LSky
This 3 episode TV movie/mini-series is an example of the missing link between the rather tame prime time action dramas such as City Hunter, IRIS, Athena: Goddess of War and Formidable Rivals on one side, and Korean cinema's infamous thrillers such as the Vengeance Trilogy, The Chaser but also Breathless on the other side. Girl K fills in the niche between these two extremes and it tastes like more!
The debut performance by Han Groo can be summarized in one word; Outstanding. Surrounded by a great cast of veteran actors and a few newcomers, the performance being delivered here by this young newcomer is spectacular. Stuntwork, singing, acting and dancing (though not in Girl K), this is a multitalented girl that deserves a lot of attention. Her next drama is MBC's Just Like Today which starts airing November 21st. That cast too has some very impressive names, but this girl is destined for more than sitcoms. However, this could also be a chance to show if she can play a variety of characters. I'm hoping to see her in a prime time drama or film in the near future, because she has potential and plenty of talent. There were a few moments where I thought I was looking at Ha Ji-won's character from Secret Garden since they look alike and have a few small similarities.
The rest of the cast does not let Han Groo down, with familiar names such as Kim Jung-Tae, Baek Do-Bin, Jeon Mi-Seon but particularly Park Hyo-Joo all making sure this 3 hour drama feels professional and serious. Fans of ZE:A can be happy too, since Dong-Joon is an important element in bringing some lightheartedness to this dark and violent drama.
Because dark and violent it is. Rated 19+, Girl K is generous with its violence and blood, and also shows some nudity and sexuality. If that is not your sort of thing, consider yourself warned. Consequently, the action is a lot more violent, bloody and confrontational, but without becoming unnecessarily gory. A good balance is achieved there. The fighting scenes are also better and feel appropriately colder in comparison to what you may have seen in City Hunter. There are still enough spectacular and entertaining scenes with unrealistic and over the top action to separate itself from the more serious Korean film thrillers. The fact that a sizable group of trained agents are unable to hit one guy while he kills one after the other distracts a little, but not too much.
There is a small element of melodrama and romance in Girl K, though it really takes a back seat, undoubtedly caused by the short run time. One could also argue that this drama makes a statement against overly romantic story lines we see in every mainstream Korean drama and ends it in style, violently. These few scenes do however lighten the mood a little, which is necessary in order to appeal to a broader audience and prevent it from becoming a mindless action thriller.
I'm a little more critical on the plot and background story. Stem cell research is interesting and all, but it goes too far with 'the evil biotech corporation' that invented something big and reacts violently in order to protect its discoveries. It's not all that important to the way in which the drama progresses so I believe they could have come up with a more convincing story to wrap this drama in.
Overall, if you the average Korean action drama is a little too cutesy and tame, this Korean version of Nikita is definitely what you're looking for. This could easily open the way for a follow-up, because three episodes was way too short.
8/10
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I suppose it isn't entirely fair to compare this to the more recent and more popular City Hunter, but the similarities go quite a long way. We're once again in the Blue House and a female bodyguard in a precarious situation. Formidable Rivals/Powerful Opponents, or just Rivals, is a little more light weight than City Hunter though. The story is a little less extreme, there isn't as much violence, it's lighter on acting as well unfortunately and very surprisingly, it is also lighter on melodrama and romance.
This makes an odd combination for a Korean drama, but it works out alright. It almost reminds of the more mature Alone in Love from 2006, but Rivals remains more playful throughout the episodes. While the plot slows down in the last few episodes, there are enough twists and turns in order to remain hooked. I take issue with Lee-Jin Wook's character Kang Su-Ho suddenly taking part in the dance competition though, it comes out of nowhere and doesn't really lead anywhere either.
The acting in this drama is more than acceptable and I personally had my hopes up for the performance of a younger Chae Rim after I saw her performance in Oh! My Lady. She did not disappoint, nor did any of the other actors and actresses. I had a few raised eyebrows when Oh Gwang-Rok's character Cha Kwang-Su (Yeong-Jin's father) performed though, perhaps there is some sort of regional humor I am missing here. I was most impressed with [Shin Eun-Jung's] performances as Su-Ho's sister though. It's a shame she hasn't acted in more dramas or films recently, because any scene where she enters the screen works out very well. The two male leads give reasonable performances, with Lee Jong-Hyeok starting to shine later on in the drama.
No special mentioning for music or production value, this drama does everything as one would expect. Acceptable, but not worth mentioning. There are a few holes in the script, which kind of annoyed me in the last two episodes (How the hell does Nam Do-Woo get away?), but they don't really distract the viewer too much. The ending came as a bit of a surprise to me, which contributes to the overall refreshing changes this drama has dared to make when compared to other dramas.
This drama is worth watching, see it if you have some time.
6/10
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After a disappointing Noriko, Goes To Seoul, I figured I should give another Korean-Japanese co-production a chance. This time it's the 4 episode Tokyo Showers mini-series, broadcast on SBS in 2008.
There is something about this mini-series/drama that separates it from other Korean dramas (and the few Japanese dramas I have seen). Admittedly, it's my own fault for not paying enough attention when I took my pop culture theory courses, so I can't quite put my finger on what precisely makes it feel different. The best way I can come up with to describe it is that it reminds me of British/English romance literature and TV series. I can't make a direct connection, but there are at least three issues that make this drama unique.
First, there is the location. Japan is different from South Korea, but this change in surroundings is more significant than one may think. I believe that the usage of a Japanese filming crew plays an important role. Combine this with - Secondly - the soundtrack. There is Ivy making her return with a touching love song. Though what's even more important is the classical music. Combine this with the Japanese filming crew with its different experiences and style and you have a series of gorgeous scenes that make the 4 hours of run time fly by. This is on the same level of Secret Garden, but then less emphasis on shiny overproduction and more on what could be stylized as modesty and sincerity. In order to get an idea of what I am on about;
Compare the
- American TV series 24 with the British TV series Spooks
- Discovery Channel with the BBC Natural History Unit
- CNN International with BBC News
Strange comparisons perhaps, but it is merely to illustrate the difference between what comes across as focus on production to the extent where it becomes overproduced (the average Korean drama) and just hitting the nail right on the head (Tokyo Showers).
Thirdly, the story is simple, classic and as such powerful. No complicated story lines or twists here and as a result no annoyingly predictable plot devices that serve as excuses to explain the characters' feelings and emotions that are so common in Korean dramas. This feels more like a 'Western' romance (the word classic keeps popping up) than a Korean drama and the combination of this with the Korean cast produce a refreshing result.
The cast is quite limited, but only in numbers. Not in its abilities. Solid performances come from all the actors and actresses involved. The exceptional and blindingly beautiful Kim Sa-Rang deserves the first mention for showing all sides of her character in a convincing way. She would later go on to perform well as the 'mean girl' in Secret Garden. Kim Tae-Woo does well as the coldhearted ("cool" is apparently the word for that in Korean) Jeong Hyeon-su and is a good match for Kim Sa-Rang, their chemistry does well on screen. Also, a brief moment to pay attention to Jin Goo, whose character Park Sang-kil deals with gambling problems, debts, loan sharks and actions which ultimately separates the main characters. He has quite a filmography and also plays in Spotlight, which is on my to-watch list. The Japanese cast all play minor characters, but do so well as one would expect.
If you have some time to spare, are between dramas or simply want to see something different and unique Tokyo Showers is definitely a good and refreshing way to pass the time.
7/10
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Right from the start, I'll explain that I choose to watch this drama solely because of Son Ye-Jin. I consider her to be my favorite (and possibly the best) Korean film and drama actress, bar none. High expectations as a result, and quite unfortunately Spotlight does not completely live up to them. The success of Alone in Love (2006) is not repeated until Personal Taste (2010), which is a little unfortunate since Spotlight's plot had more potential than either.
Let's start off with the brighter side, because I don't want to give the impression that this is somehow a bad drama, not at all. There's little room for criticism in the casting area, there are many familiar faces from dramas that I have seen before, especially among the support cast. Seeing as this is not a teen drama like Heartstrings, the cast's average age is significantly higher than your average Korean drama, even higher than in Midas. Son Ye-Jin herself delivers a solid performance, but I'll level some criticism at her character because even though it has been said she has been trying to get rid of her "nice girl" image from The Classic, A Moment To Remember and April Snow (all excellent films, go watch them) in her role as supposedly aggressive reporter Seo Woo-jin she keeps falling back into her vulnerable and uncertain character that we're so used to seeing (it fits well in Alone in Love, but not really in this drama). This makes her character a little unbalanced in my view, especially in the final episodes. If I were to recommend any work from Son Ye-Jin to convince others that she's the best Korean actress, I would stay away from mentioning this one. Another quite critical issue is that I would consider her character to be too young for her to be cast as. Son Ye-Jin simply does not come across as 25 in Spotlight, unlikely in Personal Taste from 2010. This makes for some weird moments with the two year older actor Jin Goo, who could come across as 10 years her junior in this drama. Well done on his part, but questionable on whoever decided on the background of reporter Seo Woo-jin.
Next to Son Ye-Jin, Ji Jin-Hee is cast as Oh "Cap" Tae-suk who apparently came out of a time machine from the 90s judging by his hairstyle. He delivers a good performance as well and his character is not burdened by an unbalanced nature. Also starring in this drama are Kim Bo-Kyung (not the singer) as "Vice" (who makes up these titles?) who unfortunately remains too much in the background as Son Ye-Jin dominates the female cast. I would like to have seen more development in her character. This goes for Cho Youn-Hee as well, who plays the female "antagonist" and fellow reporter Myeong-eun Yang. Her acting is done well, but unfortunately her character is flat and doesn't really change too much throughout this drama.
The rest of the support cast performs well, although I would like to have seen some more depth into the group of antagonist characters from the government and the construction company. Unlike the hostage taker/robber Jang Jin Gyu (played by Jung Jin) who showed off an interesting character, the politicians and the company executives just come across as greedy men, a rather flat character. I liked the group of employees at the GBS news station more, but let's not forget the group of police detectives either though they get phased out half way into this drama. As such, no real major complaints about the cast.
The trouble lies more with the script of this drama. Unlike Midas, this drama lacks a romantic element completely. If you can't appreciate the cheesy Korean romance, then this is a recommended drama. However, if you're used to it and enjoy it, then this drama will most likely come across as boring, especially for a younger audience. The story has to rely entirely on the development of Seo Woo-jin's character as a reporter. This development is rather fragmented and lacks coherence. On one site, the synopsis states that this drama follows Seo Woo-jin in her quest of becoming an anchor. This is simply untrue, but also a little unfortunate. Instead it focuses on the development as a reporter. While this may allow for more suspense, it isn't done in an exceptionally streamlined fashion. In the beginning the viewer simply gets dragged around from one story to another, until finally after a few episodes it settles down on the issue with the construction company. That too changes into something different after a few more episodes, but at least we're focusing on the same villains now. The fact that it takes so long to get somewhere makes this drama a little confusing and will leave viewers feeling detached. It's not until the last 2 episodes that we finally get to see a plot that develops along the lines of what we're used to of City Hunter, IRIS or Midas.
This drama is already three years old as this review is written, so it is unsurprising that the production value is not up to par with current dramas. The fact that I couldn't get hold of a high definition release did not help either. It isn't too important for this drama, but it does leave to be desired. The same goes for the soundtrack, which is barely notable aside from Yi SongYol's Stand 4 U.
In conclusion, I am a bit torn on how to rate this drama. While the performances of all the cast are definitely good enough by any standards, the story is quite flawed in various ways and will make this drama too boring for a lot of potential viewers. I feel the script writers let the cast down and thus in the end I can't give Spotlight a rating that is equal to say Scent of a Woman or Shining Inheritence. Despite Son Ye-Jin's effort, she can't bring this one home.
6/10
http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/negr2/spotlight??????_2008mbc_good_cast_cant_salvage/
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When it comes to TV ratings, there are a few different explanations for why a show can have high or low ratings. High ratings or low ratings do not necessarily correlate 1 to 1 with the quality of a show, but there are some connections that can be made. I like to place the most obvious options in these categories;
High Ratings
- Good show! (1) The high ratings are due to excellent and innovative script writing, good acting, quality production/soundtrack, not necessarily shying away from taboos, proper advertising in advance, etc. (Examples; My Name Is Kim Sam-soon, The Wire, Fawlty Towers)
- Bad show! (2)The ratings are high due to excellent advertising, the use of teen idols, (ab)using taboos and sexuality, innovative production and/or script, etc. (Examples; Full House, Big Brother, Beverly Hills 90210)
Low Ratings
- Bad show! (3) The low ratings are due to the lack of quality with regards to just about all the aforementioned variables. As a deserved result, the ratings for these shows will be very low. (There are countless of examples for this, most of them you will never have heard about, and most likely never will)
- Good show! (4) The low ratings for these shows are not due to the lack of quality, but have another issue. Usually this is either inferior advertising, crossing genres or addressing taboos, but there can be other culture related issues. These shows are rare but do exist. (Examples; Firefly)
If you imagine many shades and bridges of gradations between these categories, you can pretty much fit in any TV show. This MBC drama is notable for its mediocre/bad ratings, possibly the worst ratings of any Korean drama I have seen so far. Unfortunately for Heartstrings, it does not fit into category 4. It's neither innovative, nor taboo breaking. In just about every respect, this drama is mediocre at best.
The script is mostly just what you'd expect. No twist really comes as a surprise, and for the instances that it was not expected, it's inexplicable and illogical. I will give the writers credit for the fusion music element though, that's quite daring. Unfortunately the transition from the script to the screen doesn't really work out so well. The separate musical performances are alright (CNBLUE is certainly not without talent) and the main track You've Fallen For Me is quite catchy even. However, the actual fusion music is uninspiring and not very well composed. When you're picking up an alternative element for the main plot (fusion music/musicals), I personally believe you're obliged as the production team to put more than enough effort into the compositions. Failing this is critical in my opinion. The rest of the story and plots on the side are not very original either, nothing that we haven't already seen 20 times before (and done a lot better).
The cast of Heartstrings is limited in its size, but also in its abilities. CNBLUE's Jung Yong-Hwa is spectacularly lacking as male lead Lee Shin except when he is lip syncing a prerecorded version of one of the drama's tracks. More acting experience is needed before anything positive can be written about his abilities on screen. I'll not go into his or CNBLUE's music, that's best left in /r/kpop. Park Shin-Hye as female lead is alright. Both played together in You're Beautiful but Shin-Hye's performance is not enough to make me want to see more than the 1 & 1/2 episode that it took me to give up on that show. She has her cute moments, but it's not really noteworthy when there are so many other shows with better actresses. I'm usually more generous about the performances of actors and actresses above the age of 25-30, which is why the secondary leads So E-Hyun and Song Chang-Ui work better for me than the rest of the cast. Their relationship develops at a much more tranquil pace and they manage to come across as warm, reflective of their roles as teachers (director Kim Suk-Hyun also acts a bit as a teacher). Particularly So E-Hyun's character Professor Jung Yun-Soo is a relief to watch compared to the rest of the cast, because she's not so easily deceived and has the common sense that every single other character in Korean drama land seems to miss. I would like to have seen some more of her ballet dancing but unfortunately that got phased out after the first few episodes.
The third couple consisting of President's daughter Hee-Joo (Woo Ri) and drummer Joon-Hee (CNBLUE's drummer Kang Min-Hyuk progresses with unnatural and implausible developments. Neither is able enough to portray their character without becoming too extreme. Kang Min-Hyuk is also responsible for providing most of the comedy in this drama, but his trick wears of after the first few episodes and ceases being interesting for the following 12 episodes. The rest of the supporting cast is not special (Shin Goo as Kyu-Won's father, Im Se-Mi as Kyu-Won's best friend) or just bad (Lee Jeong-Heon as antogonist and Department Head Im Tae-Joon and the three girls that don't like Kyu-Won).
Heartstrings is exemplary of a drama where a lot of focus is set on teen idols and not so much effort is put into the rest of the drama. As a result, it's simply a mediocre drama that I wouldn't recommend spending your time on. There are plenty of other dramas out there that deserve your attention more than this does. If you like any particular member of the cast, then you should still see this. It's not all bad, but don't expect a quality drama.
5/10
http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/n8vbr/heartstringsyouve_fallen_for_me?_??_???_2011mbc/
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Once again my preference to SBS is confirmed with Shining Inheritance. Having a few of the more recent SBS drama's (among others) it was a welcome surprise to see so many familiar faces. No doubt this will continue the more different drama's I watch. I just couldn't help but notice how Shining Inheritance shares much of its (supporting) cast with 49 Days and City Hunter, two of my favorite drama's so far. After seeing only a few episodes, I could understand why it had received such high ratings on the first airing. I was even more happily surprised that my fear for it being too long (28 episodes) was being proved wrong along the way. Every time I anticipated the plot to slow down or become repetitive, a new trick was unveiled that kept me interested.
The story line and the tools used in order to maintain that high interest are what really set this drama apart from others. While contemporaries such as Secret Garden may excel in their production value, City Hunter in their soundtrack and both of them in acting, it is the script that distinguishes Shining Inheritance. Very loosely based on Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the brilliant twists in this drama perform very well to hide the few shortcomings that always pop up in (Korean) drama's such as excessive melodrama, unrealistically close encounters and predictable plot devices. I'm looking forward to a drama that could match or beat Shining Inheritance story line-wise, though. Know any? Let me know! It should also be noted that the producers of this drama do such a good job at cliffhanger episode endings that it's almost cruel at times.
The acting in this drama is well above the acceptable standard, with the large supporting performing even better than the main cast. Each are given their adequate screen time (except perhaps for store manager Lee Joon Young, played by Baek Seung-Hyun) and many familiar faces from aforementioned dramas's make a great appearance, particularly 49 Days' Bae Soo-Bin (as Jun-Se) and from City Hunter as well as 49 Days, Choi Jeong-Woo (as Jun-Se's father Park Tae-Su). Familiar faces such as Kim Mi-Suk (as the evil stepmother) also prove the older actors are regularly outshining the younger main cast. Han Hyo-Joo as the female lead Eun-Seong delivers her breakthrough performance, which I personally found more impressive than male lead Lee Seung-Ki's acting. He does well in his following drama My Girlfriend is a Gumiho in 2010 though. There's very little to complain about with this great cast, although I found the characters Woo-Jeong (Hwan's sister) and Yeong-Ran (Hwan's mother) a little extreme, though that's probably not the actresses' fault. I wish to see Min Yeong-Won (as Hye-Ri) in a bigger role some time though. She's too good of an actress just to play in supporting roles.
Similar to when I reviewed Formidable Rivals/Powerful Opponents earlier, this is also a drama that doesn't really stand out for its soundtrack or production value. Though don't take this as if it's really missing anything, it's just not memorable.
In short, it's really the story line and the supporting cast that make this drama quite exceptional. Don't be scared of its 28 hour length, it is used really well. Watch this drama if you can spare the time!
8/10
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Just finished the last episode and I have to say this one didn't get better over time. The further down the line, the less interesting this drama gets, I felt it was becoming difficult to relate to pretty much any of the characters. I initially choose to watch this drama because of the female lead Moon Geun-Young's performance in Cinderella's Sister which I thought was great. However, it was not meant to last past the first half of this series.
Out of all the characters, there's just Kim Hyo-Jin's performance and a brief appearance by Yun Yu-Seon which stand out. Geun-Young's character Mary doesn't seem to suit her too well, but at least she has decent acting abilities. I was not impressed at all with Jang Geun-Suk nor with Kim Jae-Wook and the latter reminded me of Micky Yoochun's performance in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, bland, plain, boring and apparently void of emotions. The other actors either fail to make themselves notable or just didn't get enough time on the screen in order to show their capabilities. I like it when supporting characters' stories are explored, that didn't happen in this drama.
The music was alright in this drama, which is good because it plays a fairly important role in the story. I felt though that they could have given some more time for Kim Hyo-Jin (Seo-Jun) and Lee Sun-Ho (Lee-Ahn) to also show some acting. The drama production plays a central role in the story after all.
The story was decent I suppose, but I was never really happily surprised by the twists and turns throughout the drama. None of them were particularly inspiring or elevated the drama to a new level. Some of them were even meaningless altogether. Nothing to be in awe about.
I wouldn't want to go as far as saying that one should definitely avoid this drama, I'm sure there's plenty of people who would still enjoy seeing this a lot, but for me this was a disappointment.
5/10
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The plot has to settle down, sure, but in this drama it simply doesn't pick up any more. Only Park Ye-Jin's character Oh Yun Jo keeps the plot refreshing, but she eventually gets phased out rather easily. What's left is a few insignificant side shows that fail to garner interest, in my view. As with most of the others dramas I saw, many support characters are left undeveloped or don't get enough time on the screen to show credible development. Oh Yun Jo's relation with Professor Nam changes, but is not really explained, nor is her relation with her father elaborated on. Lee-Sool's (step)mother is gently phased out over time, which is a shame. The princess' sister Dan only receives a few moments in the last few episodes. Sure, she's in hiding and all, but that's all the time they had to spare? I mean, they have 16 hours! A few moments are given to Guni (Geon works too) and Shin Mi-So the palace maid, but just two or three scenes are to explain their entire relationship. The same goes for the adventures of the politicians, whose actions could have been elaborated on for those who enjoyed Dae Mul, City Hunter and similar dramas.
If you like any of the actors and/or actresses that play in this drama, by all means give it a shot. All of the lead cast deliver decent performances even though they are being held down by the script at times. The supporting cast does very well too, but I've explained more than enough about that earlier.
Anyone looking for a 'good' drama, there are better ones out there.
5/10
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Before I start off, it should be clear that this review is a bit different from the previous ones. I take a more critical position and compare this series to its international equivalents. The reasons behind this different approach are its large budget (?20 billion), the high ratings it received but most importantly its emulation of American TV series such as 24, the Bourne film series but also the British espionage tv drama Spooks. With these circumstances, I believe it is justified to hold IRIS to different standards than the previous kdrama's that I've reviewed and posted here prior.
With that out of the way, let's start with the positive. When you watch your ordinary Korean drama and then see IRIS, it is a spectacular and refreshing series. It features romantic elements, yet stays clear of aegyo and "oppa!", which when used properly can be entertaining, yet in all honesty get rather annoying after a while. IRIS doesn't suffer from this, nor does it put so much emphasis on South Korea's culture of excessive virtue when it comes to relationships as pretty much all the other rated-15 dramas do (in contrast to many of its excellent films). It is after all an espionage drama, but its worth noting at least that they didn't use the exact same approach as every other drama does.
It does remain a proper Korean drama of course, with its well timed episode endings, the slick looking cast and good soundtrack. Especially industry veteran Baek Ji Young's song Don't Forget is great at evoking emotions from the viewer in the romantic parts. I also liked Shin Seung Hun's Love of Iris and I'm quite sure the people over at /r/kpop will be pleased whenever the music from Big Bang plays (not my particular interest, so I won't touch on that).
The cast is in my opinion a bit of a mixed bunch, when looking at the quality of their performances. Main lead Lee Byung-Hun delivers a good and solid performance, no complaints there. However, female lead Kim Tae-Hee, while extraordinarily beautiful in IRIS, does not perform with conviction. I can't really judge if she's even capable of doing so, as I've only seen her in My Princess so far. I am not too familiar with the works of Jeong Jun-Ho, I'll have to put some work into watching the films in which he features, but he didn't impress me too much. This could partly be blamed on his character, I'm not too sure on that. The 'North Koreans' played by veterans Kim Seung-Woo and Kim So-Yeon do perform excellent and both got their deserved screen time, though in my opinion not enough depth of character and background. The supporting cast is nothing to be impressed about. Comedic relief and every-other-drama/film supporting actor [Yun Ju-Sang](Yun Ju-Sang) as the eccentric scientist just isn't funny or witty and thus missed his goal of adding some lighthearted amusement. It just doesn't work out, just as Lee Jeong-Kil is just another president act, Juni needs some more experience and T.O.P. should just stick to singing and making music. I also am starting to wonder if they even hold auditions for the foreign actors (Japanese cast excluded) that appear in Korean dramas. Do they just invite some friends, business partners or random people from the street? There's little acting going on as soon as you hear English being spoken. IRIS is not alone in this.
Moving on to the production, something that really sets this drama apart from others. On one hand, it can be considered a big step for Korean drama, but for some reason there is no attention to detail. Too much time and money is wasted on exotic locations, but on our NSS computer systems, they'd still make bad use of English (AGREEMENT when it should have said MATCH, or simply spelling errors), I spotted a previous attempt at a car spin on one of the roads and it appears that no one was concerned with how weapons and firefights actually work in reality. While seemingly having so much in common with the Bourne films, no attention was paid to the chase scenes (Let's face it, those are hard to miss in any Bourne film, for shame. Pay attention to detail in the future, Korean drama creators, because this is embarrassing.
While we're at the embarrassments anyway, the story and script is what pull this drama down to a level that it could have stayed above. Nuclear bombs? Biological weapons? Super evil groups with roots everywhere? Come on, this is about as cheesy and predictable as it gets. No points for any originality there, nor does the rest of the story offer any interesting insights. The creators are careful not to let realism get in the way of how this story progresses. They may not have heard of the British drama Spooks, but it is obvious that they should have and watched it intently too. This will not help the Hallyu wave spread beyond East and South East Asia, it is simply not up to par with what other countries have to offer. It could perhaps serve as a stepping stone for future productions, but with domestic ratings this high I doubt they would bother.
For a Korean drama, this is special and perhaps even better than City Hunter. However, IRIS is simply not up to emulating this concept in the same fashion that Western equivalents are able to do this. Where as in My Girlfriend is an Agent, the humor helped to keep it watchable, no such help is available for IRIS.
6/10
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I chose to watch different dramas before I decided to start on The Princess' Man, since I was not particularly enticed by the few synopses and plot introductions that I read beforehand. However, as with each new drama that I watch, more and more do I learn not to trust but a single word of these short introductory summaries. I'm not sure who writes these, but they don't do a very good job of quickly explaining what the drama is going to be about. As such, this drama was above my expectations, though I could have known a little better since there we many reviews on this and the ratings were very high for this drama.
Now I do believe these ratings are somewhat justified, however the reviews for The Princess' Man do overstate things slightly, in my opinion. Dramabeans' Dahee whose writings I often enjoy due to their down-to-earth (and often cynical) approach to reviewing was far too positive in the Year-In-Review piece that was posted a few days ago, in my opinion. In the same series of Year-In-Review, javabeans goes even further to call the main leads' performances their career best, impassioned and fierce. Now while I did enjoy quite a few aspects of this drama, the acting performances of the leads was definitely not what I would highlight as an example of why this series is so good. Good it is though, that is without question. I hesitated between a 7 and an 8 for this drama, but there are simply too many small things that I take issue with, that keep me from rating this drama higher than others that I have previously reviewed here.
I'll start with these issues, so we may end with the positive aspects of this drama. One of the first bones I have to pick is the OST. While there are individual tracks that are excellent, especially the Italian style songs such as Vola and Destino, they become repetitive and almost annoying quite quickly. Fortunately, we have our unofficial OST Queen (sorry to those who put value on that poll from last May, Taeyeon is great, but there is just one OST Queen;) Baek Ji Young with I Love You Too. (Granted, my bias towards Baek Ji Young in kpop is comparable to my bias towards Son Ye-Jin in kdrama, but with her work from IRIS, Secret Garden and A Thousand Day's Promise combined with this song, I have plenty of excuses!) Where the tracks by unnamed artists were used repetitively and excessively though, songs such as I Love You Too and Missing You by Park Jung Min hardly make it into the drama, which is unfortunate. Missed opportunities overall, since the individual tracks from the released OSTs are all quite good.
My next issues are with the directing, costumes and overall production. If you are going to take on a Shakespeare story and turn it into an epic sageuk (historical drama) then I do expect a little more than the regular cable family drama style directing. Sure, it is not easy to find original camera angles when your drama lasts a full 24 hours as opposed to a 2 hour film, but when it is just the same as every other sitcom, it becomes exhausting to sit through. The costume design appeared to be flawless, but that also leads me to my criticism. While I understand that it is necessary to show the clear difference between distinguished nobles and slaves, everything was a little too perfect and a little too colorful in this drama. Especially within the historical context that this story moves in, I thought the costumes were just a bit too much at times. A little bit more realism would not hurt! Where it was a little too much on costume design, it was not enough in overall production. The Princess' Man was undoubtedly limited in budget and therefor choose a colorful approach to both costume design and interior decorations, as soon as the drama moves outside, we can quickly see that not much money was left to spend on scale. The 'palaces' are one example, but particularly the forces lead by friend-turned-enemy Sin Myeon, the few sword fights and the battles that play an increasingly important role as the drama progresses are inadequate in scale as well as acting skill. It may be perceived as extraordinarily unfair to draw in Hero as an example, but when we disregard the impressive special effects and immensely superior cinematography but purely look at the costume design and the scale of production in that film, The Princess' Man falls short even when taking into account the series smaller budget and historical context. In a historical drama, these are important issues that ought not to be overlooked so easily. From the individual sword fights to the production of the sets and the directing of the larger fights, this drama is seriously lacking. If any conclusion is to be drawn from this, it ought not to "reignite hope for Korean dramas", but rather serve as a reminder that they still have a very long way to go when it comes to assigning priorities in production value.
The acting however in The Princess' Man is overall very acceptable. From the large cast, I will highlight those individuals whose performances were most notable, be it in a good or a bad sense. To keep the thought of unfairly comparing Hero with The Princess' Man just a little longer, I will start off with Gisaeng house mistress Cho-Hee (played by Chu So-Young. It reminded me instantly of Zhang Ziyi's role in House of Flying Daggers. When she appeared for the first time in The Princess' Man, I had to look twice to make sure it wasn't actually her. This role was made for her and I hope casting agencies will take notice of this small support role that she plays so well. I was not so impressed by the performances of the supporting antagonists to the story, mainly the father of officer Sin Myeon but also the other conspirators (and later ministers). They all came off as flatly written narrow minded characters that were further impeded by uninspiring performances. The same goes for many of the other elder support cast (with the exception of Se-Ryung's parents and Seung-Yoo's father) whose performances I normally value in drama series. Perhaps they were instructed by the director to force their emotions too much, as they all suffered from this same issue. The acting of the two leads was decent, though main lead Kim Seung-Yoo (Park Si-Hoo, the Romeo of the story) pulls off yet another stiff performance much like in Prosecutor Princess. I am more pleased with Moon Chae-Won's performance as Lee Se-Ryung, Juliet of the story. Her emotions most likely brought in the largest part of the high ratings that this drama has enjoyed. She forces it a little too much at times as well, but does adequately well overall. Many have praised main antagonist Kim Yeong-Cheol as Grand Prince/King Sooyang for his acting in The Princess' Man and even though I am not sure if it is entirely worthy of the title of Best Supporting Actor given in this years dramabeans.com Editors' Picks, he does perform very well as he fights his personal battles and conflicts with those around him, but also with himself. In order to not make this review even longer, I'll skip the rest of the cast save for the most spectacular performance done by Hong Soo-Hyun as Princess Kyung-Hye. Without a doubt the best of the entire cast, her character is well written but the way in which she conveys the various transformations of her character over the course of the series is not rivaled by any other member of this cast. I will make sure to see more of her films and series and definitely hope that she will star in many more to come.
I'll finally spend a few words on the script and the overall writing. It's a mixed bag, as is this entire drama really. A properly executed Romeo & Juliet is unlikely to be unsuccessful and that is translated in the series well deserved ratings. There were however, moments when I felt that the series was starting to repeat itself. Especially after Se-Ryung admits to siding against her father the series paces up so quickly that it becomes meaningless. Then she's captured, then she's not captured, imprisoned, not imprisoned, in the palace, with the princess, hiding somewhere. All this over the course of two or three episodes is simply too much. Luckily most of that can be overlooked since it coincides with the introduction of a whole new support cast from the Gisaeng house. This additional dimension is very much welcomed as the other story lines were becoming tiresome. This contrasting experience resembles for the rest of the script as well and overall it manages to keep you interested, but at the same time it does very much draw out up until the very last episode. For some odd reason, that comes across as very much hurried as if they suddenly had to cut down on the number of episodes. The ending comes off a little bit of a cop out, but by then you've already had a hell of a ride, so it doesn't really hurt the series too much.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone who is looking for one to entertain themselves. As per the criticisms I mentioned above, I can't give it more than a 7 out of 10, but whoever isn't looking at the details and just wants their addictive drama, this is a great stuff.
7/10
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If you're looking for a drama that pushes boundaries, then this is definitely not what you're looking for. This one is all about continuing on the success of a formula that works well. As one would expect for a SBS prime time drama (previous dramas in this time slot are City Hunter, 49 Days, Dae Mul, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and You're Beautiful), Protect The Boss delivers a solid story, solid characters, solid performances by the actors and a proper production. No surprises in this drama, you get what you expect.
While I saw it being praised and highlighted because of the strong female lead, this isn't really new any more nor is is executed in an extraordinary fashion in Protect The Boss. Perhaps I have a different understanding of a strong female lead, but is not something that I would use to promote Protect The Boss for, or recommend it to someone else because of this. I'm slightly disappointed in Choi Gang-Hee's performance, but my only reference to her acting was the 2010 film Petty Romance. Her performance, I would consider superior to that in Protect The Boss.
I wasn't especially impressed with Ji Sung's acting either, especially later on into the drama. He really shined in the first few episodes when acting as the paranoid and panicky Cha Ji-Hun. The plot forced his character to become normal, which was a shame. I have not seen any of his other dramas or films yet, but if anyone knows how to obtain Delicious Proposal from 2001, do let me know.
I thought Jaejoong's performance was an excellent debut for Korean dramas. We should be seeing more from him in the future. His soundtrack for this drama were great as well. Definitely the best cast of the lead actors. I feel a bit bad for Wang Ji-Hye for having to play the unappealing characters such as in Personal Taste. I didn't expect the turn-around halfway into this drama though, good for her. I haven't seen any other dramas or films that cast her, I am looking forward to see one where she gets to play the lead character or at the very least something another than an annoying and spoiled Chaebol daughter.
Nothing but praise for the supporting cast in Protect The Boss. Performances by company president Cha Bong Man played by Park Yeong-Gyu, his mother and veteran actress Kim Young-Ok, sister-in-law Shin Sook-Hee (Cha Hwa-Yeon), Eun-Seul's friend Myung-Ran (Ha Jae-Suk from Alone in Love) and the others are all excellent. Each is given a few moments in the last episode to close their stories properly. It comes across as a bit unnatural, but it's alright by me.
The story as mentioned before is not spectacular, nor orginal or daring in any sort of fashion. It's what one would expect from a Korean drama so don't go in expecting taboo's to be broken. I was a little worried around episode 11, as the plot seemed to be coming to a halt. That was prevented by the corruption scandal twist, which worked its magic until episode 16 or 17, when the end was nearing. While there's no special recognition for the script, there are also no real complaints to be had. Even if you're watching many episodes in a short amount of time, this drama is unlikely to bore you and will keep you interested in the next episode.
I am however going to have to say that I thought Secret Garden was a better execution of this concept. Everything that this drama does well, Secret Garden does just a little better. Fortunately, one doesn't have to choose between two drama's, so just watch them both if you like this particular variation of kdrama. Overall, it's a high value SBS production that does precisely what it is supposed to do, entertain.
7/10
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So we're back in 2005, over 6-7 years ago. A rather youthful Hyun Bin delivers a performance that easily matches his role in Secret Garden. For some reason though, the writers still demand that he plays rather outrageous and unbelievable characters with little common sense that people could relate to. It's a Korean drama, so no big surprise there. Take that for granted and you will enjoy the performances of the other leads as well. Kim Sun-A as lead Kim Sam-Soon delivers a (relative to other dramas) very realistic performances which clearly translates itself into the ratings it received when it first aired. The other actors and actresses don't disappoint either, all of them give credible performances. Special attention deserves to go out to the performances of Yun Ye-Hee as Yoon Hyun-Sook (President Na's secretary) and Lee A-Hyeon as Kim Yi-Young (Sam Soon's sister) for both giving very good performances.
The usual paragraph that I spend on complaining about how the support characters did not get enough screen time can be kept short for this drama. The only issue I have is that a few ends remain loose and the fact that we lose sight of a few other supporting characters. I wish they would just cut the flashbacks accompanied by music and award the time to characters such as Lee in-Hye (played by Han Yeo-Woon ), Jang Young-Ja ( Kim Hyun-Jung ) and cute little Mi-Joo ( Seo Ji-Hee ].
The script is not very unfamiliar for those that have seen Bridget Jones' Diary, but there is enough Korean culture mixed into this drama in order for it to come across as original. It also makes this drama more daring than many of the popular dramas that have followed since. Many of today's dramas don't dare or simply don't care about that additional level of realism. I wish they'd try more though, but this is really an achievement that sets this drama apart from others.
I wasn't exceptionally moved by the music in this drama, although Bonbons au Chocolat was a very touching instrumental track, played throughout the drama in a few different variations. The slower ones were the better ones in my opinion.
I would recommend this drama, most definitely. It is ageing rapidly though, so if you're trying to catch up on kdrama's from the past, let this be high up on your list.
7/10
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I had actually watched part of the first episode a while ago, but gave up on it halfway. I just couldn't stand Ma Hye-ri's (female lead portrayed by Kim So-Yeon) character and her style. After having completed Scent of a Woman though I decided that I should perhaps give Prosecutor another shot, since I had not been exceptionally patient the first time. Patience though, is what is required in order to enjoy this drama.
The script itself is actually quite an interesting concept, but I would expect more from the team that also produced and directed Shining Inheritence. Prosecutor's story simply takes too long to unravel and it's not until halfway into the the 16 episodes that the actual plot is revealed. In my opinion, too many episodes are used to draw the background for the story. It is nice to pay attention to the supporting cast and a side stories, but if that means the main plot keeps being delayed, then something went wrong. Now, the side stories were interesting and shows that the director does care for more than just the lead actors and the main story line. Especially the developments between prosecutors Yun Se-Jun and Jin Jung-Sun, but also the legal cases that were handled by Ma Hye-ri were for the former entertaining and cute, and for the latter serious enough to give the drama some substance.
The main story arc was unfortunately a little disappointing compared to how well the supporting characters and plots were developed. The feelings between Ma Hye-ri and Seo In-Woo (male lead Park Si-Hoo) seem unnatural and forced, which is ironic considering the key to beginning of their relationship was the fact that it was forced, intentional and with ulterior motives to begin with. I missed the chemistry between Ma Hye-ri and Seo In-Woo and despite the fact that I thought the chemistry between Ma Hye-ri and Yun Se-Jun was better, after all it was better that it turned out this way. While the chemistry may have been missing, the fact that it didn't turn into just another predictable drama does deserve credit. For a few episodes, I had honestly thought Ma Hye-ri and Yun Se-Jun would somehow end up together. I was confused about who the actual male lead was supposed to be as well, but over time it became more clear. Unfortunately, with a rather slow start there was a rather slow ending as well. Well before the last episode it was quite clear that Ma Hye-ri and Seo In-Woo would eventually end up happy, but it took too long before this actually took place. It would have been better if this drama either had handled the main story arc differently or simply cut down on the amount of episodes. For the way in which this script was handled, 16 was simply too many.
On to the cast then. Among the supporting cast, there are plenty of familiar faces. Another one of our eternal comic reliefs Kim Sang-Ho (from City Hunter) and the butler from Shining Inheritance Lee Seung-Hyeong both do there job to keep this drama lighthearted, not that this was necessary or anything. The all too familiar father and businessman Choi Jeong-Woo (City Hunter, 49 Days, Shining Inheritance) is present as well, perfectly cast for this role. The secondary leads Han Jeong-Su (as Prosecutor Yun Se-Jun) and Choi Song-Hyeon (as Prosecutor Jin Jung-Sun) both lead me to look into their projects and dramas and I look forward to see more of them. I am also quite surprised by Kim So-Yeon's performance of Ma Hye-ri. After having seen IRIS very recently I have to commend her for being able to portray two characters that are so dramatically different. Without knowing, one could easily be tricked into believing that these two were different people. Her portrayal of Ma Hye-ri was adequate and entertaining, but not exceptionally notable. Park Si-Hoo's performance disappointed me a little. He didn't seem to be a very good match to the character he was supposed to portray and while labeling him as a miscast may go a little too far, the lack of chemistry between his character and Ma Hye-ri is a substantial issue. I have yet to see another drama that features him, but Il Ji-Mae is on my list somewhere, perhaps that will work out better. A last mention to the poor Min Yeong-Won, who keeps getting cast as the best friend (or one of the mean girls in Boys Over Flowers). I really hope she gets a bigger role soon, she deserves it.
The production comes across as better than Shining Inheritance, but that is helped a lot by Ma Hye-ri's character but is important in order to establish her character in the beginning of the drama. The soundtrack was a mix between the absolutely detestable Fly High from SHINee and the touching Goodbye My Princess by Monday Kiz. Not one of my favorite OSTs, but not the worst either.
Overall, this drama does enough to keep the viewers' interest, the ones that stayed along for the ride past the first few episodes anyway. The cast and side stories help to hide the fact that the pace is rather slow and the main story arc a little shallow. This drama ends up to be alright, but there are plenty of better ones out there.
6/10
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This review may contain spoilers
2011/SBSI initially choose to watch other drama's before I started on this one, as the plot descriptions I read didn't really warm me up too much. For anyone with similar doubts though, I can safely recommend this drama to you. Scent of a Woman is a good example of how older dramas used to be made and therefor many viewers will discover recognizable (if not predictable) plot devices, story lines and actors/actresses. The successful recipe that these types of dramas are made from is executed well enough to make this worth your time.
I have some good things to say about cast, but I don't believe its perfect or near perfect. This drama could have been better if the casting was done more carefully (or different anyway). First of all, Kim Sun Ah (as Lee Yeon-Jae). How she manages to look so much younger than she did in 2005's My Lovely Sam Soon, I am not sure, but does she look stunning! As one could expect in advance, she doesn't even need to rely on her appearance, because those familiar with her works know she will deliver an excellent performance. Roles like these are made for her, and she plays them like no other. Secondly, there is male lead Lee Dong-Wook. Seeing as I have yet to see the drama My Girl, Scent of a Woman is the first time I see him perform. A new face almost always takes getting used to and this is no exception. There's very little I really have to say about his performance, seeing as I was not very impressed nor disappointed. It was passable overall, but not convincing enough in my opinion. His character's action stretch the limits a little at times and too little is done to support his character's sudden interest in Lee Yeon-Jae. He's no Hyun Bin just yet.
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Secondary female lead Seo Hyo-Rim was miscast in my opinion. She is, or comes across as, too young to be taken seriously compared to the rest of the lead cast. One who could also come across as a 16 year old school girl simply does not perform convincingly as a director of a large company.
The supporting cast is almost entirely flawless. Kim Hye-Ok as the essential KDrama mother does precisely what is expected of her and comes to life especially in the later episodes. Sa Hyeon-Jin as Lee Yeon-Jae's girlfriend is unfortunately not given too much screen time. My guess is her character had to give away a lot of room to doctor Eun-Suk. She did the best she could with the limited resources she's been given, but overall fails to stand out. Of the company's staff, two particularly stand out. Eternal comic relief Kim Kwang-Kyu has a very nice two-faced personality in Scent of a Woman, which is an improvement over his earlier one dimensional characters as in Oh! My Lady and The Accidental Couple. His tango scenes with Chae Ji-Yeon (Veronica) are energizing and enjoyable. Secondly, there's Son Seong-Yun (as employee Nam Na-Ri). After seeing her in My Princess in a supporting role as well, it's time she gets cast in a bigger role for a change. She'll need more than her pretty and cute appearance, but she deserves a chance. I wasn't too impressed with Lee Jeong-Kil's performance as the Chairman/Dong-Wook's father though, he should pay some more attention to Park Yeong-Gyu, who does a better 'company chairman' in Protect The Boss. The other supporting characters do well although it is a little unfortunate that Jeong Dong-Hwan (as Yeon-Jae's mother's love interest, Teacher K) arrives late into the drama. His entry would have been welcomed at the start.
From the cast, to the script. Scent of a Woman is mostly a classic in this sense, and little of surprise is introduced as we see another drama unfold where a rich chaebol's son falls for the 'poor' hard working 30+ woman.
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On a completely different and lighter note, the tango scenes. I read raving reviews about this and while I personally didn't think the popular scene in question (Episode 8) was the best thing ever to happen on Korean television, but it was well done. This goes for the performance with Doctor Eun-Suk later on as well, but even more for the early scene on the beach with the older foreigner and the dance with Veronica and Bong-Kil as the tango teachers. A great way to liven up this drama, which despite focusing on Yeon-Jae's attempts to make her last months the best of her life, still is overall quite a sad story.
This is a drama that is very much story and character driven, so I'll not give as much attention to the production value of Scent of a Woman. I have no particular complaints, although I do get annoyed a little when another drama production team is unable to make a car go fast without speeding up footage or stage an accident in a convincing fashion. It doesn't matter though, the production is adequate and doesn't distract the viewer in any way. Compliments on the scenes shot in Australia, they are great!
The soundtrack is a disappointment. The only music that stayed with me longer than a few moments is the ring tone that Yeon-Jae's phone plays (mostly in the first half). Other than that, nothing really stands out (including the karaoke sessions and the fan meeting) and that's a shame when I recall the soundtracks from dramas that I've seen recently (IRIS, Protect The Boss, Secret Garden). This didn't distract me either, don't get me wrong, but it is a missed opportunity nonetheless.
Overall, this is definitely a drama I would recommend to anyone who likes the average Korean drama. The classic set up works well with superstar female lead Kim Sun Ah and the rest of the actors and the script support her into making this drama a success. The few issues I have with the plot and some of the performers are minor, so go watch this if you haven't already!
7/10
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