Reviews

This had so much potential. It should've been great as a film--it had all the elements: a great historical story worth telling, a talented director/writer, some great veteran actors, a high budget, etc. So I hate that I'm in the Super Disappointed camp and not the This Was a Masterpiece camp. I guess my melodrama tolerance is too low, and my expectations were too high considering how great Kim Han Min's last movie was and how iconic this film is always going to be in Korean film history. I mean, pretty much everybody went to go see it when it came out. I love historical films...especially epic historical films...but this one just left me feeling let down, considering how great it should've been.

STORY:
I felt like the downfall of what could've been truly an epic, emotive film were these two things: a seriously mediocre script and melodrama overkill. So I get that filmgoers would have already known the story from history, and I get that in some ways the first half of the script's very sparse storytelling decisions were somewhat typical of this genre for a well-known historical event. But I thought the script was such a waste for the most part, and not only messed up the pacing of the first half, but kept us from being fully invested in compelling character roles.

Here we have in the historical story such complex and rich conflict...but in the film, it hardly plays out in an emotive or visceral way, except for Admiral Yi's inner conflict (which Choi Min Shik did an admirable job showing with very little to work with in the script) and the too-few scenes with Im Joon Young and his wife. No one else's character is remotely developed, and sure, 2 hours isn't a lot of time, but it's plenty. With better writing that first half could have been so compelling instead of dragging like it did. As a result I just didn't feel as much as I should have. The stakes were high, but the storytelling didn't let me actually feel with the characters, and the few that had the potential just weren't capitalized on.

The themes had a ton of potential too. I did like that it went a bit further beyond the typical "stand and fight never bow down" thing (which I do think epic Korean historical films are great at doing in emotive ways). There was that, and it was fascinating to wonder what the admiral would think of next or how he would solve his next impossible problem of doom rather than give in like everyone wanted him to. And on that front, there were some nice plays on typical Art of War strategy ideas. I always enjoy that in war movies, where there's a subtle debate over the philosophy of a particular one. But I thought so much more could have been done with those themes, and so many small relationships and overall plot points that were totally ripe for development. That was disappointing...and ultimately why even the cool plot turns were just cool and not emotionally satisfying.

Instead, there was wayyyyyy too much time spent on melodrama overkill. So Korea does melodrama oh so well and I realize my personal taste has a pretty wobbly line that gets easily crossed. So if your tolerance is way high or you're Korean and super patriotic, you may love what I did not. But I found myself continuously pushed out of the story by the way too loooong shots of Choi Min Shik staring all heroically into the camera or to the side or the way too long slo-mo scenes of battle that actually made some of the otherwise good fight choreography look distracting/ridiculous [e.g. watch soldier stunt man unconvincingly get his brain bashed out with the same move for like 30 seconds instead of 3]. I should note, however, that the battle scenes were for the most part really well done considering how tough it must have been to direct in the studio. Kim Han Min really excels with action scenes.

That said, his War of the Arrows is proof that incredible action/cinematography/direction coupled with good writing goes so much further (he also directed and wrote that script). I don't know for sure, but I'm wondering if more of the script was written by co-writer Jun Chul Hong who also wrote Kundo: Age of the Rampant...another film with tons of potential but similar script flaws.

ACTING:
I was really let down by the acting too. Choi Min Shik was totally the best person for the role of the grizzled leader pressed against the wall, and I was impressed with what Ryu Seung Rong did with his character (the badass enemy Kurushima), who didn't have any interesting dialog but whose presence totally seethed. Otani Ryohei had little interesting dialog too, but had great presence, as did a couple other secondary officers I didn't totally recognize. Jin Goo (the scout) was so good in his few scenes, and his character interesting enough that I was sad we didn't really know who he was in spite of the heroic role he ends up playing on numerous levels.

And while normally I'm not too bothered by Korean actors playing Japanese characters with horrible Japanese accents (especially when it's only a small part of the story), I did not get the choices made here. I mean, there was a ton of Japanese dialog, and there are quite a few excellent Korean actors who speak excellent Japanese. I don't get why they cast Kim Myung Gon in a role many others could've played when he sounded soooo bad it was totally hilarious...and even the actors who were well cast (like Ryu Seung Rong and Cho Jin Woong) are very proficient speakers, and big names, their still-not-convincing accents were pretty distracting...I don't understand why they couldn't at least dub some of the more sub-standard lines in post production like the Chinese do for less-than-fluent second-language speakers? I realize not everyone cares, but sheesh, with such a high budget and so much Japanese dialog, why not do it right?? I mean, this film had a release in Japan, after all.

OST:
As others have said, the epic OST was on point. SO good! Emotional without being too melodramatic, and dramatic without being exhausting...and a great theme. One you'd want to listen to over and over. If anyone knows who the composer is and what other film scores they've done, I'd like to know.

REWATCH:
The naval battle direction in the second half was pretty great and worth rewatching. And if you're not familiar with the story, it's also worth rewatching so you can actually get what's going on in the first half, which can be slightly confusing as there's very little character introduction or set up.

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STORY: The lives of a group of people intertwine at a popular coffee shop, through a popular web blog "The Underwear", and high school. This series has straight and gay themes but, unfortunately, EVERYONE is in love with the WRONG person! It'd be fine to see one example of it but the entire cast is in love with someone who loves someone else.

ACTING/CAST: Pretty faces, hot bodies, seems they can play their parts. There's some GL in this and they did not cut the kissing scenes...the actresses made it look real, very nice.

MUSIC: Great music and it was English-subbed. Seriously, is there a Thai drama that doesn't have great music?

REWATCH VALUE: Once through is fine

OVERALL: With every couple in every scene having one person in love with someone else, it's overbearing and exhausting. This series doesn't present enough side stories. This show should be subtitled: "The Underwear: Love Triangles."

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Ok I'll start in overall:
Ep1-9 felt like there's magic into it
10-13 plot starts to struggle
13-16: good with a closure that gives what you wish/dream of.
a kind of drama that is not so perfect but end up to my fav list/love it.

If you're into romcom, love cute/adorable couple like you enjoy dramas that are light hearted then this drama is for you...~ Chemistry is just too real a kind of relationship that you can't see any other guy for her, just him. It's seriously funny/hilarious....XD but there are times you'll be like... Is this even impt?


Story: genre of crime/romcom/thriller didn't work all together in the middle of the story it felt so random it would be better if they focus in just one genre, The flaws and hole into it, there is so many ways to improve it, make it better, that they failed to do so. DESPITE all that you won't think about it, it could make you forget /forgive those shortcoming, for the main couple. Their love story overcomes all those problem, you know their chemistry is just too undeniably strong and so much lovable.

Recommendation
highly recommended to those who have bubbly personality, hopelessly loves romance, loves to fall out of love, wants to meet a sassy male lead, cutie female lead, a good laugh then go watch it. If you wanna watch this drama because of investigation genre, just don't and go somewhere else. This isn't for you if you're too much of a technical person when it comes to watching dramas but if you're someone who based it more in the feels then you'll enjoy and appreciate it~

Character/acting
Minhyuk and Bong Soon is loife!
Characters: there's your fav, someone you'll dislike/like, you'll love/hate, find annoying/funny. Shoutout to Secretary, Bong ki and high-schoolers!~

Park Hyungsik and Park Bo Young shines in this and I hope they'll continue to shine, to see them together in another drama or just date for real. Oooops!!! Kekkeke. I love all the cast and I thank the PD-nim for the supply of bts every week.

The ost is good. Rewatched value is perfect ofc I'm talking about the moments/story of the main couple, I'm gonna miss all of them and I want a version 2 juseyo!!!! Bong Soon and Minhyuk will always have a special place in my heart. My 100th drama! Whooooops! Thankyouuu for the feels.~

ps: the main couple is way too cute to handle, warning; they're addicting. Uggggggh!!!! Anyways hope my review helps!~

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This is actually a good korean drama. Not that great, but it's good.

The story is not that great actually. However, I do like the idea of DBS who is a strong woman and it is focused on women empowerment. I just don't like how there are scenes that is actually not needed in the second half of the drama, makes me feel like the writer got lazy on making surprising and unique scenes, there are also cliche outcomes on some scenes, that's why I already expected what is going to happen and it really did. The gang scenes are funny at first but in the second half of the drama, it is pretty annoying now. But other than that, the last 2 episodes had a great improvement. I just wanted unique that can make the viewers go "WOW!". There are some gay jokes that is a bit offensive but some of it are funny. The funny scenes really made me laugh out loud though and some scenes made me cry. What I love the most are the couple scenes. They are so cute and they have a great chemistry. When it comes to the cutest couple, it goes to DBS and AMH. I would've wished that they minimize the gang scenes and focus more on the couple and the thriller scenes.

I love their acting! I love the chemistry of Park Bo Young and Park Hyung-sik. It felt like they are couples for real that their acting is so natural. THANK YOU FOR PAIRING THEM. Park Bo Young is the cutest woman alive and Park Hyung-sik's smile and stare is so adorable, cute and charming! Other casts did so well at acting too.

Some songs are cute, some songs are great, some songs are not memorable.

I would rewatch for the 2nd time, but if I can watch for the 3rd time and so forth, I would skip some scenes that are not needed. I just can't help but watch the cute couple!

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This drama will make the audiences feel happy.

Love filled in the air, especially between the male and female lead.

The leads have natural cute chemistry. And I can say that Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik are one of the best on-screen and off screen chemistry couples in Korean drama. Their chemistry is the key factor that makes the huge contribution to the success of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.

The story of this drama balance both romance and thriller but actually few last episodes ( except episode 15 and 16) are quite weak. It took too long to catch the criminals.

The ending is quite satisfied and this drama is warm- hearted, funny and loving drama.

If you like romance and comedy dramas, this drama is worth watching.

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Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.

Oh man, this was a great show. I can see why it's breaking records for JTBC. It stars Park Bo Young as the titular character, Do Bong Soon, a young woman with superhuman strength, and Park Hyung Shik as Ahn Min Hyeok, the CEO of a gaming company. Ji Soo plays In Gook Doo, the second lead, who is a cop and Bong Soon's childhood friend (and her crush). Much of the story is the pursuit of the killer and serial kidnapper terrorizing the neighborhood in which Do Bong Soon lives, and that plot line does admirably well at being creepy and challenging for the protagonists, but is largely just back drop for the truly delightful interactions between Bong Soon and Min Hyeok. There's a love triangle, but really only sort of (I'm ready for Ji Soo to actually play a character who gets the girl, though I'm not at all unhappy with his character /not/ getting to be with Bong Soon) because one of the three spent most of his life with his head in the sand. I love that Min Hyeok is intrigued by Bong Soon from the beginning and doesn't spend really any time at all trying to change her. I love that he embraces her strength and treasures it, and that he wants to protect her and keep her from harm, but also doesn't stop her from being an active participant in her life and in facing the various challenges that cross her path. The chemistry in this cast is just amazing.

Minus .5 on story only because some of the story lines get dropped so fast that there's not much satisfaction (and at least one semi-major one doesn't even have a resolution). The music in this show is catchy and delightful.

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- Kdramas have a problem of not balancing the interest level of both Female and male characters but this show proved to be one of the rare exception.
- story can be better, but the character relationship and actors amazing work and chemistry won me over 200%!
- made me happy!
- Satisfying ending!
- More girls should watch this and more guys should learn from Min Hyuk

I did wish they further explored the woman's equality issues but Min hyuk truly showed how you should treat a woman. True men are secure and appreciate a strong woman. Not pressuring but treat her and each other with respect.
BONG BONG x MIN MIM FOREVER!

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Although it feels like a bad copy of 'Jurassic Park' at the very start, the movie soon shows its unique side. The best thing about the film is without doubt the action, as it brings adrenaline. Furthermore, there is some truth to the story - facts about the Great Wall have been greatly observed before the making of all this. For instance, the barracks were mentioned and shown, although for plenty of seconds. Matt Damon also puts in a great performance as William; he lived up to my expectations for sure. However, I was dreaming the whole time for Luhan to have a little more significant role. If you're planning to watch this film because of him, do not lose your time.

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Do you want a super adorable hilarious show with a dark creepy psychopath subplot? Then this one's for you. This drama is thoroughly enjoyable, filled with fall off my chair laughing moments to regretting that I'm watching at night.

From the get go you know the story is going to be lots of fun. It involves Do Bong Soon, a small girl with superhuman strength. There are two sides to this story, which you get to watch build up into the climax of the drama. One side deals with her learning to deal with the strength she has, and of course, her love life involving two very tall, very beautiful dudes. The other side deals with a psychotic kidnapper who takes young girls and locks them into a dungeon. Doesn't make sense right? These two storylines eventually merge into one coherent one. The comedic timing of this show though is amazing. From the dialogue, to the effects, and even the sound effects, every aspect was perfectly done and made me die of laughter. It's definitely a fun show all around, despite the darker side theme.

The acting was absolutely done very well. I've known Park Bo Young from two of her other works, and once again she's proven her strong acting abilities here. Park Hyung Sik has definitely improved very much and despite his status as an idol, he's become a very competent actor as well. Their chemistry was off the charts and made me feel so many things. Aside from the main characters, every actor in this show was phenomenal. You can tell they put 101% of their effort into their acting and it definitely shows. Their commitment to making this the funniest drama is very evident once you watch it.

The music was very memorable. I especially loved Jung Eun Ji and Mamamoo's OSTs, but many others were great as well.

I would definitely rewatch this drama, as I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a super fun and adorable romance that is definitely binge-worthy. It's not too action packed, but interactions between characters were very much enjoyable. Props to the sound director as well for the perfectly placed sound effects. I loved this drama so so much and it's become a top 10. All in all, definitely worth a watch!

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As soon as you start the first episode you'll be swept away by the awesome female lead, swoon worthy male lead, and the hilarious situations that ensues with the characters around them. But I always say that you cannot rate a drama only on its beginning. Though Strong Woman Do Bong Soon never started out as a perfect drama, it starts to struggle towards the end of the race.

SWDBS follows Do Bong Soon, who has a supernatural ability that gives her incredible strength and it runs in the females in her family. Combine this with Park Hyung Shik as the leading male with hilarious side characters and it seems like it will be a match made in heaven. But this drama from the beginning has always suffered from tonal problems because of its other plotline that has to do with kidnapping. With one half of the show so cute and funny, it does not blend with the other half of the show that happens to be very serious. The writer had a hard time blending comedy and thriller together and the drama starts to suffer in the end because of it. Even with these problems I still believe that you will have a great time watching this drama, especially the first half but you might become frustrated towards the latter half.

It also suffers from pacing problems and at times it will linger on scenes that do not move the plot forward. And also, the kidnapping plotline itself is just not strong. There is nothing really exciting about it because everything is really obvious. The best thing about the plot itself is the romance between the two leads because everything else is not as strong.

The cast is hands down the best thing about this drama. I came in knowing that Park Bo Young will be great. She is a really good actress and I've always felt that she has been able to add a lot of depth to the characters that she is given. Park Hyung Shik was a surprise for me. I've never watched him in a drama before but after this I know I'll be watching all of his past dramas and future ones too. As we know, a lot of idols are cast in leading roles because of their popularity and looks but Park Hyung Shik is not just a handsome idol (and he is handsome!) but a really good actor and he showcases that in this drama. He had a lot of strong scenes that surprised me and I’m already looking forward to seeing him in something new. His character Min Hyuk will make your heart swoon. If you watch this and don't like the plot, I will guarantee that you'll love his character. The way he looks at Do Bong Soon will make your heart melt.

Ji Soo will be a bit of surprise for many if you seen his past work before. Ji Soo is usually the guy to give you second male lead syndrome but he definitely is not able to do that here. Unlike others, I did not have that much of a problem with the character itself. The rest of the cast is good too. They are hilarious and it’s a joy to watch them.

I will give fair warning to people. If you get offended by some jokes then this will not be the drama for you. There is a lot of gay jokes and people weren't particularly happy with the domestic abuse either (and with good reason.) So, if you are bothered by gay jokes, I wouldn't suggest watching this because they never really let up on it either. It's not just one joke but multiple ones.

Overall, I must say for myself personally I really liked this drama and though I think it started to drag towards the end, I still really enjoyed it. It's a drama that you'll have a lot of fun with. I think if you pay attention to the leads and the hilarious moments then you'll really enjoy this drama. My best recommendation is to not pay much attention to the kidnapping plot line. I really feel like it holds the drama back from being really good. Despite the story not being strong, I think a lot of people will still enjoy this drama. I think this is one of those dramas, that you have to watch without paying too much attention to the plot and just enjoy it. Because once you start to pay attention to it, it will fall apart.

That being said, if you like a swoon worthy male lead and a badass female lead who kicks ass then you'll love this drama. If you like your story strong, tight, and with good pacing then this might not be the drama for you.

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