It's worth watching

This movie left a lingering similar feeling to a :Tom Hardy movie + Guy Ritchie's Revolver + John Wick + Sin city (If one can imagine such a wibe)
Actors:
1) Kim soo hyun : very good work, unique(!, as in "never seen before such a gama of KSH's characters") acting. There have been a couple moments when I doubted him but let's not forget the difficulty of the role. I'm not gonna stop long on him as everyone praises his work here, and indisputable it is deserved praise.
2) I want to talk about cast in general: the movie is a surprising line-up of familiar faces ("veteran" actors) and they all did a decent job to portray their characters.
3) AND, of course, Sulli : Amazing acting. Most of her feelings and emotions she has to convey silently and there wasn't a moment I didn't catch the emotion she is transmitting or did I feel any falseness.
Somehow she felt even more natural than Kim Soo Hyun. Definitively much better than acting skills we see in KDramas' female leads.
4) Visuals and aesthetics: It is a beautiful movie even theatrical at times. Leads are amazingly beautiful, scenes as well, so through-out the movie expect the "theatrical scenes" colorful decorum etc etc. But honestly, some moments are really stunning, and are the reason I don't regret watching this movie.
5) Nudity and sex scenes: Too much talk goes around nudity and sex scenes.
Strangely, showing sex is blamed 100x times more than then extreme violence portraid (the movie is drenched in blood and killings etc.). At least the sex was consensual as far as I followed the story line :D. The movie is trying to be as ruthless as Oldboy or the Raid, at least I believe these 2 could have been an inspiration for the action scenes. To conclude... about the sex scenes: for a grown-up - I didn't feel it was too much. Plus this movie never promised to be "innocent".
Nudity: Yes, some details could have been hidden (breasts etc) all will claim but (BUT!) no-one accused Madalina Ghenea for a almost copy paste breasts exposure in The Youth. [and the youth has gathered so many awards, & even an Oscar nomination]. I am not sure what's with the stigma against nudity in Korea and in this movie but we have all seen much worse in movies and no-one had a problem with it.
The sex: Between the leads - I believed it helped to convey the substance and nature of their relationship. I am confused about the purpose of other sex scenes (not all) but some do not seem to add value to the story. For example, when walking on a glass ceiling the sex scenes below show the gravity and the dark business that was going on in this gangster world so it was ok and seemed relevant to me.
6) Lastly, Story-line: I am confused about the story-line. It wasn't all clear to me and I believe the film was cut in a way that disadvantaged the plot. I would find myself lost on numerous occasions which is a pity. The movie is criticized for being too long but honestly I wouldn't mind it to be even longer if it benefited the story. Lust, caution (2007 movie) lasts 157 minutes but oh my god it is worth every minute [btw, it also contains a intense sex scenes and I don't think anyone can blame those]. In case of Real, noticing how some of the scenes were so fast that I missed to catch what was going on there, it almost feels like the director was so compelled to make the movie shorter that we (the average visionary) lost the story-line. Overall, to me the plot and story-line is a failure. If I had to identify the inspiration - I'd say Inception. The movie tries to emerse the viewers in a some-what similar "it's all in your head" or maybe not "mind-game" but oh it so fails to raise to the Inception's level.

Final thoughts: I feel as if the movie was trying to reach the level of highly acclaimed movies mentioned above but it only lost focus and maybe it was a task too difficult for the team. I think it could've been that the target was set too high. Nevertheless, it is a movie with countless stunningly beautiful scenes and unprecedented characters these actors tried to portray. The actor's good work together with the line-up will pleasantly surprise you.

So, for point 1-5) - yes it is worth watching and it will be a surprise but please expect a "what did I just watch" feeling at the end.

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Great story, captivating drama

I binge-watched it almost.
Ha Ji Won - 9.0 for acting. At moments I would expect more drama but still impressive acting.
Now Ji Chang Wook - I hated his character for poor acting, driven from lack of personality development which is writer's fault. I feel the drama would've benefited more from a more composed, matured emperor towards the end. There's very little manliness added and Ji Chang Wook's acting did not emphasize that.
Generally we are looking at a strong, smart, courageous empress and her even more admirable first love (King of Koryo) caught in a love triangle with an even quitter, coward emperor.
Towards the end, the empresses heart will lean towards her emperor but since there was no character development for the later, it feel illogical.
The plot is captivating, the cliff-hangers will keep you watching episode after episode. Around ep. 35-45 it will get more boring as the Main original conflict is over and the writers build up the story for a second conflict but it never reaches the impact of the first part. Everything is then wrapped-up in 2-3 last episodes leaving a feeling of " what was all the work through-out the last 12 episodes for?"
The ending is sad so it may leave you frustrated as such sad events towards the end were an opportunity in my opinion for actors to show the climax of their acting and characters, but instead it feels like a tentative to end the story abruptly and get over with it.

So: Reasons to watch:
- Ha Ji Won,
- Joo Jin Mo - Greatly acted, the role fit him like a glove, and OMG he so Over-Played Ji Chang Wook [but again the character and writers helped here... In my opinion]
- Story - line.
- Beautiful scenes
- Amazingly good portraying of dramatic emotions of two lovers that are destined to go separate ways.
- If you're into a sad romance - this is one of the best examples available.

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It's really a great drama, the story goes fast, and switching nicely from comedy to romance to creepiness. The cast s also nice, especially the male cast. Those searching for a refreshing romance story will definitively fall in love with the character created by Jo Jung Suk (Chef :)) ). He's absolutely perfect in this one. I think all the chemistry is his merit, btw, really loved him in King2Hearts, where he stared as Eun Si Kyung (I remember when his character died - it was tragedy to me, really cared for him in that drama also). I gotta watch this guy, as he seems a really decent actor without following the cliches for a romantic drama.
The action is also good, the idea - not bad. Overall, this one will make you watch it fast, as it is intriguing enough and interesting enough! A good summer choice

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