This review may contain spoilers
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Thrilling!I usually am not a fan of "overrated" dramas (Descendants of the sun was a torture to watch), but this time I am on board. The mix of comedy and dark revenge is so fresh and so welcome in dramaland!
I had to subtract 0.5 point due to the finale episode which could have been SO MUCH BETTER (spoilers ahead):
- The smart and bold FL just disappeared due to an aching shoulder;
- The well-developed character that was Jang Han Seo left us in a disappointing way (don't get me wrong, I cried like a baby, but I couldn't stop thinking to myself that I couldn't care less about Hong Cha Young's boo boo seeing that boy alone...).
- Vincenzo's stupid behaviour during that whole "Hong Cha Young has been captured" scene.
Overall, the cinematography is very impressive, the ost and bgm go so well with the scenes, the acting is pretty much flawless, the story is (most of the time) quite nice with a lot of details on the revenge plots.
Of course there are some issues with this drama, mostly in the last 2-4 episodes, but to be fair I don't want to judge this drama on these. It managed to make me happy every Sunday evening, and gosh, that's not an easy thing to do. So thank you!
Was this review helpful to you?
Standing Ovation!
Okay, guys....if a drama doesn't offer what Vincenzo delivered, then I don't want it.This drama has ruined everything!
Redefining friendship between the ML and FL - I looooved that Vincenzo and Cha Young were partners
Redefining badass - the ML is the villain and you will love him, the FL is what I want to be when I grow up, and the gang ...waaah
Redefining friendship - that Geumga Plaza Gang is just goals
Redefining romance - giving you that slow burn
Redefining humour - oh my gosh, had me tearing with laughter
Redefining plot twists - I remember following chats and videos about predictions and somehow, we all just didn't see it coming
Redefining OST - all the music *chef's kiss* and that BGM....gave me chills at all the suspenseful moments
Redefining character development - the most unassuming characters just blew my mind *Hello Mr Ahn!*
Redefining writing - the plot, the dialogue....whaaaaaat?!
Just wow. Hats off! Throwing flowers on the stage because ...wow! (I shall be in my room recovering)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
[insert italian music here] mamma mia, what a boring watch!
This show had a great premise: an anti-hero, a female lead who isn't all pure and innocent, bad guys who are actually badder than bad and straight up evil and an adorable pool of side characters around the anti-hero who bring out his good side and his bad side.Now, notice how I said the show had a great premise? Well, it's a shame that they fumbled the bag.
The show suffers from being too long; in a world of kdramas that are 17 episodes, Vincenzo decided to be quirky and do 20 episodes. 20 long, drawn out, draining episodes this show consisted of. The middle suffers the worst with this, the constant rinse and repeated cycled of bad guys plotting, Vincenzo finds out, he stops their plotting and they get mad and decide to plot more to get back at him, so on and so forth. It felt like I was watching the same episode four times with how often they repeated this cycle over and over again. You can have too much of something and Vincenzo really kept adding to the plate even though I said I was stuffed and didn't want anymore.
The obvious problems with the show:
- How comically evil the main bad guy was. He was a hidden bad guy but then he was revealed and he was just so comically evil. Killing people left right and centre, greedy and it's stated he was diagnosed as a psychopath at 16 after killing four classmates. Like, uh obviously, we didn't need a diagnosis to know that. I don't even know what his actual goals are for being so evil; does he want more money? Does he want to quash the backlash his company is facing? Or does he just hate Vincenzo that much he would do anything to stop him? I don't know. I mean, I guess it's all three? But they're just so shallow. The end was satisfying at least but it just got to a point where I wanted him gone not because I hated him, but because I was so bored of him.
- The 20 episodes. They dragged out a lot of storylines that didn't need to be dragged out. Fighting the case against Babel, trying to get the gold, avenging the death of a character - it just drags on SO much. Like, I'm not kidding, they have 20 episodes of the same thing of them trying to bring down Babel and they barely succeed time and time again. I'm just as exhausted as the characters watching them try to bring down the company. The pacing of the show was all over the place and completely destroyed my enjoyment of the show.
- The characters. Now, they weren't BAD per se but as i said before, comically evil bad guys who really do go above and beyond to be bad, and then Vincenzo just seems this completely untouchable anti-hero. He's always one step ahead and he's unbeatable. I do, however, like how they never completely redeemed Vincenzo - in fact, I would say that there's a moment where he's on the path to redemption and you notice it in his appearance in how he is adopting a more South Korean style with his hair and wearing lighter suits as well. Then an event happens that makes Vincenzo revert right back and you see it in his wardrobe, he's back to wearing the black and white suits and his hair is back to it's usual brushed back style. I loved this little detail and I've not seen anyone notice it but I just loved the fact they never made Vincenzo a good guy - he's not evil, he's done terrible, bad things but he's not evil. But if that's the case, then that means he's never had any character development either. He's the exact same as he was at the start of the show and he's made no progress except from the fact he's accepted that this is just his nature and he can't change.
What I liked:
-Han-seo. That's it. That's the tweet. I love him and I would die for him and I would tear apart the entire world for him to protect him. Han-seo is the most tragic character in the entire show and Dong-yeon was fantastic in portraying just how much of a broken person Han-seo is. Han-seo grew up under his tyrannical and abusive older brother whose abuse towards his younger brother got so bad it resulted in Han-seo's parents having to drug Han-seo to the point he could not remember the abuse, eventually affecting his own mental state. He's not the brightest crayon in the box but there's also the fact that most of it is an act. He plays up to the fact everyone thinks he's an idiot because he knows it's the only way to protect himself.
Just watching Han-seo is so heartbreaking because he continues to be a pawn to his older brother's machinations and is still being abused to this day but he doesn't fight back because his brother is all that he has and you then realise Han-seo's ultimate goal: he just wants an older brother and he wants to be safe from the abuse he has continued to endure since birth. God, I'm even tearing up writing about this because of how tragic of a character he is. The only reason he is on the side of the bad guys is because he's afraid and he was always afraid of his brother because he knows his brother is a psychopath and would not hesitate to kill Han-seo.
What makes Han-seo more tragic is that he does get what he wants: he finds that brotherly love he's always wanted in Vincenzo who, while initially not really caring for Han-seo, begins to care for him and even calls him his dongsaeng while letting Han-seo call him Vin-hyung. Han-seo sees Vincenzo as the ultimate big brother and says he knows Vincenzo can and will protect him and Vincenzo tries, God knows Vincenzo tries so hard, and Lord I'm tearing up typing this because this is literally the most tragic thing in Vincenzo. It just hurts even thinking about it because Han-seo was only ever a victim of circumstances and never gets to get out of that, he never gets to stop being a victim.
I can barely see through my tears right now what with writing about Han-seo, so I'm going to leave it here.
To round up:
I love Han-seo and he's the only reason i kept watching the show. If you like Mafia intrigue, a side of barely there romance and to see bad guys actually commit horrendous crimes instead of just plotting, then I guess this is the show for you.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the romance. Well, it's there, kinda. Yeah.
Anyways, it wasn't the worst thing to watch, nor was it the best. I will never rewatch this show even though I do love Han-seo and Dong-yeon. I watched this show over the span of two/three months instead of binge watching it. Glad I didn't waste sleep binge watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
Psycho VS Mafia
For starters if you're obsessed with psychopaths, mafia, murder and revenge like I am...you couldn't have come to a better place! Everything about this was pure, flawless and heavy GOLD (referencing)! From the beginning you'll witness the power and awesomness that is Vincenzo. The comedy throws an amazing loop into the mix of war, giving this show the perfect balance and there's enough romance to keep the main story going without any mishaps but still cause the plot to thicken like molasses. I was hooked from ep1 and I don't think it'll be different for anyone else lol The ONLY reason I don't give it a perfect 10 (despite all my praise) is cause the ending wasn't what I wanted (I'm so selfish LMAO).I find it hard to believe you won't...
Enjoy!
Was this review helpful to you?
One of the most memorable shows with the most memorable titular character!
Bellasimo! Bravo! - Words I want to say as I clap while the end credits roll. Although I shall try to be as unbiased as I can while I review this because as memorable or entertaining the show was, there were also some okay-ish parts which need to be mentioned.The story is quite gripping, the premise one of a kind, the execution quite good and the pacing well done. I had my doubts when I learned that this was a 20 episode show, as I tend to lose my patience (or the shows just keep dragging on) post the 16th episode. But the storyline was engaging all along. Okay, maybe, I wouldn't say it was engaging ALL the time, but 90% of the time. I just found myself lost a little in the multitude of subplots or the portions about the ensemble support cast. That being said, I really enjoyed all the characters! It was evident that a lot of time and effort has gone into writing each and every character, no matter how small their part may be! You get acquainted with all the characters you're watching. It was fascinating how I found myself thinking from the characters' POV after a point because I've been made aware of what the character might think or do. This was brilliantly done by the writers.
Kudos to the actors as well, as they brought to life all these dynamic characters. I truly loved the good(but also bad) guys and loathed the truly bad(and definitely heinous) guys. If it would be a crime to gush about Song Joong Ki right now, I plead guilty because this man is a heart(scene) stealer through and through. I could almost hear the collective screams of all the fans (new and old) when I was watching his most stellar scenes. He was *ChefsKiss* This was the first time I've seen Jeon Yeo Bin and I was IMPRESSED. Definitely looking up other works of hers. She gave a very memorable performance as well! The whole cast did an incredible job in my opinion.
I've mentioned quite a few things I enjoyed in the show, now to mention the parts that stopped me giving it a perfect ten:
1. Weak plot links every 3-4 episodes.
2. As much as I loved watching the Cassano Geumga Family members on screen for 20 hours. I wouldn't have minded if was concised to 16/18 hours.
3. Too many deaths after a point of time to ignore. I mean, I get that we were shown the real and ruthless side of the consigliere Vincenzo that wasn't prominent in the earlier episodes but it wasn't just him doing this. The people from plaza (and a govt. agent) were on it ALL THE TIME. It got a little weird if I thought about it too much, so to be honest, I stopped thinking about it at length and moved on.
4. There are so many ridiculous moments that make no sense but I just swallowed the "It's a K-Drama" pill and I was good to go for the next couple of episodes.
Now that we've addressed the elephant in the room, let me summarize the experience I had while watching this show. The show was definitely a class apart, and one that will stand out for a long, long time for its production, story, cast and quality. It's well-written (for the most part), well paced, well acted, well directed - essentially well made. The last show which brought such quality vibes was Crash Landing On You. God, that CGI! And now that I've typed it, there really are many other similarities in the shows as well, but let's skip that. Nevertheless, the characters of Vincenzo are definitely memorable, and several scenes are already replaying in my head as well!
I truly hope this show serves as a benchmark for future works in terms of quality and attention to details. There's a lot that could have been better, but there's more that deserves praise and acknowledgement. I'll surely revisit this world of Vincenzo to relive a lot of impressively written scenes.
Give it a definite try, but do not watch it with astronomical expectations because of the ratings. Also, the viewing experience gets tenfolds better once you stop trying to reason and analyze everything more than it needs to be. It is after all, a drama, written for entertainment purposes - which the show does, and does quite well.
Was this review helpful to you?
I'll miss the gang!
If you've managed to make a cast consisting of around 20 people memorable to me, then you're doing something good. The thing that I thoroughly enjoyed in this drama is how the friendship and trust build up through the episodes slowly but surely. I was a little comprehensive, agitated even, at some of the tenants of the plaza in the early part but they won me over and that negative emotion eventually turned to happiness whenever I see them together.More than the acting, I would like to commend the script and the direction. I like how serious and dark it is when needed and then it will just suddenly blow you with a comic scene where the humor is spot-on and the execution is flawless. That isn't very easy to do (Welcome to Waikiki comes to mind but that show was purely comical). The lines/script isn't cringe-y or trope-y, and evokes just the right emotion. A little let-down was the last episode though where we were punched with a lot of very cliched tropes, but I guess it's hard to maintain perfection when the first 18 episodes were perfect.
Acting-wise, all of them are experienced actor which is why it's noticeable how Taecyeon is a little bit lacking. I had some scenes where I found it funny instead of feeling scared or fearful and some where the other cast took my attention when he's supposed to be the focus, hopefully he can improve in his next projects. I've been rooting for Kwak Dongyeon since Love in the Moonlight so I'm glad this show was able to provide a boost to his popularity. I hope he hits it big soon, he doesn't deserve to be the pitiful second lead anymore. All in all, I loved the ensemble cast so I hope everybody will achieve great things in the years to come! It was truly a fun 2 months with Vincenzo!
As a bonus: the cast collaborated with Na PD for The Game Caterers and it was soooo funny (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML9E33z2jJ0). The died during the Shout in Silence of the monks. I think I will be watching out for Kwon Seungwoo (Monk Chaeshin)!
Was this review helpful to you?
More Afraid of the ML and FL than the story villain
Story: Awesome!They will leave you wanting for more. I keep waiting for the evil plan which our ML will execute handsomely.
There were points in the story that I pity our real story villains, why? They are so helpless.
Absolutely, the Vicenzo guy is on another dimensional level compared to them. They are just a corrupt company headed by a psychopath.
Like, duhh you shouldn't messed up with Vincenzo in the first place cause they are no match.
Really, in the last episode I pity Babo. He's mentally sick and lost, I don't know if that's really what he deserves. I wished they have portrayed the reason why Babo is mentally ill and have visualized him more as a total asshole, Babo didn't even hit the FL in the last episode when he abducted her, I wonder why.
He should have hit her, hurt her , he was even confused when he realized that his bullet went through the girl, I was so confused by that. I am gratified in is death, but questioning.
Acting:
Song Joong Ki : Nailed it!
Chemistry: Just perfect for the theme
Comedy: Fun but sometimes I feel out of sync, some of the comedy where OA... Like I am watching a stage play. Specially the playing piano girl...bagging her head and hair from left to right.
Music:
Perfect
Rewatch Value:
100% Especially when Vincenzo shoot the guy who have killed his mom. WOw, that scene, it's perfect. His face, the anger, the anguish. Song Joong Ki, Just wow, he can be cute sometimes, deadly sometimes.
Overall: It was really nice. I seldom watched a drama that I would finish. but Vincenzo? I have watched every episode. I even replayed some. That's how I like it.
Thanks for this wonderful drama. 2021.
Was this review helpful to you?
Mindblowing drama with bittersweet ending
HI guy if u going to watch this show then go for it.its amazing cast and story line.full package of drama,comedy,crime nd slow romance.every cast members did their best .I bet u fall for the main cast they are super cute and perfect bonding no break up drama or typical love triangle they love each other nd accept each other who they really are they don't try to change each main lead was from mafia but it's never bothered main female lead she support him because she love nd trust him .The only thing that's disappointed me was ending of the Drama it's not sad ending but it's not totally happy ending either they love each other they don't break up but still can't live together because main lead has to return to Italy for his mafia work nd only come to Korea secretly to meet her because in Korea people are looking for him nd he can't leave Italy for long but she goes to Italy when ever she want .actually ending shows us real world of mafia relationship with common girl so it's acceptable because ml get trust nd find true love that he never expected
So all in it's bitter sweet ending but I hope they come with season 2 because many of thing is unsettled in drama like gold (the mAin reason for v for coming Korea) people looking for him ,his lady love just hope they make season 2 or they come together in other projects with same cast
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The dark and hunky Cornsalad
"Vincenzo" One of the best K-drama i have ever loved in 2021 after Love alarm 2. A dark story with a whole new level of mixture.First of all Hats off to the Director and producer for giving us such an entertaining story line with more life related quotes. Even though the story is dark and evil based but it provided us with some advice and optimistic ideas..
"You shouldn't let your yearning turns into regret"
"Don't let their social status to intimidate you. Be strong and act like you're their equal."
etc.. I don't wanna provide spoilers anymore.
So Let's jump into acting skills (my point of view).
First lets talk about uri Cornsalad - Vincenzo Cassano :)..
Handsome with classy high-fi look with " If you are bad then I am your dad" kinda attitude. You can see such kinda Best handsome sexy mafia only in television. 90% dark yet 5% Angelic side. 4% romantic and 1% funny..
"Only evil can punish evil"..
Acting: 9
Hong cha young:
She is bit quirky, talented, funky and too cheeky.. Tends to overeact.. I personally loved her attitude.. WAY TO GO GIRL... She is 80% Cheeky and talented 5% evil and 15% Angelic side..
Acting: 9.5
Jang Han-seok:
Pyschopath dressed as naive, happy go lucky Intern... OK Taec-yeon done a very good job as Pscychopath. Well am impressed by the acting skill.. You are evil but you cant be compared with our Cornsalad in terms of being evil.. I recommend you to take tuition from Cassano on "How to be evil?"... LOL... 95% dark 5% afraid of our cornsalad's vengeful tactics....
Acting: 9.5
Inzaghi:
I never thought of becoming a fan of Inzaghi but i am now.... yayyyy...... 99% Angelic side.. 1% annoying to our cornsalad...
Acting: 10 :)
Choi myung-hee:
Bitch who never learns... no more comments.. 90% evil 10% fear of Cassano's vengeful tactics on killing...
Acting:10
Jang han-seo:
A puppet and half-brother of Han-seok but he loved Cassano as his own brother.. He gave "Hansung's vibe from Hwarang".. "You did great.. You definetely fit to be Cassano's brother"...
Acting:9.5
Cassano Geumga family:
No words to say.. lol.... Funny but trustworthy... i love them all....
Acting:9
Thank you guys... Am gonna watch it again n again........
Was this review helpful to you?
Vigilantism with a big dose of cheesy comedy
LIKES:Cinematography (scene locations), colour pallet and fighting choreography was all very well done. Production was good (they thankfully knew how to use a film stabilizer.
Editing and directing for the most part was good too.
Most of the special effects (gore) was pretty good.
The violence and gore, with some creative moments, were good.
Casting was excellent as all the actors & actresses were well selected for their roles.
Just enough romance to satisfy any viewer.
Enjoyed Vincenzo being both the “good gangster” and the cold blooded mafioso.
I did like the creativity in the deaths of certain characters.
Ending was concluded well enough for all the main and supporting characters.
Decent OST, but sometimes the music was too loud and it made it hard to hear the actors/actresses speaking.
DISLIKES:
Too much comedy and some of it was just plain stupid.
The main evil boss was more sociopath, than psychopath, writers didn’t do enough research. The bad/evil characters were so predictable and typical.
Not really a crime drama or law drama, strange kind of mash up with heavy cheesy comedy.
The characters trying to pronounce Vincenzo’s name, wasn’t funny and got annoying fast.
Too many supporting characters or side characters, which made the plot get bogged down.
A lot of filler scenes that were pushed on us as being law, court and crime related, to show how bad or good the characters could be. It just made the show a little too long.
It’s more about being a vigilante than a mafia gangster and it constantly flip flops on who’s the lesser evil.
OVERALL:
Birds of a feather flock together was a strong theme throughout, both literally and figuratively. Better than some of the kdramas of 2021, but still lacking and a bit over hyped. I would recommend it and I have watched it again (but did fast forward over a many parts). Not what I expected, but didn’t disappoint me like it did for others.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
A drama you would never forget
Everything about this drama is amazing. Ive never seen such an amazing drama in my life. All the actors were amazing and there acting and chemistry was amazing...except the english actors were a lil.. well anyway they only appeared for like 10 minutes so it doesnt really matter. You really feel for the characters and I even got very attached to them even after the show. Watching this show was the best decision ever. The comedy all on point mixed in with the very dark stuff its so balanced and well done. I give a big applause to the antagonist and the antagonists brother, to me these two really shined and I loved watching them so much there acting is so on point and their characters are so unbelievably deep. In conclusion, do not hesitate to watch this series. I does have very long episodes but there was never one that was ever boring or slow it was all done soooo well.Was this review helpful to you?
