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Ahjussis Assemble!
It didn’t take long as someone who has never seen the webtoon to realize Agent Kim Reactivated was based on one. Logic, the laws of physics and biology flew out the window in the opening episode. Once again, a father with a particular set of skills was unleashed in order to save his daughter who had been taken. Along for the bumpy ride were his only two friends who apparently owned one set of clothes each and like Kim seemed to have super powers in a world without super powers. AKR didn’t cover any new spy ground and tended to be repetitive, but it also had its entertaining moments as well. And So Ji Sub.
Manager Kim is the widower father of teenaged Min Ji. He meets up with two friends once a year. Han Su is a champion taekwondo master who owns his own school and teaches kids martial arts. Jin Cheol is married to the scariest woman on the planet and spends his days directing traffic and hanging out in his veteran’s trailer playing video games. All three have a past connected to far more violent fare. When the rich girl at Min Ji’s school goes too far bullying her, Kim is forced to shake off his mild-mannered alter ego and set loose a frightening set of skills to find his child, leaving a line of broken bodies in his wake.
What worked for me:
I enjoyed the middle-aged ex-spies, men not comfortable with their own emotions, showing utter loyalty to each other. All were trying their best to be good parents and struggling to understand how to deal with teenagers. I will watch So Ji Sub as a badass anytime, anywhere. Kim was played straight with an unflinching focus on the mission. The other two ahjussis-Choi Dae Hoon as taekwondo expert Seong Han Su and Yoon Kyung Ho as Park Jin Cheol who had an Iron Head and basement full of weapons brought the humor and heart. It also showed the generational technology divide between the ahjussis and teenagers.
The fight scenes were well choreographed and contained gravity defying wire work, but were generally well shot. The kicks often missed but the stuntmen sold the action.
Things that made me go hmmmm…
The three men all wore glasses but never lost them during vicious fights. Their physical abilities were beyond human and not consistent with the laws of physics. Characters sustained blunt force trauma to their heads with no repercussions, bullet and knife wounds also healed rapidly. Poor Han Su was stuck in his dobok for the whole drama. All three were their own one-man army, yet still had people sneak up on them.
What didn’t work as well:
Way too many kidnappings. I stopped counting at 5. Too many ill-defined villains. And the trope I hate, the hero cuts through the minions like soft butter and then lets the Big Bad loose-repeatedly. The drama killed time by showing lines of cars leaving and driving through the city or countryside on multiple occasions. Repetition caused loss of emotional impact. Long minutes were used on car rides and walks, padding the hour plus episodes. The de-aging of the actors in flashbacks was jarring. The natural culmination of the drama appeared to be at the end of episode 7 but continued on. While I could see the reasoning, they dragged it out too far. The product placements were ridiculously obvious, pulling me out of the moment each time.
To sum up:
If you like Ji Sub in battle mode, don’t mind a mix of gritty spy drama with humor, and can check your brain at the door, Agent Kim Reactivated could be worth your while. I feel like I overrated it, but for the most part I enjoyed the ride.
“We need another parents’ meeting to settle things.”
26 July 2026
Manager Kim is the widower father of teenaged Min Ji. He meets up with two friends once a year. Han Su is a champion taekwondo master who owns his own school and teaches kids martial arts. Jin Cheol is married to the scariest woman on the planet and spends his days directing traffic and hanging out in his veteran’s trailer playing video games. All three have a past connected to far more violent fare. When the rich girl at Min Ji’s school goes too far bullying her, Kim is forced to shake off his mild-mannered alter ego and set loose a frightening set of skills to find his child, leaving a line of broken bodies in his wake.
What worked for me:
I enjoyed the middle-aged ex-spies, men not comfortable with their own emotions, showing utter loyalty to each other. All were trying their best to be good parents and struggling to understand how to deal with teenagers. I will watch So Ji Sub as a badass anytime, anywhere. Kim was played straight with an unflinching focus on the mission. The other two ahjussis-Choi Dae Hoon as taekwondo expert Seong Han Su and Yoon Kyung Ho as Park Jin Cheol who had an Iron Head and basement full of weapons brought the humor and heart. It also showed the generational technology divide between the ahjussis and teenagers.
The fight scenes were well choreographed and contained gravity defying wire work, but were generally well shot. The kicks often missed but the stuntmen sold the action.
Things that made me go hmmmm…
The three men all wore glasses but never lost them during vicious fights. Their physical abilities were beyond human and not consistent with the laws of physics. Characters sustained blunt force trauma to their heads with no repercussions, bullet and knife wounds also healed rapidly. Poor Han Su was stuck in his dobok for the whole drama. All three were their own one-man army, yet still had people sneak up on them.
What didn’t work as well:
Way too many kidnappings. I stopped counting at 5. Too many ill-defined villains. And the trope I hate, the hero cuts through the minions like soft butter and then lets the Big Bad loose-repeatedly. The drama killed time by showing lines of cars leaving and driving through the city or countryside on multiple occasions. Repetition caused loss of emotional impact. Long minutes were used on car rides and walks, padding the hour plus episodes. The de-aging of the actors in flashbacks was jarring. The natural culmination of the drama appeared to be at the end of episode 7 but continued on. While I could see the reasoning, they dragged it out too far. The product placements were ridiculously obvious, pulling me out of the moment each time.
To sum up:
If you like Ji Sub in battle mode, don’t mind a mix of gritty spy drama with humor, and can check your brain at the door, Agent Kim Reactivated could be worth your while. I feel like I overrated it, but for the most part I enjoyed the ride.
“We need another parents’ meeting to settle things.”
26 July 2026
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