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City Hunter korean drama review
Completed
City Hunter
11 people found this review helpful
by thepinkvoyager
Jul 19, 2013
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I saw this drama in 2011 and I have to admit that I never expected to enjoy it as much as I did despite the fact that I am a self-confessed non-fan of Lee Min Ho (although I *do* have this noona admiration for Lee Min Ho 1993; he stole my heart in TMTES as a young prince suffering from a one-sided love). THE GOOD The beginning was heart-stopping and explosive. The groundwork for the revenge arc was established well in the beginning for Lee Yoon Sung's adoptive father to pursue. Despite the constant nagging and pressure from the father, Yoon Sung never followed his wishes. He never became a cold-blooded murderer; instead, he pursued the corrupt politicians who wronged his "real" father through justifiable and legal means (never mind the technical procedures though). I liked that Kim Nana was such a kick-ass heroine who was willing to fight and protect the guy herself. She was pretty, smart and sassy, a great combination for a loveable heroine. We seriously need more K-drama female leads like her because it's nice to see strong women in shows once in a while. Did I mention how much I loved the way most of those slimy, corrupt men were brought to justice under Yoon Sung's skillful machinations? Prosecutor Young-joo was one of my favorite characters and it was such a tragic moment when he died. And I have to admit that I was lapping up Min Ho's fight scenes. He really looked good doing those stunts. LOL. This is by far, his best Korean series to date because we got to see his acting range getting pushed a little bit although I do think he still needs more experience to put more depth to his acting. My issue with him is that he is too much of a pretty-faced, insanely popular idol that for me, it's hard to distinguish him from the characters he portrays, if you know what I mean. To be a true actor, I think, one must disappear completely into his character. In Lee Min Ho's case, his charisma as "Lee Min Ho" often if not always overshadows his performance. THE BAD My goodness, the ending of this drama was such a hot mess I don't even know where to begin. Honestly, what really happened in the end? There was no actual closure to Nana and Yoon Sung's 'romance', or his relationship with his real mother. There were a few confusing time jumps in the last episode which left me scratching my head and wondering whether or not a second season was coming. It felt rushed and disorganized. THE WEIRD I don't know how to classify this drama's genre. Sure it was quite serious with the revenge thing but I don't know, somewhere along the way, these weird beats and occasional bursts of humor and cute made me feel a bit off. I guess it's because I'm not used to this kind of atmosphere in revenge/action dramas. Perhaps the romance was supposed to control the reigns, I don't know. Also, I find it hard to believe that Yoon Sung had never been influenced by the cynicism and callousness of his adoptive father. I mean come on, the man practically taught him how to KILL since he was a baby; he was exposed to the violence and bitter hatred of his father for many years. Wasn't there any reasonable side effect to his psyche at all? Experiencing this kind of childhood SHOULD have some negative effect on any kid. I was expecting to see him slightly jaded and cynical. Anyway, I loved the internal conflict he had between his sense of morality and his duty to his father. Would I recommend this? Yep, I would. City Hunter was highly entertaining and enjoyable to watch.
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