PAINFUL
I am a native Italian. I lived in Milan for 18 years. My family happened to be involved in politics and law. One of my aunts, a judge, was a NON-CORRUPTED member that fought and almost got killed because of her involvement in Berlusconi's trial. I do not know who you are or where you are from, but I travel extensively and I know EACH COUNTRY have crime organizations with local names. My country organizational crime is called MAFIA. Now, my blood almost exploded out of my veins when I saw baby face Song Joong Ki acting as mafia lawyer .My biggest fear became reality when girls and young women are raving about Mafia guys with pride and honor. NO SUCH THING. From The Godfather, to the Soprano , ending with Korea....enough is enough. Korea has MASSIVE crime in the form of loan sharks, due to the extreme nepotism and corrupt government. So I watched all these show and though we were very similar. ONE BIG DIFFERENCE: mafia is a PRODOTTO ITALIANO, made in Italy, so don't export slavery, pedophiles, drug dealers and pimps. Korea is producing such high quality shoes: Flower of evil, my mister, Hyena.....Awaken...I mean, I think you can use Mafia only to make fun of it, or to fight it. Not as a show. Grazie.Was this review helpful to you?
Great cinematography.... but fell short of everything else
From the show page, I've checked that Vincenzo currently has 159 user reviews and mine would be a review number 160. Why would I want to add another one on top of many ? Because I am hardworking like that and I like to spend my free time doing useless thingy like this. Also I have made a vow to do 1 review per year ,this might be it. So this is an unpopular opinion. My review will be brief and in point form..1) Cinematography and visual : Considering this was a high budget show *like TKEM* great visual is a must have . The show never disappoint in that department in fact Vincenzo excel with flying colours.
2) OST : I only like one song which is Adrenaline (Italian version) by Aalia which I wish we could hear it more in later episodes.
3) Acting of other than the main villain : The actors did the best with the materials they were given. Song Joong Ki looked dashing as usual ( like him in Innocent Man) Haa! Jeon Yeo Bin caught my eyes in this. She was stunning and I liked the point of her look, her lipstick. First time seeing her acting here and she was good.
4) Acting of the main villain : The reason I separated this with the others because I want to emphasize my view. I have issues with his acting. It was over the top like they want to make his character a caricature especially in the first 8 episodes. It was cringey like a cheesy pickup line and I hate this type of character :((( I could not take him seriously even when he did serious matter. Thanks god, this caricature acting was toned down in later episodes.
5) Storyline : Nothing spectacular. Been there done that in countless drama I have seen.But I liked the idea behind the story. '' Solo il male può sconfiggere il male ''. Only evil can defeat evil. It was refreshing to see the evil got their commensurate punishments as it should be. While I low key think the punishment were a bit too much although the villains kinda deserved it ----< this is the angel in me writing.
6) Humor : I was indifferent to it. I found it to be lame and pretentious. Most of the time , it gave me a second-hand embarassment.
7) Just a thing worth to mention. I never know that I could get tired of the word mafia (read in korean slang) until I watch this show. It was like hearing Love is the moment song all over again.Could everyone please just stop.........
That's all. Thank you for reading.
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This review may contain spoilers
watching this because of Song Joong Ki.
Why I even bother with this drama. Song Joong Ki Rise to fame again and back on the map In Hallyu Status thanks to this drama And I'm as a fan feels gratefull to this drama. . I expecting it since the writers is really good generated buzz in his 2 previous drama and Plus It's Song Joong Ki. Though I admit, I didn't expected to generated this much buzz to the point it's one of the most watched on netflix. But because of this, It might be Along wait again until he reach 40 when he pick something more substance. Gosh the struggle being a fan of him is real.The humor is enjoyable for me. And fit with my tastes. But there is no depth when the lightheart comedy take the center of the plot. And i really confuse in the middle of this drama what it's all about? At first I think this drama is all about a gold and it's connect to the WUsang and Babel group and waiting for the climax to happen. But It's not after all??? And then I though this drama is all about revenge to Babel group, but they switch the topic again, and its about the gold, and then next, it's about Babel Group again. Like They freakin confuse, let alone me. It's so disjointed
The main character has a hint to their past so we can connect to their struggle, past story, but it's nothing, it's just a tease. They seems like invisible character which we can hardly grasp and understand, always one step ahead despite they think they are always at disavantaged, but because they have vincenzo, they almost always win or either lucky.
Funnily, the writers seems write the villain more human and like they are main character by showing their struggle, and dynamics against vincenzo. I end up rooting for them to win. But they are supposed has to take down by our anti hero after all. So who is the main villain here?
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it could have been so much more than the convoluted mess we got
this drama could have been so good if everything was like the first 15 minutes. The tone and atmopshere is very uneven, jumping to somewhat dark to lame slapstick comedy (that feels a tad too juvenile at times). Here's the thing, I don't give af about the tenants of the building, and their over the top acting pisses me off lmao just throw them all away. Everyone is raving about the chemistry, but the characters aren't developed enough for the relationship to really feel meaningful. I mean I still got to episode 15 and will still keep watching for those little bits of potential I can see that are hidden under layers of unnecessary comedic filler. I think the ml carried this lmao, he was impeccable and I would have been fine if he just yeeted out of Korea and spent the whole drama in Italy cuz that's where shit goes down. Also did I mention he was hot? Because that's also a huge reason I keep watching. I guess a dark noir mafia drama was too much to ask for huh. Basically, like dude should kick ass but he doesn't which pisses me offOMG EP 16 ROCKED. DUDE this is the scene I have been waiting for dude. OMLOMLLMOMLL. Serious Kaz Brekker vibes and I'm loving it. Okay, the ending was lit and dark, As the show went on, I think I begrudging accepted that this juvenile exaggerated comedy is here to stay (unfortunately), doesn't mean I have to like it though! I remained disinterested in the tenants' storyline to the end. I would have liked to see Vincenzo been challenged more, because he basically never is, and plus that cliche move of making Hong Chayeong a damsel in distress was just not the move bro.
I'm very grateful they didn't shy away from vincenzo's moral greyness though, and didn't try to reform him, so there's that. Also, most people liked Hanseo, I personally find him a bit one-dimensional. Or mb I just don't dig his character lol, Idk anymore. Honestly I feel like there was weak characterization all around, and I didn't feel the chemistry between Vincenzo and Chayeong at all, especially near the end. Ughhh, there's this weird exaggerated tone that the drama has that just throws the whole thing off, which makes the drama feel very cartoony (sitcom-esque), and undermines the somber tone and themes they are trying to establish. It really doesn't mesh well.
I think I can sum this whole drama to two words: wasted potential. Like Peaky blinders was fab can we have more of that in kdramas? Basically, this drama is trying to be two things: a lame ass comedy and an edgy mafia thriller, and fails miserably at both. I mean, I did tune in for this drama each week, so I guess that's sometthing (they are really good with cliffhangers lol, like the whole episode will be filler and in the last 5 mins, something interesting happens and you're like oh shit i need to pay attention now). This is the first k drama I've watched as it aired, and I must say, it's great cuz I haven't lost any sleep over this, on the bright side.
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overrated ? i dont think so- not for everyone
I tend to get bored easily with long series, but I stayed in suspense throughout all 20 episodes.One of the excellent things about the series is that the plot only develops and improves from episode to episode and keeps the interest of the viewer.
Another special and amazing thing about this drama is the exact combination of action, sophistication, and humor.
The series has such funny parts, exactly at the right time and in the right dose.
Highly recommend the series!! She is officially one of my favorites, and I will watch her over and over again.
such a refreshing role to the ML not typical like most dramas.
the cast was amazing the chemistry between the main lead was great, even without a full of romance scene.
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This is so disappointing
I am a fan of Song Joong Ki and had really high hopes for this. The only thing that made me suspicious was the Comedy tag and Crime tag combined. I have seen amazing Italian Tv shows about the mafia and they are never funny because there isn't anything funny about it. Anyways I decided to give a chance to this. The start was promising. Song was playing his part very well and showed good Italian speaking ( even though he was speaking slowly to focus on pronunciation) I really liked how he handled the foreign language. Could not expect anything less from him :) Now let's focus on the part he went back to Korea and bammm the crime and dark scenario is ruined by some morons in a building and annoying FL. What was this all about? Grown-up people act as primary school students and that FL...no words to describe how I seriously hoped the scenario will get better and see something worthy ( apart from the amazing Song Joong Ki) in this drama. Unfortunately, it is that bad and I don't see any hope for this. I Dropped the drama and let's hope Song will act in a better project next time!Ok here I am again with a second review for the drama- while I dropped the drama at ep 4 I decided to come back and watch another 3 episodes and since I noticed something positive in the drama i have to point it out to be fair in my judgment. First of all, I am going to start with the negative:
-- This drama is really bad. The court scenes are preposterous and not realistic at all
-- The FL again - horrible as ever
-- The plot is very predictable so far
Now the positive:
-- SOng Ki is great in his role but the one that shines more than him is the villain. I have not seen this actor before but he is great at portraying such psychopaths. His role is more difficult than the one of Vincenzo and he is truly giving us a great performance. I decided to watch the drama to the end ( mainly his scenes) because he is so good and his character is also very interesting. So far ep 7 was the most interesting and I hope they give more screen time to the villain. There is so much we don't know about him. Somehow i have a strange feeling that he has some kind of fondness for the FL. What are your thoughts about it?
PS: I forgot to mention that the villain has very good English pronunciation. Love his English phrases :P
Edit: I stay behind my words but I have to mention that since I watched the whole drama after all ( apart from the major problems of the Mafia representation) I have to give some positive feedback about the final 2 episodes because I think they were simply the best. I have to post the quote from the magnificent ending ( and yes, I did like the final episode and how was executed) and I definitely liked Vincenzo final words in the drama:
“Two days ago, I used three Luciano family members as manure for the vineyard and took over the olive plantations in Malta. I’m still a villain and couldn’t care less about justice. Justice is weak and empty. One cannot win against any villains with justice alone. If merciless justice exists, I am willing to yield to it. Even villains long to live in a peaceful world. However, since that’s impossible, I’ve taken up a new hobby. Getting rid of garbage. If I don’t do that, people will die buried underneath the garbage.
There’s one last thing I’d like to say from a villain’s perspective. Evil is prevalent and vehement”.
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1The idea of the story was actually good. A mafia lawyer who come to Korea to take out the hidden gold but it ended up just like all other K-dramas talking about the corruption of the system. The creative ideas writer came up with each episode and those TOP TIER CLIFFHANGERS *Chef's kiss*. It is actually a unpredictable drama but but but Vincenzo was portrayed as so smart guy that he can't be beaten by anyone which I have never seen a drama where hero wins most of the time and this made the villain cheap indeed. And also made the drama way too boring *SIGH*
Song Joong ki did quite well in this. He got a lot better in Vincenzo I actually didn't like his acting much in DOTS but there were some scenes were I didn't actually felt his emotions .
Jang Han Seok the "SUPPOSED VILLAIN" was too relied on others that I never actually got to see his own potential. The female prosecutor is much more like a " ACTUAL VILLAIN".
The FL was annoying and her acting felt exaggerated a bit in the first 2 episodes a lot but later she got better too but yaa she definitely loud like that through out. She isn't a own strong independent FL but she listens to ML's plan and works according.
I didn't feel much bond between the tenants. The tenants were also selfish but they have a good character development in later episodes. And the BEST BOY Han Seo (Kwak Dong Yeon) That guy has so much potential but sadly he was just playing a support role :( After this drama he better get ML role.
The writer honestly wasted the potential of many characters(specifically villains) in the drama. The writer really did injustice to villains in this drama, they all were underestimated by writer.
The music is top notch to be honest. It really matches the vibe of the scene. It's catchy I really liked the music of this drama.
If you are looking for romance in this drama there isn't any actually much. The way they look at each other and them flirting AHH. You'll ship them so hard seeing those small things they do for each other. They developed a friendship while achieving there goals. It's actually a question if they had romantic feelings for each other. ROMANCE AIN'T THE MAIN FOCUS.
The duration of the drama was the biggest flaw here. This drama would have been good. If it was 20 Episodes with 1 hours duration or 16 Episodes with 1. 25 hours duration. Because a lot of scenes were filler indeed ( Mostly in Ep 18 & 19). But despite of those flaws it was a good watch for me!
If one day I suffer from amnesia I will watch this LOL just kidding. There were some moments and scenes definitely worth re watching .
END~
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Fun but overlong
I'll make the review short..The majority of what is wrong with this show stems from the fact that that the show is too long for its own good. Each episode is almost 70 - 90 minutes in runtime. It being a netflix show, i dont know why they had to stretch each episode to reach this runtime. The series would have been much better if the episode count was reduced to 16 or the by reducing the episode length.
To fill the runtime there are many unnecessary jokes and setups for comedy which works sometimes but not nearly enough. Whatever emotional aspects or urgency the story tries to bring fizzles out in the end due to this..
I was on board with the romance aspect of the story, i think the charm of the characters and actors worked well and the chemistry was really good. The over the top nature of the story never bothered me (When was Korean Dramas not over the top?).
Story was not perfect dont get me wrong but still i was not bored by it but at the same time i wont be rewatching it any time soon...
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Vincenzo
I'm not sure what all the hype was about in this drama. It has high review and was recommended to me from a friend. Still, I don't find it as great as others. Some parts are very exciting and fast pace while other scenes are dragging and shouldn't even be included. I found myself rolling my eyes and groaning in disappointment in certain scenes.No doubt Vincenzo Cassano is a tough mafia who will get the job done. However, there are many scenes where he's not like a mafia. He's like a clumsy, funny typical rom-com Korean protagonist. He could have been funny and normal without the extreme jumping and falling down, or extreme surprise stupefied facial expression at certain episodes. There are many 'wtf' moments, ie, when a whole flocks of birds came to rescue him. I actually screamed and laughed out loud in disbelief.
And it's not a good laugh either. There are many, many over the top acting from all characters. Many many OOC taking place in the drama. I understand some of the those were for comical relief but it's not working for me. They're too over the top.
I don't like the force romance between the two main leads. They both have a great friendship and working relationship. But I don't see a romance relationship between them. Whenever it appears, it seems force and out of place to me. I also don't find the people in the Geumga Plaza pleasant to watch. It's such a "coincidence" that they all have some kind of fighting background. It's so weird that they all come together and help one another like that without worrying about the consequence. And non of them fear the mafia, Vincenzo, a man who could torture and kill without blinking an eye. The Geumga Plaza residents are silly and I guess they provide a comical aspect to the show.
I still did find this drama watchable. I cried when a few of the characters died. I like and feel sorry for Jang Han-seo. He started out silly and stupid but end up being someone who showed growth and able to redeem himself at the end.
I like the revenge plot. I like the an eye for an eye approach. If you did Vincenzo wrong, he would take revenge and make sure you feel every single pain for it. The cat and mouse game he plays with Jan-Han-seok and Cha-Young was a joy to watch. Overall, it was an okay drama but I would not watch it ago.
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Overhyped at best
This is a comedy murder series where the protagonist is unkillable and "imbalanced".They try hard to make the drama be series while it being a comedy, doesn't really work. Both genre's clashing just makes the whole vibe like it's a joke. The main leads have little chemistry, so thankfully there aren't many romance scenes. Only 1 side character was likeable for me. The plot of the whole series is pretty much of a conglomerate company bribing, and murdering people and getting away with it like it's nothing lmao. If you only watch dramas bc of the handsomeness of actors, this is the one for you; else, overrated.
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lowkey dissapointed in how the writing turned out as the story progressed
lowkey dissapointed in how the writing turned out as the story progressed. I loved the beginning episodes and the writing kept the suspense up. it made me want to analyse vincenzo as a character and i wrote lots of comments here about his past and his motives, whether he believes he's a good person or not. but as the story progressed, everything i was curious about as a viewer was never addressed or weirdly brushed over. The characters stopped feeling "real" and became too comic-like, the "revenge" parts became really slow and lacked buildup or weren't timed in a dramatic way in the episodes. i also started questioning chayoungs character who's personality was written more and more sporadically in every episode. There were so many loose ends that were never tied up (and the funny thing is those loose ends were what everyone was interested in) Take the whole cassano family feud. everyone was so interested in seeing vin fight his brother or have the italian mafia come after him... that's what the story set up in the begining... but then all we got was this enslaught of korean politicians, businessmen, lawyers, that we knew nothing about and that were introduced to the story late. Another plotpoint. Vin's past. What actually happened back then. what are those flashbacks. him working out how he feels about himself. getting closure. why did none of this happen? Alot of the characters irritated me and it's because they were too comical but not in a good way and were just so unrealistic for a "serious" show (even tho i am aware vincenzo is more like a parody than a dead serious mafia drama) but i will say my props to the lame gangsters running the balloon store. they were the only funny people in the plaza: the whimpy gangster boss and his goth chick accountant were hilarious. Then shout out to taecyeon for our main villian. The way he acts with his eyes made me genuinely think he was having fun torture people. And his brother, what an interesting character and storyline. he was the most thought-out character in the show and WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, he's also everyone's favourite..... just look at what good character writing does, it's no coincedence he's a crowd fav. Of course i think vincenzo was played very charismatically and he really is the most charming in a suit.Was this review helpful to you?
Not your favourite review. (Boring show)
I can never fully grasp why the rating is so damn high. So many people praise this drama and im sorry but this show aint for me.Firstly, im okay with illogicality in general. But the plot in this show is just too much. No cases were really being seen solved completely and its just shallow. Not a good delivery on each topic. The only reason i manage to watch it up to 15 ep is bcs of the undercover police officer and the assistant lawyer. Others are just overacting. The storyline is also slow and boring. Repetitive turn of events throughout the show. The only scene that enticed me is the appearance of truck-kun.
Apart from that, action and cinematography is great. But thats just it. Having predictable scene is just fine but this show lacks something that can keep me to be on the edge everytime something happened. I am also grateful for them to not include too much lovey dovey scene. Props to them for that. Then again, sorry for this review but i honestly dont think it should have those high ratings.
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