Gong Hyo Jin is enough reason to start any drama. She's has been consistently great in everything and I really love seeing her on screen. She also seems to have chemistry with just about every actor she has acted with, which is always a plus. Also she's incredibly charming. Lee Min Ho is a hit or miss in my opinion. Sometimes he does well and other times he does not. Hopefully, he'll do well this time.
Once you know it was planned as a 2 hour movie and was "expanded" to fill a series slot, the unnecessary stuff…
I didn't know it was planned as a movie. I did appreciate a bit more background about the characters, which probably wouldn't have been possible in a two hour movie, but there indeed were some unnecessary scenes.
I finally gave in and watched this in one sitting cause I had a day off. Obviously, this is not a new concept as there have been many movies, dramas, books, manga's and animes with the concept of death games. I have watched my share of them and I always enjoy the darkness vs light. This types of shows are by nature very dark, as the games seem to be made to bring out the worst in people, but the "unexpected" byproduct is that it also brings out the light like loyalty, selfless sacrifice and the desire to help a stranger. I really liked this show, especially in the beginning. I started liking it less after the VIP's arrived. The games were still interesting and I was already invested in the players, but the VIP's were nothing interesting or new. They were just some disgusting, one dimensional rich people that we have seen so many times before. To be honest I'm not really sure why the writers don't make a bit more effort to make them a bit more interesting. The players themselves were interesing to watch though. The reason that the host eventually gives for creating the games is also underwhelming and nothing new. What I did like about that scene was Gi Hoon's reaction when he finds out that these rich people were doing it just for fun, because their lives lack fun as a result of having too much money. All in all, the show is good and I would recommend it, although it may not be for everyone.
I'd advise anyone wanting to watch this to first either read the book or watch the drama. Just watching this movie will leave you confused. It doesn't really do the story any justice. It's just one scene after the next without any proper context. Some of the constumes were also a bit too much. Especially compared to the elegant, understated costumes in the drama. Liu Yifei as Bai Qian is terrible. Yang Yang may have the looks to play Ye Hua, but he didn't do the character justice either. Pity, but I didn't really expect them to pull off this story in movie form anyway. There's just not enough time to explain anything.
Hmmm... The plot sounds interesting and most of the cast looks good, but I'm really not sure about Liu Yifei. Hopefully she will actually show some acting in this one.
I liked this one well enough. I think I would have liked it more if the female lead was played by someone else. Crystal Liu is a very unconvincing actress at best.
It's been so long since I watched this, but I still remember the characters vividly. That's the best part about this drama. The characters are protrayed really well. You can feel whatever they are feeling.