Really Cool Show But Could Have Been Better
Lawless Lawyer is an entertaining, fun show with some suspenseful aspects. I really enjoyed the beginning, but it began to fall flat for me toward the end, and the ending itself could have been better.What I Liked
Lee Joon Gi is a great actor and did well here. The agony Bong Song Pil experienced concerning his mother’s death was well portrayed, especially in the very beginning of the show.
Bong Song Pil (whose name I really like; just seems to roll off the tongue) and Ha Jae Yi made a great team, and I was rooting for them throughout the show. I really liked Jae Yi because she was strong and assertive and could really hold her own. She didn’t need anyone to tell her what to do or how to do it and didn’t need anyone to fight her battles for her.
The acting was done well. You just hated Cha Moon Sook and I felt Ahn Oh Joo was laughable in the way he carried himself, his slow, scratchy voice and shuffling gait. It was interesting to watch.
I liked the music for the most part, such as the theme song and I loved the intense piano riff, which was played at the right time. I especially loved the intense piano called "I'll Protect You," which I had to track down and repeatedly listen to. I wouldn’t say the music was spectacular but whenever I think of the songs it makes me want to watch the show, so I suppose it did its job well.
I liked the court scenes the most, especially in the beginning. I was at the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I couldn’t always guess, and it kept me interested.
What I Didn’t Like
The show started to drag around episode 11, which seems to happen with a lot of kdramas for me. I enjoyed the court scenes but towards the end of the show they became lackluster and a bit predictable. Though the show started to pick back up around episode 14, it really dragged in episode 15 and 16. They constantly talked about what they were going to do to bring down Cha Moon Sook rather than actually doing it; there were too many 'lead up' scenes that seemed to just fill up space to reach 16 episodes.
I liked Bong Song Pil's team but sometimes their camaraderie and friendship seemed forced and, at times, a little annoying. They were pushing for the show to have some comedy but to me it just took away from the overall storyline.
The beginning felt more gripping, more emotional, but it seemed to fade by the end. Lee Joon Gi does an excellent job with very emotionally gripping scenes, and I felt the storyline called for that. I don’t see how Bong Song Pil could even be in the same room with the person who killed his mother and not be about to lose his mind. I understand he had to push his feelings aside to get justice, but I feel that he would still be struggling emotionally. More time could have been devoted to fleshing out the emotional side of the show rather than the comedic side, which often felt forced.
I didn’t really understand Cha Moon Sook and why she did all the things she did except that she’s just a sociopath. Most of the time, the viewer was left guessing what she felt about what she was doing to people. I wanted to see and understand her relationship with her father and the legacy she felt she was upholding. I felt we were closed off from understanding her completely.
The ending was alright, but I was disappointed in the last court scene. It was a bit predictable and didn't pack as much of a punch as the earlier court scenes. I felt the writing could have been stronger. I also felt that not all of the criminals got what they deserved in the end.
Would I Rewatch It?
Overall, I felt it could have been better but it was a really fun show to watch. I think with more emotion and a much stronger ending, it would've turned out to be a great show. I would rewatch certain scenes and episodes but probably not the show as a whole unless I haven’t seen it in years. I still would consider it one of my favorite kdramas.
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I like how there was romance but it wasn't the main theme, and they acted their age - none of this bashful kissing like high schoolers.
The ending for me was little bit over-dramatic (I mean the wrapping up, unveiling - all happen in the villain's court). Almost too perfect... It was nice to wrap it up happily but it kind lack the depth to it... It turned into a light-hearted drama in the last few minutes of the last episode.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not my cup of tea
So, it goes like this - the writers intended to tell a compelling story of vengeance and a pursuit of justice, but somewhere down the line decided to turn it into a slopy semi-comedic, semi-legal dramedy.Bong Sang Pil is a lawyer who returns to his hometown to catch his mother's murderers and to purge the city from corrupt judges, cops, lawyers, businessmen. But, instead of creating a righteous lawyer, the writers create a character resembling a cheeky, hot-shot cop from an American 80s movie. Ha Jae Yi, also a lawyer, is an impulsive hoodlum and an embarrassment to the legal profession with her tendency to punch judges. But, we are supposed to like her because she is a lawyer who cares. Ahn Oh Joo is a poor man's version of Tony Soprano. Judge Cha Moon Sook is the only compelling villain, but the writers make no effort to explain why she is so powerful and why everyone, especially the city's top gangster, always grovel at her feet.
After Bong Sang Pil and Ha Jae Yi team up to work together, the plot focuses on the murder trial of a corrupt cop and does not move forward. In episode 6, the main couple sleeps together. Then, the writers think it's appropriate to devote half an episode of them playing on the beach. The drama has no soul, purpose, or direction with a lot of things happening on a whim. I am a Lee Joon Gi fan but watching this show was a struggle. I braved through 6 episodes and now I am done.
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Lawless Lawyer is definitely enjoyable and it is my first time totally liking Lee Joon Gi.
Other than it is of a good quality, I really loved how sometimes they showed us some scenes from afar, without sounds, only actions. It said so much.
The story is quite good as well. Plus, I really love the main characters and their names for some reason. They were catchy.
Something else that i like about this drama is that the ‘childhood connection thing is not done in a cliche manner like many dramas do.
The action is a bonus.
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At first I didn’t know that I will love this series so much - I just want to watch another series while waiting for new episodes of Come Here and Hug Me, Wok of Love and Suits...
But after just watching the first episode I am already so in to this series!!!
Acting/Actors: superb! Oh I am so in love with Lee Joon Gi and Soe Ye Ji! They look so wonderful together. The camaraderie between all actors are great! There are slight bromance that always gets to me! Chemistry is simply amazing!
Story: gosh! From the back story to their present lives I’m quite hooked! This series has everything, drama comedy romance family skinship killings and a really fantastic ACTION scenes!!! Phasing for me is quite right, it’s fast and slow at the same time so I just about like it...
Music: just about right for me, they are not banking too much with music unlike other dramas that automatically plays music almost every other scene, I guess because there are already a lot of things happening at the same time so there’s really no need to put too much music just to make the viewers kind of feel like intense or something.... The story and their acting will already make you nuts with intense! Lol!!!
I hope you guys give this a chance :)
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Loved the story. Every episode had a twist. In every episode I thought that Bong Sang Pil plan would flop, but there are always some tricks under his sleeve. Loved how Bong Sang Pil revealed the villain's evil deeds. The way he turned the table in his favor was so pleasing to watch.
Loved Bong Sang Pil & Seo Yea Ji bickering. Lee Joon Gi & Ha Jae Yi have great chemistry. Nothing more to say about their acting, they're brilliant at what they do.
Both the leads, Lee Joon Gi & Ha Jae Yi, played characters who can’t express their emotions & here they’re full of emotions.
Laughed at the Seok Gwan Dong reaction when Bong Sang Pil said he didn’t care if he donated Seo Yea Ji organs.
Loved the chaos that Bong Sang Pil team caused in the courtroom, which doesn’t happen in real life for sure.
Laughe when Seo Yea Ji pushed Bong Sang Pil face into the food & their team followed him.
Bong Sang Pil using some illegal or tacit in his favor.
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Underrated Action-Legal K-Drama
LAWLESS LAWYER was a fun, fast-paced, slick legal drama starring the amazing Lee Joon Gi (of Flower of Evil/ Scarlet Heart Reo fame). In this series, he is a cunning gangster lawyer, name Bong Sang-pil, out for justice for crimes committed against his mother during his childhood. Being a real life martial arts expert Lee Joon Gi shines in this often action-packed role. I personally really enjoyed the energy of this show, as the action and fight scenes really spiced up what might have become a slow or tedious legal drama.Actress Seo Ye-ji was also interesting as the courageous moral lawyer Ha Jae-yi, who is paired with Bong Sang-pil. His cheery charisma mixed with her unwavering boldness made for a very entertaining pairing, as the two become partners in Lawless Law Firm and eventually grow to deeper levels of understanding.
Ha Jae-yi was a very likable character for me, a strong female lead from the start—fighting discrimination in the legal systems where female lawyers aren’t given the same respect. Instead of being a push over, her reactions are sometimes less thought out but certainly relatable. She was one of those characters who reacted reasonably and felt relatable. When she did—say—punch someone in the face…it felt justified. Otherwise, she had a lot of character depth and made for a great balance to the character of Bong Sang-pil.
While there were some predictable aspects of this series, the cast was really colorful and high energy, which is what honestly sold me on the show. Episode 2 drew me in and by episode 4 I was hooked…
The "villains" or baddies are believably bad, rather than 2D cutout bad guys. I do wish there had been more motives given, however, as to what drove them to do what they did. Money, fame, power, greed. Either way, they were very vividly characterized, especially the gangster thug/Mayor Ahn Oh-Joo. He was brilliantly casted/acted and was hugely entertaining to watch on screen. Judge Cha Moon Sook was convincingly devious in her role as well, and very hard to read. She was very subtle and cunning and made for a threatening foe. Nam Soon-Ja was another interesting character, brilliantly acted. The way she flipped personalities made her another unpredictable variant among the many puzzle pieces. Overall the casting was great. There are just too many great actors and roles to name. And that’s what made this show so watchable for me.
While some plot points are indeed a bit predictable, the series was very entertaining and well casted. It was quirky and had a lot of heart. It was a very fun watch and being a moderate Lee Joon Gi fan, I wanted to catch up on some of his lesser known series. This one was very enjoyable and exciting, though the show was missing something, hard to say what (no fault of the cast).
Besides his usual charismatic charms, Lee Joon Gi offered some really powerful emotional performances in this series as well. Some of those scenes packed a hard punch. As far as the romance, the main leads had great onscreen chemistry that felt natural and convincing. It was great to watch their relationship progress. It made for a fun, memorable experience and overall, it was a very decent and exciting show. Very underrated and worth a chance. No regrets.
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Sometimes you need lawless people to deal with stuffs
LIKEThe loyal Gwan Dong towards Oh Joo
Loved the cases Sang Pil took on and how Dae Woong was there for him
DISLIKE
Moon Sook's character and how Oh Joo was supporting her
MUSIC - personal fav
Burn It Up - Iamnot
Memories - Babylon
When Our Eyes Met - Kim Yeon Ji
REWATCH VALUE
Probably will re-watch someday
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