I got an account just for this!
I finished watching the last episode a few minutes ago and honestly, I just need to talk about this drama so .... here we are.
it took me a few episodes to actually get into vincenzo. I even stopped three episodes in and took a one week break ;I just could not see what everyone was raving about... but after picking it up again...well .. here we are. opening accounts and all.
I'll keep it short.
this are a few of the best parts of vincenzo...at least for me;
1.The characters are consistent and their arches feel plausible. plus the acting is solid . especially after the third ish episode
when the story gets going, you can feel them settle into their roles and just pop.
2.the writing is lethal . it pulls no punches. its one of the few dramas that actually delivers on a promise and doesn't just play it safe (up to the point of making me uncomfortable, but in the best way, I promise.)... like i said , it takes a bit for the story to get going but when it does, it DOES NOT STOP. it really does not. from the action to the emotion it just does not stop.
3. i don't know why its classed as a romcom but it so much more than that honestly ,and that appealed to me. it can be silly and funny the switch up and become very dark, very fast and somehow not feel like unmatched puzzle pieces. it just fits . somehow
4. last but not least...that has to be one of the most memorable last episodes i have watched in a while. this is because of the first two reasons i gave, solid consistent characters and ruthless writing. What a ride. If i was in a theater I'd stand and clap, i really would. If for no other reason .... watch it for the finale
all in all... a story with badassery, heart, laughs and tears( or screams, depending on how you vent... i nearly lost my voice this last hour. ( I'm not over it!!!! i mean they just.. they just... I'm trying so hard not to spoil! Do watch to understand my devastation))
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To each their own, I suppose
Vincenzo is the type of drama that just isn’t for everyone. Funny story - I wasn’t actually going to watch this drama for a long while despite hearing amazing things about it on the internet (I’m not very interested in law/crime/mystery dramas), but I used that fancy new “watch something” button on Netflix, and it started playing Vincenzo. So I guess I just continued watching it after that. Despite being better than the other primarily law and crime focused dramas I watched previously, I ran into the same problem with Vincenzo that I had with all the other dramas of its genre. Because so much of the story is action-packed and has to be focused on the plot, the character development fell to the sidelines as usual. I’m the type of person who watches dramas more for the characters rather than the plot itself, which is why I rarely enjoy this genre. My reasoning is that if I don’t care about the characters, then I don’t really care about what happens to them either. Now, that is not to say I didn’t shed a tear while watching this drama - I totally did. I just believe I would have enjoyed Vincenzo a lot more had it been more character than action focused (not the drama’s fault - mine). On top of that, I never really got into the humor of this drama (okay fine, it was pretty funny a few times) nor did I appreciate the drama’s slow pace. I watched the majority of Vincenzo at 2x speed (never doubt my subtitle reading skills lmao) and struggled to remain focused watching the drama at its regular pace. I honestly really expected more from the drama’s action part of the plot, since it was so dominant in this drama. Instead, I got cliche scenes where the characters somehow couldn’t kill each other despite the thousands of chances they had to do so. There were quite a few cliche action sequences and the plot itself felt repetitive and a bit all over the place, especially toward the end. Vincenzo himself also felt unrealistically perfect with his ability to take down a group of 20 guards with nothing but his bare fists. All in all, it’s generally hard to impress me with a good action drama, but Vincenzo did leave me with a pretty good impression despite the shortcomings. I actually grew to like the characters and really appreciated the amazing cinematography and music. I can definitely see why someone would enjoy this type of drama - it just wasn’t entirely for me. Side note - why are we mad at the ending? I literally thought it was just fine.Was this review helpful to you?
Came for Ok Taec Yeon, stayed for Master Hemp Lee!
Had not seen this prior to watching "Secret Royal Inspector & Joy". In fact, I'd avoided this like the plague because it looked like an attempt at Eurocentrism. I'm not wrong.So, firstly, for any viewer who wants to watch something that makes sense—don't watch this. You've been warned. This series tries to make a plot but has no intention on sticking to it whatsoever. If nothing else, one phrase should tell how ridiculous it is—deus ex machina by pigeon. Yup. One conflict of the series was solved by inexplicable divine intervention of the pigeon variety.
That aside, if you're looking for some comedic relief... maybe I'd recommend this. I didn't expect Master Lee, from Alchemy of Souls, to be here and seriously, he saved it for me. His character was really the one who saves the day, and even Vincenzo, on several occasions and he is funny AF.
I'm not even going to waste time on analysing the plot and characters except to say that, for the backstories of the characters, it is impossible for all of them to need someone to fight for them. And the plot, like I said, is non-existent. All the characters do not behave as per their profile. The situations are BS, at best. And the constant grandstanding, when the protags aren't even in a winning position, is just a cheap and desperate attempt to detract from the fact that there's no plot or development in there at all. At all.
Would I recommend this? ... If you like Master Hemp Lee, sure thing, go for it. It was a pity he wasn't shown in more frames but he did make the show worth it for me. Do not enter if you're looking for anything logical though, nevermind substantial.
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Everything is perfect in this drama
This drama is my TOP 1. You would never find a better actor than Song Joong Ki to play the role of mafioso. His italian pronunciation sounds very naturally. The appeareance of actor also fits the character very well. The show is half comedy and half action genre. The comedy parts are very original, totally something new in Korean series.Regarding action parts, it is good to see that the main characters uses a brain and not only fists to fight. If you are bored with all these main characters which are obsessed by fighting with a pride without using dirty trick, this show is for you. Vincenzo is the only show I know in which the main character is not trying to play innocent and he doesn't try to change his behaviour. The is aware that sometimes the violence and killing someone is necessary to win.
The soundtracks keep you in suspense and gives you chills.
There is a nice atmosphere between main characters, without any stupid arguments or breaks ups.
The madness of the antagonist and his anger attacks which are quite funny.
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"Vincenzo" and Moral Deception: Violence and Murder are Okay if it’s for a Good Cause
They're not.While I wholly support those who fight for freedom and defend themselves, murder and such violent acts are different. It is about intention. I also recognize that the argument of this show is that Vincenzo is a lesser evil than the main villain and is fighting against evil. However, (and the show notes this) it is still evil against evil which ultimately ruins all the good it builds up at the beginning.
These crucial elements of morality come into play more seriously at the end of the show. Rather than just being simple “Ocean's Eleven” fun and games, the series still puts the anti hero in the spotlight, his actions fully supported by the other "good" players in the show.
In terms of the comedic and often lighter tone of the show, this is comparable to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” The difference, however, is satire. The audience in “Parasite” is meant to recognize the evil we face in reality and the wrongness of the situation while still depicting it in humorous ways. By the end of “Vincenzo," on the other hand, it is clear that the show is genuine in its attitude on moral grayness.
As a side note, one of the reasons I enjoyed last year's “The Good Detective” so much is because it emphasizes the importance of the law and morality despite the challenges of each.
What is good? What is evil? Where is the line?
"Vincenzo" only scratches the surface of these broad questions. In my opinion, it is because there is no real line drawn here. Perhaps I speak for myself, but I never felt as though Vincenzo was the villain even as he claims to be one. His very being the protagonist affects the viewer’s perspective on the protagonist’s actions, confusing the morality of the show further. The better question then is, “What wouldn’t Vincenzo do for his perceived justice and revenge?”
By the end, it becomes a show where the “good guys” find pleasure in their enemies’ pain. Their enemies certainly needed to pay, but it feels as though the show glorifies such vengeance, turning it into good when, at the end of the day, it is still evil.
The charm the show begins with does not persevere as the later episodes and ending reveal the seriousness of our “good characters’” actions. What could have been used as a shock ploy to persuade viewers and other characters in the show of such seriousness and evil is only accepted and continued to the end of the show. And I will just tell you, many of our main characters have some shocking acts.
This is an interesting point to note because we see do, in fact, see this moral struggle in Vincenzo's character through his nightmares and in Cha Young through her physical aversion to such violence (as opposed to her verbal consent). Had the show then gone the route of exploring these insecurities and drawing a moral line, a powerful lesson could have been found in the story. And, as with the way Vincenzo works, it would have come with a splendid snap and boom.
CONCLUSION
Despite the supposed morally grey characters (whom I argue are still making evil decisions with regards to murder and such cruelty), there is a great deal of meaning to still be found in the show. It is full of strong and richly created characters with believable weaknesses. Plot twists don’t appear out of nowhere and come seamlessly as the show progresses. Comedy and tragedy work in harmony to build this incredible series.
The last couple episodes are outliers for my final grade on the show because I disliked them so much as all my hopes for a meaningful conclusion were wasted. However, with such an enjoyable beginning and middle of the drama, I decided to rest on a well-deserved 8/10.
I would say that it was worth watching because of its clever fun, but if such moral deceptiveness bothers you in a show, I would not recommend it to you. As always, my rewatch value is based on my entertainment value and my music also includes sound. Rarely is it that I give out 10s for sound—the sound and music here was stupendous. I appreciate all the hard work that went into the making of this show and hope this was helpful to someone! Cheers!
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This review may contain spoilers
I placed any potential spoilers at the end of this review.The acting was great and it had wonderful cinematography. However, the story concept was ok. The script started off strong, but it lost steam by the end. I personally think that episode 8 could have been handled differently. The series is also too long. It has 20 episodes and each episode can be over 90 minutes long. This is also why it took me so long to finally commit to watching it. Because of the number of episodes, the series felt repetitive at times. The series could have been 14- or 15-episode series max.
******Potential Spoiler Alert******
I did not like the ending, I wished the character Jang Han-seo lived.
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Throw away the logic, let the pigeons in.
It was refreshing to see how they truly did not give a damn about realism and logic to such a ridiculous extent, but because of that, this drama had no business having 20 episodes, each 1 hour and 20 minutes long.Realistically speaking, the whole plot would perfectly fit into a 2 hour movie. Instead, we’ve got around 28 hours of Vincenzo being cool finding a way to fight Babel, said “way” getting killed, Vincezno finding another way to fight Babel, that then gets killed… you get the idea. Strangely, even with this painful repetitiveness, I was not exactly bored for most of the watch time. True, I did watch the whole drama at 1.25x speed, but I enjoyed the experience quite a lot.
Surprisingly brutal, a few times reminding me more of a Saw movie, and not a k-drama comedy about a mafia. Not sure how, but this vicious take mixed well with the dumb jokes and plot points. The only time I felt like the show failed at mixing different moods was the way they handled Cha Young’s motivation to join the fight - that bit made me feel slightly uncomfortable and was not the best start to the series.
Song Joong Ki as Vincenzo Cassano was the selling point of the show, and for me, the performance was so strong, I did not even need more from the drama to keep watching. He is just really fine, and when he goes into full boss mode, I could not care less about the plot. Sometimes, this is all I need to keep me entertained.
Then we have Hong Cha Young played by Jeon Yeo Been. Love the actress, struggled with the character, especially in the first half. Her comedic vibe has been just too strong for me to like. Slowly she became less cartoonish, and more like a relatable human being - that’s when I started to appreciate her more.
I am truly not the biggest fan of Ok Taec Yeon as an actor. Has been a fan of his since his debut in 2PM, he is born to be an entertainer, but I was not even once convinced by his acting. Yet, I loved him as Jang Jun Woo. Don’t know if it’s just one lucky role for him, or he is starting to feel more comfortable in his acting, but I bought him as Jun Woo completely.
Some side characters and performances that caught my attention were: Kwak Dong Yeon as Jang Han Seo, Choi Deok Moon as Tak Hong Shik, Kim Yoon Hye as Seo Mi Ri and Im Chul Soo as Ahn Ki Seok. Not to forget Kim Sung Cheol for whom I have quite a soft spot.
I could feel all the money spent on the production leaking through my screen. Top notch might be an understatement. When you know the production team did not shy from spending money? When the soundtrack has 67 tracks - all of extremely high quality.
Still, the writing was just… empty? It serves amazing entertainment, and that’s it. There was no depth, no emotional attachment, no well developed plot. I’m still trying to figure out how the decision to make it into such a long drama was made. I can imagine the writer, director and the production team sitting in the bar, after quite a few bottles, brainstorming with ideas of a similar quality to “but imagine this: lizard people were behind it all along”. Some plot points were so outside of the box I was truly impressed with the creativity.
Overall, perfect brainless drama for some fun, light watch. Watching this as my neurons were being fried by Covid was a perfect choice and I don’t think any other drama could accompany me through that hell as well as Vincenzo did.
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A Writing Masterpiece that is fun to watch
From the moment this drama started I was hooked. Rarely do you find a series that will keep you glued to the screen for 20 episodes, but this one did just that. A drama, suspense, comedy and a touch of romance with superb acting. There were happy moments and extremely sad moments, but there was never a dull moment.At times it was brutal so don’t watch it you’re squeamish over the sight of blood. A group of misfits come together as a family and stand against every evil you can think of. Don’t pick over the reality of it, don’t question the methods, just sit back and watch a writing masterpiece. It was entertaining and it was captivating so please enjoy what you are about to watch.
The acting was amazing. Song Yoong Ki did a fantastic job with his portrayal of Vincenzo Cassano a member of the Italian mafia. By the time the drama ends you will believe he is the true godfather. Jeon Yeo Bin was great as Hong Cha Young the wild and beautiful lawyer in the group. If you’ve never noticed her before you will after this drama. She was strong, beautiful and right beside Vincenzo with her constant support. On the evil side it will be hard to ever top the pair in this drama. Ok Taec Yeon just ruled as the master villain, the evil Chairman Jang Jun Woo. He changed moods, facial expressions and you never knew what he would do next. Kim Yeo Jin was brilliant in her portrayal of Choi Myung Hee the prosecutor/lawyer for the evil Chairman. I’ve seen her in so many shows but this one was a tribute to her years of acting. When I watched this drama I wasn’t sure which of the two were the most evil. All the support acting was good so there was never any empty time. The drama moves fast considering each episode is over an hour long.
Sometimes when I read other reviews I ask myself, did they watch the same drama? This drama is a masterful comedy mixed into the brutally of competing factions. It takes an amazing writer to pull this off. Watch it and let me know what you think.
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The drama actually sounds as crazy as it sounds on paper and yet I don’t think the description does it justice. Usually, I do not like such makjang type dramas or over the top soap opera style shows, but here it is done with so much humor and skill so instead of getting on my nerves I got this weird mix of soap opera, thriller, and comedy and then a group of weird, flawed and morally gray characters. It is a weird mix, but it works surprisingly well together. There is a good balance between all these different factors, and it makes quite a cohesive story.
Despite all the laughs and the absurdity that the drama throws at us, it never seems as if it is mocking the story or this soap opera world that is had crafted around it. It’s more playing with it and really take advantage of it. The show takes itself quite seriously with it tone, and yet it does not because it’s main goal seems to be making the most entertaining story, and achieving that is not easy. It’s shows a certain strength within the story and the vision the people behind it had. And that shines quite clearly within the story and makes Vincenzo quite stylish.
The story goes in circles a bit. Sometimes things just seem to happen just because the story needs them to happen just for it to move forward. Some things feel too convenient but the show seems to be very aware of it that you kinda don’t question it too much. It feels wonderfully self-aware of it’s genre, which also helps you suspend your disbelief and keeps you thoroughly entertained while even the most convenient plot points are happening. The story sort of manages to be logical within this small world it has created.
It plays with the soap opera formula and the clichés that comes with those stories and tales of the mafia, to take the story and comedy to another level, making things more exciting, crazier, without making fun of it. It has all done to entertain us or to provoke sort of reaction out of the audience.
But I think it is the characters that really make this show what it is. They are just so fun or interesting! Every single character, whether they are supporting characters or not, have their own quirks and darker sides, although to varying degrees. They are all quite ridiculous and complex in their own way.
Our hero Vincenzo is more of an anti-hero and even the antagonist gets some nuances and quirks that even if you sort of hated them you also enjoyed watching them. I have personally not enjoyed a villain in a kdrama this much for quite some time. They brought so much tension, drama, and comedy into the show that I was almost more excited to see what they would do more than our protagonist.
The same goes with the supporting cast. I enjoyed every scene, every little side-plot that they had going on, which does not always happen. Sometimes they feel like fillers to extend the story for no good reason, but here the supporting characters get to control both the humor of the episodes but also the heart of the show. They all felt important, flawed, and interesting in their own way. They are not just comic-relief,
The romance in Vincenzo is slow and never takes over much of the story itself, although it is very often lingering in the background and the drama is always alluding to it. However, it is never the center of the drama. It is not the main story or focus, and I have to say for my part I am usually fonder of a slow-burning romance and that really worked well here with everything else going on. I love some good pining and longing because the character does not want to admit that they are in love or have not realized it. And there was more than enough of that in Vincenzo. Both are learning to trust others and become good people. Although no one is really a good person in this show.
Do I feel like the drama could gave allowed Chae Young to save herself a little more instead of always having Vincenzo come and save the day and the drama itself had a tendency to rely a little too much on the charm and the visuals of Song Joongki for my taste. It became a bit too repetitive after a while.
Vincenzo is a style of kdrama that I rarely see. And although it contains many basics of soap opera storytelling and other types of kdramas out there, I feel it does stand out because I have never quite seen this mixture before. No matter what the drama did it was always exciting to see what happened next and it always kept me surprised even though I thought the story went in some circles and brushed over certain things along the way. I never felt like they truly ran out of ideas to entertain me and entertain me it certainly did. It never really dealt all its cards.
Vincenzo is not flawless, but it is a hell of a good time. There is always this tension within it, you kept on wondering what would happen next, what these characters would do. You have no know what is going to happen. There is always a lot going on and so much high drama, such high stakes, yet still always so filled with humor. It was a real roller coaster ride from start to finish.
Vincenzo grabbed me completely and did not want to let me go until the very end. I have not enjoyed a kdrama and the discussions that took place around this much it for some time now. And that is what I will take from it; it was just pure fun. It was pure entertainment for me.
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Trainwreck
After watching episode 18, I'm on the verge of dropping this shitshow. The last few episodes were just pure torment.What started as a fairly light-hearted and occasionally funny parody of noir/action movies, turned into full-blown soap opera. But it just can't be enjoyed, not even ironically.
5 minutes of FL running into mc's embrace in slow motion, camera shooting from every possible angle. Then nothing happens.
5 minutes of FL waving goodbye to mc on airport, slow motion, camera from every angle possible. He comes back 5 minutes later.
Mc is in trouble at the end of episode, no matter how bad it is, don't worry. He will get out of it at the beginning of next episode in 11 minutes(like in the death of Noh newspaper guy) or 4 minutes(like when he was surrounded by interpol). I was counting time.
How did he survive being surrounded by interpol and aimed at from all sides with rifles? He just took out pistol and threatened them. They conceded and let him go.
How did he survive being framed by the police for crime he didn't commit? He just defeated a bunch of guys with firearms with martial arts. Then mercifully let the policemen go.
How did he survive being captured by Italian mafia, on his knees, with a gun pointed to his head? Suddenly a swarm of pigeons arrived and attacked the bad guys, then vincenzo got up and kicked their asses with martial arts.
In one episode he just went straight to the mansion of the bad guys, beat up like 20 security guys with his bare fists, killed a guy, and then threatened the bad guys not to tell the police about it else...! And they just listened. While making more and more ridiculous plans to take down Vincenzo, all of which failed of course. Mostly due to his plot armor.
In another episode, he set a bomb to public meeting, exploded a guy, and told all the VIPs which included a mayor and high ranking police officer to eat the deals they signed with Babel Industries, then let them out, threatening to kill them all if they tell the police about what happened in basically broad daylight. And they just listened.
Now then, based on all this you may think that Vincenzo is some kind of over the top fun time parody. But it isn't. All these scenes were supposed to be serious and emotional. But how can they be if the main characters have titanium plot armor, basically playing on cheats? You start feeling bad for the villains.
All the villains were well acted and well written. Which can't be said about gary stu Vincenzo with his botox-filled plastic face that can't show any emotions other than gentle smirk, and his worthless yes-(wo)man sidekick FL who might have as well been removed from the story 4 episodes in and nothing would have changed.
This show supposedly had 18million$ budget? Waste of money. Waste of good actors. Waste of good ost. And all because they couldn't look over the script and realize how utterly ridiculous and not in a good way all of this is. And maybe they should have hired some Italian teacher too, because the Italian in the show is just awful.
Also, the glorification of vigilante "justice" is sickening, he even kills his own subordinates if they did something wrong in the past, then cheers and has fun with his friends like it's nothing. But he won't kill himself, possibly because his plot armor bullet deflection field would prevent that.
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Oil and water don't mix
When I started watching this drama, I was so convinced I'd love it. Episode 1 confirmed this intuition : it was impressive, badass, and characters seemed very interesting. Cinematography was sublime, too.But then, I continued, and I have to say : the mix between comedy and serious crime is not very effective. It's like oil and water, which left me with the feeling that it was either a comedy that took itself too seriously or a thriller that was very badly written.
The plot doesn't make sense , plot armor is way too obvious (pigeons, lol) and I keep wondering why the female lawyer wasn't killed way before. Vincenzo is a mafia consigliere but he cannot protect her 24/7, it's a godly power. Even him could have been killed many times but nevermind.
Also, I have a major issue with the FL. She's absolutely charming and I love her personality, but regarding the plot, she's very useless. She's supposed to be a very skilled lawyer, yet she never did anything valuable for the mission. Everything (including law business, her specialty) was handled by Vincenzo.
Finally, the pacing is a real problem. The plot's too draggy and there are many repetitive storylines, especially ones with huge scenes of Vincenzo walking in slowmotion with impressive music in the background.
That said, there things I liked very much : the characters, the humour (it was actually very funny) and the emotion. I cried several times : when cha young's dad dies, when vincenzo's mother dies, and when the main antagonist's little brother dies too. This death made me cry so much I felt so sorry for him.
My final world is : it's enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously. I won't rewatch but I liked my first trip.
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This is on my top list of best dramas
1. I came expecting nothing, a mafia concierge born in Korea and coming back to korea2. No romance but a couple fighting crime
3. Didn't know any of Jeon Yeo Bin dramas, and wasnt a fan of Song Joon Ki because I couldn't bear watching DOS
4. comedy, thriller, drama, mafia genres
5. like 2% of romance
Let me tell you
1. The plot is not all that, is more far and beyond
2. Never been a fance of thriller, crimes etc. but romance but I enjoyed every single interaction of the main leads like I was watching a romance drama.
3. After Vincenzo one year later, I still can't let go of my love for this drama and the main leads I became instantly a fan of both Jeonki together or in separate projects (but deep inside i want them to reunite in another project)
4. I never knew they could blend all these genres and make a beautiful drama that will be in my memory forever, they blended all this elements that one minute I was laughing my a..off then i was scared then I was mad Ohh my Gosh all the feelings, I would wake up every Saturday and Monday to watch 1.20 hrs of episode which took me like 3 hours because of the rewatch value, never happened before ever.
5. Yes romance is like very soft, slow born and minimal but every single scene is about them being together sparkling enormous chemistry.
So yes, even me been biased because I love everything about this drama, please don't get fooled by episode 1, I did get hooked since episode one but Ive hear many of my fellow Vincenzo fans took until episode to really kick off on them so yeah give it a try will not dissapoint.
OST-wise they don't have many songs but the few they have are in my mind 24/7 my ringtone is Ill always be by your side and I change it eventually to Adrenaline.
Rewatchable value 100%
BTW, I never give reviews but I thought I needed to for future viewers not that the drama doesn't have a high rating but because is well deserved direction and writing is phenomenal plus the acting of every support cast. Give it a try you won't get dissapointed.
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