Kim woobin delivers √
Watched the series for kim woo bin and i love his charismatic presense in the series., a great come back for him, series started slowly and finally peaked in ep 5 and 6 .pros- the cast all major characters have been portrayed well including the support cast , awesome fight sequences, goosebumps moments, tournaments where all very engaging to watch.
Cons- more screen time for sawol which was mostly not needed , vfx can still be improved.
Verdict
Overall i really enjoyed the series and only has 6
episodes so easy to watch within 4 hours and not time consuming .
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One of the best action kdrama!
One of the best action kdrama! It was great, perfect direction, incredible sets, perfect story, the actors were very good and everything was10/10! I wish it had more episodes. It was all great and deserves great ratings! I think all the actors played their roles perfectly! Woo bin was perfect in the role of 5-8, Yoo Seok was perfect in the role of Sa Wol and Yi Dam in the role of 4-1(those 3 was my fav).I can't imagine anyone other than Woo Bin in the role of 5-8 he was perfect for this role ❤️.Was this review helpful to you?
Kim Woo Bin, Sci-Fi, Entertainment + Bonus performances
I needed Kim Woo Bin's face to have been without a mask more often. Sure, Song Seung Heon is a villain but sometimes I almost rooted for him. Jung Seol Ah, Yoon Sa Wol and so on, great cast and good performances. Well-paced so it wasn't boring at least. Very good stunts. Whatever they started, they finished. So glad about that. What they conveyed was definitely clear enough. However, if they could've fleshed it out more and come up with more content and world building, and still managed to wrap it up well, it would've been epic indeed.Overall 8.5/10, can watch once for entertainment.
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Short but Impactful
I was hesitant to watch this drama, mostly because I typically find myself not enjoying sci-fi kdramas too much. However, this one surprised me!!In a bleak and dystopian future, the world (or at least S Korea) has been destroyed with little breathable oxygen left. A strict divide in social class leaves the top of the pyramid in a cushy, oxygen-filled environment and the refugees fending for themselves in a barely livable and barren landscape. Moving up the social ladder is impossible - unless you're a delivery driver. Sa-wol decides he will do his best to become a driver like the legendary 5-8, who seems to do his job and help refugees at the same time. However, the job is much more dangerous than it seems, and the people at the top seem to have no interest in helping those beneath them.
This short series depicts a not-so-new take on a dystopian future, but does so in a way that's very enjoyable to watch. Sa-wol is very committed to his dream of being a delivery driver and gets himself wrapped up in a mess bigger than he ever anticipated. Many plot points were totally under-explained, but overall for 6 episodes it was super solid. I think this would've worked better as an 8 or 10 episode drama, but still definitely worth the watch.
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Going Postal °a generous 7° °good but lacking°
There was the c☄met. That was 40 years ago. 1% survived. Most continents are underwater. Kcountry looks like the set from Mad Max Fury Road-9. Breathing is only possible with the assistance of the Aircore, which is basically a massive air purifier. People reside in the core districts - at least the lucky ones do. Others must try to survive in the wilderness of the outer districts and breath through masks. One way to improve one's station is to become a postal worker; in this world they're called deliverymen. It's dangerous. "Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds," is the famous pledge. But there's much worse out there now. Apart from the harsh terrain, there's the thieves, hunters and raiders.BK is a 2023 release that is rated 88 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of only 6 45-minute episodes. This dystopian future is one in which a few have all the privileges at the expense of the many (sounds familiar). Those on the fringe are used up, and once the oligarchy has used them up, they want to throw them out. "5-8" is the premier deliveryman - He's a legend. Through the course of the show he uncovers the plot to eliminate the outer circles of civilization. He forms allies, willing and reluctant, to fight the diabolical power structure.
Kim Woo Bin, the person who makes The Heirs-7.3 worth watching, plays 5-8. He's a superb male lead and he only adds to BK's value. He shines in Our Blues-8.5. Kang Yoo Seok (Growing Season) is solid as Yoon Sa Wol, his charge. Esom, one of the brightest stars in Because This Is My First Life-7.7, plays Jung Seol Ah, a military officer that does things by the book. No partiality. Song Seung Heon (Saimdang-8.5, Player, Black-9, Wonderful Nightmare) plays villain Ryu Seok. What are they doing to my guy? This actor is a fabulous romantic lead. I hate seeing him as someone odious; and odious he is. His rigid facial expressions and body language make him unrecognizable compared to how he appears in Black or Saimdang, the only exposures I've had to him. His range is a credit to his acting prowess. I still don't have to like it. The screenwriter / director is Cho Ui Seok of Cold Eyes.
BK is executed well which is why I'm not sure why I didn't like it more. The action is respectable - quite good, actually, and at times fabulous. The artistry is big-budget, a very cool windstorm being one example. There's shades of Planet of the Apes in a shot of a toppled Namsan Tower smack in the center of the dust bowl. The story is solid and the acting is strong. In this case, the individual elements weirdly add up to something less, though I can't pinpoint why. Things that come to mind are, first of all, it is all retread - there is nothing original at all in BK. That's a criticism that means little, though, if the execution is solid. Thus, I must surmise that there's something lacking in the execution. It's put together alittle too loosely; the cadence and direction are uneven. I almost wonder if a re-edit could fix it. The tempo is mostly slow and brooding, but that only works when the writing is dynamic. Here, the writing does not have a high enough IQ - There's nothing to brood on. The same criticism can be applied to the fact that BK did not engage me emotionally. For a feature to be truly good it must tickle the heart or the head (or both), and BK does neither. Despite some stellar action scenes, it lacks sufficient adrenaline to be qualified as an action piece, and it lacks the proper tension to be a thriller. What we're left with is some dusty vanilla ice cream.
Hey, I love ice cream. I love it enough to lick through the dust and enjoy the good stuff (AKA Kim Woo Bin;). My favorite genre is sci-fi / fantasy with romance being hitched right behind it (action and comedy follow closely). Apart from comedy, sci-fi / fantasy is the most demanding to write. Coming up with new worlds has endless challenges - just check with GRRM (George RR Martin) on that. So from my perspective, BK is worth watching, at least once, for what it does offer. I /know/ I overrated it at “7”. I was tempted to go lower but it didn't sit right. I'm convinced a larger than average portion of the viewing population will not enjoy BK. I trust that will help you decide whether to hop in the truck and take the ride or sit this one out.
〰 IMHO
RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 7.6
Acting 7.7
Art 8
Sound & music 7.3
Ending 7.8
LEVELS
Warmth 3.5
Action 8
Laughs 1
Tears 5
Fright 4
Tension / Anxiety 4.5
Gore 5
Thought provocation 5.5
Snores 0
📣7 📝7.6 🎭7.7 🎨8 🎵/🔊7.3 🔚7.8 ▪ 🌞3.5 ⚡8 😅1 😭5 😱4 😯4.5 🤢5 🤔5.5 💤0
Age 14+ for violence
Language: $h!+
Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only.
Re-📺?
This one's in the good-to-pass-the-time category, but I may never pass this way again….
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
The school nurse files-7.6 & Glitch-8 - both are 80's indie style quirky Sci-fi,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
K2 8,
Private Lives 8.1, Vagabond-8,
Uncanny counter - S1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4°,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
Blood Free-8.5,
D.P. -8.4,
Uncle Samsik-8.4
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4
The Wailing-8.8
Chinese
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
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This review may contain spoilers
For it's length and ambitious plot, drama was well done
For it's length and ambitious plot, this drama was well done. The production was high and the acting was great, but it definitely lacked in some aspects. For me, it was mostly just the villain. He was so basic and boring. The world itself could've been expanded on, but I didn't really care because the plot itself was so straightforward that the audience didn't need to know much about world.Every other moment of the show was just me screaming about how good Kim Woobin looked. So it was a real treat just for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
solid production design, largely forgettable
tw: extreme poverty, post-apocalyptic class stratification, suicide bombing, violence, medicalI picked this to watch because I'm hanging out with my dad this week, it was short and the trailer looked really interesting. In practice though, this was ultimately a high production flop for me.
The performances were quite solid all around (I do not recommend the dub, which I had to watch because my father is hard of hearing and has trouble with subtitles), the set design and general world building was interesting and there are definitely parts of this that feel really cool and interesting to watch, but they do not coalesce into a whole that is worth even the 6 episodes we have.
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Normal story
A normal storyFor me, it's quite a basic story about a kind of apocalypse. However, there is something about such stories that if we change the characters and the story of their lives, they will always be interesting, as in this case.
As for me, the beginning was very interesting and engaging, but the last episode was not that special. Episode 6 compared to the others was the worst because everything was explained in such a way that it was quite boring. So that's why my quotes are what they are.
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Could have been longer
As always, these rambles are just my thoughts and opinions, and not intended to upset or offend anyone.In all honesty, I’m a little bored with dystopian/apocalyptic shows and movies. Perhaps it’s to do with the age we are living in not feeling all too distant to them, but it’s a little over done. However, I am glad I gave this little series a chance because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There were vibes of Sabikui Bisco, Snowpiercer, Tank Girl and Mad Max, so it did feel like it was catered to my tastes, but it also managed to stand on it’s own two feet.
The basic summary is in the future oxygen is scarce, and controlled by a large company in the Korean Peninsula. Delivery men are tasked with going into the wastelands to deliver oxygen and supplies - and to battle with scavengers and thugs. A small group of rebels within the delivery men are fighting against the oppression caused by the company they work for, trying to bring equality to everyone, all whilst the son of the CEO tries to kill off all refugees.
One issue is that the show was too short. I feel like it could have benefited from more world building, perhaps to let us get more acquainted with the situation and the characters. That’s not to say I didn’t empathise with the main characters, but I would have liked to have had more history.
The action sequences were fantastic, and the effects were entertaining. I had a lot of love for the refugees on the outskirts of the main districts, especially Grandpa and his little group of rascals. You could really feel the affection within the group, as well as the delivery men - the found family trope was alive and kicking.
This is definitely worth a watch.
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It's good but I personally expected more.
Well I'm not into essay type things,,, so for me the best part was the acting . I'll say if you want a little bit thrill it's good too go but don't expect too much as I did . The concept was very interesting and had much more capabilities but they decided to keep it simple and short yet not disappointing.As for the cast Woobin as 5-8 is the best thing tha can happen (he is the actual reason I started this drama). Sa-wol's character development was a bit confusing to me (as normally he is portrayed as smart but he did some stupid things) still him and his friends were one of the good parts .
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Keep watching till the very end
Review: Black Knight (2023)11 July 2023
When I watch Kdramas I do it with the idea that I’m here to be entertained and I’m not here to criticise the making of the series. If I feel happy and the story flows my way. I like it. If the story is fragmented or boring I just leave and go watch another. Often you have to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. It is after all a work of fiction. This is only a 6 episode series so it is filled with gaps but I find it still understandable and interesting. You know it is my fave genre, Science fiction fantasy, here this is a future polluted world. So far I like it. It leaves enough clues for me to fill in the gaps.
5-8 is like a deliveryman warrior who is suddenly thrust into a mystery of these disappearing youth. They have been kidnapped. He becomes involved because one of the victims is known to him. He also becomes subtlely accused of the crime of a kidnapping gone wrong and the victim is killed. He is the first one on the scene and saves the refugee who was in the house almost fatally wounded.
He begins his own investigation. For myself it is intriguing because it is easy to see that these events could happen. The refugee(Kang Yoo Seok Sa Wol) he rescues want to become a deliveryman like him. 5-8 sponsored and trains him for the job. The tests ( Kang Yoo Seok Sa Wol)goes through are brutal and life threatening but he manages to get into the finals.
He has to fight a much stronger and bigger man. It is a no holds barred fight. I leave to you to find out the result. The whole world is watching and waiting. Meanwhile 5-8 is trying to track down what has happened to the kidnapped youth.
The fight reminds me of Lee Joon Gi fighting the bigger man on “Again my Life”
All of the delivery men are too late.
I really like this Kdrama, exciting and holds my interest. The fighting is brutal and the story line adequate. Watch it if you want to see and dynamic, fast moving and gripping short adventure….only 6 episodes.
As it nears the end I get really anxious for the deliverymen as they are on the wrong side of the law. Will they be eliminated? The last episode is a tough one to watch. It’s a scary and tense watch.
This is kdrama not America .....where the main actor always wins. Keep your cool and keep watching to the end.
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A good distopic but nothing else
Wanted to watch this title as soon as was announced from Netflix at the start of this year, as a forever lover of dystopian movies, I was thrilled to see something in a drama form.The ambientation in itself is honestly good and the story is actually really good, but doesn't develop that much and a second season would be honestly completely unnecessary. Everything revolves around a revenge kind group of rebels that want to reunite their world (the poor uninhabitable one) with the elite world (rich people, good air and great jobs). But overall, the story doesn't go beyond that, and everything is rushed in the last two episodes
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