This review may contain spoilers
Trailer does not do this film justice! Must watch!
The trailer already gave me a great vibe and interested me from the start, but boy, it didn't do it justice! Now that I've finally gotten to watch the entire film, I am in love with how it was written. You watch the trailer thinking you know how it's going to go, but it's going to surprise you.The 8 jurors were all familiar faces played by actors who I've seen from other dramas and they really brought their characters to life, especially the actor who was the defendant. His emotional acting brought me to tears and it was overall, a very good watch! The film was well produced with good pacing, good camera work, and good music to draw you into the scene.
"When in doubt, think of the defendant's interests."
There was also this meaningful message about what the law is for, who it's for. It's not to punish but to set a standard for those who may be wrongly accused. The writer carefully intertwined that message from the start until the case was over at the end, never losing track of what the goal was. I don't usually rewatch dramas/movies, but this one is one of the rare ones worth it.
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Even though this film was Crime/Law genre it’s loaded with all the feels that make you realise you are human. I don’t want to say more than that because no amount of words can suffice how wonderful this film is. You have to feel it for yourself.
If you need more convincing, here are 5 more reasons why you should watch this movie:
1) Great cast
2) Park Hyung Sik is in it and he did an incredible job portraying the role of Juror 8. Seriously, loved his character and I want to protect him from everything bad.
3) Watch it for the story. It’s so simple yet so intriguing. It’s going to make you root for characters and cheer them while they try their best to make the right decision.
4) Beautifully written.
5) Even though the theme revolves around a murder case I will still categories it as a feel-good movie.
Honestly, please do yourself a favour and watch it.
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This review may contain spoilers
12 Angry Men is not only considered a classic among movies of all genres but it's also one of my all time favorite. I was sceptical regarding Juror 8 because it sounded exactly like 12 Angry Men. I can say I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong - also the fact that is based on a real case from South Korea. Now, does it have similarities? Yes it does. What's important is that the overall vibe of the movie is completely different.First of all, I liked the small details that helped to describe the society of 2008 in South Korea, and more exactly the "not so subtle" misogyny: the press mistaking the presiding judge to be a man in place of the splendid Kim Joon Gyum (played by Moon So Ri), her colleagues assuring the people in charge that she will do a good job because "she thinks almost like a man" and other little nuances here and there.
Secondly I want to say that the idea of a jury always fascinated me. In my country we don't have this kind of a system and I can say I've always seen it kind of grey - it sometimes can be good and sometimes not so. The way the characters are portrayed it's quite good, but they weren't as developed as I would have liked. You don't really get to see the part where they change their minds and what made them do it, apart from Nam Woo(played by everyone's favorite Park Hyung Shik) who from the beginning gave the culprit the benefit of the doubt.
I would have liked to see a lot more friction between the characters and their opinions, because in reality people don't change their mind so easily especially when they have kind of a big ego, as was the case for Juror 4(Seo Jung Yeon) and Juror 5(Jo Han Chul).
The movie succeeded though, despite of the things pointed out, to make me connect with the defendant and his trial. It drove home the important aspect of the difference between "guilty or not guilty" which is basically the life of a human. I especially approved with the principle of "when in doubt choose in the defendants favor", which in my country we say as "found guilty in absence of reasonable doubt"...I don't think that I can underline this hard enough.
All in all, Juror 8 is a meaningful watch that won't let you get bored and maybe even touch some of your strings along the way. It's a good movie, and you don't have to be interested in law to enjoy or understand it.
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The genres that are not quite fitting.
Honestly speaking, this is far more of a comedy drama, and I don’t see many thriller elements in it. The poster presents what the mood of the movie will be far more than the genres listed, so take that into consideration when watching.I have to say, it’s been a while since a movie made me so excited to watch. I was interested in the characters, in the court case, in the truth behind the case. Each element was so well written and constructed, and intertwined into the overall plot, there wasn’t a second wasted of the screen time.
The movie seems like a low key battlefield between the professional judge who forgot the core aspect of her work and a Juror 8, who got himself involved in the case and now simply wants to do a good job with it.
The aspect I enjoyed the most was the character development and clever ways they indicated how and when specific Juror’s started to be more engaged in the case. Especially Choi Yeong Jae, with whom they did a brilliant job.
The acting was amazing. Not surprised with a cast like that. Having great and well established actors playing supporting, and even guest roles made each scene truly enjoyable. Big props to Seo Hyun Woo, even though he did not have that much screen time, his depiction of the defendant was stellar.
Is the movie realistic? Definitely not. I do believe the comedic leaning makes it okay though. It still presents the importance of the job jury has, the potential issues in the system, but also the benefits it might bring, while adding a lot of entertainment with the exaggerated scenarios.
On the other hand, saying it’s even loosely based on the original story is nothing but misleading. The cases are nothing alike, the result is not the same, the behavior of the jury is completely different. It especially bothered me with the last narration on the screen, where they mixed the events of the show with real life statistics - it was simply confusing. Before I did some research, I was sure that part describes the real life case from 2008, which was not correct. Hence I’m not sure selling it even to that extent as being related to real events was a wise choice.
Overall, extremely exciting, interesting and engaging. Has some amazing situational comedy, but does not forget to have good content behind the jokes.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was a really great movie. There wasn't any action or sudden thrills, but the characters and the general mystery of the case kept my interest throughout. I'll be honest, this movie might not be for everyone. While I most definitely can't call this movie slow-paced, there are definitely moments when the story slows down. Many might end up skipping or find it a bit too boring. The cast did a good job in making the characters real. It was fascinating to see moments where their own personal lives connected with the case and how that affected their decisions.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys watching the criminal justice genre BUT don't expect any action or the likes.
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At first, it may seem to be a mediocre start as we were initially introduced to the plot setting, as well as the main characters. And the case that was chosen to be the first one being held with a jury seemed to be a simple case of murder, with what seemed to be a clear motive for murder by the defendant. It may turn out to be a boring case as the jurors chosen seemingly more interested in resuming their normal lives rather than taking seriously of the task at hand. But with the eighth juror starting to doubt that the case was as simple as it appears, that was when the plot started to get interesting.
I have to say that I was really fond of Hyungsik's character, Kwon Namwoo in this movie. He was so adorable, even when it seemed that it might be too hard for him to handle the responsibility of being a juror in a court trial. That aside, I love how throughout the movie we can see how the rest of the other jurors also started to take their job as jury seriously because of Namwoo and try so hard to find out whether or not the defendant of the case was truly guilty of the crime that he was accused of. And I have to say the final outcome of the case was really unexpected and sad.
Watching Hyungsik in this movie was really a treat, I really can't get enough of him making his surprised face. And I love how Hyungsik really pull off Namwoo's honest belief and sincerity to want to save the defendant to the point that you could really believe that Namwoo's honesty was what moved the rest of the jurors to change their minds and help him.
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Unexpectedly amazing and light-hearted for a law movie
I was not expecting this movie to be nearly as good as it was or for me to like it and enjoy it as much as I did. I watched the trailer and it has some great actors in it, so I decided to give it a shot. I just finished watching it and it was really really good.I'm always worried that a law/crime based drama/movie is going to be too gruesome or brutal for me to stomach, which usually deters me from watching them, but the execution of this movie was pleasantly unexpected! It was much more light-hearted compared to a lot of law movies, which I really liked. But it still managed to hit on some very serious morals that made you think and analyze what you *think* you know or understand. I cried in the end.
The only reason why I took off 1/2 a star was because I would have really liked to know where each of the characters wound up in 2019 in the last scene. That would have helped provide a nice wrapped conclusion in the end.
Juror 8 was surprisingly good AND it's based on a true story. Excellent pace and well executed! I really enjoyed this. Highly recommend for sure!
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TLDR is that I recommend this movie because I think the plot and acting were great.
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A great Korean film and a must watch if you haven't seen 12 Angry Men
I had this in my PTW because it reminded me of 12 Angry Men so obviously Juror 8 came up short but otherwise it's a great Korean film.Dislikes:
Case - To me the story wasn't well executed. As a juror I would assume that everyone would want to read through the evidence of a case before deciding on a verdict. The fact that only one juror was interested in the case and the Judge as well as her colleagues considered this a waste of time from the get go was quite disappointing and baffling.
Resolution - There was almost no explanation on what basis and why many jurors changed their mind. There was very little debate or discussion between the jurors wrt the verdict. I would have also loved to see how each juror changed his/her opinion and how each of them justified the verdict that they decided on.
Scenes - I found some scenes fantastic and the way they were handled diluted the seriousness of the situation for me. As I am not Korean, the ending felt like a plot twist to me and I felt rushed.
Likes:
There were a lot of good actors in the movie and I almost hoped some of them had gotten more screen time/backstory. Moon So-ri as the judge was splendid, the way she has to suffer male colleagues in her profession felt extremely realistic to me.
Park Hyung Sik as Kwon Nam-woo was brilliant. He conveyed the hesitancy of a compassionate young man very well. I liked how he refused to give up until he was sure.
Kim Mi Kyung as Juror 2 was good with her questioning mentality and some of her lines were really good.
Overall:
Interesting plot. Good Korean Movie. Great for one time watch. Since PHS is brilliant it gets an 8 but if you aren't a PHS fan I'd give it a 7.
PS: My rating scale for movies is very strict. And 12 Angry Men made it very difficult to give this anything higher than 7.5.
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Park Hyung Sik played his role very well, the other casts too. The story inspires people to not judge people too fast. It teaches us to see the bigger picture of everything before making decisions.
I think considering a jury’s decision is one of Korea’s best decision. According to the movie, it shows us that not all pathologists could be trusted. So, before deciding, make sure that we’ve checked every detail there is and make sure every opinion is heard.
Cried a bit in the end, so prepare tissues just in case!
Overall, a 9/10! ⭐️
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An engaging film
Loosely based on South Korea's first trial Jury, this court room drama is a true story & a light yet surprisingly engaging watch.Park Hyung Sik as Juror 8 was extremely convincing. The story is quite remarkably paced for a movie, the law & Jury issues are highlighted with immense care.
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Definitely worth a watch if you're a Kdrama & PHS fan (must watch if you ain't a fan lol)
Hyung Sik is a charmer & as Juror number 8 he will steal your heart & save the day for justice too.
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