Angel Eyes (2014)

Having just finished this drama, I can say it wasn't bad, it was enjoyable for the most part.
Watching the first few episodes- I fell in love. It was heartwarming, cute and refreshing. It was able to reeled me in (despite the terrible animation editing, it was painfully cheesy). This was mainly due to the acting of the younger actors. The younger cast was amazing!. They were able to portray the true feelings of innocent young love (if that makes sense). Their acting made you never want them to grow up. It was a sweet cute love, and the actors really had chemistry.
Moving forward to the older main cast, I was worried they weren't going to be able to portray the feelings the younger cast did, but they did. The older cast had great chemistry, I could feel the love, (although there was a lack of kissing scenes).
The story was great at first, but as it developed, it became mostly predictable. There was also a constant battle of I-have-to-give-you-up-in-order-for-you-to-be-happy-because-you-deserve-better situation between Soo-Wan and Dong-Joo that became really tedious.
(Side note: Although there is a lot of people who have became annoyed with Ku-Hye-Sun in this drama, it's not her acting that was bad, she acted upon script written by the writers. She tried to portray her character, which was perfect and annoying at the same time. It's not her fault, her crying scenes were on point.)
I enjoyed parts where there was cheerful interaction between the main characters, or scenes with Dong-Joo and the father. I also really loved the side stories with Teddy, Ellie, etc. It was more interesting to watch the side stories with the 119 team.
You might have to push yourself through "evil" parts, it gets boring and skipping is an option!
Overall, it was an enjoyable drama, it wasn't a waste of my time, but I did wish it was shorter. This drama had a good concept and story and all, but the directors did a poor job of executing it. It could've been paced a bit faster, and there were some unnecessary scenes. I DEMAND MORE KISSING SCENES. Other than that, it's an okay drama. The casting was perfect, and the music was refreshing and catchy. The directing needs improvement.

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This is a very cheesy, twisted, melo, love story. I love melodramas, but I have seen better. The story is pretty easy to figure out from the beginning. I found myself frustrated at times because it felt drawn out. I think it would have been better in less episodes. I can't write spoilers, but the back and forth inconsistency of the way Soo Wan's character was written just got old. After a while I was so bored with it. I guess the ending was ok, but anticlimactic.

I have to admit that part of my frustration with this drama could be Koo Hye Sun. I swear she has got to be the worst actress ever. I felt nothing for Soo Wan as an adult. Nam Ji Hyun as the young Soo Wan was infinitely better. I loved everything about the young Soo Wan. I'm not sure if it was the writing of her character or Koo Hye Sun herself that made me just want to yell at her to wake up. SPOILERISH>>>I was cheering on the island ahjussi at the end when he lectures her.<<<END SPOLIERISH Both Kang Ha Neul and Lee Sang Yoon did Dong Joo's character proud. His story and character were consistent through out. He never wavered even when he learned all of the horrific truths. He was a loving and kind character.

Now, for the reason I watched this drama...Kim Ji Suk. He is such a wonderful actor. He needs to be cast in a leading male role where he gets the girl immediately. Kang Ji Woon was such an honest, loving, tragic character that Kim Ji Suk played excellently.

As for the other characters, mostly unnecessary, but not annoying.

The music is really pretty.

I won't rewatch this.

If you like melo, love stories, then you may like this more than I did. However, I don't necessarily recommend this to anyone.

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I think this is not only the first drama I have skipped so many parts of, but the first drama where I was disappointed and bummed out by the main characters being together. Dong Joo is way too good for Soo Wan. She was always whining and crying and making Dong Joo chase her all over to prove how much he loved her over and over again. Everything with her was drama and misery. I wouldn't recommend this drama to anyone and you couldn't pay me to sit through it again. Very little action and suspense, episodes seemed to drag on and be repetitive, and I don't think I've disliked many characters the way I disliked Soo Wan. The only interesting parts of the drama were with Teddy (though his manner of speaking by adding 'u' to everything was annoying) and with Ji Woo. Awful drama. It started off so well too and had such promise. Shame.

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This is a drama for people who like 'Melodramas' - luckily I am one of those people :) I wasn't interested in the first 13 minutes b/c it was too "animated" but after that I was hooked right in - I really enjoyed this drama from its younger actors right to the adult actors, the story is sweet but melo, but all in all I thought it was very heart-warming - nothing really bothered me - like I wasn't worried about things that were going to happen, I watched this drama with ease and no characters annoyed me (you know like annoying 2-lead characters).
Story: was beautiful and very well done, really made you believe that this was real....
Cast: Dong Joo was my favorite - he is so loyal and honest and loves with all his heart - he is also very very forgiving. Soo Wan was pretty good - there were times when she'd act a bit stupid or harsh but she still managed to redeem herself in the end. Ji Won is the "second lead" male - but he was refreshing as he had no malice and he was very honest and an all around nice guy - he's not your usual annoying pushy second lead - he knows how to let go and that made me like him. Teddy was adorable, loved his scenes...and everyone else played their roles well all the way to the end.
Music: I liked it, some Korean songs and lot's of old English songs - my favorite is 'With You'.
Re-watch Value: 8.5/10 - I will probably re-watch this again sometime in the future - if only to see Lee Sang Yoon's beautiful face again <3

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I wish I could like this drama, but it honestly annoyed me beyond belief. The first 2 or 3 episodes showed such promise. I loved the young characters and the story of how they met. It was very warm and bittersweet. Unfortunately, the story went downhill from there. I didn't care for most of the characters, including the main characters. I really didn't like Soo Wan's transformation at all. She was just kind of.... annoying and not really that interesting. I also didn't like the story and wholeheartedly hated the ending. I am aware of the fact that this was supposed to be a melodrama, but ithere was just too much sadness. To me it looked like a bunch of unfortunate events strung together by a loose plot. I desperately waited for some relieve and it never came. On top of that, a lot of dialogues seemed stiff to me. It was one of the earlier dramas I watched, so I thought that many kdramas are so melodramatic. After watching the show, I really thought of giving up on kdramas for a while.

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I finished this drama this week. I wanted to write the review after watching but it was almost 4am so that was a big fat no. Anyways, back to the review.

The story was pretty good. If you like melodramas, you might like this one. I love the very first episode. As soon as I watched it, I couldn't wait for the next one. This drama made me go through a whirlwind of emotions. I kinda think they could've wrapped it up in 18 episodes but oh well, anytime I can see more Kang Haneul and Lee Sang Yoon was fine with me.

The cast was pretty good too. Kang Haneul (young Park Dong Joo), that boy made me cry so much. I loved him in Monstar. This was my first drama with Lee Sang Yoon (adult Dong Joo), and he turned me into a fan. Those dimples were to dies for. Koo Hye Sun (adult Soo Wan)...what can I say? I watched her in BOF and she sorta improved from then but maybe it's because her character was written to be stupid, I don't know. Towards the end, she made me wanted to slap her silly. Kim Ji Suk (Kang Ji Woon), he's always been second lead in the dramas I've seen. I love Seungri (Teddy). I wish he had a bigger role. And that accent, I don't think I can say 'gwaenchanhayo' the same way ever again, it will forever be 'gwaenchanhayoo'. >_< Yoon Ye Joo, who plays Dong Joo's sister was one of my favorite characters. And the little boy, Kim Jin Mo needs to be in more dramas. And Dong Joo's mom has got to be one of my favorite parent in K-dramas of all time.

The music, it was like 'Love is the moment' all over again >_<. Me and my friend would start saying 'with you' if we hear the first bars of the song. But now that it's over, I'm gonna miss hearing 'run run run to you' XD.

I would definitely re-watch this in the future. Just to see my Dong Joo again XD.

Overall, I definitely recommend this drama.

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Ehh...

Story: Ehhh... Not original imo. The main focus was romance so if you like romance then here, but I never cried once in this drama. Story was boring and romance was quite boring. Didn't feel any chemistry here. Both leads' characters were annoying.

Acting/Cast: A lot of people told me that Hye Sun is really good in this drama but her acting bugged me. She cried way too much and way too loud. That was unnecessary. She overreacts imo. Not a fan.

Music: Eh

Rewatch Value: Eh, no.

Overall: Eh, tbh, just eh. You might like it if you're a hardcore melodrama and romance lover? For me it's a pass. Not an awful drama though.

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I found it really interesting to watch and it was the series that pulled me into watching dramas however after a while it became a bit of a chore and i ended up dropping it. I got attetched to many of the characters, but to an extent, the medical scenes seemed more real than the relationships (as i've found to be the theme in many dramas actually.. the whole budget always seems to go towards overly graphic medical scenes).
I loved the music and the plot was really well thought and planned out; when trying to explain it to a frend it got a little to complcated to say in words and thats honestly what i look for in a drama.
I may go back to it some day but I'm honestly satisfied with having watched half of it.
Despite not finishing it, I'd still recommend anyone to give it a chance (unless heavy medical scenes are a bit too much for you as there were for me.)
I'd also recommend if you want a reason to cry.

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This drama. Well, there certainly were many things i definitely enjoyed, and a few things i didn't.

The first two episodes succeeded in capturing my unyielding attention. Nam Ji Hyun and Kang Ha Neul were sensational in portraying their roles as the younger versions of the main characters, and did well to establish the base story and emotions which would carry on for the rest of the drama. The purity and beauty in their interactions really did make the story feel like real life rather than a written script being acted out. Suffice to say, the first two episodes of Angel Eyes have become some of my most enjoyed episodes from any series. All of the actors/actresses were sensational. The way the story began was great. Everything about how the first two episodes were filmed was well done, from the scenery, to the ambiance, to the lighting etc., and this was all backed by (what I thought) was very fitting and effective OST.

As for the rest of the episodes:

Story (7/10): The story started off strong in the first half of the drama, but from half way onwards it got suuuppeerrrr draggy at some points. Picked up though near the end when s*&^ started to happen. Honestly, it was the main love story that dragged; it was all of the other side stories that definitely kept the enjoyment level up. Many of the comments I've seen said that "this drama could have (and should have) ended in 16 episodes instead of 20". I completely agree.

Acting/Cast (10/10): One of the strongest, if not THE strongest, thing about Angel Eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every cast members' performance. Each and every one. They all just seemed to play their roles so effortlessly. My favourites were the young Dong Joo and Soo Wan, the older Hye Joo, Detective Cha, Dong Joo's mom, and the three nurses in the ER.

Music (7.5/10): As with many dramas, there are some songs in English, where the singer is clearly not a native English speaker. Yes, they can sing very well, but singing "...and your Anjer Eyes are shriling in my life" instead of "...and your angel eyes are shining in my life" can get slightly distracting. Most of the songs fit the scenes well, and despite the sometimes off English, they were pretty catchy.

Re-watch Value (5/10): In short, the only episodes I would re-watch would be the first two (definitely), and a few near the end when s*&^ started to get real.

Overall (7/10): It was a good drama for the most part, but quite draggy at points even considering it's a melodrama. I liked how the "evil" people in this one weren't truly bad to the bone evil. All the reasons they did what they did could be understood (but not necessarily accepted) by considering them in an unbiased, objective mindset. What I didn't like was the older main girl. She just got annoying. At times. Although sometimes sweet. But annoying. To be clear, Koo Hye Sun did a great job of acting, it was the character she played that I wanted to throw rocks at.

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I will attempt to keep this short. I am fairly new to the Korean Drama Scene, but I am hooked! My entry was happenstance. I came upon 'Boys Over Flowers' on Netflix and was completely pulled in. I fell in love with JanDi and then of course Ku (Koo...Goo - I have seen it written all three ways) Hye-Sun. That subsequently lead me to 'Angel Eyes' also on Netflix. I loved JanDi. I loved her heart, determination, and initial innocence. I was so enthralled, I couldn't imagine it being topped. Then when I discovered how HUGE 'Boys Over Flowers' was I figured I loved it for a reason...then I saw 'Angel Eyes'. I have NEVER in all my life bawled as much and as hard as I did through the whole series. It was breathtaking and beautiful.
Now, I gave it 10's straight through. I even ordered it on DVD straight from Korea. I found on eBay a replication of the necklace Dong Joo gave So Wan. However, IF I had two possible criticisms it would be these. One, there was basically two storylines running in parrallel. On one side you had Dong Joo and So Wan. Their meeting, falling in love, time apart reuniting etc. That provided ALL the emotion. The tears. Jung Hwa will capture your heart and everytime she is reflected upon you will bawl if you have a heart. Then the parrallel story, the unfortunate revelations that tie it together tha maybe are necessary more than I realize, but it became a slight nuisance because, for me, I wanted to stay in the enchanted love and world of Jung Hwa, Dong Joo, So Wan, Hye-Joo (Ellie) and Seungri (Teddy). The pure. But perhaps, we need the ugly to appreciate the love. The second would be when So Wan lost her vision again. It may be a necessary KDrama trope, but it was insufferable. Finally she was called out by, Enjelaizeu, the person she stayed with, but still UGH!
I want to conclude with my education to Korean Drama's and their expected tropes. Things like love triangles, time apart for the main couple, amnesia, higher class versus lower class and things like that. Yes, 'Angel Eyes' has pretty much all of them, but that's OK. I apparently am into the extreme melodrama. I have since watched 'Secret Garden, 'Take Care of Us, Captian (Ku Hye-Sun), 'Blood' (Ku Hye-Sun), and a few others that I haven't finished. The only other one to approach where 'Angel Eyes' took me is the last full series I watched, 'Beloved Eun-Dong' (though Netflix calls it 'This is my Love'. That one parrallel 'Angel Eyes' in so many ways, but it did not sub plant 'Angel Eyes' as my most cherished.
If you find a powerful cry cathartic, you have a soft heart and don't mind at all if a story is purposely jerking your tears...this one is for you! I have been trying SOOOOO hard to get anyone to watch it that I know and only one has done so sadly. It only garnered about a 10% viewership in Korea - in contrast 'Boys Over Flowers' and 'Secret Garden' were just above 40%. Still, this swept me away and evoked feelings I didn't know I could ever feel.

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