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This review may contain spoilers
Psychological/political thrilled with significant "film noir" overtones.
UPDATE after Ep. 10: Final Rating is 9⭐ By the end it was no longer a "thriller" but rather a psychotic roller-coaster - but definitely still "film noir" overtones.
If you are a fan of classic Hollywood movies, then (1) see my comments at the bottom about the film posters for the movies "Sunset Boulevard" and "Vertigo". They both deal with obsessive people driven to near-madness. (2) For a long time, I was afraid that the drama would end in the same manner of the obsessive/psychotic couples in "War of the Roses" or "Double Indemnity" [Spoiler: they all died] Thankfully, the Climax writer didn't choose the easy out. Although pathological ambition drove every decision and choice they made, both survived to the end. I should note, that Bang Tae-seop and Chu Sang-ah were not a "romantic" couple, but I found the end satisfactory as they both acknowledged they need each other for support.
Overall Positives: Actors: were raw and mesmerizing. I had never watched anything with Ju Ji-hoon or Ha Ji-won before and I was blown away with how they communicated with their body language just as much as the words. If you binge through without noticing all of the subtleties of their performance, you will miss the highlight (for me) of the drama. The Script: A series of plots/counter-plots and then plots-that-went-nowhere. Although we understood the characters' motivations, it was hard to keep track of the impact of certain choices and blackmail items raised in the first few episodes seemed to be forgotten in the later episodes.
The Cons: There were many - too many - scenes of debasing/humiliating activity that were included for their shock value as much as anything else. Supposedly they demonstrated the desperate lengths people go to in their obsessive drive but IMHO, an A+ writer would be more creative in crafting ethical decisions/tension rather than ick factor. Second negative is that the drama lacked continuity. Just one example: Jeong-won lived in an apartment with multiple fish tanks and they were always there. . . . until they weren't as she was preparing to leave. I didn't really listen to what she said - I wondered what happened to the fish! There were a lot of "what happened to. . . " and "WTF" instances that detracted from the overall tension.
I really enjoyed the drama - the characters, interesting location filming, the roller-coaster of plot/counter-plot. I was very happy with the last episode and how the main couple was able to survive. If not for those ick factor scenes, I would have given this 10⭐
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[Original interim review after Ep. 6]
Psychological/political thriller is not my usual genre but lately I’ve become tired of rom-coms that follow the same rather unimaginative formula. Climax is anything but unimaginative or formulaic. I’m writing this review after watching Episode 6 (out of 10) and will update each week if anything significantly impacts my overall attitude about the drama.
First, let’s make something clear: the plot involves “The fierce survival drama of prosecutor Bang Tae-seop, who jumped into the cartel of power to stand at the top of South Korea, and those around him." Bang Tae-seop, the choices he makes and the consequences drive the plot.
Like any good mystery, Climax unpeels the onion, episode by episode. And yet, as of Ep. 6, I feel that there are still critical facts that the writer/director has kept hidden from the viewer until the end. That doesn’t bother me IF – Big IF – the viewer learns that they were not outright lied to. I don’t mind if the viewer sees 50% of an event and jumps to conclusions about who actually murdered someone. But failure to include vital information will never be forgiven.
UPDATE after Episode 8: Unfortunately, the drama has descended into one "shock" scene after another with no real character development. Sometimes characters seem to do introspection and then Surprise! it was fake. Climax is still a roller coaster and I am looking forward to watching to the end (at which point I will update again) but except for the "everyone is desperately greedy for power, money, control and will do anything to obtain it", there really isn't much to this drama. I'm still crossing fingers that the end will be satisfactory (as in, the really, really bad, evil people get destroyed) but at this point, those really bad, evil people are mere props with little or no explanation of HOW they became this irredeemable.
One of the things I love most about the drama is the inclusion of two very prominent movie posters from classic Hollywood movies. First, “Sunset Boulevard”, the story of an aging silent film star who is desperate for a comeback – similar to Bang Tae-seop's wife Chu Sang-ah’s desperation to claim her top star status. And second, Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliant “Vertigo” – a movie about a man obsessed with a woman he was unable to protect – Bang Tae-seop’s story as he tries to protect a wife who does not love him. Do the movie posters foreshadow the end of “Climax”?? I don't think so - but they explain the psychological undertones of this “film noir” drama. Whether the writer is able to stick the landing remains to be seen, but thus far, I’m on board.
If you are a fan of classic Hollywood movies, then (1) see my comments at the bottom about the film posters for the movies "Sunset Boulevard" and "Vertigo". They both deal with obsessive people driven to near-madness. (2) For a long time, I was afraid that the drama would end in the same manner of the obsessive/psychotic couples in "War of the Roses" or "Double Indemnity" [Spoiler: they all died] Thankfully, the Climax writer didn't choose the easy out. Although pathological ambition drove every decision and choice they made, both survived to the end. I should note, that Bang Tae-seop and Chu Sang-ah were not a "romantic" couple, but I found the end satisfactory as they both acknowledged they need each other for support.
Overall Positives: Actors: were raw and mesmerizing. I had never watched anything with Ju Ji-hoon or Ha Ji-won before and I was blown away with how they communicated with their body language just as much as the words. If you binge through without noticing all of the subtleties of their performance, you will miss the highlight (for me) of the drama. The Script: A series of plots/counter-plots and then plots-that-went-nowhere. Although we understood the characters' motivations, it was hard to keep track of the impact of certain choices and blackmail items raised in the first few episodes seemed to be forgotten in the later episodes.
The Cons: There were many - too many - scenes of debasing/humiliating activity that were included for their shock value as much as anything else. Supposedly they demonstrated the desperate lengths people go to in their obsessive drive but IMHO, an A+ writer would be more creative in crafting ethical decisions/tension rather than ick factor. Second negative is that the drama lacked continuity. Just one example: Jeong-won lived in an apartment with multiple fish tanks and they were always there. . . . until they weren't as she was preparing to leave. I didn't really listen to what she said - I wondered what happened to the fish! There were a lot of "what happened to. . . " and "WTF" instances that detracted from the overall tension.
I really enjoyed the drama - the characters, interesting location filming, the roller-coaster of plot/counter-plot. I was very happy with the last episode and how the main couple was able to survive. If not for those ick factor scenes, I would have given this 10⭐
*********************************
[Original interim review after Ep. 6]
Psychological/political thriller is not my usual genre but lately I’ve become tired of rom-coms that follow the same rather unimaginative formula. Climax is anything but unimaginative or formulaic. I’m writing this review after watching Episode 6 (out of 10) and will update each week if anything significantly impacts my overall attitude about the drama.
First, let’s make something clear: the plot involves “The fierce survival drama of prosecutor Bang Tae-seop, who jumped into the cartel of power to stand at the top of South Korea, and those around him." Bang Tae-seop, the choices he makes and the consequences drive the plot.
Like any good mystery, Climax unpeels the onion, episode by episode. And yet, as of Ep. 6, I feel that there are still critical facts that the writer/director has kept hidden from the viewer until the end. That doesn’t bother me IF – Big IF – the viewer learns that they were not outright lied to. I don’t mind if the viewer sees 50% of an event and jumps to conclusions about who actually murdered someone. But failure to include vital information will never be forgiven.
UPDATE after Episode 8: Unfortunately, the drama has descended into one "shock" scene after another with no real character development. Sometimes characters seem to do introspection and then Surprise! it was fake. Climax is still a roller coaster and I am looking forward to watching to the end (at which point I will update again) but except for the "everyone is desperately greedy for power, money, control and will do anything to obtain it", there really isn't much to this drama. I'm still crossing fingers that the end will be satisfactory (as in, the really, really bad, evil people get destroyed) but at this point, those really bad, evil people are mere props with little or no explanation of HOW they became this irredeemable.
One of the things I love most about the drama is the inclusion of two very prominent movie posters from classic Hollywood movies. First, “Sunset Boulevard”, the story of an aging silent film star who is desperate for a comeback – similar to Bang Tae-seop's wife Chu Sang-ah’s desperation to claim her top star status. And second, Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliant “Vertigo” – a movie about a man obsessed with a woman he was unable to protect – Bang Tae-seop’s story as he tries to protect a wife who does not love him. Do the movie posters foreshadow the end of “Climax”?? I don't think so - but they explain the psychological undertones of this “film noir” drama. Whether the writer is able to stick the landing remains to be seen, but thus far, I’m on board.
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