Dare To Strike smacks of Hong Kong-style excitement.

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Li Nanxing holds his own as the cool and collected Central Narcotics Bureau officer against Julien Chueng's brash and wisecracking counterpart. With more local and foreign stars coming on in the upcoming episodes, looks like viewers can't keep their eyes away for long.

[eastciti.com, November 15] A group of officers creep stealthily in a dilapidated building. Hey, that's Li Nanxing. Julien Cheung and Jerry Chang! Lest you think that they are involved in a major drug case in ultra safe and law-abiding Singapore, the words 'Internal Training' flit across our screens and arcade-like score boards tell you that these knitted-eyebrows (in full concentration) officers are merely simulating a real drug busting operation. Phew! For those who still can't tell whether these are Special task force officers or anti-narcotics officers, the letters "CNB" (Central Narcotics Bureau) seen running across the back of their vests will have you know that they are the latter. Hmm, wonder if they are bulletproof?

Before I digress further, that's the opening of Dare To Strike - the much-anticipated action drama boosting stellar cast of both local and foreign stars. The scriptwriters and producers waste no time in furnishing us with as many details about each character. Li Nanxing plays Wang Shen or Wang Sir (try saying it with a Cantonese slang), a serious, responsible and committed anti-narcotics officer who has a pretty model for a girlfriend whom he intends to marry. Eager to do some real drug busting operation (which again is scarce in Singapore), he resorts to chatting with his counterparts in New Zealand over the icq for their latest operations. Hong Kong actor Julien Cheung is his impetuous and arrogant colleague Jiang Dihui. He complains about the lack of 'activity' in Singapore and yearns for a chance to be part of a major anti-narcotics case. Oh, before I forget, he has an ex-wife. Is it a coincidence that May Phua whose large sparkling eyes and outspoken personality bears a slight resemblance to Julien's real-life girlfriend Anita Yuen? They are divorced (we don't know why) but still remain good friends. Jerry Chang, with his Hugh Grant (read: floppy) hairdo is Zhao Zhijie or Ah Jie, who is more interested in studies and stealing glances at Wang Sir's girlfriend whom he has a secret crush on. Meanwhile, a chance for them to experience the thrills and challenges of their drug-busting career arrives in the form of an exchange programme of a country overseas.

All 3 of them (Wang Shen, Dihui and Zhijie) are up against, not any mafia-like drug traffickers (since they are still in Singapore), but a scheming and bullying officer named Alan Chen, played to good effect by Bernard Tan. He taunts and makes the snidest remarks- "If you all are friends of his (Zhijie), you should advise him to quit the force!" The rash Dihui cannot stand his insolence and is always the one to stand up against him.

It is refreshing to see Julien playing a brash and flawed character with an emotional side. Someone who's not afraid to cry when he finds out that partner Zhijie has an incurable disease. (I thought he would be cast as the cool and collected officer) His impish and motor mouth antics liven up the show and is a good fabric against Nanxing's cool and collected character. What's disappointing is that Julien's voice is dubbed (I suspect more dubbing for the other foreign artistes), and Jerry Chang's short-lived and futile appearance (His character Zhijie is found suffering from a terminal liver disease). That and political correctness aside (Strict laws in Singapore naturally wipe out drug traffickers), this action thriller will draw in the viewers based on the strength and hype of its star-studded cast.

Hold your breath for Ann Kok's much talked about strip scene, well known Hong Kong actors Liu Songren, Constance Song and Taiwanese heartthrob Lian Kai in the upcoming episodes. And of course, this thriller zips you across to snow-capped mountains of New Zealand, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan as well. Now, you don't want to miss that, do you?

Dare To Strike is telecast every Monday to Thursday, 9pm on TCS 8.

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