Was this review helpful to you?
Story: Fast paced and unpredictable, revenged themed, with an angsty love-line thrown in. The ending is WTF!
Acting/Cast: This my first Lee Byung Hun led drama. Well what an introduction it was! Not only is he good looking but he is an amazing actor that was made for this role. He had such an amazing chemistry with Kim Tae Hee. Although I really like her, I think Kim So Yeon kind of stole the show. All of the rest of the lead and supporting actors were perfect. They really casted this one well! Just be prepared to see some characters come and go...
Music: Actually a really good mix that fit when the mood changed (romantic to action scenes).
Rewatch: I loved the entire cast and the plot was exciting so I definitely will watch this one again but not for a bit case the ending left a bitter taste.
Final Thoughts: I dare anyone who hasnt seen this to give it a try if they want an exciting 20 hour ride!
Was this review helpful to you?
Of course, this is in the Korean style with some romance and melodrama blended in. Acting is top notch, with Byung-hun Lee in the lead role and a very good supporting cast: Tae-hee Kim (his love interest and fellow agent), Seung-woo Kim (a North Korean agent) and So-yeon Kim (as the gorgeous North Korean sniper). Production values are slick, the scoring is great at times, and the pacing is very fast for a K-drama with plenty of shootouts (a few of which are fantastic) and suspense. Storyline is cliched but the secret organization is intriguing and represents a brilliant little twist on the North/South Korean conflict. Consequently, the relationships between the characters change significantly in exciting ways and the viewer will have an emotional investment in the protagonists. Highly addictive stuff.
Production values are through the roof; various exotic locales, terrific cinematography, blazing gunfights and action scenes…they spared no expense here (for a TV series), and it definitely shows on screen.
Two marines who are friends get recruited by the NSS (National Security System). While there, they meet the primary love interest who is their sub section chief responsible for training them. The 2 friends quickly take to their new jobs as secret agents, and are soon deployed in the field. The NSS is primarily engaged with dealing with their North Korean counterparts, but, it soon becomes apparent there is a shadow organization at work behind the scenes known as Iris…the goal of Iris is too pretty much pit the 2 Koreas (and other nations) against each other, so they can profit and rise to world power.
After the botched mission by the 2 friends/leads, this show basically boils down to a matter of slowly uncovering what everybody's motives are, who's working for whom, who's ultimately good and who's ultimately evil, etc…Along the way, there's your main love interest storyline, the main friendship storyline, people being good and people being evil, characters reconciling with themselves and others over time in regards to what they believe is right and wrong, etc.
This show is very entertaining and highly addictive. I would also like to note that I've always loved the fact that there seems to be no clear delineation between "movie star" and "TV actor" in Korean productions. Main actors and actresses go back and forth between the 2 mediums seemingly at will, and that makes for some terrific performances when you might be inclined to expect less since "you're just watching a television show".
Highly watchable…whether it be for the typical melodrama & intrigue inherent to this Koren Television genre, or for the electrifying gun battles in the rush hour streets of downtown Seoul, or for the story & performances, or for just about anything and everywhere in between.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
So I’m leaving the story line behind with all my rants at the backroom.
Why recommend IRIS after saying that?
The cast (I have fallen in love with the antagonist! Why is T.O.P. one heck of a slick villain???), back drop setting (they actually went to different countries just to shoot) and music was all a just a plus points for the series, what made it really recommendable was THE ACTION. As I have mentioned earlier it was like ALIAS. Kick ass and butt full of action. The fight scenes were really eye popping it makes it hard to think that it wasn’t a movie but just a drama. They outdid themselves in the choreography with the fight scenes, battle up gear and stunts. So yes. I am recommending it for scenes with: Judo moves and gun shots. Run-for-your-life-while-bleeding-on-the-left-side-of-your-gut-crazed-looks while guns are aimed dead-on skulls. Even dying beautifully while tears streaming down the face would be pretty much catchy for me.
Have I gone to the other side by having a man’s taste? Probably. Yet, with Iris. I simply don’t care as long as I get one full hour of action.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Incredibly Sloppy Work in One of the Worst Action Series!
I’ve read a number of reviews that compare this series to “24,” which is an insult to anyone who has ever watched the show. “24” never had so many blatant plot holes, poor characterizations, and lapses in basic writing skills. I know the series was made in 2009, but this series plays like a bad episode of the A-Team. People who can’t hold weapons properly or even fire them with any kind of skill. I lost count of how many supposed “professional soldiers” are holding and firing their guns sideways! I guess the budget didn’t allow for a technical advisor, nor did they have the brains to have a medical examiner and pathology lab at NSS Headquarters. By the way, “24” had all of these things because they did their best to make sure everything was as accurate and functional as possible.The sad part is that the premise for the story is actually a really good one. A secret organization called “Iris” is manipulating and controlling events in both North Korea and South Korea to prevent the reunification of the peninsula. Iris reminds me a lot of SPECTRE from the old James Bond films.
The story begins with Kim Hyun Jun and his best friend Jin Sa Woo who have entered the special forces. Life is good, and they are actually enjoying their time together until they are recruited into the secret intelligence agency, NSS, which runs under the NIS. It’s headed by Director San Baek. Their “team leader” is Choi Seung Hee, whom Hyun Jun falls in love with. Little does he realize that Sa Woo has also fallen in love with her. Unaware that he’s been manipulated by San Baek since the death of his parents when he was a small child, Hyun Jun is sent off the assassinate a high-ranking North Korean in Hungary. Of course, San Baek has no intention of allowing Hyun Jun to live, and so they try to—and believe—that they’ve killed him. He’s shocked to find that Sa Woo shoots him down when he tries to escape in a plane.
Hellbent on revenge Hyun Jun spends years trying to recover from his injuries, escape other attempts on his life, and get back to South Korea to get revenge on all those responsible. He teams up with Kim Sun Hwa, a former member of the North Korean Supreme Guard, who is initially dispatched to kill him. It becomes quickly apparent, after he helps her, that she’s fallen in love with him. Yeah, that’s a big theme of the series: everyone falling in love with everyone else. I heard the same two love songs play so often that I thought I’d have to visit the dentist.
Hyun Jun finally returns to South Korea with Kim Sun Hwa as they attempt to uncover—what initially seems to be a North Korean plot to set off a nuclear bomb in Seoul, only to later find that it’s Iris that has been pulling the strings. Finally, you have North Korean and South Korean agents teaming up to try and prevent these catastrophes.
While the premise is good, the execution is downright laughably bad. Aside from the aforementioned glaring issues, there were so many more! So much so that I had an entire page of notes just on these problems. I won’t mention them all here, but the biggest ones. Forget that the layout of the NSS is terrible. Those working computers (only two) work side-by-side and across from each other. I laughed each time Sa Woo or someone else tried to hide what they were doing. I also seriously doubt that any intelligence agency would allow their agents to have personal photos on their computers! The fact that they have only one member of the forensic science team, who has a table in his office for autopsies. Not even an autopsy table, but a regular table covered with a sheet in his tiny office.
The last episode was an absolute travesty. Supposedly, terrorists switched places with some of the hostages, and yet at no time do the “hostages” attempt to let Sa Woo or Hyun Jun know what has happened. It was bad enough watching two “special forces” guys have no clue how to hold or use a gun! Also, the final role of Choi Seung Hee has so many inconsistencies and plot issues that it was laughable
The most glaring character issue was easily Choi Seung Hee. She’s not even believable as an agent. She acts more like a lovesick high school girl. When the terrorists infiltrate the NSS, she’s sneaking around—in heels! She’s also prone to going off on her own with backup or even a sense of how to clear a room or an area. She also can’t hold a gun properly. I laughed when she shoots Hyun Jun during the infiltration, and he shoots a man about to shoot her. At no time, even after she realizes who it was, is she worried that she might have actually killed him?! That made zero sense! It also made zero sense, that even after learning about San Baek and his connections, she’s suddenly worried about telling Hyun Jun that he’d attempted to recruit her. Had this happened BEFORE San Baek’s connections had come out, that would have made sense. Instead, it was poorly placed within the story, and again, made absolutely no sense at all. It was bad enough that she was suddenly reluctant to tell Hyun Jun why she had disappeared.
A big difference between Jack Bauer of “24” and Hyun Jun was that Jack never allowed his personal feelings to get in the way of a mission. I’m talking about a mission, not the last season after his girlfriend is killed and he goes rogue. Hyun Jun is careless, and too often, he allows his emotions to get the best of him, which, unfortunately, leads him to make very poor and amateur decisions. Turning his back on assassin Vick was a big one. No, he’s not methodical or believable as a good agent, certainly not being in the same realm as a Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer, or even Vincenzo, and that is what is desperately missing from this character and why he’s just not believable as an agent.
The character who stood out best for me was Kim Sun Hwa, and frankly, I liked her a heck of a lot more than the wishy-washy Choi Seung Hee. The actress, Kim So Yeon was far more believable as an agent than the flimsy Kim Tae Hee, who wears her emotions on her sleeve. Choi Seung Hee has no poker face at all. None. I was actually hoping—even though I knew it wouldn’t happen—that Hyun Jun would have made the wiser choice with Kim Sun Hwa. She’s a stronger woman and just as loving and passionate. I loved how she always had Hyun Jun’s back. Frankly, she went underappreciated.
First rule of writing is to write what you know. These writers had no clue, and frankly, shouldn’t be allowed to work in this industry again. Second rule is to never make the characters do something they wouldn’t do for the sake of moving the plot. These two problems plague the entire series, which tells me that the writers were completely clueless.
This will go down as one of the worst action series I’ve seen in a very long time, and shouldn’t even be uttered in the same breath as “24” because it’s not even a close comparison.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama was addicting. I watched it completely in two sittings and one all-nighter. The story was a tale of how evil influences can break even the tightest of bonds. The two main leads, Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Hee, were fabulous in their roles. Their romance was burning with passionate skin ship scenes and care for one another. Their acting was emotion-filled and made me feel like I was actually there with them in the scene. I also enjoyed the partner relationship between the 2nd FL and the ML, which was actually supportive and caring without being overbearing. The script completely captivated me into this genre of action spy dramas. The action scenes were well-choreographed and packed with high adrenaline gun fights. The ending was tragic but fitting as it was nearly impossible for the ML to have a happy ending after pissing off the underlying antagonists throughout the series. The OST was great, but the cinematography was terrible with random screen zooms and shaky cam. Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
