We are not used to uncertainty and hesitation about who is the good and who is the bad guy. It’s easier to watch something simple, black and white. That’s why probably some people think that something is missing in the drama. But complicated plot, labyrinth of possibilities and mysteries characters are strong point in this show and build a good crime story.
We get to know characters slowly. They hide more than we can read from their words. Truly I was fascinated of actors’ skills and how they portrayed subtle differences and nuances in characters’ mind and soul: the fear of lawyer Han Tae Joo, the rage of young policeman Kim Young Goon, Do Chi Kwang belief in his omnipotence.
I like this drama very much, although the plot is really complicated. The director is consequent and he created the show with the same pace and the same quality in all episodes. Actors are great. The emotions are great. The gray colours of filming are great. Sometimes the good script is enough for handsome Seo Kang Joon to shine.
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Now when the film is over, I am thinking, so what? What was the meaning of the film? What did the creators want to tell the audience through the movie? (I won't spoil your pleasure by telling the ending). And don't think I am saying this as a negative thing, though I really can't hide the empty feeling in me now... really empty, which, I didn't think I would have after this reach and beautiful movie. But I really do, I think the ending is not worth of the 2:20 minutes of this story that tells about friendship, love, passion, loyalty, pain, respect... and all the beautiful and highest things that should have brought the movie to SOME ending...
The cast is just... PERFECT! Wow, Song Ji-Hyo (a big Running Man fan talking here)... just WOW! So feminine and strong, her queen, GREAT!
Jo In-Sung... his general... when he had tears in his eyes, my heart was breaking with his... and I can't help but mention his face when he was kissing the queen... I was holding my breath to hear his... just... froze me... Saw him first yesterday, while watching The Classic... he is definitely growing on me...
This movie is definitely worth watching, though not everyone will and can watch it. The story is great, though, repeating myself, leaving an empty feeling about its ending... I'm shutting up, just watch it yourself!
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Joe Chen is really cute and a good actress, but Rong Jin Xiu wasn't the best role. For her character to be smart at one point and then to make foolish decisions. Well, her character paid for those decisions in a huge way. I think she had decent chemistry with Huang Xiao Ming who played Zuo Zhen. He is an excellent actor. I like how he showed control of his emotions without being a cold person. Plus he is HOT! Kelsey Lu is also a good actress, but the character Yin Ming Zhu is one of the most annoying I have ever seen. I get her past and why she did some of the things and I felt sorry for her when certain things happened to her that were totally not her fault. The problem is that I couldn't have cared less what happened to her by the end of the show. The other male characters weren't likable to me. The actors did fine jobs at playing the characters though. At least Qiao Kimi as Xiang Ying Dong admitted his selfishness. Let’s talk about some hotness overload in Qi Ji as Maeda Ryuichi. He plays crazy really well and there absolutely no redeeming qualities for his character, but he did it so well. I really enjoyed his acting. The other actors are good too.
The music is ok.
I won't rewatch this.
I recommend this drama. It isn't perfect, but it is entertaining.
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CAST/ACTING: Nam Goong Min was just phenomenal. How he portrayed Na Yi Je from being a kind doctor to a vengeful and power seeking character. His signature expressions was everything!! He truly became one with his character. Kim Byung Chul was just stellar as Seon Min Sik, seriously that smile was creepy, and at times i did find him annoying, but in the 2nd half he really played his cards well. Choi Won Young was great as Lee Jae Jun, the way he had such great control over his expressions and body language to portray his character and the illness. I wish Nara's character was more developed and incorporated. I felt like the female lead was just left as a side character, but whatever scenes Nara had, she was great. And i also loved the supporting cast members, they were soo good! Loved Prosecutor Jung and Miss Oh's interactions a lot!
OST: I personally really liked the soundtrack. They fit in well with the ambience of the drama. There were songs that felt hopeful, but then also sad and agonising.
REWATCH: I don't really re-watch dramas, but there are definitely some scenes that i would watch again.
One of the most well scripted, well directed and well cast drama i have seen in a long time!! This drama is gonna take me a while to digest.
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Just another timetravel story
Overall Thoughts:Not a bad drama, but not one I’ll be thinking about two months from now. The pacing felt a bit sluggish at times, and I wasn’t fully engaged with the storytelling throughout. This could have been tighter and more impactful as an 8-episode series. While there were twists and turns, most of them were quite predictable. Still, that didn’t stop me from continuing to watch.
What I Liked:
The chemistry between the main couple was genuinely enjoyable and carried a lot of emotional weight.
The lead actors gave solid performances that made their relationship believable and compelling.
The bodyguard/assistant character was a standout, adding charm and balance to the overall tone.
What I Didn’t Like:
Armin’s hairstyle in the early episodes was distracting and oddly styled.
The creators leaned too much into lakorn-style melodrama, including exaggerated acting, outdated tropes, and overly dramatic scenes.
For instance, Armin repeatedly "accidentally" reveals information from the future to people in the past. This happens multiple times and starts to feel repetitive.
When Armin was shot on set, with real or empty bullet, no one would realistically aim directly close range at the heart and fire directly. a blank (or empty) bullet can still be dangerous and even deadly at close range.
The villains were particularly cliché, behaving like stereotypical bad guys from old movies, with theatrical tone, facial expressions, and gestures. The main villian ends up going insane in prison, a trope that felt tired and unnecessary.
Final Verdict:
A watchable drama with strong performances and great chemistry between the leads, but weakened by predictable storytelling and an overreliance on outdated dramatic devices. Enjoyable while it lasts, but not something that leaves a lasting impression.
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Meh...
Just my opinion: season 1 was far better than this season 2. However, I even felt season 1 became weaker with the "beach" plot. Everything before the beach was perfection. It still was an amazing 1st season though and kept you on your toes. This season however, had new characters I didn't care about and way too much dialogue. It sidetracked into back stories so often that it became a drag. The suspense of the 1st season was gone. There were whole episodes where the main character, Arisu, isn't even in them. The story was just all over the place, with some characters never seeming to die no matter how many bullets hit them or how much they bled out. The best games were with Chishiya especially the prison one. The rest of the games were meh and it seemed like there were less than previous season. Also there's a fare bit of male gaze moments that weren't needed such as a cheap crotch shot of a character in a school girl uniform. Then again the whole 1st game could be seen as one long female gaze moment. So I guess it balances out? As for acting it was average to below average. I know Kento has a lot of fans who would probably want to wring my neck after saying this, but I find his acting hammy. Very handsome guy no doubt, but he's not the best actor amongst the ikemen actors of his generation, not by a long shot. The fl that plays Usagi and has starred with Kento in many projects isn't much better. Lastly, I found the ending in this season very underwhelming.This gets a 6/10 from me.
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Jiayou, this is the best drama
I don't think I should be reviewing it 10 minutes after watching the last episode but here I am, this is my first review on MDL and my face is still wet from all the crying since I watched the last 4 episodes in a row. This one is gonna be a long one.Since this is my first time I'll write it as I feel it. Also English is not my natural language so please be patient.
Music: according to last.fm I listened to 坚强的理由 168 times last week :) I cried a bit when it played for the first time in that hotel scene. First bc I recognized Eric Tsai's voice (and I love him so much -listen to Fool and Idiot, guys); second, the lyrics and third, the was a sad scene and we were so warm with HZY and FZ travelling together and all. I'm also a fan of Wu Qing Feng who sings the opening song. Shout out to Fish Leong <3; Ma Si Chun and Deng Lun, I didn't know they could sing. The OST is really great.
Dubbing: as important as the actors on screen, dubbing can ruin everything. Just like those scenes you know you're supposed to feel sad, the actor on screen is suffering with his face but then he sounds like Marvin, the paranoid android and all the feeling is lost. This one is dubbed at some few lines maybe to correct sth and it's dubbed by the same actors so it's okay, it's not cringey and it doesn't affect the acting on screen.
Acting: I judge acting simply by how the actor makes me feel and if it matches the scene.
I came here for Ma Si Chun. She's my girl crush and I'm 100% biased by her. But I have to say I wasn't expecting her to be this good. Ma Si Chun came to a point in acting where you can't see her, you see FZ and FZ only. She didn't try to look good on camera, she was just her character. On the other hand, at first, I was negatively biased by Deng Lun. I'm really sorry but because of 'Ashes of Love' I thought he was overhyped. I didn't expect him to be a good actor... I expected him to be like HZY, a good looking so-so idol actor. I'm glad to admit I was wrong.
All the cast was superb and natural. They responded well to each other and their adlibs were really funny. They broke character A LOT and it was AWESOME. I'm happy the director made the best of these moments.
Characters: I liked all the characters (even if I hated NM sometimes). Fu Fangshu was my favourite. I'm a sucker for soft tsunderes. The way he welcomed HZY, his love for FZ, the bickering with NM, the brotherhood with GDP. Lao Fu is a wise man who sacrifices for the ones he loves without wanting anything in return, he's just happy and caring and grumpy. The character development of all of them was really good. To me, the best ones were: Jiajia and Niu Meilli.
Romance: the romance is not what some people might be expecting. HZY and FZ are really cute. They care for each other, HZY is loyal like a dog, FZ devotes 3 years of her life to him, they bicker but it's not aggressive, it's light and warm, the confessions are cheesy :} but it's not 8-camera-angles-kiss... Tbh the kiss was a peck and that was it.
Story: 44 episodes, 45 min each, less than 15 characters... It dragged at times. The synopsis is okay, that's the story. No surprises. You get yourself rooting for them and being frustrated when something goes different from what we expected. This happens a lot until it hits you... That's life. We expect it to be a drama and everything going according to what we see in dramas but that's a genuine slice of life with some elements of fiction.
TL;DR: Warm. Well acted. It drags but you can skip scenes. Character development well executed. Really good music. Funny bickering. Actor breaking characters at its best. Rough start to friendship to life time partners. Worth it.
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Incredible acting, important series, so so writing
The actors did a great job, I commend to the them cause they brought the characters to life in such an immersive way, even when the writing had some problems in my opinion.I appreciate the will to talk about the many struggles of a person part of the LGBTQIA+ community, but since the themes are particularly sensitive I felt some issues were rushed into the plot, like Yeong being HIV+. This is such an important question that it deserved more time to breathe into the story.
I feel like the overall length of the series was enough, the issue is how it was spent: some moments and themes needed more time and attention or the writer could’ve chosen to focus on one/two but do a better job. Some others got way too much space and didn’t even add much to the story cause of their repetitiveness (the many club scenes, the multiple scenes in which Yeong was with his mother, she said the same things and he then ran away leaving her with the caregiver…).
The religious guilt linked to the mother and Yeong Su is another sensitive matter and it was barely touched (like the scene where his mum clearly got him locked up in a psych ward when he was a teen?! You can’t just drop that scene and move on like nothing happened!)
I also would’ve loved a happy ending, gotta be honest, and I’m not one for them.
I often hear members of the community saying how refreshing it is to have representation that it is not only tragedy after tragedy when it comes to dramas/series/movies based on their experiences, and I feel like here we leaned way too much into the depiction of the hopelessness of a gay man. As much as it’s the experience of many and it’s important to represent it, I felt that Yeong Su was being the protagonist of a witch hunt more than a coming of age/slice of life to the point of feeling cruel for the sake of it. I feel very torn, cause it’s and important piece of media, but it was executed ok.
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Violence Begets Violence
I've been wanting to write a review for some time and have only gotten around to it now.Honestly, I would rate this lower but I think the great acting of the ML and SML offset my low rating.
I want to first start off by saying I binged watch this in one day because I wanted to see how everything unfolded but I think that there were a few things left to be desired.
First of all, I think everyone could relate to the bullying that the ML, Shi Eun, faced when he finally had enough, and finally fought back, there was this gratifying, sweet taste of revenge that every viewer cheered for. You wanted to see those bullies beaten back and every time they got what they deserved, it was oh so fun to watch. As morbidly disgusting, savage, and violent as it was, you felt the rage and the vengeance the ML was feeling.
But I think also that the storyline was a bit too violent and too far-stretched. With a con man trying to kill teenagers, with teenagers using bats and other weapons against each other, where a father beats his kid with a golf club, and where kids didn't know when to stop the beating, the violence almost became unrealistic and too much at times. Also, the only way to beat the bullies was to resort to even more violence or bullies getting bullied by other bullies or just because there's that one dude, like Soo Ho, that no one wanted to f*ck around with. You shake your head at the one friend, Beom Seok who never really learns what true friendship means until he's full of regret. Seriously.
I think, in the end, there's no real moral compass and everyone gets away with everything except of course the ML and his buddy Soo Ho who ends up in a coma. The one really good guy in the whole show, ends up in the worst state. Let's not forget the assemblyman gets away with being an abusive father, while his adopted son, Beom Seok, the friend who put his one real friend in a coma, has and gets to leave the country not really paying for his crime, Soo Ho remains in a coma, the one female friend Young Ki, leaves and disappears and the ML gets blacklisted from all the good schools only to end up in a school that looks like he's in juvie and starting in the same cycle of bullying all over again. All he wanted to do was focus on his studies and now what? He's put back another year with more bullies to pick on him?
Nothing turns out good for any of the good characters. Nothing. And unfortunately, that just means that even though some of the bullies got their own share of beatings, they really still won in the end.
This is a story of how violence begets violence, and how revenge is double-edged sword.
For me, the ending left a lot to be desired.
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Some people are saying "oh it's bad acting." Really? Is it bad acting to be less serious and more silly? I don't think so.
For a rom-com, I thought the acting was pretty well executed and I totally loved Jiro in this and can't really think of another actor that would replace him. I know Rainie Yang has a lot of haters as well, which for the life of me, I can't understand. Girls' got spunk. :) But her character in this drama is much more different than other roles she's played. This was my favorite role of hers! XD
The story isn't anything new really, shy, introvert, nerdy type of girl catches the attention of the attractive, Mr.Popularity. But I tend to love these types of stories. So cliche I know, so sue me...:P
Overall it is an adorable story that has just the right amount of romance, just enough comedy and just enough "seriousness" (as serious as you can get in a rom-com, I mean) that really makes the story worth watching. Plus, I totally adore Mars and Momo! They have such good chemistry in this drama, which was what really kept me going. I mean c'mon, even their NAMES sound good together. MarsxMomo~
Love this couple and love this story. :DDD
But PLEASE! If you're looking for something serious and dramatic (involving tears) this isn't the drama for you...however if you want something light, cute and sweet (with a bit of silliness) then look no further! :D
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The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
Reminded me of a quote from Harry Potter, "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure". Indeed, HELLBOUND is the adventure on the way to death and a survival game against the angle of quietus.TW: Dystopia, Violence, Killing, Cult beliefs, Brainwashing, Superstitions.
Hellbound, written and directed by the acclaimed director Yeon Sang Ho, the PD or some famous apocalypse thriller movies like "Train to Busan" and "Psychokinesis", has been able to deliver another mind-blowing piece with his experience and skills. Can't really say that it's a groundbreaking show but surely a good one that keeps you entertained throughout and evokes all kinda feelings.
Basically, the story is set up in a dystopian world along with supernatural elements. Some people see predications of their death as a decree of being bound to hell for the sins they've committed and no matter how much they try, they can't prevent it. Some unknown monster-like giant creatures appear from nowhere and execute them and send them to hell. Jung Jin Su (Yoo Ah In), is the founder of the religious group "Saejinrihwae" (literally The Truth), tells the world that this is God's work and make people follow the group. They name the monsters "Angle of Death".
"Hwasalchok" (literally arrowhead) are the radical follwers of the religion who are very dangerous. They punish anyone who questions the existence of their God. Min Hye Jin (Kim Hyun Joo) is a lawyer at Sodo Law Firm, trying to find out about the truth of this religion. Jin Kyung Hoon (Yang Ik Jun) is a detective whose daughter Jin Hee Jung (Lee Re) somehow gets involved with the cult.
The plot development isn't steady, rather the story is divided into 2 parts; the first 3 episodes showing about the rise of the cult group and the latter half showcasing it's consequences and got a solid plotline about Bae Young Jae (Park Jung Min) and Song So Hyun (Won Jin Ah) who are married couple with a newborn baby. The execution of these 2 seemingly different storylines set up in the same scenario is very well done by the PDnim.
Personally, I couldn't find anything great in the first episode to feel the urge of continuing the show but I had to do it anyways. The 2nd episode did interest me a bit, ngl. The 3rd episode is what makes you hooked because of the intriguing elements that will definitely raise your curiosity level. There is a leap when the 4th episode starts and whatever follows, is very crazy and insane; enough to make your blood boil. I've already mentioned it's a dystopia so be careful in case you're sensitive because this ain't for the light-hearted.
The back story of the entire show isn't completely explained, just like many other Netflix Korea Original shows, in order to keep the suspense for another season and this clearly is the case here. Some might cite things happening in here illogical, but do keep in mind that it's dystopia.
Acting as an overall, is pretty good. Skillful ones like Yoo Ah In, Kim Hyun Joo, Park Jung Min, Won Ji Ah, Yang Ik Jun, etc have done a good job as usual. Also, the supporting plus minor characters have delivered a decent job. Not to forget, Kim Hyun Joo's action skills were nice, though wasn't shown for long and well, I loved that part. Wish they made her do some extra stunts hehe.
The CGI could have been better bcs tbh, the monsters weren't even scary. I admit the story is mot just about the monsters, rather the story about wrong beliefs plus some sort hidden power, who's doing all these, but still; the monsters looked like somky hulks and least scary... However, as always the sound production is apt which enthralls and enrages you and makes you anxious.
Many important factors, shown in here are: false sense of justice and righteousness, crime and criminal minds, victim and their families, bloodlust, superstition, wrong beliefs, brainwashing, radicalism, abuse, parental love & care, death & it's essence, desires to live or survive, relentless fear, agony, vengeance, sadism, etc.
My most favourite line from Hellbound is from the finale episode where this random person says, "I don't know about Gods, neither do I care. But what I know is, this world belongs to people. And we should deal our matters by ourselves."
Again, Netflix Korea has done a bad job in regards of English translation, idk what has happened to them since Squid Game. No one is asking for literal translations but for goodness's sake don't divert the context of a conversation by translating sentences in a sense that doesn't even match the essence of it.
In fact the very ending of the finale episode indicates the beginning of another tragedy, hence implying about a second season. But well, I am disappointed that Netflix Korea keep doing it on a regular basis and go silent about the clarification for a 2nd season. Then they come back after a long while saying they will make it but by that time, a major portion of the cast gives up the drama, wth. Do better, Netflix Korea.
I must admit, the ending consequences have made me cry. Given the storyline, it was bound to be a sad and tragic ending but I don't expect they'll put forth some essence about death, relationship and beliefs, which actually made me see the entire thing in a good light by the end of the drama. The finale episode is the best one out of the 6. I was totally enthrilled by the entire episode.
By the end, from What, How and Why, one thing that wasn't explained was the "What" aspect and the root cause of the entire happening. Wish they would make a full-length drama out of the webtoon so that we could rate it a whole, or a movie could have been better. Anyways, the overall development was good, if not excellent. I would have given a 8.0 but honestly not that impressed.
Overally, Hellbound is a very good one time watch and worth the binge. I enjoyed most of the parts of the show, though I am not really awed or taken aback by this. I haven't read the original wentoon so can't say what alterations they've made or whether it meets the standard or not. I suggest you watch with a strong hold on your heart. Even if you're not that interested, please do it for the one and only Yoo Ah In bcs his visuals are top notch, oof.
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Keeps you guessing type drama/ unpredictable yet very entertaining
Every episode feels like watching an intense action movie in a theatre.One of the best acclaim Kdrama this year so far, there are so many emotions you will feel when you watch this drama, you will cry, smile, WTF moments, you will hate characters, you will feel frustration, but don't stop because every moment is eye catching. If you get distracted you will miss something important for sure, it's that type of drama.
I can confidently say this drama will be to your liking if you give it a chance. the casting is really amazing. As of now there were many backlash and allegations against airing the drama due to historical distortion, but all that has been cleared up by JTBC saying it has nothing to do with it and also they have been given the green light by the Blue House. So I hope people can keep watching, I have now completed the drama and it was more than worth it, it was every bit of what I expected.
Rewatch value for this one is HIGH 10/10 for sure
Overall I will keep my score at a 10 for this drama because I enjoyed every character development especially for Young-Ro she was amazing all throughout and I would love to see her in another drama.
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Great characterization but unable to engage
The story had some great characters. I really like how each character was represented, their conversations, the themes the show represented, visuals and overall feel of the story. I enjoyed overall positive relationships. I liked all the couples and also enjoyed the main character's journey to find himself and how he becomes agent from an athlete.At the same time, there wasn't a point where I got deeply involved in the story. I never waited for the next episode and never really had any urge to complete the story. There were good elements but it didn't get to me. I also wish they had spent more time on the athlete/track side of the story and his growth. That would have been more interesting. It gets very slow sometimes and conversations between characters seem all over the place. There were many times I didn't understand what the characters really wanted to say. Also, the show doesn't really show the difference between selfishness and self-love. The terms are used interchangeably.
Overall very interesting characters & themes, coherant relationships, but not a great story telling.
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A whole bunch of episodes that lead to NOTHING
Dude. What kind of ending was THAT?! I'm so mad. The story was so slow and prolonged and I would have been okay with it, because my hopes were that they would end up happily ever after. Where the mom would finally recognize her flaws and let them be together. Or at least they would recognize that they wouldn't be able to be together with the way her mother feels and therefore, change the way they would make their relationship work. But instead, they broke up and got back together after some time apart and realizing that they still loved each other and they were back to square one!!! Nothing changed - not her mother (they didn't really try to convince her mother, they just said they love each other and pouted), not their relationship/behavior toward each other and we weren't lead to believe that things would be different. They would just "be."And can I please just say - this mother was absolutely unrealistic and it's not possible to like her. She didn't care if she was ruining her daughter's happiness, it was her way or the highway and she ended up losing her daughter in the end. Realistically, a parent should be objective and when they realize that they're being unrealistic and that their children are pulling away from them, they change in an attempt to keep them. So yes, I HATED this mother very much - wanting to punch her in the mouth a lot. A lot of people hated the mother in Uncontrollably Fond (and I didn't), but I for real hated this mom (just to give you something to go off of).
OMG. If that was gonna be the case, why did I waste 16 hours (give or take, because some of the episodes were longer than 1 hour) if they were just gonna be together after all the heartbreak with no developments?! I literally screamed at the TV for an hour after finishing this drama and it is probably my most HATED drama, right after, That Winter, The Wind Blows.
So many stupid things happened between them and NOTHING changed. Which means the stupid issues they had were absolutely POINTLESS.
I can respect your opinion if you like this drama, but it dragged too much and since the events that transpired essentially led to nothing, I can't every recommend it to anyone (I'd actually try my best to dissuade you from the waste of time).
One (and only) nice thing? Jung Hae In is VERY attractive. Feast your eyes because that's ALL worth seeing or paying attention to in this drama.
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Actually I began to be a bit bored around the last 5 episodes but anyway I decided to watch it and I'm so happy I did that because in the 150 dramas I've seen in my life this one has the Best.Ending.Ever. Seriously, I can't get over it.
I'll stop here and one last thing. Watch this show.
( Sorry for the mistakes there could be, English is not my maternal language.. )
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