ACTING/CAST: The cast are all very good looking. Also, they do a great job. I was quite impressed with their acting. It seemed to be the one thing this show had going for it.
MUSIC: I liked the intro/outro music. The budget probably didn't allow for much else so they used a lot of royalty free classical music. There was a real nice song that was obviously Pachelbel's Cannon in C but modernized which I really liked.
REWATCH VALUE: Nah. I was really hoping for something to happen between the leads, because there is great chemistry there, but since it didn't, I won't rewatch it.
OVERALL: I was bored before watching this, during, and after.
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I loved every second of it and especially his chemistry with the girl even though he looked prettier than her.... (It's the truth...)
The drama was like City Hunter of Lee MInho. Which I enjoyed watching and I bet people who liked the drama would like Cambrian Period too.
I was a little mad with Mike He's acting skills cause I expected a better act since he had a long career of acting. His voice acting was... Horrible. (my point of view).
The others were all nice I loved everything and I watch it again sometimes when Im bored and go 'AWWWWW~~' so I bet the romance action lovers would be with me. Hope this helped! Bye~
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I'll begin with the cast because they have so much to do with this drama's success. Park Bo Young clearly does a hell of a job in this one. Not only does she portray one character so well, but two. The way she switches between characters is exceptional. She easily made it onto my favorite actors list. I love the energy that she played Soon Ae with and she's so cute that even when her character was being super over the top she was super lovable. Yet, she could become the painfully shy Bong Sun the very next moment and just make you wanna shake life into her. Kim Seul Gi I had seen in Flower Boy Next Door before this but she had such a small role in that I really had no idea what she was capable of but man she's impressive. Her character Shin Soon Ae, had me crying on so many occasions and her character's bubbly persona, even when she was being mischievous, was fun and eye catching. I felt for her character so deeply and a large part of that is because of her powerful acting. Now to Jo Jung Suk. Okay, well I'm a huge fan of his so of course I love him, but I'm a fan because he's an amazing actor. His character, Kang Sun Woo, is insecure while also being full of himself but also has a lot of integrity and passion. Jo Jung Suk portrays his boyishly immature and admirable charismatic character perfectly and even when other cute distractions arise aka Cordon ;), he still shines and I always looked forward to his presence. But that's the great thing about this drama, I couldn't wait to see all the characters. The kitchen crew omg don't even get me started. So funny. And funny in a natural way. I didn't feel like they were trying to make me to laugh, but rather that they were just being goofs all on their own and I just happened to witness it. Min Soo (Sous Chef) was an amazing supporting character and Kang Ki Young played him masterfully. Cordon, played by Kwak Si Yang, is another character that really intrigued me. I liked that he never actually became a "second male lead" but that he was just an extra sweetie and solid voice of reason and stability when other characters got too crazy. XD Instead of taking away from the funniness and antics of some of the other supporting characters, he just added to their funniness by being so level headed and darn sexy. Im Joo Won also did his character Seung Jae justice and he had me legitimately scared sometimes. All the cast was amazing but I won't mention them all as that would take all day.
The story: I loved the story. The characters are developed very well. Even if you don't like some of the characters at the beginning, the writers do a wonderful job of not suddenly, but consistently integrating the backstories and character growth in a timely fashion in where you don't feel overwhelmed. The writing and directing are well done. The pacing throughout the whole drama is kept very well and everything is presented at the perfect time. Therefore, you don't get too confused with too much information and you don't get bored from a lack of information. There's always something going on and any side stories and backstories are snuck in so naturally that I wasn't ever like, oh great, or, here we go again. I enjoyed every scene while watching it and even if I always looked forward to the main characters scenes, I never wished for other scenes to be cut short. What I think is done exceptionally well is the combination of genres. The romance and comedy go great together but even when this drama goes down very dark roads, it fits so well. Most importantly though, this drama never got boring and never dragged. I was also thoroughly invested in this drama until the last moment in which I cried cause it was so beautiful. Also, the supernatural spin in this was the perfect twist. I like when dramas have that one little twist that makes them unique and the ghost possession creates much excitement and intriguing conflict. If you're scared away because for some reason you didn't like other dramas with the supernatural tag or with ghosts, then don't be. This drama is unique in it's take. This show also makes cooking seem like a lot of fun and I've never even liked cooking cause I'm lazy as heck.
Music: I always find orchestrated music very emotion evoking and the instrumentals in this drama are so lovely and intense. The music is what really pulled the emotions out of me alongside the impeccable acting etc. I still listen to the music tracks in this drama and I've watched it three times. Oh and Jo Jung Suk's song in this is ahhhhh! <3
To me, the very few amount of flaws this drama has aren't worth mentioning and even at my most objective I don't think I would give it lower than a 9. A good drama is a good drama and that's just what this is.
Overall, you should watch this! This drama impacted me on an emotional level in many areas (laughter, crying, fear, excitement) and if you like romance and comedy, regardless of ghosts and the supernatural, you'll probably love this. At least I did.
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The film is a coming of age story that best sums up "YOLO", you only live once. You enjoy the little things and remember that time waits for no man, be happy that you have today because you might not have tomorrow. Be happy you can remember who you love and celebrate them because who else will the following day.
Therefore, despite this pervasive sense of doom in the dialogue; there's a battle at the same time. The battle is coming from the brightness in the cinematography and it's also in the speed in which they have Koharu (female lead) deliver her lines. She delivers it so fast as though she wants to be done with these discussions on death and gloom. But she talks on family and growth you see her speak in a softer tone.
So we have her a bright light falling in love with someone who is dealing with serious issues. Someone she's loved for a very long time. In almost every scene he (Ryota) comes across very dark. Ryota's hair is very dark, his clothing is very dark, he speaks in a monotone, he speaks very slowly, and he's not engaging. He's unapproachable. His nickname is Jesus Christ and I sat and wondered why, then I realised it's because it seems that he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.
As the movie progresses, you barely see that you've already fallen in love with the couple and the story line. You've fallen in love with the regret and pain.
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I'm going to end this review with a reason why I gave this Jfilm a 7. It will start off with a quick caveat on what Japanese dramas/films mean to me and then what happened here. I love, love, love, love, love Jdoramas and Jfilms. You can go to my profiles and see me waxing poetics. Thanks dad. I was raised on them and so I love them.
I normally give them high scores, this could be because of pure bias (WHICH IT IS NOT!). It's actually mainly because I know I'm going to get quality. ALWAYS, quality.
By the way, make no mistake, there was quality here. That wasn't why it was a 7.
The other thing about Jdoramas and Jfilms and this unlike the always compare Kdramas - (not Kfilms ---those are good). You know what you're getting. If you are going to get family, romance, tragedy, human, work, coming of age, bromance, sisterhood, etc. drama. You know you will get that in a drama. Even in a kdrama, they find some kind of way to put some kind of tears and sadness in a damn romantic comedy. Why? Why? It's a bloody romantic comedy. Keep it light. Keep it light. Sorry...my rant.
This wasn't any of those things. I knew I was signing up for sadness and tears. I knew I was going to have my moment in the sun where it would be to hard for me to bare. I accepted, welcomed, and wanted that. I felt cleansed because the actors were brilliant.
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What's the problem and they scored so low? Damn soundtrack. What kind of music was used for this drama? It was sort of rocky and stuff and I hated it. This is such a sad story and then they put such a shitty song. Ugh, have mercy. Yup, the song was ranked so low (4.5) it brought down the whole thing. Not to mention, I don't really put sad stories high on my re-watch list. I'd have to be in a really depressed mood for that to happen. I ranked that at a 7.
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Jackie Chan stars as a railroad worker who works on a railway from Tianjin to Nanjing that serves as an important transportation route for the Japanese, and he leads a small group of fellow railroad workers in retaliating against the Japanese. Initially, they only rebel in small ways - stealing supplies from the Japanese, playing pranks on the soliders, etc., but they are driven by a growing desire to contribute more to the cause. No one around takes them seriously though, believing that there isn't really anything that a regular person can do to fight against what seems to be a losing battle.
Jackie's willingness to embrace the fact that he's older now has served him well in recent years - his character in this movie is a man of middle age who has a lost a lot in his life, and wants to see a better world for his daughter. He is portrayed as a normal man who uses his experience with working on the railroad (and of course, the usual Jackie ability to use various everyday items as tools and weapons) and leads by example. He's a man of few words, and maybe not the brightest bulb in the box, but his courage speaks volumes to those around him.
Tao and Jaycee Chan play two of the members of Jackie's crew, and both are street-smart, supporting characters who are crucial to helping Jackie accomplish his objectives. I liked both performances - neither tried to do too much with their roles and the action and humor was well-suited for their respective characters. If they tried to look cool, it was intentional humor, so it worked. I know Darren Wang is listed as part of the cast, but his part is pretty brief.
But I was most impressed by Wang Kai, who apparently has a career in comedy if he ever wants to change his career path. I found myself trying to hold in my laughter numerous times throughout his scenes. He's a fantastic actor, but I was still very impressed by how well he balanced the humor out with his character, who was an army sniper turned restaurant owner after being completely disillusioned with how the war was going (his comedic timing is great). He and Jackie had the meatier roles by far, which is to be expected as they are the stronger actors here.
This isn't a movie that takes itself too seriously - it's an action comedy set in a remarkably serious period in Chinese history, so the contrasting tones may be a bit jarring at times, but I found it to be a nice breath of fresh air and a great take on what it means to be a hero.
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This is one show that made me laugh, then cry, then swoon, then fall in love and dreamed the impossible.
Good looking cast of characters who were so into their role that you believed that they were exactly who they were portraying on the small screen.
And the lipstick that sold out every time they put it on the market. Jun Ji Hyun is exceptionally pretty with her flawless skin and no make up look that I you can just stare at her on screen for hours on end. Kim So Hyun makes man bangs look so devastatingly handsome and IMHO the best looking crying man ever!
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My introduction to the 2nd male lead syndrome.
My first but not last Lee Min Ho drama/show.
School bullying, first loves, friendship, peer pressure, teen angst, success stories and some evil side characters thrown in made for an interesting watch.
It has been so long that I cannot even remember the details. Some memorable scenes but not a lot.
But this is certainly one of the "must-watch" for every Kdrama novice.
I will not re-watch this show though. It was a good introduction but once is enough.
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The chemistry between the main leads is off the charts! I really love their banter, their sweet moments and them just being together in one screen is enough for me to watch this again.
What I did not like? The supporting actress/third party - she is way tooo old for Mike! They should've picked a better, much younger actress. She looked more like an aunt than a love interest.
The second male lead almost gave me the 2nd male lead syndrome. And I say almost, but not quite. The leads really do belong to each other and the chemistry was unequaled!
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I put off watching this drama because the plot didn't sound very promising and I especially hate the annoying third party arc in a lot of dramas but after reading reviews, I finally took the plunge and happy that I did.
The story line was interesting in that they have some supernatural elements that seemed plausible. There was a good moral to the story, the side/supporting characters were all interesting, the friendship deep, a filial son, very supportive parents (Oh Hae Young's) and a great love that went through a lot of challenges.
Pros: different types of love were shown - parent's love for their daughter, brother/sister relationship, noona romance, May-December romance, love and loyalty between friends and co-workers, et al.
Cons: there was not much difference between the 2 Oh Hae Youngs, beauty-wise. I really wanted to give the main Oh Hae Young a good hairdo but she was equally pretty as the other Oh Hae Young.
I'll stop here as I do not want to spoil anything by giving too much info.
Bottom line: Watch it!
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Story
Even if you haven't watched the drama, you've probably heard some of the controversy - they essentially only took about 3/4 (maybe not even...more like a little more than a half) of the original story for the drama. Which just screams, "What in the world were they thinking?" How can anyone have greenlighted this project and said, "Hey, you know what, we're just going to end the drama on a total cliffhanger without a guarantee at all there will be a second season. Better yet, let's include a bunch of useless filler storylines to drag out the middle part of the story even more since we're not telling the whole story anyways." ??? Rule number one for drama production teams - never do multiple seasons for dramas if you have a popular cast that you haven't already bound by contract to bring back (props to the team behind Ode to Joy for realizing this, btw) . Rule number two - if you can tell the whole story in one season, don't drag it out because it just hurts the quality.
The first half of the drama was pretty good - it features an awesome female lead who is multi-dimensional and is willing to claw her way to survive. She's not a Mary Sue - she can have moments where she seems heartless and cold, but she's also had a terrible life and thus has a different world view than most girls her age. The tone of the drama is darker than most because of the heavy material in the story, and I did enjoy that aspect. I have no idea why they added so much nonsense in the second half - for a drama that should have been moving along super fast considering how much plot it needed to cover, the pacing was ridiculously slow.
I was fascinated by the premise of the story and hated how the drama handled it, so I actually went back and read the novel, which I never do, because reading full length novels in Chinese is a bit of a chore for me. I'm glad I did though, because it filled the gaps nicely and at least I can picture in my head how this should have ended. But it also lended a different perspective to the love triangle - I'm not a fan of how the drama skewed it. If you read the novel, this should have been a tale of two loves for our lead, Chu Qiao - the first would be Yan Xun, and the second would be Yuwen Yue. However, the drama pretty much portrayed it so you would be rooting for Yuwen Yue all the way through, which I think does Chu Qiao a disservice. Part of the whole point of the story is her understanding of what love is and how it evolves over time - so that was disappointing. I'm particularly sad we didn't get to see all the cute, truly squee-worthy moments between her and Yuwen Yue becasue I think I pretty much grinned my way through the end of the novel.
But nitpicking over the depiction of the love triangle would be a moot point since the story was incomplete to begin with. Again, I have no idea who thought that would be a great idea. I don't even know if they would have enough material to cover a season 2, to be honest, without dragging things out significantly. If you enjoyed the premise of the story and can read Chinese (or find a translation), go read the novel and get yourself some closure.
Cast
What a waste of a great (young) cast - obviously this isn't one of those dramas with a stellar veteran crew, but the young(ish) leads all have some decent acting chops.
It's amazing how far Zhao Li Ying has come in just a short number of years - she's one of a handful of actresses who stars in exclusively heroine-centric dramas (Princess Agents, Rookie Agent Rouge, Journey of Flower, the upcoming Glamorous Times and The Story of Minglan - all are stories that are centered around the female lead character and her journey). One of the biggest reasons for her success has been her versatility (despite her pixie stature and face) and the fact that she is one of the better actresses for her age group. Chu Qiao was a great role for her as it let her channel her inner female general - but again we go back to the writing - it would have been so much better if she was given the whole story to work with.
Lin Geng Xin was decent as Yuwen Yue - the stoic characters are pretty much a staple of dramaland and I don't think anyone ever does badly in this type of role - but I would like to see him take a meatier role at some point (and I do think he's capable - there's a reason why his career took off after his stint as the 14th prince in Bu Bu Jing Xin). I also think he didn't have the greatest chemistry with Zhao Li Ying, but that could have been the writing more than anything else - a lot of their interactions were way too forced, and not built in an organic manner at all.
But the standout, for sure, was Shawn Dou, who gave an incredibly memorable performance as the complicated Yan Xun. He was able to express every aspect of his character beautifully, and even in the end, after everything he's done, it's almost impossible to hate him because you still feel like he's a product of circumstance. In a world where C-dramaland is dominated by tall, attractive actors in their mid to late twenties who are, for the most part, rather acting-challenged or limited in range, it baffles me how Shawn has not taken off yet. I know he's got a couple of dramas lined up as the main lead, but they're all the typical romance/makjang fare, and I would love to see him in something of substance because he is so talented (I would love to see him work with the Daylight Entertainment team one day a la Zhang Bo).
Shoutout to Li Qin as well who was great in her role - as hard as it was to watch sometimes, she portrayed all the trials and tribulations of her spoiled princess character perfectly. Deng Lun is still really, really green to me - I don't know what it is but he always just comes off a bit awkward in his roles.
Overall
If they had just stuck to the novel material, this would have probably been one of my favorite dramas - but the decision to not film a complete drama is just absolutely baffling. If they do end up making a season 2 (and there isn't any indication that is the case yet - all three of the main leads have projects lined up for the next couple of years - not to mention the fact that some of the rising stars, like Deng Lun, have a heavily packed schedule now too), maybe some of the fury will subside from fans, but for the time being, this is an incomplete production.
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