Mobius Review: Bai Jingting's sci-fi crime drama is packed with sleek action, comedy and drama

After the global success of The First Frost, Bai Jingting’s Mobius has been released in Netflix. In fact, the platform has added the reference of TFF in the bio of Mobius – a testament to the universal love for Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan’s emotional love story. Mobius is the story of a cop Ding Qi who gets the power of the supernatural quintuple time loop ability. After he gains this power as a student, he decides to become a cop. His latest case takes him to MOMA, genetic biotechnology firm where executives die one after another. The killer is an individual named ‘Squid’. Slowly, Ding Qi believes that Squid too might have time loop abilities.

The plot

As of now, five episodes of Mobius have come on Netflix. We are introduced to Ding Qi (Bai Jingting), a youth who gains the power to time travel five times a day. Every loop resets at midnight, and he is the one who remembers what happens in every time span. Deciding to use his special gift for a social cause, he becomes a cop. He picks up clues and solves cases. The biggest one in front of him relates to Moma, a biotechnology company specializing in genetic research. Mo Yuan Zhi (Song Yang) is the founder of Moma. He is facing threat from a person named Squid. Over time, Ding Qi realizes that Squid is as gifted as him.

What’s hot

Bai Jingting has always loved the action genre. From episodes one to five, Mobius is packed with thrilling chases and gun fights. Bai Jingting has the physique and flexibility to look like a sleek action hero. He delivers in the action, comedy and emotional scenes. The series picks up after the third episode in terms of story-telling, drama, suspense and thrill. Song Yang is Mo Yuan Zhi, a scientist turned biotech entrepreneur. He is the one facing danger from the Squid, but there is an element of mystery that keeps building up with his character. Hong Kong actress Janice Man plays An Lan, a devoted genetic scientist in field of neural regeneration. Ding Qi has a special connection with An Lan, due to a tragic incident. His unspoken feelings for her add one more layer to the story but that’s not come into prominence so far.

Liu Zhangmu has good grasp over the technical aspects and it shows. From creative camerawork to sharp editing and great use of BGM, Mobius’ production values are better than Jingting’s Reset. The series progresses at a quick pace keeping us glued on the screen.

What’s not

Mobius might be tough to comprehend for those who are unfamiliar with the concept of a time loop. You will need to replay scenes to understand what’s happening. Given the time loop concept, you’ll watch similar scenes twice or thrice with alterations. It can be a bit tedious for first time viewers of this genre.

Verdict

Mobius is worth a watch for those looking for Asian dramas with a time loop concept. It is a combination of a sci-fi thriller and a crime drama back by engaging story-telling, good performances and tense drama.