4Minutes

Highly original, mind-bending watch

4 Minutes is perplexing. Every time you think you’ve worked out where the narrative is headed, it swerves in a different direction. The synopsis makes the series seem like a “get a glimpse into the future and change your destiny” plot, but it’s far more complex than that.

The journey itself is enjoyable rather than nauseating. Instead of predictable build-ups into scenes which are clearly designated as ‘payoffs’, the story is delightfully fragmented and slippery. It’s not entirely clear which sequences took place when, so it requires some mental gymnastics to untangle everything and come to your own conclusions.

Beoncloud has its way with creating such dark and complex characters, sometimes with sinister motivations. In any case, I liked the deeper message driving the show. At the end of our lives, we will always look back on our regrets and wish that we did things differently. All so that the remaining moments of our life aren’t spent being weighed down by our conscience.

While humans are capable of making some pretty awful decisions, 4 Minutes also reminds us that we can choose otherwise. There is always a choice.

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Setting the standards for BL

This show is soo good it feels illegal to even write a review of it. Like I don't want to spoil the thrill for others watching it for the first time.

This show has made me rethink my ratings for the series that I have previously rated higher. So I give this series a 100/10.
There were some minor loopholes offcourse but despite that I would still say for a Thriller, Mystery, romance(if it was) this show is a trendsetter for BLs.

So I will rather keep it short
Why to watch this series:
1. Storytelling might seem confusing but it makes up for it in the end and that is the reason what makes you soo engaged to the series as you'll have a lot of questions.
2. Beautiful top quality cinematography
4. Amazing acting from the whole cast
5. CGi and visual effects done right
6. Unique storyline and engaging plot
7. Flawed and complex characters
8. NC scenes were realistic and didn't feel cringe or fake

Improvement points:
Series should have been atleast 10-12 episodes rather than 8 episodes to explore the Main characters more.

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Great Tyme Continuum

Hello, I'm Great! No, I don’t mean I'm doing great (have you seen the show?), but that I am Great! Ummm… no, I'm not saying I'm a great person (have you seen the show?), but my name is Great! Oh… I give up. I’m the crazy cat lady. Happy?

Anyway, what did you make of me and my story? Wasn’t it fun? Admittedly, it isn’t fun to die Tyme and Tyme again for your entertainment, but you knew I was going to live, didn’t you?

I’m grateful to my creators for putting me in one of the *greatest* bodies out there, on whose head not a strand is out of place, and whose body Adonis and Antinous would envy. They also seem to have had a big budget, which they mostly spent on interior design porn, and renting cars from the Fast and the BiCurious outlet mall. *I* have no objections. I do wish the writers had been paid more… Because I really don’t understand who I am, and what has been happening to me. I also didn’t know *how* to feel about what was happening, but fortunately, the background music was always at hand to tell me.

Since I’m now alive — I’m not sure, this might be a Black Mirror kind of situation — I have been lurking around the forums online to find out the truth. I’ve pretty impressed by the hard work of the “fandom”. There are some good theories out there. But I’m still not sure I understand. (I'm a bit thick, you see, but thickness, like size, matters.)

***Ignore the following three paragraphs if pressed for time, or to avoid "plot" details. ***

What I’m most confused about is perspective. So, when I was going into cardiac arrest -- as were Tyme and Tonkla and everyone else who’s ever been shot it would seem -- I had four comatose minutes during which I could see four (?) consequential moments where I could have chosen a less evil path. Fun. I love guilt-tripping. Some, including my maker, Sammon, argue that each of these moments is a pathway to an alternate “reality”, but my physicist friend assures me that this is not how the many-universe theory works. (There, reality splits every measurable moment, because quantum decoupling happens every measurable moment. Besides, neither the heart nor the brain are quantum systems, but... never mind.) Also, can an unconscious person see? Or hear? Or feel? Isn't that an oxymoron? I, for one, certainly don't remember any of it! Before you accuse me of being pedantic, know that Sammon prides herself on her scientific and philosophical sophistication. But the most existential question for me is this: once we do enter this liminal space, and 'choose' an alternate 'reality', what happens to the reality we leave behind? Do I die? Am I dead? Am I Bruce Willis in that movie?

Now, there is also that whole other storyline involving online gambling, TonKla, Korn, Win, and Nan. I know you didn't care for any of it, but bear with me. Did *I* see that too? Did Tyme? Or were their storylines alone real all the time? Are my parents good or bad? If good, why did I see what I did? If bad, why did Tyme see what he did? Fine, let's allow that my perspective and that of an omniscient narrator can co-exist. But then, didn’t TonKla’s dead brother show up at one random point? More confusingly, if the four minutes represent opportunities where deaths could have been prevented, didn’t other deaths happen anyway? Are some lives more worth than others? I mean, I know my beautiful body is worth more than Tyme’s grandmother’s life, or that bastard TonKla's, but still… Am I the asshole? Or is the universe fatalistic all the same, and our subjunctive possibilities mere hallucinations? If so, what’s the fucking point of all this?

Of course, Tyme is still in a huff about the fact that *his* perspective got half a measly episode, but mine got six! Poor TonKla, he fared even worse! While we’re at it, what in crazy cat lady’s name was that last episode all about? I'm so confused, and I don’t know why my creators were in such a hurry to wrap things up. I don't even understand why I'm still alive, and why Tyme's still alive, but not my brother. Why did he have to kill himself? Don't we all have blood on our hands? Also, who chooses these realities for us? Sammon? If so, why choose these, and not one in which my story actually makes sense? As I said, the writers should have been paid more, if they were paid at all. But then, all those “cute” moments between me and Tyme — it satisfied you lot, didn’t it? How many of you screamed at the last shot? Good, I’m happy for you. I'm happy for us too. Not for my brother, though.

*** Here endeth knowledge. ***

I know some of you thought my sex scenes with Tyme were a tad on the soft side. Listen, I know my body, and the fact that I was listening to Limp Bizkit all of next day is no coincidence. Tyme is a Great lover, and he bore his arse out for you: be Greatful. But I will admit, that bastard TonKla stole the show from me. Never trust a power bottom. Were you really surprised when he shot me, and revealed his face in the campest way possible? I’d say I’m glad he’s dead, but, I’d still love to have had a Great Tyme with him and Win and Korn. And yes of course I'd have sex with my murderer if he's hot enough -- ask any self-respecting gay man. Besides, you all saw a flash of JJay's p-JJ, didn't you? How many times did you go back, freeze the frame, and thought to yourself, "I've become my mother"?

Oh, one last thing. Why 4 minutes, you ask? It is, apparently, the length of time it would take for consciousness to fade after the heart stops, during which, you can enter an alternate dimension, alternate reality, alternate universe, or whatever else is alternate. That’s what the last-minute narrator -- where the fuck did she come from? -- says. Turns out, not possible. Anoxia induces loss of consciousness in 6 seconds, and inflicts permanent brain damage within 2 minutes. (You should have seen the first draft of this review. There are parts of my brain to which I no longer have any access.) So, I can only guess that my creators were listening to Madonna on repeat on Spotify as they fell asleep (or while doing cocaine), and concluded, with Mr. Timberlake, there were only 4 minutes left to save the world…

Reader's Digest:
DO SAY: In Search of Lost Tyme
DON'T SAY: The Great Catsby

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Unnecessarily confusing

This is going to piss some people off so if you like the series and have no complaints about it then don't read, if you disagree I don't care, keep it to yourself it's"my" review and "my" opinion, also I'm going to vent a little, with some curses ahead ~~

All good? ... Perfect.

Now, what the fuck was that 😂
I binge watched this so it wasn't as confusing to me as - I imagine - to whoever watched it while it was on air, and I have to say I still ended up with too many questions, unnecessary questions about what was real and wasn't, specially for Tonkla-korn relationship.
Direction was all over the place, making everything confusing, story by itself is good, even great and acting was on point even with the questionable characters' morals and behaviours, and sadly that's the only thing I liked about the series, also Den, he was adorable !!! I LOVE HIM!!! MUAH!! He was the best and I loved his interaction with Tyme, cough-even more than with great-cough 😂😂

What I didn't like was somehow all the characters maybe lol I mean they were written in a weird way the only person I felt sorry for was Tyme, Great? Not so much....
I mean Great literally did a hit and run then later they kinda forgot to show his confessing to it IRL and just showed his regret in the 4mins, I know he is sorry and the lady actually committed suicide by jumping in front of him but how would we know now if she actually wanted to die???huh how?? This was all in his 4mins which was led by his feelings and regrets.

so, um, lady, you died, sorry about that I'll just imagine you jumped on purpose and then forget all about it, ok? 👍

Now Tonkla revenge? Logically this part was sci-fi lmao I mean anyone with evidences just shows them to anyone, police is big a joke! I mean who in his right mind share sensitive information in the investigation with Normal citizens? Moreover a relative to the dead person? Bitch, please!

What I hated the most was the way the direction went, specially the part where they intentionally showed the real life for Tonkla-korn-Win DURING Great's 4mins, confusing AF unnecessarily!!
Also the reference that the lady who died was the reason for Greats mum death and magically when he let her die he saved his mum but WHAT IS THE PROOF YOU F*CKERS!!!! You just put random connections just like that? Good lord!! 🤦🤦🤦

Lady, yes you who I killed a few moments ago, hello again, now you would have been the reason to kill my mum so I really am relieved you died!! To save my mum you know🤷 completely logical ~

You see, after everything settles in, and I know it's just a series and fictional and bla bla bla, I just don't like illogical stuff, but ..BUT!! I still think the story was amazing needs some polishing but nonetheless
I know my review doesn't show that, seriously, the story was amazing it could have been much much better, cinematography was Fantastic!! But sadly that doesn't help much when the final product is full of flaws ~

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Convoluted storytelling, romances fall flat

I don't have much confidence that the finale will save this series, because it has a lot of problems even outside of the hackneyed way it attempts to do things--there's a difference between a challenging, ambiguous narrative and being needlessly opaque/convoluted.
I've got no reason to actually care about any of the main guys or their relationships, partly because of a severe lack of chemistry but mostly because the writing gives me nothing to hold onto (hello, insta love). For the most part, people don't act like people, they act like props. I'm always excited for ambitious Thai BLs trying to up the quality but they've got to find better writers to do it, these actors deserve better.
Edit after final episode: You have to automatically dock any Thai BL score on this site by 2-3 points to get something realistic, and it still holds true here. What in the heck was that. Hard to tell if Bible can't pull off less assertive characters when he's given little to nothing to work with. Skim through the first episode for the NC scene and pass on the rest.

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Picking up shredded paper

I never want to watch a show where I'm completely lost episode to episode again. This was just some pretty faces slapped under very overwhelmingly underwhelming 8 weeks... I'm not the brightest sunflower in the field, but I've never squinted my eyes and had a frown an entire TV Show in a while.

I only enjoyed a handful of things like the visuals. Colors and scenes were on point to every second. Every scene was a desktop wallpaper.

Now, unfortunately I will have to say something quite controversial. Tonkla carried. His story might be extreme, and to be fair I don't even know if Dome is actually alive because I was under the impression we were watching three different timelines. An altered timeline, the truth, and the desire timeline. Idk maybe I'm too slow. So, does Dome die is all three or what? But Tonkla's story at least had something to look forward to until he was ghosted. Now, I get that people were upset about of course because he's a "supporting role" and he shouldn't have more screentime then the mains, but at least when he was on screen I wasn't falling asleep.

I'm really disappointed in BOC though. Following Bible from KinnPorshe I thought his next character would mean something strong like Vegas was, but instead it made me wish I never was roped into this show in the first place.

Really looking forward to something different, especially with Bible and possibly Jes (they were robbed out of a good execution of a story) but for now all my tomatoes have been thrown.

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A Lot of 4 Minutes That I'll Never Be Able To Get Back

I had decent expectations for this series because of how long it had been in production and its main cast. However, it fell short. The plot ran off halfway and the end had neither rhyme nor reason.

4 Minutes can be summed up as a bunch of unnecessary deaths. At one point, I figured it was committed to karmic justice but I was wrong. The main characters getting a sort of 'happy ending' is proof that karma and justice lend little to the plot.

I admit that the near-death, psychological storyline was brilliant. I found it fun to unravel what was real and what was not. However, the plot and characters were poorly written.

Spoiler Alert ⬇️

Great was a shit person. He was in a hit-and-run, was complicit to murder, helped dispose of a dead body, was privy to the unlawful confinement of a female schoolmate, let his corrupt parents clean up his messes, and watched a girl get shot in the face when he could've stopped it. The only 'good' he ever did was saving Tyme — and he did that for himself.

Tyme was a huge red flag. He was portrayed as a victim turned vigilante but his actions show he was as cuddly with crime as his parents were. He sought 'justice' based on a few scribbles in his mom's journal, locked in on the wrong target and served their son some revenge porn to get attention. He put his patient (a victim of abuse that needed saving) in more danger just to gather evidence for his mission.

Somehow, both characters get an angelic halo over their heads after their 4-minute experience. They go on a couple of dates, play judge and jury, and make a show of taking responsibility — but it's just Great admitting his part in Dome's murder. All their other acts of delinquency are swept under the rug.

Ton Kla (played by Fuaiz) was the character I was most curious about but we only got bits and pieces of his life that didn't give much away. He was summed up as a serial killer with a kitty ghost friend and a boyfriend who only showed up when he pleased. Korn choosing to die with Ton Kla was unexpected but fitting end to a dark romance, I guess.

The actors who stood out the most in this drama were Bas and Fuaiz. Bas was brilliant as Korn and I found myself equal parts disgusted at and sorry for this character who was so obsessed with pleasing his father that he lost himself in the process. I hope Fuaiz gets more age-appropriate roles where he can show his talent beyond what we've seen in DFF and 4 Minutes.

tldr: good acting. unexpected storyline. poor character development. disjointed plots. not worth a second watch.

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It's a 9 for me but...

I loved the series, the acting was amazing, the quality was top tier and the cinematography was beautiful.

To me everything was spectacular until the last half of the last episode, they rushed everything too much, we didn't get to see Great waking up, we don't know who tortured Warit, we couldn't see Tyme and Great reunion after both woke up and other things that were left unanswered.

Other than that, I know many people don't feel the same way, but I believe they did a good job with this series, of course the start was confusing, that was their intention, but with every episode we got to understand what was actually going on.

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A Must-Watch!

I was super excited to see Bible work with Jes in this show, and BOY did they deliver!! This show was absolutely incredible and had me at the edge of my seat every episode. A thrilling, action-packed plotline was perfectly partnered with a slowly forming romance between the main leads, and side characters that could stand alone in their own series round it out beautifully. The only potential issue with this one was that the 18+ rating needs to be taken real seriously....both with the violence and explicit sex scenes.

When Great (Bible) hits and kills a woman while driving, he suddenly finds himself with a strange ability: he is occasionally (and not of his own will) sent back in time 4 minutes to fix mistakes. After preventing the death of this woman, she still ends up in the hospital. Great, feeling bad about this, goes to visit her and meets Dr. Tyme (Jes). The two slowly get to know each other, but it seems their lives are more intertwined than they thought. Great's family's shady business seems to be willing to go to any lengths to continue their work, and Tyme seems to be somehow connected to all this. Meanwhile, Great's brother Korn (Bas) and his boyfriend Tonkla (Fuaiz) seem to be more involved in the inner workings of this shady family business, which is straining their relationship.

I can't begin to describe how incredible this show was. The plot twists were INCREDIBLE and had me sitting in shock at the end of the episodes. I can't possibly describe all the interesting plot points that happen without horrible spoilers, but it is truly an experience to watch it. I love when a plot doesn't only revolve around the romance, and this one definitely isn't focused on it, but uses the romance to enhance the plot. Again, the explicit scenes in this show were a bit much for me, but overall it was fantastic and I would highly recommend it.

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