Was this review helpful to you?
With a talented and star-studded ensemble of some of Japan's most famous names, it's no surprise that Rage shines. Ken Watanabe needs no introductions, the male leads: Go Ayano, Matsuyama Kenichi, Tsumabuki Satoshi and Moriyama Mirai who all have already made names for themselves. Aoi Miyazaki, who's been in the industry since she was four. And the up and coming, Hirose Suzu. I also want to mention the relatively unknown Takara Sakumoto who makes his debut here as an actor to watch out for.
I'll tell you why Rage is a very raw film -- it depicts Japanese rigidity. I don't say that to provide a negative interpretation but there is a lot of suppressed emotions in the society. Hence, these suppressed emotions are bottled up, be it sadness, be it anger, be it loneliness—whichever. The need for catharsis is just too high and I think Rage perfectly depicted that need and gave these characters that chance.
As I watch this film, I too, want to scream, I too want to have a tantrum, I too, want to throw things—I want to release bottled-up feelings. Lee knows how to build-up these emotions that echoes the characters' as much as he builds up the narrative. He knows how to give you the "feels" combined with Ryuichi Sakamoto's score that's just filled with too much dramatic tension, you too, would want to explode.
There are two overlaying narratives in the film, all of which were very cleverly linked not only by the murder and that the three men emerge as potential suspects but are also connected through dialogue, through visuals and through sound. The sound is really the one, to me, pushes the plot. The sounds emit the emotions, emit the passion and emit everything. Lee connects visuals from Tokyo, from Chiba and from Okinawa together with the dialogues and the sound. I think it's a very refreshing way to do so and it makes the three narrative feel balanced.
These narratives, on their own are unique but still keeps the underlying theme of trust and connection. Go and Satoshi's narrative touches on their sexuality. It is very refreshing to see an aloof, almost-silent Go that contrasts with Satoshi's fearless and enthusiastic nature. Miyazaki, Watanabe and Kenichi's narrative touches on acceptance and of family. The lonely, almost weird Kenichi forms a connection with Miyazaki, who has just been rescued by Watanabe (her father) from an abusive sex work. Suzu, Mirai and Sakumoto brings us to Okinawa, of a simpler life, of youth and of curiosity but to me is really the one that resonated with me the most.
If you really want to know who the murderer is, I'd say look at the narrative that's filled with the most rage. Look at which narrative makes you feel the angriest, the one that filled you most with rage and you will have your answer. By the second hour of the film, where it's filled with tears and screaming and throwing, you'd know. The reveal isn't what matters, it's their stories that do. Lee knows how to juggle the three narratives that three of the suspects are all likely to be the killer.
The plot does, disintegrates into a cornucopia of crying, weeping, wailing and just a lot of those (all three narratives stitched together too) so it does overwhelm and to itself, an overexcess portrayal of the characters and their narratives. But nevertheless, very very very impressive performances from the cast.
All I have to critique is probably the lack of a backbone for the killer himself. There is an ongoing question of where the rage comes from. Is it simply from surpassed emotions? Is it simply from being laughed at his pitiful state? Or is it from being pitied? We are never given a straight answer so we can only interpret.
The visuals are stunning. The opening shot of a bird's eye view of Tokyo, to the clear waters of Okinawa to the colorful houses of Chiba—it's beautiful. The visuals are great transitions and there is never the lack of varying colors to depict the scene's mood.
Finally, I just want to say that I will never look at Hirose Suzu the same again. I'm only commenting on her the most because her films are the one I've seen the most. I used to say how Suzu knows how to act, she can cry but there is blankness in it (compared to the way Fumi Nikaido tries) but seeing her, in a very very very mature role, I'm taking back what I said—Suzu deserves all the spotlight she's getting. And with such roles, it's no doubt, she can do more.
Also, Takara Sakumoto making his debut here impresses.
Ultimately, the film is about trust and connection. No, it doesn't tell you who to trust and stuff but it does tell you how it feels when someone you trusts betrays you or someone you choose not to trust just decides to leave.
Was this review helpful to you?
Overall,it was a good run. No boring episodes. Good action scenes, and the cast did a great job. I ignored a lot of details that's why I found it good.
PS. Don't compare it to Healer too much. (as healer is perfection)
PS.2. Choi yoo jin is now literally my favorite "evil?" character. I didn't actually view her as evil, so I'm not sure what to call her. She was THE BOSS!! Admirable "clap"!!
PS.3. Ji Chang Wook is love, Ji Chang Wook is life.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
I was biased by the fact that the drama circled around serial killers, because that's a personal favorite for me. Add in the extreme personality of Simon Bo, and his almost alien innocence and it was a recipe for perfection. All 24 episodes kept me completely absorbed and interested. No skipping, no yawning and no looking away, not for a second.
I can't recommend this drama enough. If you are looking for a feeler into C-Dramas, this is a great way to go, it even has a little romance, if you need it. Do yourself a favor and watch this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Though the acting was average, I liked how the female protaganist was portrayed by Nam Ji Hyun, cute and hopeful with a hint of nonchalant acceptance of how she had lived when she first came back to life. The male protaganist was stiff and unbelievable. Kim Yun Bae as his best friend gave a better performance.
If you are looking for a quick feel-good love story that does not have much rewatch value, this would be it.
How I rate
---
5 = okay, but will never watch again
8 = good with rewatch value
>8 = good with rewatch value and must OWN!
Was this review helpful to you?
The story is original, contains plenty humorous and loving scenes and most importantly doesn't fall into traphole of kdrama cliches which want to make you pull your hair out in each episode. Every wondering question is answered at the beginning of an episode in a flashback of scenes you have not yet seen which also greatly helps both main and support characters with overall development.
When it comes to the cast, I must say I found the entirety of them hilarious and well-matched, especially the main couple dynamic and second male lead's relation towards them that did not in any way infringe on the special kind of bond that the main couple has, which I've found to be a problem whenever there is a love triangle in a drama. Yoo Sang Hyun's character was eccentric to the point that I was glad whenever there was a scene with him because he was such a sarcastic drama queen in any given situation.
This drama does have mostly subtle musical background, but some of the heavier scenes have inappropriate choices of soundtracks that takes away from the supposedly dramatical scene and instead makes it comical, which I'm beginning to suspect was intentional by the producers.
It is, without a question, the warmest drama you could see this year so stray no further; the melo tag is overshadowed by the well-written plot and characters, the romance stands out on its own as the centre point of the story intertwined with grand ideas of connecting everyone into one big family and supporting each other. However, in that aspect it also did tend to go too far into the fairytale concept with some scenes so I did find it naive, but it is not meant to be anything else than a story that will leave you with the best kind of feelings after you're done watching it.
Highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you?
I would first like to say I thought the acting in this was mainly phenomenal. JCW delivered brilliantly, the villains were so twisted you can't help but both pity them and hate them. I find sometimes villains don't have a motive other than just being evil but these ones did which combined with great acting made it amazing. My only negative was Yoona's acting BUT I know she hasn't got a lot of experience and luckily the other actors made up for it. As episodes went on, though, her acting improved.
This show is so full of plot twists you'll be dying to see the next episode. Some parts do /drag/ and are overly dramatic. A dark room filled with villains around a desk. Really?
Although not my favourite drama of the year I highly enjoyed this and will be looking into other works of these actors.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Story:
K2 is a mixed bag of espionage, political intrigue, romance, dysfunctional family and corruption in high circles.
Acting Cast 7,5
Chang Ji Wook and Song Yoon-A were exceptional in their roles.
Character assessment;
K2 moved like lightning. He should be the executive trainer of NIS.
Choi Yoo Jin had excessive mood swings. She was bi-polar, psychotic, duplicitous, ruthless, manipulative, delusional. She should be the dictator of a country.
An Na; bland! She should open a ramen shop.
Se Joon was a philanderer, dead beat father, sycophant. He should go on the talk show circuit.
Gwan Soo was the corrupt politician and K2's target. He should be attached to a bomb device.
Music: 7
The music kept the drama alive.
Rewatch value: 5
Some day!
Overall 6.5
The most annoying aspect of the production was the ridiculous abuse of Shaky Camera. The jerky movements caused the brain to readjust and lose concentration (especially when the international viewers were reading subtitles). This lowered the quality of the project, because it seemed as if amateurs were behind the camera, and in charge of the production.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
For me, it's important to understand going in to this movie that what you are watching is a fairy tale. Not a fairy tale like today's, where they all end up with "And They Lived Happily Ever After", but like the fairy tales of my youth which were, in actuality, quite violent and bloody and full of allegory and mysticism. So you need to suspend reality going into this movie. You might parallel it with movies like Crouching Tiger, etc since the atmosphere, the cinematography, the actions scenes are all combined to transport us into a world that is more mystical than realistic...though the actions scenes are quite realistic and far too intense for a younger audience. It's a beautiful movie to look at. Not just the cinematography (the camera work is stunningly beautiful), but the period setting, the costumes, the characters, and, most of all, the locations (particularly Mt Jirisan) are just breathtakingly beautiful. The film truly transports you to another time and another place.
The story is allegorical in more than just a man against beast, beast against man way. The time period of the film is set during the Japanese occupation and during this time period the Japanese army was charged with searching out and destroying pockets of resistance groups hiding out on Mt. Jirisan. Also, the tiger is a symbolic animal for the Korean people reflecting their courage and resilience against their many years of adversity. A tiger that has overcome trials and tribulations and understands the world is known to turn white, becoming a white tiger. A symbol that becomes apparent at the end of the movie. So the Japanese soldiers who are hunting the tiger in this movie and the tiger's fight against them have this underlying symbolism to them.
I've read several reviews and commentaries on this movie. A lot of people felt like it was too long or got boring. I totally do not relate to that. But, I am a huge fan of these types of movies and love the mystical quality of them. The movie flew by for me. It may not be so for you. But I hope it will be!
Small SPOILER: The subs on Netflix are good, but not perfect. I don't know Korean, but I can tell if sentences are left out or when some phrases are changed or not translated. Of particular note, what Man Deok says has he leaves his burning house ca ji ca jah (spelling???) which is "Let's go together", I believe, not I'm going.
Was this review helpful to you?
Drama Special Series Season 3: Adolescence Medley
0 people found this review helpful
Was this review helpful to you?
Just to the add. The leads remain true to themselves and just like their love it has always been honest and sincere. The heart to heart talk and mature discussion before the made up and even the proposal was so fitting. I love the balance of sweet romance and a couple who is honest and mature to face the reality and their background differences, together.
Was this review helpful to you?
Recent Discussions
-
-
Waiting comments20 minutes ago -
Waiting comments- us clowns unite??21 minutes ago
-
Kill me , love me ! Wow ? the title suit this drama well32 minutes ago
-
Some thoughts about episode 5 & 6 (Spoilers!!)45 minutes ago
