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Waste of 16 hours
The writing is awful. Female lead annoying. Bad plot. Icb some people think it's "the thriller drama of the year" when beyond evil and so many better thriller dramas happened. Say yikesIt’s really not worth the time. I m fond of the actors but this was really disappointing
Another thing is, the action scenes were cringe. Many one dimen sional characters too. Main cast plays as archetypes anf ghey dont always have real depths. Some aspects were good but that excitement gets tiring and you just end up watching bored after a while
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THE REVENGE DRAMA WE BADLY NEED. A MUST WATCH!
This is not your typical revenge-themed drama. I really liked how they introduced the characters in the first episode then their works in the next ones. This drama tackles social issues that are relevant to us today. The revenge concept is really unique and the prosecutors balance what the taxi company does. The actors are all good especially Lee Je-hoon. He nailed every "role" so far and I fell more for him. He also did the action scenes himself (talk about dedication and talent <3). The plot and the series itself gets more and more interesting. I hope more people would recognize this gem.It's still ongoing but I made this review for those who are still unsure whether they should start watching Taxi Driver or not. The answer is: WATCH THIS KDRAMA NOW!!
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An Almost Perfect Drama That Survives A Nearly Ruinous Misstep
For the first several episodes of Taxi Driver, I was completely hooked. A fun take on the revenge story that was both playfully irreverent and deeply, brutally serious. The theme and tone of the episodes managed to balance this perfectly. Our various characters reveled in their ruthless undertaking with, initially, little thought for the broader moral complexities.Naturally, as the series progressed, these moral complexities worked their way to the surface. Mature and nuanced debates about justice versus revenge, vigilantism versus an established justice system, etc. etc. became more prevalent without ever damaging the pacing or feel of the story.
Mostly, this is a drama that doesn't really need a review. You get what's on the tin. It's done exceptionally well. Enough is left unresolved to leave room for personal consideration. The action sequences were wonderful. The characters were wonderfully developed and the whole cast had lovely chemistry. I also enjoyed the pronounced lack of romance.
HOWEVER.
About halfway through, a storyline was begun that damn near ruined the whole thing. I'm not one to jump up and down about how women should or should not be portrayed. I'm of the mind that women, like all human beings, exist in limitless variety and so there really is no "wrong" portrayal, strictly speaking. But this went far enough to offend my intelligence. A case was introduced that had a personal connection to the woman on the team. Many cases arose throughout the series that had personal connections to the various main characters. And all of them struggled to deal with their own emotional baggage as they worked on the case. However when hers came about, she didn't struggle. She ran away to her house where she locked herself in her bedroom and hid under her bed (literally) for days. She was an adult whose irrationally and unnaturally childish behavior was being depicted as normal and unsurprising. No one could reach her. They ended up having to cope with her absence as they tried to handle the case without her essential skills. It came across like she, being a woman, was literally incapable of dealing with the emotional weight of it. This particular case, too, dragged on MUCH longer than the previous ones had, which made this situation feel like it would never end. I almost dropped the drama because of it. An absurd decision that someone ought to be punished for.
And it wasn't like the men were depicted as having an easy time with their personal issues. One had a panic disorder that actually landed him in the hospital. They all struggled, but the men were, apparently, able to at least maintain lucidity and uprightness (and adulthood?). Whereas the woman, being female, actually fully shut down under the pressure of ~~trauma~~ and reverted back to a seven-year-old child. It was like this was the only way the writers could think to portray a woman having a hard time with something. Like they thought it was somehow unrealistic for her to at least be able to attempt to struggle through it. And that it was far more realistic for the woman to respond to difficulty exactly the same way a child would. Because a woman and child are more or less the same thing, right?
If you fast forward through all that garbage, this series is really wonderful. Though I'm hesitant to watch Season 2 on the chance there might be more of that.
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I guess this ain't for me after all..
I guess it not really for me.The plot was really interesting at first, unique. They were getting justice for those people that was denied of it. I like it a lot. Even the cast were great.. The fights scenes were good too. Some says, there's too much violence with in this show. Me, I don't mind it. As long as it's necessary for the story.
But then it went downhill from there really fast. It was as if the same thing kept happening on and on, all throughout the whole story. 16 episodes, 1 hour each is too long to watch almost the same thing over and over again.
I also wish a little bit more heart, something maybe a bit sweet just to cleanse the palate. The only reason I kept on watching is only because I was hoping it would get better, it didn't..
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Refreshing Idea, but needs more focus on characters.
There were quite many things to love about Taxi Driver, and I hate that I couldn't agree on giving a higher rating, but the things I did love include:- The idea of getting revenge through a Taxi was a very refreshing idea and the comfort the victims felt when the main character, Doki listens to their stories warmed my heart a lot.
- The main character, Doki was also very complex, and not to even mention the actor's portrayal of this character's weaknesses, strengths, actions, and even reasonings was really good.
- The awareness each of their cases raised, watching the victims tell their struggles was very heartbreaking but the fact that these cases actually occur in real life allowed us as viewers to see why we should try as possible to be better or more supportive of victims who go through horrifying things as such.
- The villain, Beak Sun Mi, was a very complex character who knew what she wanted and was smart enough to get her hands on it.
- Both of the FLs. One of them was Go Eun, Go Eun had a bad backstory that made her physically and emotionally unstable, yet despite this, she was able to get herself up and fight for what she desired, demonstrating her strength. I absolutely loved that.
On the other hand, despite the fact that she was despised by the majority of viewers, I adored Hana's character because she had such an independent demeanor and a stubborn intellect that made me fall in love with her right away. And she was just despised by the majority of spectators since she held a different belief than the Blue Bird Team.
Things I disliked:
- The founder of the Blue Bird team, Jang Sung Chul had very little intricacy or steady composition. Yes, he was brilliant enough to form the team, but given that all he did was get angry, he seemed to me to be a self-pitying, anger-driven man who wasn't even smart. For example, when Beak Sun Mi was exposed to be the villain as the series progressed, I was unhappy that he hadn't seen it coming. It didn't make sense; he was working with a lady who could murder him with the flick of a finger, and he had no leverage to defend himself and his crew. His supposed personality traits of being intelligent and intimidating had nothing to do with 90% of the things his character performed.
- Stripping Go Eun of the follow-up of her backstory. I enjoyed Go Eun's character and was surprised to see that she had a background, but I'm pleased she did. Unfortunately, almost nothing happened with her after her backstory episodes; I mean, she's one of the main characters, so a backstory should've been inevitable; it was almost as if they'd forgotten about her.
- Hana's wasted potential. As much as I like her character's steadiness and independence, I despised how long it took the scriptwriter to put her on the team. Her joining the team was something I expected to happen even before the drama aired, but they took much too long to do so. Hana was a clever person who understood her way around the law, therefore I believe she could have protected the team better even if the law didn't punish the offenders harshly enough. They could've also given her character a more interesting backstory.
I recommend this but if you're like me you'll have difficulties wrapping your head around the unsteady development of some of the characters.
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Sometimes we need dark heroes in this injustice world
The plot of the drama is 100/10 ! Every human being should watch this drama. You will never get bored watching this drama. The action scenes of the drama is so real and fresh to watch. Just like you're having a soda on hot day and watching fireworks towards the end of the day. At the end of each episode, they will include some info abt the crime, that little details show that the drama's aim to make community realize that how bad is the crime is clear. I personally attached on rainbow taxi squad comedies, you should look forward to have a good laughter too.The casts of the drama are freaking AWESOME. Like I can't think of anyone that suits the characters more than the casts themselves. I'm glad pyo ye jin took the role even she's joining in the halfway of the shooting because she's so natural with her character. She doesn't look like she's acting at all. Lee je hoon really portrayed the best kim do ki. I believe he's the only one who can act as real kim do ki, the acting kim do ki, the cheeky kim do ki, and the stupid kim do ki. Really love esom's elegance in prosecutor kang hana even tho the character should be very ambitious. And all hail to the villain queen of taxi driver, she nails it !!! Like for real !! The best villain ever !
The ost of the drama are only seven but the timing of the ost playing really make your heart pounds. they gave specific role for each ost. Like if ost 1 played, you can expect for intense fighting scene, ost 2 warned you the upcoming heartbroken scene etc. I freaking love the ost "Silence" by YB ! you can check it out on youtube 😉 the most played ost i think.
Overall the drama is unbelievably beautiful and ugly at the same time. The beautiful sides of victims get a protection and the ugly sides of the injustice law. Definitely will rewatch this drama. Fyi already miss them and hoping for season 2
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Awesome drama
Great story. I'm surprised that it's an adaptation froma webtoon. There are fantastic actors/actresses in this drama as well. I like how the plot kind of highlight the way Korean law enforcement lack of power over criminals. Lee Je Hoon is awesome as the lead actor. He is quite underrated in the Kdrama world isn't he. All supporting casts are awesome. Felt angry and sad watching the stories, which completely sums up the situation in Korea. Looking forward to Season 2. Just watched Season 2's Episode 1 and it's already captivating. The music is great.Was this review helpful to you?
An interesting action drama which raises questions about justice
Taxi Driver is one of the most recommended kdramas out there. I have seen people talking about it so naturally, I became interested. Since the third season is coming up, I decided to watch the first two in order to prepare for the new one. After watching the first season, I decided to share my thoughts about it.From a technical aspect, Taxi Driver was very good. I don't know how they filmed the taxi scenes, but they were very cool to watch. The camera work was very intense, especially during the driving scenes and the closeups during the characters' dialogues added more tension. The fighting scenes were serviceable, I found the ones in the second hand better choreographed than the ones in the first episodes but they did their job.
The soundtrack was a highlight on its own. Epic and intense, with some emotional undertones at times. It gave me a retro feeling and it matched with the drama's tone. Vivaldi's Four Seasons was a great addition and it always added the required tension, giving an old-school tone. But the song that became integrated into my mind is All Day by Cha Ji Yeon. I had no idea that she was the singer behind it, talk about a talented woman. Every time the song played, I got chills all over my body, even seconds after listening to the instrumental.
Taxi Driver's plot relies on the themes of justice and revenge. The first part focused on individual cases that got resolved in 2 episodes while the second half focused on the Rainbow Taxi team and their own battle with the police and the organ harvesting organization.
The episodic format in the first half worked very well for this type of drama. We witness different cases of people who seek revenge against their abusers and who pin their last remains of hope on the Rainbow company. The drama tackles many serious topics, from school bullying to illegal porn trafficking, therefore if you want to watch it, proceed with caution. The fact that the cases were inspired by real events made the experience sadder. Just how many people who have been wronged didn't get the justice they deserved?
Taxi Driver challenges the morals of viewers by portraying two different sides: vigilantism and law. On the one hand, we have Rainbow Taxi members who help people who are wronged while on the other hand, we have the law, who is supposed to protect the victims and punish the culprits. However, this applies in theory only, for the law is not always righteous. Criminals often do not receive serious sentences or they might not even get caught. Under the weight of fear, helplessness and pain, to whom will the victims rely on? Who will offer them a shoulder to lean on, once they've been consumed by darkness?
It is no secret that the justice system is now flawless. Unfortunately, we have seen many cases of criminals not receiving strict punishments for their crimes - or not being punished at all. It's not hard to exploit the law as long as you have power and real life has proved this many times before. The members of Rainbow Taxi have experienced firsthand the cruelty and ignorance of the system, which instead of providing comfort and help, it held an indifferent position.
That was an interesting food for thought; if these feelings of anger, wrongness and bitterness are being bottled up, what will happen once they'll burst? To what extent are people willing to go, driven by the need for revenge against their abusers? And how can we criticise their choice? I found myself deep in thoughts with each passing case. The answers to these questions are more complex than we think but instead of spoon-feeding us, the series encourages us to give our own interpretation.
The cast was good and the actors did a good job bringing the characters too life. They fit their roles very well and no one felt miscasted. I especially enjoyed the performances by the villains, the actors made sure to make me hate their guts and pray for their downfall. I especially liked Choi Hyun Wook's performance as a school bully. He proved that he can shine in darker roles and I'd love to see him playing a similar character one day.
Lee Je Hoon as Kim Do Ki was certainly a highlight of his own. The way he sifted from Do Ki's stern and closeted character to his cheerful and outgoing personas during the missions was so effortless and natural. Many times I thought that he would be perfect in a comedy series, his charm was contagious and I had a blast watching him fooling around with the criminals. At the same time, he embodied Do Ki's feelings perfectly. I could tell by his expressions what Do Ki felt and thought. He humanised the character a lot and it was as if the role had been written specifically for him.
I'd also like to give a nod to Cha Ji Yeon. Holy moly, if that wasn't a commanding performance, I don't know what it is. She carried herself with such confidence and mirth, I was always unable to take my eyes off the screen every time she appeared. The tone of her voice, her body language, her maneuvers, her expressions, everything was spot on in order to showcase Baek Seong Mi's character. Definitely one of the best female villains I've encountered so far in terms of acting.
I was so shocked when I learned that Ji Yeon comes from a musical background and that she's mostly a musical actress. I'm not exaggerating when I'm saying that her performance can put other professional drama actors to shame. This woman is so talented and I'll watch everything from her (unfortunately short) filmography, just to experience more of her acting. And again, she killed it in the soundtrack!
Until now, I spoke in the best regard about Taxi Driver. It was entertaining and there's no denial about the importance of the topics it addresses. However, I must say that I unfortunately did not connect with it like many people did and in the end, I was left with an indifferent impression.
Before I'll go in detail, I want to clarify this: I'm aware of the fact that the production changed the writers and as a result, the second half is different. As you will see, I didn't like the second part that much but I also had some issues with the first act. Even if the original writer had been involved in the rest of the series, I'd still have some complaints to make.
I started noticing some issues with the writing from the early episodes. Having heard so many praising comments regarding the depiction of the cases and the victims, I expected the drama to delve deeper into these matters and explore the emotional and psychological state of the people more.
Nevertheless, Taxi Driver focused more on the revenge plans, which is not bad but it didn't make me connect with the victims that much. The series shows how devastated they are but it touched their feelings in a rather superficial way. I get it, this is an action packed drama so obviously it wouldn't focus on the victims and their psychological state. But I would have preferred it if we had seen more of them. I understand that this is a me problem, so feel free to not take this criticism too seriously.
While the first half didn't leave me in awe, it was certainly far more engaging compared to the second one. I'm sorry but the drop in quality was beyond noticeable, at least for me. In terms of storytelling, it was a dragging mess. I was tempted to skip many scenes and the conclusion felt both overstretched and rushed at the same time. I totally understand the purpose of the organ harvesting subplot but the payoff was underwhelming. The events that led to it were more exciting than the plot itself and until the very last episode, I was looking forward to be done with the series.
Another aspect I wasn't very fond of was the comedy. There were some good light-hearted scenes, especially the ones between Gyeong Gu and Jin Eon. But some other scenes failed to elicit a reaction from me. While I enjoyed Lee Je Hoon's portrayal of Do Ki's personas, this gimmick became kinda boring after a while. The case about the voice phishing incidents made me cringe in various moments. The jokes were a miss for me and the fake flirting between Do Ki and Madame Li made me want to straightforward their scenes.
Due to the focus on revenge, the emotional impact was lost, especially during the second act. While the series included some emotionally heavy moments, the constant shift in the tone didn't allow me to properly digest them or connect with the characters. One moment, we watched something sad and then the story would return to its epic tone.
The characterisation also left much to be desired. I would have preferred it if we had gotten more exploration about the Rainbow Taxi members. I didn't expect a strong development but it would have been interesting if we had seen the members trying to deal with their inner demons. In addition, while I enjoyed the characters, I didn't feel any strong connection with them. They had some nice interactions nd there were times when it showed how much they cared about each other but I still felt quite distant.
Go Eun's backstory and trauma was handled in the best way. We saw how she struggled psychologically and physically and that she needed time to get back on the case and through her flashbacks, we observed her relationship with her sister and the impact her death had on her. I sympathized with her pain and I rooted for her to get her revenge and finally heal.
Do Ki was also a character whom we got to know more, through the present and past. But while I felt sad for him and his trauma, I wish the series had devoted more attention to his feelings and motives. At one point, he began questioning the whole purpose of the Rainbow Taxi company and going against the law but it was handled in a very rushed way. His inner turmoil could have been utilized more in order to connect with him some more.
The character that disappointed me the most was prosecutor Kang Ha Na. Whatever the writers thought they did sunk harder than the Titanic. I was never annoyed with her character per se, I was annoyed at how underutilized and poorly developed she was. In the first episodes, Ha Na seemed like an interesting force in the series. She was introduced as a potential thread for the Rainbow Taxi team, a competent servant of the law, who wanted to serve justice. I expected her to be a complex character but alas, that didn't happen.
One of the major problems with this character was her inability to do her job right. When you are trying to sell your character as a good prosecutor, who is popular in the force due to her capabilities, you need to make her act in a way that will highlight her competence. Ha Na didn't convince me much. She relied a lot on the Rainbow Taxi company and many of her choices were questionable considering her experience in the field.
About her development...honestly, there wasn't much development. I totally understand the intention with her character but the execution fell flat to say the least. I thought we were going to see more of her inner conflict regarding her duty as a prosecutor to follow the law by the book and her duty as a human to help the victims, no matter what it took. There were some hints that showed her disagreement over the justice system but the writers didn't elaborate any further on that. By the time the shift happened, it was too late to make it believable enough.
All in all, Taxi Driver was a decent series but unfortunately I didn't connect with it like many people did. I can totally understand why it's popular and why many people love it and I wish I could say the same. I'm still going to watch Season 2 (in fact, I've already watched the first 7 episodes) and I'll give season 3 a try too. The drama has many good aspects and it raises some vital questions regarding justice and revenge. My review reflects my own opinion and I by no means want to discourage anyone from giving Taxi Driver a try.
Tighten your belts and enjoy the ride.
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This was a definite treat and I’ve already watched it all the way through twice.
This show is about a deluxe taxi service that seeks revenge for those that can’t avenge themselves. People who have been failed by the system that is supposed to protect and serve. I’m a bloodthirsty bitch so when I read the summary of this show, I was all the way in. The show starts off strong and I was heavily invested in what was going down. I enjoyed the darker tone of the show and seeing the Rainbow Taxi team seek their own justice for the wrongs done to their clients. Every case made me cry and the lengths that the Rainbow Taxi team went to, to make sure that their clients got the justice that they deserved made me happy.The acting is pretty top-notch and every actor really brought a different aspect to the show that made the show that much better in my eyes. There was a writer switch-up about halfway through the show and I noticed it. I enjoyed the first half a lot more than the second half but the second half didn’t turn me off the show completely or anything like this. The ending was a little disappointing but that was because it ended with an addition that I didn’t care about for the entire season and didn’t want in the end but it is what it is.
Overall, this one is probably my favorite drama of the year so far. I highly recommend this show if you’re looking for a good vs. evil drama with lots of action, a team of do gooders with a dark side. This was a definite treat and I’ve already watched it all the way through twice.
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Amateur vigilante wannabes
An episodic story about a group of people who take revenge on criminals on behalf of the victims. This certainly brings to mind Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell but far from the supernatural approach, this drama tries to appeal to the viewers humanity with its propaganda of forgiveness and what happens when the law fails to protect the family of the victims and they decide to take matters into their own hands. Take note that the crimes presented are based on real life crimes committed in South Korea.The group of vigilante wannabes is certainly equipped to deal with the requests. A rich financier, the muscle/fighter, the cyber technologist, the mechanical engineer and the inventor and of course a secret base. Watching how they deal with each request was certainly fun and entertaining. However, in spite of having done this for several years, the group doesn't seem to have learned much from their experience and even the fact that this is "fiction" is no excuse for their incompetence.
Several times throughout the series you will see them taking actions or making decisions that seasoned veterans like them wouldn't have made. Knowing their potential because of their experience made it a pain to watch them. It almost seemed like their SNAFUs were deliberately added simply to fit into the narrative and keep the story going.
Camera work during fight scenes tried so hard to imitate the shaky technique popularised by the Bourne trilogy but failed as miserably as the Vagabond series. Choreography was already good without the excessive shaking and close ups of the fight.
The last case was the dumbest in that in spite of being based on true events, whoever wrote the episode simply glossed over how the police framed and tortured and knowingly sent an innocent man to prison just so they could close the case - was it perhaps because it would become too realistic? Did the showrunners receive a slap in the hand that they were afraid to include a revenge arc against the brutal police force?
I'm not interested in season 2 so we may never find out.
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Really Enjoyed This Show ?
I grew up watching police/crime shows so I am very familiar with the genre. Really enjoyed this show & currently watching season 2 that is currently airing ♡ Let's do some PROS & CONS because no show is perfect. ♡PROS:
◇The editing & how the whol show looked was amazing.
◇Chemistry it was very believable that this team have known eachother & are a found family.
◇Loved the action/fighting scenes
◇The writing & story overall really enjoyable to watch.
CONS:
◇Main character luck & you really have to expand your disbelief at times.
◇The way it wrapped up a little to nicely especially for the genre.
◇The female prosecutor I understand why she was needed for the plot and how she represented the law but I also found her extremely annoying.
Really did enjoy this show so happy I picked it up & loving season 2. Even as a fan I will say there wasn't a need for another season but I'm not mad about it either 😅
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