Great acting, questionable 'story'
Warrior Baek Dong Soo thrives in having an amazing cast, likeable and/or brilliantly written characters, some really good acting performances, great bromance, great sismance and greatly built relationships. It also has a story that at times is quite confusing, whether it is because there is not enough story, the story is confusing, or that there are too many plot points which then makes it feel like there's no real story at all - if that makes sense. So, it's one of those dramas that doesn't really thrive in story, but the acting and characters make up for it.I also wanted to point out that I really enjoyed the action scenes in this drama. The action scenes here felt really innovative at points. They must have hired some real pros in the stunt co-ordination scene.
This was 29 episodes long, and whilst some episodes felt quicker more than others, I don't think it will necessarily be something I will re-watch anytime soon. However, I gave it a little higher than anticipated because the unknowing direction of the story would probably lead me to want to watch a certain episode or two (basically, I wouldn't have to watch this methodically if re-watching).
All in all, I do recommend this. Whilst the story is questionable, the acting performances were a sublime delight.
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This review may contain spoilers
Up until the last 10 minutes this show is fantastic.
BRILLIANT cast, great music, and very warm and genuine interpersonal relationships. I loved the old men bros. Sword Saint was awesome, as this actor always is, and Ji Chang Wook made you forget every other role you might have seen him in. He really embodied the character of Baek Dong Su.I really wanted to give this drama 5 stars in everything but … (spoilers)
All the demerits from the full 5 star rating is to punish the writers for the way they treated Un at the end.
Cho Rip suddenly (and inexplicably) becomes faithless and murderous, but he gets the girl? Really?
First of all - it was not even within Cho Rip’s character profile to, suddenly, act so rashly on his own, and willfully put his friend’s life on the line. It was totally fabricated nonsense, just to kill off Un. It reminded me of Queen Seondeok’s poor, tragic Bidam - but at least with that show, the writers had history as an excuse. This was an absolutely uncalled for ending, and I felt betrayed by it.
Cho Rip should have died instead of Un.
Really ticked off.
All that aside, I still I recommend this drama 95%.
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Let's put one thing straight, yes there is a female interest, but this story is all about the bromance between Baek Dongsoo and Yeon Woo! I'm not particularly fond of bromances, but this one kept me talking to the screen and grinning when I saw hope.Based on a webtoon, this sageuk isn't really historically accurate. Yes, Baek Dongsoo existed, but you should look elsewhere if you like less fantasy and more fact. This show follows dongsoo from childhood (where he is played by a super cute mini Yeo Jingoo, who must have been born able to act) all the way until he becomes the best martial artist in Joseon (or the world?) and saves the day.
The story will follow various characters, those who belong to an older generation and carry their own skeletons in their closets, and the young ones. Of the older ones, I must must must highlight what a cool and amazing job Choi Minsoo did as Chun, I feel like I could have watched a whole series based on this character. Being the leader of the assassins group, Chun is in love with a fellow assassin who in turn is in love with Chun's nemesis: the sword angel. I only cared about this love triangle because of Chun, who although could be considered one of the biggest baddies in the story, is so three dimensional that you'll end up cheering for him.
The biggest let down for me was actually the love triangle of the young ones. There was potential there for so much more, but Jisun is the plainest character I have ever seen. Basically, the boys could have fallen in love with a chair and fought over it with the same outcome. It is clear the focus was more on the boys, but I still felt the story was lacking here.
One of the big points of the story was overcoming your own fate. Unfortunately, Yeon Woo's character doesn't in the end. I felt like the writers were trying to pull the viewers' heartstrings with that ending, even having their childhood friend Cho Rip being the one to betray him for the "greater" good. All in all, a battle Baeksoo vs Yeon woo was expected, but it was an unfair ending for a character who had only known pain and suffering all his life yet risked it all to protect his loved ones.
One scene that made me laugh was when Baek Soo is drinking and he envisions Yeon Woo sitting next to him, then he dispels and we see his gf there instead. This is how deep the bromance was, and how shallow the romance was, all Baeksoo needed was yeon woo lol
The action scenes were good and I felt like both Ji Changwook and Yoo Seungho did a good job. The show felt long, and I lost interest at times, but it is worthwhile. I would definitely not watch it again as I am not a masochist
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama was horribly ruined by the writers. I mean literally it actually stopped making sense. (So many scenes I want to use as an example but spoilers are not allowed) Edit: Cause first review needed an adequate explanation.
This drama tells the tale of Baek Dong Soo. A typical boy who fights adversity to become one of the best fighters with the help of the sword saint. That's the plot amidst the back story of the Sword Saint and Choi Min Soo's character whose name bypasses me now though I only liked these two in the whole drama.
The drama sucked a lot yet I finished it. It began well and with very good acting. It starts of with the child actors who set up the story before the grown up cast takes over. Their acting however paled in comparison to the child actors. I have never in my life ranted about the female love interest like this. She is so absolutely terrible, not one person I know liked her. She was incredibly stiff, that I am amazed, they allowed her to act. The veteran cast was phenomenal but the rest paled in comparison.
In terms of script, the writers just took this terribly downhill, that there were scenes that just didn't make sense. Woon is supposed to be the assassin but he never kills anyone! Yet, he spends most of the drama being Mopey Macmoperson about his evil nature. It's ridiculous. The nature of Jin Joo's birth takes quite a portion of this drama but leads to the most laughable and unbelievable plot twist that triggers the deterioration of this drama.
It did not need the twenty eight episodes. A stupid and ill planned revolution is added. A Japanese rival is included for no reason and the drama ends on a sad note as many fuss about the only engaging (who am I kidding, the kid was cute okay, he was cute, his character wasn't engaging, he was cute).
The drama heavily deteriorates after episode 15. It's like it turned into something completely different. The beginning is engaging, fun and had a lot of us tuning in week after week, but after episode 15, it was rant after rant after rant. I've never seen a drama get so progressively worse that it transcends to just being comedic. It became a perve over Woon, laugh at the lead females atrocious acting and script, then call it a day.
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The energetic and loyal, no skill main character we all come to love as he grows into the countries best swordsman.
The good looking, dark, painfilled cool best friend with a sad past and inevitable fate.
The dorky, funny, weird, tomboyish, emotionless sub characters.
Evil minds and brainless henchmen.
The royal pain in the grass who has no royal power and is just a puppet of evil.
The hero goes through a lot of pain and learns many lessons before he becomes the best, while his best friend follows the opposite path to the dark side believing it's his destiny.
There are a lot of fighting scenes, blood and killing. People will die, both good and evil while some fight death like little cockroaches. While lighting up the drama with a bit of comedy and friendship, the romance is limited and so is the skinship. This is a story focused on corruption, loyalty, destiny and finding one self, paced in a slow manner with stories from the characters birth, child years, teenage years and adult years.
I gave this drama a generous 3/10. Beause even though everything was complete horse weed, I couldn't stop watching and I was always entertained or moved.
The bad things about this drama:
The special effects are ridiculously bad and not very believable.
The fighting scenes look very fake sometimes.
The acting was average.
The script was not very well written. Some dialogue was awkward or unnecessary.
The directing was not good since it sometimes made the story fall apart.
Some scenes were badly cut or were really not needed.
Logic dies now and then for entertainment purposes.
The story was confusing because they often went off track.
If you can see past these points then please give this drama a chance. The original soundtrack was one of the best I have ever heard and some scenes are like beautiful artwork that you can't forget!
ENJOY!!!!
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Le seul sageuk vu où le rôle titre n'est pas e personnage principal !
J’en attendais beaucoup et j’ai donc été fortement déçue ! 29 épisode !!! Non, mais fut pas abuser !! On aurait pu en enlever 9 sans problème, car l’enfance de Dong Soo dure 8 épisodes, 8 !!!!!Alors, c’est trop long et c’est très mal joué par les futurs héros adolescents, particulièrement Yeo Jin Goo, pourtant habitué aux rôles du héros jeune. Ici, il en fait des tonnes, car il faut nous montrer que Bong Soo est malhabile, maladroit, mais vantard et plutôt pénible et ça sonne constamment faux ! D’ailleurs, ce sera pareil quand Ji Shang Wok prendra le relai, jusqu’à ce qu’il ait dépassé les 20 ans, cette acharnement à faire l’imbécile est désolant ! Les scénaristes ont très mal écrit ce personnage ! D’ailleurs, il a le rôle titre mais il est parfaitement inconsistant (je parle du personnage, l’acteur fait ce qu’il peut ! )
L’action est assurée par Maître Chun, Yeo Woon, Maître In (complètement odieux !! ), le terrible ministre Hong, et les deux roturiers, Sa Mo et le voleur Jin Ki et sa fille… Ce pauvre Dong Soo passe son temps à dire à la jeune héroïne qu’il va la protéger, sauf qu’il n’est jamais là quand elle a des soucis, il arrive toujours trop tard et par moment c’est limite ridicule ! Le plus souvent c’est l’assassin (secrètement amoureux d’elle), qui la protège incognito !
Bon ,toute l’histoire s’inscrit dans deux personnages historiques : le fameux prince Sado, et Baek Dong Soo qui a existé et même écrit un traité sur les arts martiaux… Je me suis bien demandé s’il en serait jamais capable !
Alors la partie historique, les complots pour dézinguer Sado à l’esprit trop novateur, et tout ce qui s’en est suivi, est très bien traitée, collant aux faits arrivés jusqu’à nous, respectant à peu près le déroulement historique avec juste un peu d’adaptation au style drama. Ce prince Sado est resté présent dans l’imaginaire historique de Corée, ainsi que son fils devenu roi à la suite du Grand-père.
Ce qui est très intéressant aussi, c’est le personnage de Yeo Woon, qui se pense destiné à devenir un assassin, et donc en devient un, jusqu’au moment où il comprend qu’il aurait pu faire d’autres choix, et que le Destin n’est que ce qu’on en fait. C’est le personnage noir, sombre, mais qu’on aime quand même par son humanité profondément cachée aux autres. Il en est de même de son maître Chun, tueur sans pitié qui porte un amour impossible au cœur jusqu’au bout… Les deux princes sont très bien, aussi, Sado voulant tout changer, allant trop vite et maladroitement, puis plus tard son fils, devant résister aux comploteurs…
En passant, j’ai eu l’impression qu’ils avaient pensé à « Painter of the wind » drama de 2008 et qui en est la suite chronologique, puisque le roi est justement ce fils du prince Sado. Il y avait des scènes et des personnages qui m’y ont fait penser, surtout la méchante Reine-Mère, qui ressemblait étrangement à celle de « POTW », en très jeune grand-mère !
Non, il y a de très bons moments dans ce drama, ce pourquoi je ne l’ai pas largué bien avant la moitié, sauf quand il est question de Dong Soo et surtout de sa chérie, un véritable ectoplasme, se déplaçant toujours au ralenti, et alors leur relation !!! Nulle !! Ils finissent pas se faire un gentil hug à la fin, mais vraiment je n’ai jamais vu une relation amoureuse aussi dénuée de chaleur sans parler du moindre désir !
Mais le pire défaut, c’est la longueur !!! Si ça avait été retaillé, remonté, en gardant le bon sur 16 ou à la rigueur 20 épisodes, on pouvait avoir un très bon drama ! Mais là on est noyé dans des interminables déplacements, discussions, ponctués de combats pas toujours parfaits (parfois on voit l’ennemi qui attend gentiment que le héros se retourne…Ah !…… Chuno !!!!! ….. Bref… )
La conclusion de la relation Dong Soo/Yeoh Won, qui paraît-il a suscité des polémiques, m’a paru être le moment le plus intense et le plus intéressant, donnant enfin au drama une dimension de tragédie au dénouement inévitable, où le sacrifice de Yeoh Woon sanctifie son amitié avec Dong Soo et lui rend sa place dans la mémoire de ses amis. Le choix qu’il impose à Dong Soo ne pouvait être autre, en écho avec les nombreux affrontements dans lesquels Dong Soo n’avait jamais pu le vaincre…
Mais ce qui est magnifique dans ce drama, ce sont les paysages, grandioses, et la musique !!! Sublime chanson, beaux morceaux orchestraux… C’est peu, mais c’est déjà ça, Et puis on peut se rincer l’œil avec la beauté de Dong Soo et de Yeo Woon, et même Chun, dans le genre sauvage sanglant…
A vous de voir si vous vous sentez d’affronter les 29 épisodes, dont les premiers font facilement 1 h 20 chacun !!
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