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Mad Dog korean drama review
Completed
Mad Dog
1 people found this review helpful
by Anais
Aug 25, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

Filler drama

It's the story of a group of people who find themselves working together two years after a suspicious airplane crash took place. Choi Kang Woo created his own investigation team, after he lost his wife and son in the accident. He and his team meet Kim Min Joon, a genius former swindler whose brother was also a victim of the crash.

Now, overall the series was nice, I have to say that it actually started off very slow, and even though I wasn't super entertained by the story, I think it's not bad. The story is pretty basic actually, we've seen it before, it's the typical trope of people banding together to uncover the truth behind a tragic incident that ultimately has to deal with powerful people using their power to make money regardless of the victims. Here, the only change is that we have the insurance aspect.

So afterwards, I don't think anyone will be amazed by the story, but they did an overall good job.

I saw a review called Woo Do Hwan a "show-stealer" and I can only agree on that. This actor, whom I have seen now in a few series and different roles, is truly a talent of his generation. Not only for me he is the one who made the show interesting, but all the scenes in which he appears are just really good. The character Choi Kang Woo, who is the grieving father and husband, is supposed to appeal to my empathy but I haven't once felt like I connected to his character. While the only time Kim Min Joon, Woo Do Hwan's character, cried, I had tears in my eyes. He had quite a mischievous character played, I could see his eyes fill with mischief, sometimes he was bold and cold, sometimes touching, sometimes funny, he was everything.
It's to say the contrast, a young actor, so I want to mention that here it was only his second main role in a series manages to touch the viewer while a veteran actor does not even make me smile.

Now, I don't want to slander Yoo Ji Tae, but he's not a fabulous actor to begin with, I've seen him in a few other series, and no matter the role, he always seems the same to me. His tears are just overrated, his character here is basically dumb as he gets out-smarted by Woo Do Hwan most of the time. For his role, I expected him to live up to Woo Do Hwan who shone. I don't know if it's the script, but even Woo Do Hwan managed to shine in it, so I'd say it's really the actor who is the problem.
However, don't take my words as saying he sucked into it, I'd just say he was pretty decent, he was there to be there, to fulfill his role, it's just that his acting wasn't good enough to rival that of his co-star Woo Do Hwan.

As for the other characters, I would say that Ryu Hwa Young was written and performed with some depth, and even though we don't get to dig deep into her character, she does shine the most after Woo Do Hwan, which is a surprise for me because female leads tend to be annoying. She shows several layers, and I would have liked her to be explored more as there was so much potential.
As for Kim Hye Sung and Jo Jae Yoon's characters, they were there typically for the comic relief moments, they didn't bring much else, but their characters were enjoyable for what little light they got.

I won't drag this out any longer, but if I had to sum up this show, it's kind of a filler after a show that's been very intense, it was long and to be honest I skipped several scenes but it's got a bit of everything - comedy, action, emotion and drama, a bit romantic echo - it's pretty basic and enjoyable for the most part. The production is good, the script correct and Woo Do Hwan was THE highlight.
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