rachfull
United States of America
This review may contain spoilers
Decided to write a review from the perspective of someone who didn't think this drama was the best.STORY: It is a very romantic premise: hunky, beautiful leads are forced into marriage for the female lead's protection, they fall in love, she still cures cancer, etc. The story was entertaining. I liked how they portrayed the female lead as very intelligent in most cases. However, sometimes I still felt like her intelligence was just a plot device to please the progressives. She still had to be saved by the male lead in most situations, and her character is treated with this "women will be women" mentality that I find condescending.
Also, the curing cancer thing. Are the writers really that un-creative? Couldn't they have found a less obvious disease to cure? They could've developed a much more elaborate plot had they invented a cure for some other disease and had less "generalized" terrorists try to steal the cure.
I think what really got me was the portrayal of soldier life. If anyone thinks this is actually how soldiers live, they are being sadly misled. This lakorn portrayed a glamorized version of the life of soldiers; it really isn't all secret missions and hunky men and all that. I laughed out loud at how cheesy and contrived some of the "soldier life" portrayals were.
Also, the plane animation just looked stupid. Reminded me of Top Gun, actually XD
ACTING/CAST: Mik was great, not that it matters. He's such eye candy I'd watch him in anything.
Stephanie's not a bad actress, but I don't think she's incredibly good either. Her portrayal of Irene is simply average.
I fangirled really hard during the Weir scenes. I was so happy to see him XD
MUSIC: I like the main theme with all the hunky men singing, but everything else was kinda meh.
REWATCH VALUE: I probably won't rewatch this one any time soon. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
I understand why people liked this one so much, it just wasn't for me. If you enjoy romances between a hunky guy and a lovely lady and don't care about overdramatizations of events and glamorizing things that really aren't that glamorous, go for it. If not, look elsewhere.
Was this review helpful to you?
STORY: Unique and well-paced. The shift in personality from Mario was a nice touch and really made the drama different. The supernatural stuff felt unnecessary to me, but I rarely like supernatural material in dramas so I'm probably biased. I LOVED the sibling dynamic between Mint and her brother; it was so funny and believable.
ACTING/CAST: Mario does well in portraying the two different men and creating a stark contrast between their personalities.
Mint was good, nothing special. She and Mario had pretty good chemistry, all thigs considered.
Mint's brother, whatever his name was, was SUPER HOT.
MUSIC: Gorgeous and unique. The music helped meld the normal and the supernatural elements of the story.
REWATCH VALUE: It's been two years and I haven't rewatched it, but I think there's enough material, interest, and cuteness to watch the drama more than once.
Overall, a cute and unique drama that's worth looking into for the different plot and the funny characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
STORY: Story? What story? There was a story? There really was very little storyline in this drama. They sort of had the evil lady, and something about Tao getting taken away, or something along those lines... Honestly, the "story" felt like filler scenes in between the sweet scenes. The sweet scenes were really well done from a directing/script standpoint, but with no story to accompany them, the drama just felt kind of like a music video.
ACTING/CAST: Tao and Patty do a pretty good job, I especially liked Tao a little later in the drama after he relaxed into the role. He did a really good job of showing that his character isn't necessarily mean, just quiet, and that he doesn't hate Pat. Patty was pretty good too, but she really didn't add any depth to her character. Everyone else was pretty mediocre.
MUSIC: Cute, but unmemorable and choppy. It didn't contribute to the flow of the drama at all.
REWATCH VALUE: The only reasons I'd ever rewatch this is to watch Tao as the dreamy prince, or to watch the love scenes. There's not really much to watch besides those two things.
All in all, this drama was an utter disappointment, even by regular lakorn standards. The directing, costuming, and design were wonderful, but couldn't compensate for the almost nonexistent storyline and lackluster script.
I hope Ananda and the director learned that in order to make a successful remake, you have to improve on the subject material. Korean Goong was already perfect, so they couldn't improve on it. I was just hoping it'd give up a better fight...
Was this review helpful to you?
STORY: Gorgeous. Slow-paced, but in a good way. Far better than the Korean version, which I enjoyed, but really pales in comparison to this one.
The storyline mostly follows the Korean drama's with some wonderful additions that really made this drama go above and beyond. In the Thai version, both Aom-Am and Mike have unfulfilled dreams. They yearn for someone to believe in them, and for companionship (secretly). As the story progresses, a beautiful love story is woven. Viewers fall in love with Aom-Am as Mike does, and vice versa. They are portrayed as a couple who really bring out the best in each other.
I wanted the nang rai to die a very painful death. Jane just honed in on all the hatred she could get from viewers to make her character as horrible as possible, and succeeded. I started calling her MinTrash. I was glad, however, that the nang rai followed none of the lakorn stereotypes. She was simply a flawed, weak person who wanted to be loved; she wasn't a crazy evil person who's so bad you forget what set them off in the first place.
The writing is simply gorgeous, lacking in absolutely nothing. The story unfolds and is completely unforced. And best of all, absolutely NO cheesy lakorn cliches. The one flaw I found in the story was when they agreed to try to make each other fall in love, and then never mentioned it again until ep 17/18.
ACTING: Mike is wonderful. I can't even describe it. He portrays every emotion of Mike's, including the happy and the sad and the angry. Aom is absolutely adorable. In her other lakorns she was okay, but in this, she makes the role of Aom-Am totally believable. Guy's acting is respectable, not amazing. I mostly watched him for his English, anyway. Jane really knows how to play bad...
MUSIC: Gorgeous in every way. Repetitive, but I could listen to "Oh Baby I" on a 24-hour loop for weeks on end and still not get tired of it.
REWATCH VALUE: In two years, I've already rewatched it four times. It's so beautiful and original, the story will never get old.
By far one of the best lakorns I've ever seen. It needs to be dubbed into English so people here can watch it and understand the magnificence. If you haven't watched it yet, you're missing out.
Was this review helpful to you?
STORY: Not a 10 because there were a few minor plotholes and I was a little miffed at the conclusions of some of the couples. But it was definitely new and different, and unlike most fantasy dramas completely explained everything viewers needed to know about the world the drama was set in. Characters were fleshed out more than usual, and the leads weren't perfect but they were wonderful anyway.
ACTING: Mark Chao is my new obsession. They need to cast him as Li Shang in Mulan, or I will never forgive Disney. His Ye Hua was cold, courageous, and noble, but also sensitive, understanding, and fair. Yang Mi was spunky without coming off as immature or annoying. And everyone else was simply wonderful.
MUSIC: Downright gorgeous.
REWATCH VALUE: Not a 10 just because it's 58 episodes and I don't think I'd ever be able to manage that more than once without skipping. But it certainly has enough intrigue and story to keep you entertained for more than one viewing.
Was this review helpful to you?
