Vincenzo (2021)
A lot to explore in what I thought would be a standard action thriller show. I expected an intense showdown between all three colors of justice at play; black, white, and gray. And yet I bore witness to an oddly humorous and feel good story. A story that, to its credit, did well in maintaining a degree of tension, stereotypical cool factors, and lighthearted goofiness. The writing was fun, consistent albeit a bit predictable.The show did a good job in balancing the serious and comedic bits from start to finish. It established that identity early on and never failed to remind the audience of that fact. The story draws on the audiences' being tired of the good guys being actual good guys all the time. Vincenzo does away with this narrative and thus the audience, by extension, felt satisfaction in the habitual line-stepping moments. In terms of the story's pacing, the proverbial cat and mouse game played by the characters did grow a bit repetitive as many parts felt overly bloated. I wished they got down to the nitty-gritty a bit faster as there wasn't enough substance to last all 20 episodes.
In terms of the characters, they all worked relatively well. Vincenzo is strong enough to drive the story himself but the villains, their comeuppance, and the resulting schadenfreude were all done beautifully. The female lead started off strong but often seemed to fade into the background. Many of the side characters felt/became filler-ish but I appreciated how they were utilized in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, I still enjoyed watching a guy emotionally grow from being a cold-blooded mafioso to an unorthodox anti-hero of the people. Like they say in Rome... that's just how mafia works--- Grazi e arrivederci, Vincenzo.
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Definitely rewatching this one!
Wow! This is what I have to say about Vincenzo. Just wow! At first I didn’t think I would like it. There was something about those first few seconds that I didn’t like. But I was like: keep going. And I’m so glad I did! Vincenzo was one of the first Korean series I’ve watched and it was so amazing! The whole story, I loved it. But can we just say one thing? How good were the actors?! There were moments I laughed so hard with the things they said and the facial expressions. I personally wasn’t that much of a fan of the way the show ended, that’s the only “negative” thing I have to say about this show. I felt that it was a little rushed.. But that’s the only downside for me personally. I LOVED IT! 🥰Was this review helpful to you?
Song Joong-ki delivers a magnetic performance as Vincenzo Cassano, the Italian-Korean consigliere who returns to Seoul to reclaim gold hidden beneath an apartment complex — only to find himself waging war against a corrupt conglomerate. He plays the antihero with effortless style: elegant, cold-blooded, yet unexpectedly human. His calm confidence and subtle humor make him unforgettable.
Jeon Yeo-been is equally impressive as Hong Cha-young — witty, fearless, and delightfully unpredictable. Together, they form one of K-drama’s most iconic duos, their chemistry sparking with both intellect and chaos.
The supporting cast, especially the quirky residents of Geumga Plaza, adds warmth and levity to the otherwise dark tone. Their evolution from comic relief to allies in justice is handled with surprising emotional depth.
The direction and cinematography are stylish and cinematic, with Italian opera and dramatic slow-motion scenes that give the series a unique visual identity. The writing is sharp, filled with clever twists, biting satire, and moments of genuine emotion that hit hard when you least expect it.
“Vincenzo” is more than a revenge story — it’s a commentary on corruption, morality, and the price of power. It’s bold, witty, and unforgettable — a near-perfect balance between laughter and bloodshed, justice and sin.
Simply put, “Vincenzo” is criminally good.
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Amazing story with amazing characters and amazing cast that you cannot miss!
When I started this drama, I had my own views of it as in, I thought this must be one of the overhyped dramas because of the casting... But after episode 4, I watched it more intently and became more engrossed into it. Slowly, this drama had become the only one I was watching and kept binging it till the end.If you plan on watching it, then I must tell you: Don't think this is just an overhyped drama because of Song Joong-Ki. It's impeccable!
From the badass scenes to the trickery of Vincenzo in every situation with Babell and with Cha helping him in every step of his plan, they make one of the most memorable couples. The romance of the series was slow burn and this made it better to go through. However, I would recommend that you do not watch this for the romance. Rather, the friendship and chase for gold will take your heart away as well.
While I did predict the ending (or almost did), it still gave a sense of emptiness in my heart but when I thought it was almost over, I couldn't get over how amazingly cool the ending was..
Thank you team Vincenzo for this epic drama!!!
And yes, I would definitely recommend this drama but if you like romance, then let me tell you: You won't find much of it. But the tactics and trickery will steal your heart and make you believe that justice triumph.
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I love love love this
I absolutely love this!! There were no parts of this show that I didn't like. He's the villain that you would definitely love. All elements were on the spot, my favorite was the chemistry of all the characters together. I love how they make me feel warm and surprised, they make me laugh, and thrilled. The Casano family will always have a place in my heart.Our mc Vincenzo is such a badass but at the same time somehow he'll melt your heart while Cha Young is lovely and strong in her own way, plus I love how she's sassy. I love all the characters even the villains not because their lovable it's because they made a great job portraying their characters, I really wanted to slap all of them that's how great they are.
Finally, My best boy Han Seo. You did a great job. I really love you. Up until now, I still can't believe that you died. I love you so much, you make me so proud. I know if you'd live, you'll become more successful than your brother even without the bad schemes. I know you'll become a better man, you already showed us in the episodes./spoiler> There were many loveable characters there in the story but your development awed me. Your smile broke my heart. I really wished your happy now.
Overall, I absolute recommend this!!
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Awesome Screenplay, Acting
The main motive of the leads is to stop the production of harmful things from a company while fighting against the company's evil psycho CEO. It has a plain story of a mafia fighting against evil jang han seok and things facing on the way. Good projection of story, acting, roles and events unfolding. Theme was affected a little when Jang han seo died. As they tried to show some emotional feel but actually it affected the Vincenzo portrait. He could've taken turn in attacking han seok, while saving han seo and stopped Hong cha yong from a shot. And for the last 4 episodes Hong cha yong doesn't have much screentime I guess. All main leads did an awesome job. And I personally liked Agent ahn ki seok's performance. Events unfolded very smoothly.And I m giving this a 9 as I really got disappointed when Vincenzo was not Vincenzo-ing at the time of jang han seo's dead as he could've done much better if not for the storyline of han seo to be dead.
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Versatility of the actors
I love this kdrama. I've already watched it four times. I love all the characters, both the good ones and the bad ones. All the actors are amazing. The story and the music are spectacular. I recommend this kdrama to everyone who loves thriller, dark comedy and romance.It's favourite kdrama and Song Joong Ki is my favourite actor. As an Italian person I give 7.5/10 for his Italian, I almost understood everything he said. There is only one thing I would have loved to see more about his character: his past in Italy.
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The story is layed down from the start so there are no ridiculous plot twists (or i dont recall one) which often plague korean dramas. Characters are lovable, the show have good pace and everything works good. The music was not bad but not great ( usually i remembr at least one track from each show and later listen to it but thats not the case for Vincenzo). Overall Vincenzo is a strong tv show.
There are some areas that could be done better in my eyes. There could be more romance (i like romance) but i guess its ok cause that wasnt the main focus. What bothered me the most i think were Vincenzo himself. Sometime Vincenzo italian quotes were cringey. I get it that Vincenzo should be a badass but Song Joong-ki doesnt actually look like badass his face is almost like a baby so i didnt buy it when he was telling some badass italian quote. Also i think i would enjoy it more if he wasnt that great in everything. He was like some kind of demigod and he was literally kicking everyones asses from start to finish and sometime i cought myself being sorry for actual villians. It would be nice if he got ass kicked sometimes or if he had some flaws. On the other hand FL was great. I enjoyed her dark side and i actually would prefer if she got even more evil. Villains were... well they were there and they did bad things but they never actually won a single arc against Vincenzo which is sad. Also the main female villian was just... weird. I never understood what were her motives. She is the only character which didnt make any sense to me
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heavily misunderstood
here's a different opinion among all the "unpopular opinions'hate to admit but the biggest reason all the reviews didn't like it, is because its a popular show.
people tend to hate anything that "everyone likes" whether they admit it or not
movies, shows, music, even people, anything popular WILL be hated because its popular no matter how good it is.
now that its out of the way,
here's what my title means. people found is uneasy how crime and comedy was twisted like that, someone mentioned it even felt wrong to watch.
that's the thing, over a mafia, crime, law show, its a comedy show.
everything, even sensitive issues are comedy. if you were going in expecting a serious crime, law show, you're in the wrong place. the show is bizarre, unrealistic, but thats the theme!! lets not forget this is about a ITALIAN MAFIA? obviously its fiction.
someone had an issue with the lgbtq+ representation and all i can say is, it depends on the intentions of the author.
we are all sick of lgbtq+ rep always being some tragic story, ending in death or them being a bad person.
but lets not forget, none of the characters ever had anything against him for his sexuality.
at the end of the day, queer or not, the dude was a psycho abuser!!
there was no heavy heavy plot. the entire story evolved over 1 thing in 2 parts. the gold under the plaza.
1) stop the demolition of the building.
2) how to reach the gold.
now the 2) of it was not heavily dived into, the story really revolved around 1)
I've watched this show a few times already, and i picked up something new every time.
i thought it wad bizarre hoe the company did so much over one of the many buildings they need to demolish, but if you look into it, there were a lot more personal reasons as to why they attacked it so much.
someone was mentioning how it was weird that all the plaza members could take down HIRED men, good question, but again, tell me one scene where the plaza members have been normal. that plaza isnt a regular one, every single family is unique, every person is questionable, sometimes even bizarre. Even the government spy dude like, there ain't no way someone of that position would be that stupid, and start admiring a mafia who could potentially harm the country and not to mention his misunderstood everything and his view was blinded by bias.
welcome to plot convenience. if the plaza members were "normal" they would've been kicked out any of those moments Vincenzo was away. that would severely effect the story + they were huge comedic relieve after every intense moment.
and if this government dude found about about the real reason Vincenzo was back and the gold and all that, things would head down down. now as much as its not something to praise, the show did it well, it was pretty clear all the bizarre moments were comedic and didn't really effect the story.
there is one thing about this show that i will be upset about forever, we know it, big spoiler ahead everyone.
jang han seo. how dare they. obviously every show does this, kill our dear FAVOURITE most INNOCENT character.
he lived his entire life in fear, i cant even imagine how it would be living with that psychopath. after all he went through, he gets that TOP TEN ANIME BETRAYAL DEATHS?? no funeral scene?? no memorial for him? no being upset over his death? just like that? "you deserve to be my brother" be real right now the only thing you deserve is a punch in the face for leaving him to die. YOU don't deserve to be called "hyung" so lovingly by him. it really added to Vincenzo's character, he's not a softie who'll sacrifice his life for someone like that.
how did they leave him and run like that. so. selfish. he did so much for you. risked his life, got physically abused. helped you to the very END, lets not forget the chip in the watch is what tracked down the psycho. you are alive in my heart forever T T
and lastly. ok taecyon love of my fuc-king life you ate that role so bad.
i dont think ive physically gasped like that for any of those big plot reveals fr.
everyone saying it was predictable bffr all of you came to watch it after yall saw a hundred reels and tiktoks ab it, obviously you'd know.
again, people, will never like something everyone does. because they like being different or "i could predict it from miles away" like sit down lets just appreciate that plot.
the way he switched between the psycho and fluff ball like what the f-cuk he made my blood boil throughout, and since the reveal i never once felt any pity for him honestly. i will never understand people who an love a character despite all the hundred flaws just because they are cute/ hot, where your head at he's a psychopath its not quirky to like him.
i do wish we got more of a backstory on him, was he born like this, how did he turn into this? again if we got a sad backstory people would over sympathize with him and say it was never his fault la la la (me included).
it would lack a TRUE villain you know? but then again are any people BAD just like that, doesn't everyone have a story?
lets not get into that but this show made me think about a lot. in no way were any of characters perfect. (except han seo everyone stop using logic for him i beg u) it showed contrast of human beings, deep down everyone is selfish to an extent, it gave a real picture on what people are like, in the few moments of serious.
this show is more than just what it looks like, and only some people will get that, and thats okay, i give it a solid 9/10.
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8.5/10, but the ending is a 10/10
I honestly only started watching this for Kwak Dongyeon, and he was barely there for the first few episodes, which almost made me drop it. I'm glad I didn't! Overall, it was a pretty solid drama, but some of the characters (the tenants) were a drag to watch, and the FL was too extra and annoying for the first few episodes (although I ended up liking her after episode 5 or 6). I'm not sure about my rating because, in the end, I loved it so much, but what bothered me at first almost made me drop it, so...Was this review helpful to you?
Did I like it? Yes. Would I criticize it? Also yes cuz why not?
This review will point out some positives and negatives.I'll be speaking about 4 main points.
1. The Pacing
2. The Villain
3. The Romance
4. The Characters
[The Villain]
I'll start off with the biggest shortcome of this series, the villains. They were fundamentally weak antagonists. When you watch them, you DO NOT think,
"Wow, they are a step ahead."
"Omg, they are always winning!"
Because they never were. They were always behind. Even their so called small "victories" were never real victories. They were hollow. Whenever they try to gain an upper hand, they follow the exact same tactic throughout the entirety of the series. There were probably only few instances that they do something different aka bribe. You always knew, when watching, that Vincenzo would outsmart them. Which makes them boring and flat. They were not as smart as they initial were portrayed. The fact they even lasted that long is beyond me. I don't feel frustrated neither do I feel excited. They are that dull.
I had high hopes for our female villain but she truly just sucked. Had she been a good, smart opponent, it would have made everything more impactful and sweet when she gets what she deserves. One of the things that struck me as odd is how we don't get a background story on why she does the things she does and why she joined hands with Han Seok. Where does her trust in him stem from?
I would say Han Seo was the one that actually made me curious. He was a puppet but he was behaving in ways that were conflicting which made him interesting. His character development easily made him the most enjoyable one to watch.
[Characters/Pacing/Romance]
The series didn't use their time duration wisely. A lot of it was mundane. I would say they could have easily fixed it if they gave a bit of a background story about each of the tenants to deepen the connection with the viewer. Don't get me wrong, the tenants do grow on you and become an enjoyable aspect of this show. However, a short montage would have done the trick. It would have made this excellent if we knew more about them then just the surface.
With that being said, I would say the one character that disappointed me from start to end was the female lead. Her personality was fine and I gotta give her props for not enforcing her values on the male lead. However, she does BARE MINIMUM throughout the entire 28 hours of this series. Her role diminishes as the series goes. You know the writer messes up when the side characters does MORE than the main character. Even a bloody bird did something LOL. She is just there to represent Vincenzo plans during court because Vincenzo is Italian, therefore he can't be an attending lawyer in another country. I like it more when female characters have some worth to the story and she had the potential to go through a cool transition so it bummed me that it never happened.
But the good news is, she's a love interest. That covers up her shortcomings very well because you can enjoy the romance and the side characters can fill the gaps she is missing so you don't lose much viewing experience over her doing nothing. Romance is important because a lot of people can't watch a drama without romance. Plus the romance is actually mature, subtle and realistic. It doesn't use communication but actions to portray love. Whether you think they have chemistry or not is up to you to decide because it's subjective. If you you don't think they have chemistry then... YIKES.
Another thing I would say this series does well is being consistent with who Vincenzo originally were and they have done a lot of bold, daring, refreshing revenges that other dramas have never done before. It can't be replicated. When you watch them, they do leave an impact in you and it's very likely you won't forgot them.
I would like to end my review by saying the plot had a couple loose ends but you can move on from them. I do, however, want to address the Deus Ex Machina that is called the Guillotine File that somehow ended up in the same place as our protagonist...the whole existence of that file is ???? it doesn't bother me but I do want to point out how it's a very obvious plot convenience.
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Entertaining and fun to watch!
I enjoyed the drama quite a bit and give it a solid 8. I definitely think people should watch it. There were lots of things to love about it: the acting/cast, humor, action/fighting scenes, and thrilling main plot was fantastic.However, I did detract some stars as there were a few things I would change. I think the beginning and middle was stronger than the end, as around episode 16 the pacing and side plots/characters went from tight and potent to loose and spaghetti like which detracted from the satisfying end. I felt like instead of fleshing out so many new pointless side characters (like the campaign guy towards the end) that it should have fleshed out already involved characters more and tied up some of the previous loose ends from earlier episodes in a neater way instead of just in the last episode during that montage to show that time had passed. It also seemed like the female main character disappeared in the last couple of episodes until the climax and was instead turned into a plot device. It was like the writer didn't want her character to know all of what VC did as they didn't make her character able to condone that level of revenge.
Also, I thought the villain reveal wasn't that iconic and was super obvious from the beginning and I thought was meant to be obvious for the audience as they didn't try to mask it at all and revealed it fairly early on in addition to the obvious clues. I was kind of hoping that a different character (the one related to the villain) was the true villain all along and was going to unusual suspects us at the end, I was disappointed that wasn't the case.
Though as I said, the show overall is really great, and the characters are unique and fun to watch. Give it a shot!
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