Edren
Solid Cop Drama Elevated by Exceptional Acting
The title really says it all.
The story was good. Not terribly new or original. As someone who was in high school when 24 was originally airing, this made me remember the season when Jack Bauer accidentally got addicted when he was undercover in a cartel. That aside, some aspects of the drug world and drug addiction felt very off to me. Like something between an overwrought after school special and a simple lack of factual information. It sounds strange to say that I felt like the drama was sometimes forgoing story for an attempt at educating civilians on the damaging nature of drug addiction. But it missed the mark a little because some aspects of drug addiction and the world of drug dealers felt a little inaccurate.
That said, most of the time I could dismiss all that with a "this is a fictional drug, mostly, and thus they can make it do whatever they want" and that's fine, too.
The real highlight here was Ji Sung, who is incapable of underperforming, it seems. Watching him in The Devil Judge finally made me understand what they mean when they talk able having "presence." That's not a large man, but he fills the entire room.
His depiction of a forcibly drug addicted cop was, frankly, incredible. In this regard, the drama was spot on. His constant, intense struggle was very true to the nature of addiction. The expression on his face when he was held down and given a hit said it all; combined anger, relief, sorrow, guilt, and finally pleasure.
This is somewhat of a mixed bag for me. The story was good, but not incredible. The premise lacked the backing of realism, thus its drama and impact were kind of diminished. But the characters and the actors were really, really great. I'd rewatch this just for the characters. In truth, I'd rewatch this just for Ji Sung's performance.
The story was good. Not terribly new or original. As someone who was in high school when 24 was originally airing, this made me remember the season when Jack Bauer accidentally got addicted when he was undercover in a cartel. That aside, some aspects of the drug world and drug addiction felt very off to me. Like something between an overwrought after school special and a simple lack of factual information. It sounds strange to say that I felt like the drama was sometimes forgoing story for an attempt at educating civilians on the damaging nature of drug addiction. But it missed the mark a little because some aspects of drug addiction and the world of drug dealers felt a little inaccurate.
That said, most of the time I could dismiss all that with a "this is a fictional drug, mostly, and thus they can make it do whatever they want" and that's fine, too.
The real highlight here was Ji Sung, who is incapable of underperforming, it seems. Watching him in The Devil Judge finally made me understand what they mean when they talk able having "presence." That's not a large man, but he fills the entire room.
His depiction of a forcibly drug addicted cop was, frankly, incredible. In this regard, the drama was spot on. His constant, intense struggle was very true to the nature of addiction. The expression on his face when he was held down and given a hit said it all; combined anger, relief, sorrow, guilt, and finally pleasure.
This is somewhat of a mixed bag for me. The story was good, but not incredible. The premise lacked the backing of realism, thus its drama and impact were kind of diminished. But the characters and the actors were really, really great. I'd rewatch this just for the characters. In truth, I'd rewatch this just for Ji Sung's performance.
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