this site but there’s a difference between critiquing someone’s acting and being very nasty in the way you do it. Some comments here have been downright vitriolic. Especially when you see the same people worship other actors whose acting leaves a lot to be desired. It seems personal to some.

        • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

          I think it’s just some of us can be be quite passionate, vocal, and very opinionated when talking about actors, movies, dramas they like or dislike. There are also others who prefer curated wordings when expressing their thoughts. I don’t think one is better from the other because, newsflash, this blog is about entertainment and show biz.

          Here’s your quote: “Especially when you see the same people worship other actors whose acting leaves a lot to be desired. It seems personal to some.”

          The comments are personal, because it’s about personal taste. So whether one is good acting or not, it’s fully subjective. Even paid critics are subjective.

        • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

          Like lenje said, it’s about personal taste. Which adds on to what I said earlier, some may feel that Kris is a good actor that is able to fully take on the role of a particular character while others may feel that he may not be up to it.
          I get that you guys are trying to say that Kris is a capable actor that proved himself because he was acknowledged and praised by critics, but at the very end, isn’t it all up to how each and every person view it?
          Im sorry if you view some of our comments as downright vitriolic, maybe it’s the way we phrased it or wrote it, but at the end of the day we are just expressing how we feel that Kris may not be able to express the character well and his acting needs further improving. Also as I have said before, I have nothing against Kris, it’s not like he is in a competition with my favourite actor for an award or like in contention for a role in a drama? So why would I be so bias against him, he did not do anything to harm me or anything. If you feel that he is able to do it, alright it’s good if he does well in this movie. While I feel that he may not be able to express the character well, so then I will watch the movie and maybe see how he proved me wrong.
          If there is a majority, there will be a minority, vice versa. There are always bound to be comments that question an actor’s acting skills, even for those widely acknowledged by the public, not to say an actor like Kris who just entered the acting industry. He is not perfect in his acting, there are always room for improvements, isn’t it? 🙂

  3. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    Is it me or Tong Dawei looks like Bao Bei Er? :””D

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      I LOLed at this! Kekeke! Bao Bei Er was named Tong Da Wei! Kekeke!

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      You ladies stop teasing my mistake. LOL!! They could be brothers! xD

  4. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    Not even going to talk about his lack of overtones in facial expressions, but can he do something about his line-reading “skills”? It’s so dull with no punch. And when he forces his voice to give more emphasis and inflection, it comes off as awkward and unnatural.

  5. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    Anyway, for those who haven’t even read the book but feel they know the character enough to criticize his portrayal, the empty expressionless eyes are his character’s trademark. It must have been mentioned a hundred times in the book. Whenever his character appears the empty eyes are the things pointed out immediately and that his eyes scare the people around him.

    He’s more than capable of expressing emotion with his eyes:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo_JR5cI3tM

    His acting is praised by critics, both in China and in the English-speaking world. By top and renowned critics too. Respected veterans and directors have all vouched for his capability as an actor. Stephen Chow (yes, our childhood idol, that guy) praised his acting and shared that he asked Kris to audition while they were having dinner and he was impressed. Anyone who follows HK news knows it’s not easy to impress him.

    I do think that there is some sort of underlying bias against him on this site because from what I read from the other comment sections, people are bitter that he’s getting the roles they want for their drama actor faves. And being bitter will always color their opinions about him whether they want to admit it or not. Cut the guy some slack. At least he actually acknowledges his flaws and shortcomings and aims to improve himself.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Agreement! His acting has been praised by film experts and renown directors and actors. Even most of the public who watched Mr. Six praised him, so what’s a bunch of anti’s on a blog?

      Yes, Xia Mu is a character with dead looking eyes and he definitely did that.
      https://youtu.be/yq06GarOHtk

      This is base on his individual character trailer and I think he really embodies Xia Mu.

      I do think one of the strength Wu Yifan has in his acting is his ability to project his expression through his eyes. Especially in the ending scene of Mr. Six where he did not have any lines at all, but you can tell what Xiao Fei was thinking. I especially enjoy his character Xiao Fei……I find he’s not just some pissy gangster, but he did actually have a trace of humidity in him.

      So just being bias and jumping on his acting like the way certain members does is very unfair. I’ve seen comments on some rookie actors going “I hope he potrays the role well, he’s pretty.” As oppose to how some people has been calling Kris straight up as ‘untalented’ ‘overrated’ etc……..I know maybe you guys have some biasNess from his exo days. But let’s not use that to judge the actor.

      Do you think Stephen Chow or Tsui Hark would ask him to play a lead in their film if his acting is not up to standard? Are you going to discredit these men for their judgement?

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        Good for Kris for getting praises from critics and directors. That’s an accomplishment for him. However, this doesn’t mean we all have to appreciate him the same way that they do. We can certainly take their opinions, if we respect these critics and directors, into consideration. Others may not even do this and that’s okay because it’s their prerogative. I’m sure you understand this.

        Like with lenje’s comment below, I also like Sandra Ma and I know her performance in LMFYD was not up to her usual standards. I’ve seen her act before this. Other commenters have expressed their dislike for her, but I don’t think they “hate her” hate her in the same way as anti-fans.

        That’s generally how I see the commenters here and everywhere else.

        Just my two cents. 🙂

        • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

          I don’t think these people “hate” hate Kris or are dedicated antis. That wasn’t what I was trying to say in my original comment. I was just pointing out that some comments are hardly objective and might be colored by bias. They don’t set out to hate him or lose sleep over hating him or anything, but everything he does is seen as negative because they don’t like him and never did. Same could be applied to Sandra Ma.

        • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

          I was responding to lia’s comment about calling the people here who dislike him as anti-fans. No worries, I got what you were trying to say in your comment. 🙂

        • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

          Sorry. I probably shouldn’t use the word anti.

          But like I said……it’s more like a pre-determined bias

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Maybe I missed all other critics, esp the Chinese speaking ones, because from those featured in Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_six/reviews/) not one pays a particular attention to his acting.

      But it’s beside the point that I want to make, i.e. “good acting” is all subjective. Good if you like his acting, but don’t easily label others who don’t as “haters” or accuse them of being biased from his EXO days.

      Kris isn’t the only pop idol judged by this blog’s readers, and for the record there are many China’s homegrown actors receive similar treatment here. Take for example Sandra Ma, whom I’m particularly fond of. She’s quite an accomplished actress, with one Golden Phoenix award (a rather prestigious award in Mainland China) and a recent Golden Horse nomination (another prestigious award in Taiwan). Does it make her immune from criticism here? Nope. She was criticized hard for her performance in Love Me If You Dare (I, for one, think she’s pretty weak there). I don’t think those who dislike her acting are haters, and I just let it slide.

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        lenje, let’s hope Sandra gets a better role next time so she can shine again. 🙂

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        One that comes to mind is a comment by Derek Elley (of Filmbiz, formerly the resident critic at Variety, google him):

        “As the son, popular actor-singer LI Yifeng 李易峰 (Lovesick 戀愛恐慌症 (2011), Forever Young 梔子花開2015) holds his own against Feng in their long scene together but makes less of an impression than China-born, Canada-raised singer Kris WU 吳亦凡, who debuted weakly in XU Jinglei 徐靜蕾’s Prague-set melodrama Somewhere Only We Know 有一個地方只有我們知道 but here manages to morph from a vicious, prissy brat with a hairdo to match to a kid with a grudging respect for Zhang’s unshakeable convictions.”

        Another known critic in China (and he’s also known as China’s top critic, writes for top international sites too) said that when he watched Somewhere Only We Know, he thought Kris could only look handsome and not act. But Mr Six changed his opinion and Kris’ acting made him want Xiao Fei and Mr Six to have had more scenes (when they shared that last dialogue scene together) because it was exciting to watch these two actors together.

        There are several others but these are comments by respected critics. He wasn’t just serviceable to them, he was good. He made an impression. He excited them. THAT’S something actors aspire to do.

        I do know not everyone is going to have the same opinion and that’s OKAY. But some act like it’s preposterous to think his acting was decent (I’ve seen people here jump on someone who dared to say they think Kris’ acting was good) and go to great lengths to undermine him and argue otherwise, even creating conspiracy theories just so they can explain why he’s getting roles (as opposed to the directors finding him capable). He’s not being cast by random directors who need to cast someone popular or who need to do favors for certain people, these are respected veterans who don’t have to bow before anyone. If you don’t respect Kris then at least respect these people who have made names for themselves for decades.

  6. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    lol 3-4 anti kris fans here and you can see the same anti fans in every topic.(they say they’re not anti fan but it’s a lie bcoz I read their previous comments and I can clearly see their hatred against him.)
    they’re always bash kris for cover bad acting of their favorites. ( I can’t believe they call kris a bad actor and then praise actors like yang yang and li yifeng lmao ) but the truth is that kris is a good actor and he’s some one has a great potential as an actor,he showed that to everyone with his great acting in Mr. Six. You can bash him if you want but nothing you say won’t change that fact since almost all people who watched the movie said his acting was so good.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Your second paragraph exactly. Like I’ve seen them praise YangYang, Li Yifeng and William Chan, saying stuff like “I’ll watch this for xxxx face” , “the visuals are too pretty” etc even though most of the time their acting left a lot to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, I like these three guys too and they are definitely my favorite to watch among the fresh meats especially for drama. But you cannot really compare people’s acting in drama’s as oppose to movie acting.

      But we’ll see the performance of this movie especially in the box office because I think this is the movie that will determine his bankability. At least a gauge of it

  7. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    I don’t know too much about Kris except his birthday is a day after mine and whatever bits and pieces I’ve picked up from his appearance on Happy Camp with Yang Yang, Zhang Han and William.

    BUT! I am happy for Amber Lu Shan! First saw her in Chu Liu Xiang where she played Hua Zhenzhen and then in Nirvana in Fire where she was Jingyan’s wife. Both were very limited roles so I’m glad she’s getting more mainstream projects. We definitely more up and coming actresses to liven up our screens.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Oh! Was she Jiangyan’s wife? No wonder she looked so familiar! I couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t watch Chu Liu Xiang, so I didn’t see her there, but I remember her from Nirvana. She didn’t really have enough scenes for me to form an opinion on her, but I liked that one scene where she outed her servant as a betrayer and one of XuanJi princess’s peeps.

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        I was so thrilled when I saw her as Jingyan’s wife. Her portrayal of Hua Zhenzhen was pretty convincing and she was only a student at the time. That’s why I’m so excited to see her in more projects. 🙂

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      The people who produced Nirvana are also the producers of this film so she might have impressed with her acting in Nirvana (or this movie, whichever was filmed first) for them to cast her in two of their productions.

      Judging from the trailer, she seems capable. I’m looking forward to seeing her too.

      • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

        Ah, that could be it. Looks like she has a good start to her career.

  8. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    People are so sensitive about Kris. I think because he has more international fans that it seem to be a big deal and turns into a large debate. People here criticize so many other people including big names. Like you haven’t hear vitriol until you hear the rants about Harwick Lau. I think I genuinely hate his presence in Cdramas. Like get out. You are so untalented. And at least Kris is ok to look at. Harwick adds absolutely nothing. He just completely ruins dramas. So frustrating. And every one agrees here, and we move on. He has no fangirls internationally to stir it into a huge debate. I’ve also heard hate directed towards even Wallace Huo and Huang Xiaoming’s acting. No one seems to think Li Yifeng is a consistent good actor either at this site, and it is brought up time and time again. and I’m sure I can think of more.

    The only one who sucks at acting and never receives any genuine hate for it I think is William Chan. He is universally acknowledged as terrible and yet everyone seems to like the guy. Why? Not sure.

    I just think the negative comments towards other actors get ignored except when it comes to Kris and maybe Luhan. They are similar comments though and they are nowhere near close to the comments Harwick gets haha. I don’t think it is anything personal. People just get passionate.

    I think I have yet to see Mr. Six so I am withholding judgement.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Gotta say I do agree with William Chan! I prefer to watch him on variety shows (he’s still got that same awkwardness but much more endearing when he’s not acting haha) than in dramas! 😀

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Agreed about William Chan! I liked LYF in 盗墓笔记 because he fits the image of 吴邪 for me but his acting seen throughout his works really needs improving. But I quite like him, quite a nice good guy.

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      I like that William always looks happy no matter where and when! 😀

  9. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    I just finished reading the novel today… and really wished I read the rest of your summary before starting it because was not prepared to get so attached to the characters, only for the novel to come to that ending :’)

    • 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

      Also wanted to add that Kris wasn’t quite how I imagined Xia Mu buuuut nevertheless, still looking forward to how he portrays this character! 🙂

  10. 39 thoughts on “Melo Romance with Joo Won, Kris Wu, Han Geng and Lu Shan in Sweet Sixteen

    Oh no!! Why it has to be Joo Won?? l love Joo Won!! He’s superb! l don’t want him to be the bad guy, especially not the male lead! And what’s with the 3 guys in love with 1 girl??? Such a boring love line.

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