Great cast, great acting. The story line is great. Every episode is intense. The acting skills of So Ji Sub as Kim Woo Hyun is very intense and UHM Ki Joon as Jo Hyun Min played the villain so good.
The cyber world manipulating technology is also awesome. Really hope this does not happen in real life, it's frightening to even imagine.
Overall a perfect 10, a drama definitely not to be missed.
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Story: The story is actually not as bad as some people say. I loved the story premise, it's different from what you usually get from Korean dramas. It has a lot of backstory but they managed to give it to you bit by bit and not make you bored or hate the overall story. Sure, sometimes the script wasn't the best but the story premise is great!
Acting/Cast/Characters: The acting was definitely great from all the actors and actresses. The chemistry between MaWang and Son Oh Gong, the "bromance", is really enjoyable and brings like 50% of the comedy in the show. Cha Seung Won shined in this drama with the many characteristics MaWang showed and I think it's a great comeback drama for Lee SeungGi. So big compliments to all the main and the supporting actors for showing us so many sides to their characters.
So now to the bad part: The chemistry between LSG and Oh Yeon Seo was well...not good...kinda cold and if this was a normal rom-com I would never have watched 20 episodes with them, definitely not. That's not the fault of OYS though, it was just that her character was really crappy...I mean there has to be a limit to how naive, self-centered and gullible a person can be?! Jin Seon Mi -the character- is the only reason I'm taking some points off here.
Music: The music fit the drama well and I looked up almost all of the songs.
Rewatch: Some scenes definitely but probably not the whole drama...
Overall: Overall this drama had like one main character, Lee Seung Gi and all the others were supporting characters. The drama has a great premise but while it starts off kind of unusual for a Kdrama it turns around at like halftime and goes right into dramaland, which makes it a little bit more boring in the end but bearable. The acting was amazing, character design awesome (except for one) and another thing: it's oh so detailed. I loved it and I would warmly recommend it but let me tell you, if you don't like it after 5-6 episodes drop it. Before that you won't get the right feeling for it and after that you're either into it or you're not.
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A nice addition to the greats
Crash Landing On You was about our main female character that ends up in North Korea after getting into an unexpected accident and a North Korean soldier that ends up falling inlove with her. Sounds interesting right? Well the premise of the story is already an attention grabbing but I didn't immediately watch it upon airing simply because I was dissapointed by majority of Kdramas that was released last year which has also interesting premises but got boring/uninteresting in the middle and eventually dropping it. This drama was like a saving grace for my drought, After getting recommended by one of my friends, I watched the first 4 episodes when it was still airing and finally a series worth of sticking up until the end! Every episode leaves you wanting for more. All characters are potrayed very well by the actors. I've seen comparisons of this to DOTS and I can say that the plot and acting wise, CLOY was wayyy better miles ahead. (This is coming from a big fan of DOTS like me). Probably the only thing that DOTS did better are the osts, yes CLOY lack great osts with only a handful of memorable ones unlike in DOTS where every ost leaves an impact. You might think why I'm comparing this two series because some of you might be doubting to watch CLOY simply because it's another soldier theme drama especially those who still haven't watched or dropped DOTS, but I can assure you, this is different. You will enjoy every bits of it, This drama makes you care for every characters, no one is left behind. Our main leads have great chemistry like I can't imgine any actors playing the same role, Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin were really meant to play the roles of Captain Ri Jeong-Heok and Yoon Se-ri. All in all Crash Landing on You managed to give everything I want from a rom-com series. It might be cliche and predictable at some parts but it was done right and this series will also give you a new perspective on how people actually live on the other side of the korean peninsula.Was this review helpful to you?
The women should have been arrested for stalking
Honestly the only reason I could complete the entire show is because I am a Deng Lun fan. This show is full of negative Chinese female stereo types that we are supposed to find cute and funny. Perhaps if this had been a high school drama it would have been less annoying. The FL had the maturity of a five year old through most of the movie and all the women would have been arrested for stalking in the United States. One of them committed acts that had it been a male done to a female they would have been sent to prison but we are supposed to forgive her. The men tell them no but the women don't listen.To all the DRAMA writers out there... NO means NO. If it's not acceptable for a man to do to a woman, it's not acceptable for a woman to do to a man.
I'm not going to go into other plot holes and disasters. I am mainly writing this for those of you who are parents... don't let your girls watch this.
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Can we pretend that the adaptation never happened?
the audacity to even RELEASE the movie.But it's actually not that bad, it can actually be a great movie if they changed the characters' names, and the setting, and the storyline, and the script, the WHOLE plot tho
You could've at least styled Yoo Junhyuk's hair..
And why did you made Lee Sangah a healer if such a character is already present in the story itself? It's a kind of stereotypical misogyny she spent her whole life fighting against, duh
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While the drama looks like a cheesy romance at first glance, it is actually not. It's a story about healing, about learning to accept yourself, about learning how to accept others, about how it's okay not to be okay from time to time. I believe the drama had a great impact of the viewers who are struggling with life and needed to be comforted.
The plot itself could have been a lot better. The introduction was strong as well as the first half, then the second half was kind of inconsistent. But well, if it doesn't get overdramatic and way too cheesy, is it even a Korean drama?
The cast was very well-chosen and I must say, Kim Soo Hyun chose the perfect drama for his comeback. I was never a fan of his, but he won me here. He was simply perfect as the selfless Moon Gang Tae. His character went through so much and Soo Hyun portayed his emotions so well, I believed every word of his.
And there's our queen, Seo Ye Ji. Such a versatile actress, she can seriously pull off any role and she always looks stunning. Go Mun Yeong is not an easy character to pull off but she did it flawlessly. I can easily say that this is the best role of hers.
Oh Jung Se though... if this man doesn't win an award for this role--- Like, honestly, his performace was insanely good. A total show-stealer. He has all of my respect.
Overall, if you're looking for a good 2020 drama, then congrats, you just found it. An engaging story, a smartly written script, a couple with great chemistry, brilliant directing and an amazing cast -- what more do you need?
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This review may contain spoilers
losers
if i wanted to see a pretty girl go head over heels for toxic men and not move on i would just go out and see my friends... both yu nabi & jaeeon they are both LOSERS ! there's no other word to describe them. they're both equally as annoying but jaeeon's a menace yea.. and yu nabi is just stuck with the "i can fix him" mindset OKAY SURE GIRL GO AHEAD ure so boring .last episode i literally skipped throughout because it was just them staring and yu nabi ruining the vibes at the start for being sad when everyone else was happy like oh my god girl MOVE ON!!! so annoying .. ure not gonna d13 without him.. whats so good about jaeeon anyways.. literally waste of my time watching the last ep cus nothing happened ..
i would say that the side characters carried the show definitely!! no need to explain who and what we all already know its soljiwan zz also justice for dohyuk poor guy nabi is stupid literally on the last episode she said "i know he doesn't make me happy and i'm happy when i'm with you but.." GIRL WHAT U NEED IS THERAPY NOT JAEEON my god..
overall i quite enjoyed it since i binge watched the show (also by skipping most parts) and thank god it only has 10 episodes .. the cinematography was amazing but not enough to make me recover from the stupidity of yu nabi and jaeeon.. i actually have nothing else to say other than that they are both Losers..
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The acting was top notch. Ji Change Wook, Park Min Young, and Yoo Ji Tae were daebak as Seo Jang Hoo, Chae Yeong Shin, Kim Moon Ho respectively. There is so much I can say about their chemistry and acting abilities, but I'm going to concentrate on the supporting cast. I have always liked veteran actress Kim Mi Kyung. She killed it as hacker extraordinaire, Jo Min Ja. I loved her quirky character. Also, Jeong Gyoo Soo was scary and creepy as Kim Moon Shik's assistant. That hand covered smirk made me want to beat the crap out of him myself. For such a minor role, he made me hate him the most. All of the actors are good.
The music is really good. I have a lot of it on my play list already.
I will probably rewatch this at some point.
I highly recommend this drama.
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1She's just not into you anymore.
The Luo family is in gentle decline as the second generation is unable to match their late patriarch's illustrious career in civil service. They look towards the complacent and entitled third generation to revive the family's fortunes with a growing sense of anxiety. It is to this backdrop that Luo Yining returns from the family's country villa to celebrate her ailing grandmother's birthday after falling out with Luo Chengzhang and concubine Qiao as a child. Chengzhang is a frustrated and resentful civil servant of middling talent with a very small heart that only has room for Qiao's children. Yining is appalled to find her "third brother" Shenyuan shunned and bullied by the family and as unfavored children and they become fast allies. They are both not who they appear to be and gradually they uncover and keep each other's secrets as together, they navigate treachery both within and outside the Luo household.This kind of saga that depicts the rise and decline of a family has been a popular genre since the 18th century classic vernacular novel 红楼梦 Hónglóumèng/Dream of the Red Chamber resonated deeply with its philosophical questions and social critique of feudal patriarchal society. While the narrative unfolds around the main protagonists it is not just about them; it explores broader social themes through related character stories and sub-plots told from their point of view. Every character has their own cross to bear. Chengzhang for example, is at surface a bad dad but he was also someone whose ambitions never materialised and who twice had to marry a woman not of his own choosing. Yining's return ruined the three people who meant the most to him. Maybe he gets off lightly or maybe fate was already unkind enough to him.
This drama gives the strong impression that it is a lighter, more accessible version of The Story of Minglan (SOML). The production quite cheekily acknowledges this by installing Yining in Haitang Pavilion and naming her mother Gu Minglan. Many of the main character blueprints of the Luo family down to the costumes and styling and the plot arcs around the inner harem rivalries and the mystery of Yining's mother's death smack of SOML. As someone who didn't enjoy SOML, I don't have a problem with it. Even though SOML is undeniably a more sophisticated and culturally impactful production, I found the pacing and the narrative approach suffocating. Even though it is less well written and not that original, The Rise of Ning is a more enjoyable watch overall. The biggest difference for me is Shenyuan is more interesting, better written, better portrayed and more empathetic than the male lead in SOML. Zhang Wanyi never disappoints in delivering yet another immersive and complex portrayal of this seemingly mild mannered and humble unfavored son with hidden depths. His strength is in being too casually overlooked and underestimated by his enemies. The story's biggest drawback is the romance is held back for so long that Zhang Wanyi and Ren Min's chemistry as a couple is under-explored.
Even though the narrative does incorporate a few interesting and new ideas, they are not fleshed out properly and are bogged down by lazy writing, shallow character designs and logic that does not hold up to close scrutiny. The main romance is weighed down by the fact that Yining and Shenyuan remain "siblings" for almost three quarters of the drama. I understand this was so she could remain in the Luo mansion but I think that the truth should have been revealed to both Shenyuan and Yining at the same time. They could keep it from everyone else while they try to solve the mystery of her mother's death and figure out who she really is. This would allow their romance to progress earlier on in the storyline and not leave the audience with such an entrenched impression of their chemistry as siblings. Another better approach could have been to skip the boring, tropey harem squabble arcs and move up the reveal because the characters in the Wei manor are more original and engaging. This would have also allowed a fuller development of Yining's relationship with Wei Ying, who is such a fantastic and memorable character who is both funny and moving at the same time. None of the women in this drama, nasty or nice, are prone to shrill, ear-piercing screeching, which was what I found most off-putting about SOML. In fact the smart, sassy and sarcastic Lin Hairu is one of my favorite characters and a huge upgrade from SOML.
Even though I enjoyed Ren Min's charming portrayal of Yining, her acting is still a work in progress. Her lines are too tentative and lack the depth of expression needed to capture the maturity, sensibility and intelligence of the character. Her voice is so distinctive that I also didn't for one moment buy it that Lu Jiaxue did not instantly recognise her as Meimei. I think she could have credibly dubbed herself as Meimei but when she grows up to become Yining, a more nuanced professional voice actor should have taken over. Her character is also not that consistently written. She indulged in a reckless and inappropriate dalliance with a much older man but showed enough good sense not to tell him who she really was. It is a relationship that mortifies and haunts her and when she encounters him again, she clearly fears and loathes him. What is not well conveyed is how he may have still occupied a space in her heart. This didn't come out until the end; which made me wonder why she never gave Lu Jiaxue a chance to clear up the misunderstanding or severe past ties with him neatly. The way she handled the situation was very immature and not like the Yining who faces her problems calmly and frankly. As a result, she never gave him or herself closure and in this, she was also not fair to Shenyuan.
As a villain, Ci Sha's portrayal of Lu Jiaxue deserves top marks. He was almost too powerful, seemed to answer to no one and was able to walk prisoners in and out of jail and cut down his enemies in plain sight. He was so intensely menacing and brutal that every time he showed up, my throat went dry and I felt a knot of fear in the pit of my stomach. But the character is too one dimensional and not well written. It is difficult to reconcile such a heavy handed portrayal of an irredeemably cruel and callous bad guy with someone even a pubescent Yining could have fallen for. It is equally disturbing and difficult to understand a grown man's obsession such a very young and very naive girl. The "she's not into you anymore" trope is one that should win audience sympathy because it is much easier to get over unrequited love than it is once-requited love. However, the portrayal of Lu Jiaxue as a love rival missed the mark and completely alienated me. It was nothing short of offensive to watch him paw Yining and manhandle her time after time. That is not the way to woo a girl, nor is openly trying to kill her favorite brother! These are not the actions of a character that is allegedly cunning, manipulative and smart. I would have liked to see a more multi-faceted, subtle and refined love rival, one that actually is a credible challenger instead of one that is so obviously beyond redemption. This tiresome obsession went on for too long and overshadowed the development of Yining's feelings for Shenyuan.
Even though the plot builds to a satisfying ending climax, I rolled my eyes at how how the final episodes descended into a Phantom of the Opera like theatrics. I didn't think Lu Jiaxue got his just deserts and found everyone's willingness to forgive baffling and out of character. But overall the storytelling and pacing was consistent and engaging throughout and the supporting cast really pulled their weight. I enjoyed the second couple and many characters beyond the leads. Overall a very solid and entertaining watch that I rate 8.0/10.0.
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1How a leader of men becomes a follower of a woman.
Li Ni is too good to be true: a brave, patriotic, upstanding and brilliant young general who safeguards the border at the kingdom's farthest reaches with his Zhenxi army. He aspires to live a carefree, adventurous life at his beloved Laolan Pass with his found family of merry men, steering clear of his imperial roots. And no wonder; his royal father and two half-brothers are cowardly, venal, ambitious, duplicitous and so dumb they test the limits of the word. But destiny intervenes when a military governor Sun Jing seizes the capital, holds Li Ni's witless father hostage and the imperial grandson and rightful successor goes missing. As the kingdom descends into civil war, Li Ni leads the intrepid Zhenxi army to try to save the day. He encounters the bold and audacious A Ying, a lieutenant at the helm of the formidable Cui family army. At first glance, A'Ying is an awesome character; strong, independent, daring, ambitious and cunning. While they have different visions of the future, they are aligned in the immediate purpose of defeating Sun Jing. They join hands in an alliance that has each trying to out do the other in terms of being the one to seize victory. Sparks fly between them, suggesting a broader and more permanent union could be in the cards.The political plot is very loosely based on the history of the founding of the Tang dynasty. The writing reflects a shallow understanding of politics and historical reality and just plain laziness. The writer clearly didn't know what to do with the one interesting and smart villain and thus quickly kills them off. We are then bamboozled with a bunch of very tired one-note villain archetypes who are surprisingly difficult to kill dead despite their limited brain cells. They are so done before too many times villains that they are not worthy of mention. The only good thing about the battle for the throne arcs are the action scenes; they are exciting and bloody. Xu Kai always delivers incredibly agile and powerful fight scenes and with a good action director like this, he really shines. The drama peaks at an epic and consequential battle around episode 32 and that is probably the best place to stop. It took me a long time to get through the final 8 episodes that were unnecessary and as bland as tofu.
In terms of the romance, this drama is anchored by good chemistry and flawless portrayals by Xu Kai and Jing Tian. It errs on the side of being overly generous with the fan service sweet scenes, which I only mildly enjoyed. I may have been more convinced had I not just come off watchingJing Tian beam beatifically up at Feng Shaofeng (Legend of Zhuohua) with that exact same limpid, adoring expressions. The bigger issue is that A Ying as a character is incredibly difficult to like. She is strong willed, reckless and has a most unbecoming need to win all the time and especially when she is wrong. She doesn't even "win" with any great, glorious or brilliant schemes; her kisses are essentially Kryptonite as far as Li Ni is concerned. It is beyond infantile that he would cede an entire city for a kiss! Li Ni's wants are mallaeble as far as she is concerned and she takes it upon herself to meddle in high power politics to achieve the outcomes she wants. When she doesn't like the consequences of her schemes, it is inevitably Li Ni's fault. The "dealbreaker" conflict between them never gets solved; their relationship is bailed out by events, which is an anti-climatic writing cop out that left me convinced they will surely end up divorced. She does not communicate with Li Ni, overestimates her ability to handle problems on her own and is oblivious to the fact that a deranged lunatic is after her even though he captures her many times. To my dismay, each of her near death experiences are just near. We are told this is a smart and independent character but we are shown she is not smart and constantly needs rescuing from her own hubris. Their love story is an utterly soul destroying tale of how a leader of men becomes a follower of a woman. The only love story in this drama that actually moved me was that of Consort Xiao.
This is Xu Kai's best recent drama after a string of disappointments and he does a really good job here playing a character with massive hero complex. As for Jing Tian, I didn't love her character but I am sure a less charming actress would have frustrated me into dropping this. Despite the good acting, the many logic holes, pedestrian sub-plots and cardboard characters make for a smooth but bland cocktail. I can only rate it 7.0. Overall it is not a bad watch for the fantastic fight scenes and squeal-worthy flirty moments.
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Story
The story is a combination of a romantic comedy with a grain of melodrama accompanied by a revenge subplot to spice things up. Tsundere male, seeking revenge for his destroyed family, meets the naïve and gullible female lead who tries to find her impeached mother. The two are intrinsically linked and form an ill-fated relationship that develops into a deep romance – havoc, tears, cheesiness and twists ensued.
The drama, despite its 75-minute-long episodes, was extremely easy to watch, enjoyable, not too basic plot-wise and not too complicated just enough to keep things interesting. Even if it was extended I can’t say it was dragged. The plotline was well-thought out making forward steps either on story or character-development.
My favourite part of the drama was the fact that it had a something for everyone. Mainly a romance-comedy, it was heavy on romance and even if I didn’t see any particular chemistry between the leads they shared some steamy, fan-servicy kisses, they looked great together and had good synergy.
Moreover, the comedy was kinda cheesy but cute and entertaining. While lastly, my favourite part, the backstory was not new but well-written and strong, implicating families, revenge, had twists and some melodrama, good for every taste and thorougly entertaining. I sincerely enjoyed the whole thing.
Continuing, the music was sensuous even if it was regularly repeated. Worth downloading, what I mainly enjoyed was the re-arrangement of the title song to fit many different situations, dramatic scenes, comedy scenes ect.
Character development and the concept of forgiveness and selflessness drives the story and gives significant lessons to viewers.
Acting
The acting wasn’t the drama’s strongest suit but I can’t say it prevented me from enjoying it.
Liu Eugene is probably the weakest link of the chain, maybe it was her character maybe not. It was kind of annoying to watch her being that defenseless at first, also her childlike attitude didn’t help, but it was part of the character, similar characters are usual in dramaland. In some scenes I was enjoying her performances some other times she couldn't convey her feelings properly tending to fall short or overact. Not bad overall, but a bit weak.
Hong Angel excelled in being a bad bitch with anger issues, I loved her, her role was a bit limiting, and she also couldn’t cry express any other emotion other than fury to save her life. She was good though as a raging mean girl and that was why she was there.
Yang Esther is probably my favourite out of the female characters, cute, funny and badass with a misunderstood emotional side. Beautiful as well.
I left my personal favourite for last; Chang Marcus wasn’t only the best actor in this but also he is easily the most handsome Asian actor that has graced my laptop screen. Extremely charismatic and charming he had the arrogant, mean bastard with a soft and kind interior act down. I’ll be stalking his next projects.
The full supporting cast did alright but the drama was mainly Eugene and Marcus, even the rest of the main cast didn’t really have a prominent role in this. –also thank god no unnecessary love triangles!
Recommend/Rewatch
As it was already mentioned, behind your smile has something for everyone. Rom-com fans will definitely enjoy this; the backstory makes this good enough for people who like more serious dramas too. It is a light-hearted drama, easy watch but still interesting with a strong plot. Even if there is nothing innovative about this drama, it is cliché done right. I will never rewatch this but I can see how it can hold some rewatching quality for some viewers.
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As far as I know, there isn't a single other film/series that has polyandry in its plot.
I love how unique the story is and there honestly isn't one like it. I'm glad the advertisers and team took the show's quirk to heart when deciding the title. From the title; "Princess! You have five husbands" you already know what you're getting into when you start watching the show. The aspect of male royalty having multiple female lovers is a storyline that has been overused. It always seems like the girls just accept the fact they're sharing their husband but themselves can't so much as speak or look at another man in a normal level, so it's nice to see that scenario switched for a change; where the men are sharing their wife and they have to live in that reality as if it's normal.Overall, everything about this was fun to watch, so I would absolutely recommend this for someone who would like to watch something different from "I love you and only you, Your Highness, so please let me sleep with you after you are done sleeping with your concubines, consorts and empress! I only have you in my heart 'till death!"
This story is very subtle too, bringing this new theme with humor.
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(b)romance
honestly, if i have to sit through imina skynani playing another couple of besties who are obviously so gay, i will have to pay them a visit. i was on the edge of my seat every week. i laughed, i cried, i loved. i did not expect to get that hooked, i didn’t even plan on watching it in the first place, however, i found two new actors that i like and that work really well together. the whole cast did. they did great. also the music and editing choices that have been made? well well well... thank you cast and crew for working hard!Was this review helpful to you?
Good news, Bad news, which do you want first?
Looking for a beautifully shot film with a grounded, human story? This is it. I went in with no prior knowledge of the historical events that inspired Good News, yet I never felt lost or disconnected, the storytelling kept me fully engaged from start to finish.Though it runs for over two hours, the pacing is deliberate and rewarding, making every moment worth it. I especially enjoyed its subtle satire — how it invites you to observe events from the outside, finding humor even in the most serious situations.
The performances were exceptional, with Hong Kyung delivering a breakout role that truly stood out. Good News is the kind of movie that lingers after the credits roll , heartfelt, sharp, and beautifully made. I’m genuinely grateful that it exists, and I can’t recommend it enough.
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