Taxi Driver

As with many superhero stories, you go in knowing it will be more entertainment than realism. The concept is great, especially since I have a soft spot for vigilantes but the execution in this one wasn't done well. Because it revolves heavily around the taxi, it does have a hint of resemblance to Batman (which they reference themselves in the series).

The first couple of stories were satisfying and the exaggerations went well with that dab of comedic undertone. However, it just felt more and more lame as they entered heavily into the cloud-based firm revenge. While the script being overly basic can be overlooked, when the characters themselves began to lose their flavor, that's when there's really not much else to look forward to.

- The prosecutor was irritating from the beginning and she could have been written out completely with minimal impact.
- They try to humanize your mains by incorporating some type of trigger that causes them to relive their traumas but the way it was executed just made them again, lame. For a team that is supposed to be superior and calmly collected, and who's been doing this for a while, a whistle from some traffic cop is going to cause your main dude to pass out? Then your female main who's seen that online video over and over again in the past, is suddenly so traumatized by coming across it again during a job that she just abandons ship and locks herself up? While trauma does impact someone for a lifetime, this was incredibly excessive.
- The sister's suicide. They paint her out to be a sweet, loving person. But anyone who has enough right mind to make a last meal for a loved one, tuck a blanket over them, and then decides to publicly jump off a building and plop herself horrifically in front of the same loved one, is just a selfish ass.
- Oh, how the flashbacks were misused much too often. Instead of adding anything to the plot, they were just fillers to prolong the minutes. I also didn't buy into the dramatic music that tried to convince the audience into thinking the scene was eventful.

If they had maintained the same pacing as with the first couple of stories or didn't reduce character developments, it would have been much more entertaining. Unfortunate.

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I really love this series so much!

The first impression I got from this drama was that this show was about a vigilante taxi driver out to serve justice to the bad guys as revenge. And then after watching the drama this is like the Korean version of Knight Rider lol. That said, I went to look at the webtoon that was what the drama was based on. Though have to say that the only thing that was similar between the original webtoon and drama was the concept of the revenge taxi service and Rainbow Taxi. Though to be fair, that was fine with me as the webtoon was more violent and gory and had fewer actual taxi battles. I love how the drama incorporates the whole Knight Rider feel to the whole revenge taxi thing. That was cool. And I love the fact that the drama had Prosecutor Kang Hana's character, which didn't exist in the webtoon but adds an even more depth into the story to include the narrative from the side of the law enforcement people.

Loved the ost and the bg music. The Eurobeat tracks really fit in with the show's movie-like atmosphere. And I love how Kim Dogi and Kang Hana's character being written. And I really love the dynamics between Lee Jehoon and Esom in the drama.

I noticed how halfway through the series the writer was changed to a different person though I'm glad that the change in writers didn't feel so noticeable in the drama. For one, I like how Kang Hana's character started becoming more prominent and become as important as Kim Dogi. Because it'd be a shame if her character becomes underused despite Esom being the main female lead.

I really love how the writing not quite romanticising the idea of vigilante activities yet also admitting that the law might not be fully perfect, to which one might have a need for some kind of vigilante 'hero' to fix the flaw in the law. The overall tone was hopeful and healing and I love the journey from the beginning to end. This is one of the webtoon adaptations that I'm glad that it took a different narrative and give us a great story in return.

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the tropes were just too much.

revenge is always good. but it can be executed in different ways. to me the best revenge k-drama is easily the glory. this one, just had too many familiar and annoying tropes. first was the completely separate set of legal rules for good people versus bad people. example: on a couple of occasions the bad people confessed, but the law could do nothing because there was no evidence. In the last couple of episodes a good person was locked up because of a forced confession, and the evidence was irrelevant. second trope, the ridiculous amount of exposition. In other words, taking four minutes to show something that could have been done 30 seconds. as I said I understand these tropes and put up with them because I love k-dramas so much, but for me it was just too much in this one. they were more examples but you get my drift.

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"Revenge isn't completed by ruining the other person..."

This is one of the best crime drama I've watched by far. It got thrills, action, comedy, drama and based on true story crime telling. Try watching it and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

One of the saddest story they portrayed a about the murder of an 8 yo girl but a man who was wrongly accused. He was a disabled man that was forcefully and beaten by police to confess to a crime he didn't even commit. The police even stole the girl body to fabricate evidence. (Horrible)
When the real culprit was found, this man was forced to forgive the real culprit due to statue of limitation to the case. Along with the policeman who beat him to confess.
This man lost everything because of wrongdoing of that police.
You can watch this part at the end of ep 15 (spoiler)

The casts were excellent in portraying their characters well.
Lee Je Hoon is truly a great actor with a variety of expressions and feeling that drew people in watching him act. You gotta watch to feel his emotions.
Glad Pyo Ye Jin took up the role of "Go Eun", she portrayed it really well. the sadness of loosing her sister, the anger towards the people who did her wrong, she really made the character alive.
The rest of the rainbow taxi team made a great team, their chemistry were really great and they protect each other well without biased.

As for the villain, Baek Sung Mi is really annoying along with the twin (the big guys). Truly hated their characters (but that means the actors are doing a great job portraying it)

Not forgetting the OST. The songs are great to listen to.

"Revenge isn't completed by ruining the other person. Only when you can live your own life is your revenge complete."
This is my favourite quote in this drama (spoken by Director Jung). Well this drama did teach that taking revenge by ruining your offender is not gonna heal you or give you satisfaction but instead live your own life to the fullest is the biggest revenge to your offender.

I'll definitely gonna re-watch this some other time. It was a great drama and all the time spent waiting for new episodes paid off with a great ending.
If there's a season 2, I'll watch it for sure.
^^

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Taxi Driver (2021) - Watched this one on-going. Never thought I would finish it today and enjoyed mostly all the episodes. It’s not completely a new drama for me as it talks about revenge to criminals but there is something different with this drama comparing to other revenge type dramas I have seen. There are sensitive topics, from bullying, pornography and even organ trafficking and even social work alongside persons with disabilities, best part it's seen in one drama, indeed it was a good drama journey for me. I don’t think I could see a second season with this one but if there is, it's fine with me. They really did wrapped up the drama so fast, I was not aware it finished. Great drama. Recommended.

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Satisfying

Watch this when you are a bit mad and feel frustrated at this unjust world. A revenge drama usually takes the whole series to conclude. Here, there are smaller incidents that take two episodes each to resolve and are sooooo satisfying.

The back ground music score brought the excitement of my child hood when I used to watch Knight Rider. Its not the same but gave similar vibes.

My most favorite part were awesome cool female leads as well a villainess that would chill your blood. I have never been this happy to see such a nice balance of strong male and female roles. All side characters did well.

The ML, Lee Jee Hoon did a great job of portraying varied roles. He has indeed been choosing excellent roles recently and I hope he continues his streak of success.

The female prosecutor worked very hard and stuck to doing what she believed was right and was empathetic with a lot of common sense. Some one who will make you respect her through her grit, resilience and intelligence.

The other female was just as awesome and got me excited when she rode a sports bike (You go girl!!!!).

Excellent lessons learned that you will pay a price if you go for revenge and even the smartest people can make mistakes. The ending was super satisfying. There is a hint of second season but hasn't been confirmed yet.

No romance, just a whiff of attraction.

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Creative original story-plot and great cast

Taxi Driver is a stellar series--highly recommend. I greatly enjoyed watching.
Part 1 has no spoilers, Part 2 has some story line reveals/spoilers but not much. Watch series first. I call out a glaring blunder and then give some ideas for Season 2 ( dream on right?)

First--kudos to the concept developer/writer for engaging us on a difficult social topic: when and how is justice served? Does revenge come with a cost and is the cost worth it? Does the justice system (the prosecutors/prisons) contribute to rehabilitation or keep victims of crime safe? Who helps them when a murderer is released from prison who can then kill again? Does forgiveness factor into healing trauma from violent crime? Show's motto: can evil be overcome by doing good? The crime stories are adapted from real life in Korea too.

CREATIVE and original drama--The vigilante justice taxi team's CEO Jang Sung Chul portrays the ambiguity, the human foibles, the mistakes made along the way and this is what makes the show so compelling. What is closest prosecutors and the revenge taxi can come to achieving justice? Even the clients hesitate when deciding to push the 'yes I want help with revenge' button--these aspects add so much to the dilemma and story telling. The Blue Bird help group he directs gives us the backstories to keep us emotionally invested in a BIG WAY. Then, such satisfaction when the clients get reparations/justice such as $ for college that was scammed, and the team members take turns being the giver--which adds to their own healing/sense of making justice out of things. Just wonderful. Could be 5 seasons with this material.

Lee Je-hoon is an outstanding actor and while his action scenes are great and deserve the high praise... do we really need an Ironman action figure who can floor a group of hammer wielding men all by himself? These fights were a few too many and detracted from the story as they became just silly like all of sudden 'lets make an action hero show.' Je-hoon's undercover characters were fantastic, and added needed brevity and comedy. Perfect for this role.

Part 2 SPOILER ALERT Please watch series first.

Major writing blunder when Kim do ki sets a bomb for the porn CEO, drives off then sees prosecutor driving to the scene and does not have someone tip her off by burner phone 'don't go near shed-server there is a bomb.' She could have been killed ( she was injured). Just some lazy writing. I understand the lead writer left mid series ( big mistake they should have listened to the writer).

If there is a season 2, there are rich relationship potentials especially for Do Ki and Ha Na- not romance--but much needed human connection for characters--some deeper communication say how to heal and move on from trauma. When Do Ki has 2 major melt downs due to unresolved trauma and Ha Na is there both times and no hug or comfort? Just staring like a deer in headlights? Waste of this hugely talented actress. This was a moment for us to feel something more towards Do Ki, he could have reached for her hugging -sobbing- releasing and this would give the prosecutor more compelling reason to empathize with him personally and with the Taxi team's methods and reasons too. She joins later anyway--make it a believable build up. A missed opportunity.
And just some basic human kindness. They all seem to lack warmth of human touch. And for Pyo Je Jin too. What a talent! Did not like/agree scene when she is full blown traumatized and Do Ki wanted to go to her room, CEO said no--let her 'process'. Seriously? Even though he may not been able to help, why not allow him to say 'I'm here if you need me.' I know they are all damaged by trauma but still let them be more than robots! Do they need a woman writer on this team or is it all 'more action figure fighting scenes' instead of time on characters and how they evolve their approach to justice making and bond as humans and be tender towards each other too.

Idea for new calling card as they re-invent the taxi revenge approach Season 2:
BEYOND REVENGE IS RETALIATION THROUGH JUSTICE.
WE WILL DO IT FOR YOU.
DON'T DIE. CALL.....

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A crime classic

This drama is a classic. The plot is nothing new, as many dramas and films focus on the fantasy of an antihero. The main character is by no means the perfect but that's what makes this type of character relatable.

Since episodic dramas are my favorite. It was great to see the creative ways in which he helped the victims find personal justice. In addition, the way he fought with his personal moral compass. As the plot thickens, being able to see the inner turmoil between him and the other crew members was gripping.

To avoid any spoilers, this is easy to watch from start to finish. You feel like your justice can also be had.

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SOMEONE GET ME SOME HAIR CLIPPERS STAT, THAT PERM GONNA DIE TODAY!

So before I say anything else about this drama, I need to say....on no planet is a pushing 40yr old whole ass man gonna pass for a high school student complete with a school uniform....even in flashbacks. I forgive him for dressing in a school uniform though, but only because little dude has such a peaceful and calming voice. Other actors can for sure pull off the bleak and aloof good guy, but not everyone could do it with such a beautiful relaxing tone.

This drama is classified as Action, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Drama....but what I can't figure out is how it's not classified as a comedy. The lead actor is hilarious. I mean...dude is badass and haunted by his past, for sure and he does an amazing job playing the silent brooding type, but 50% of this drama is him doing overly exaggerated caricatures of stereotypical side characters. Little dude must have studied super meticulously, he nails every absurd aspect from the nerdy dude's awkward blinking and mouth shapes to the flashy thug's spread legged saunter. Ridiculously funny physical comedy.

That aside, gosh this drama was good. The stories were so compelling, the acting was great, the fight scenes were badass, all the action sequences were so well done. Whether it's the lead dude beating up a room full of badguys or spinning his taxi about to inflict wild maiming chaos, dude definitely comes through in every scene. The female leads in this are really well done too, the lead villain chick is brutal and evil to the core, the sidekick rainbow chick was exceptionally well acted and her character was written super well without relying on typical kdrama female character tropes. The prosecutor was also very well cast, and it was fun to watch her character's journey throughout the show.

I will say...whoever permed that comedic side character's hair needs to lose their cosmetology license. The bowl cut was also terrifying, but that perm should have had its own entry in the credits. I cringed every single time that poor dude came on screen (except the few times they styled him differently). The travesty of this show is definitely that no one murdered that perm with a nice pair of sharpened clippers. The characters were good, but whoever tf made the decision on how to style their hair is for sure on my blacklist from now on.

The ending was being pretty boring, sadly...like the last 2 episodes really drag on. They pull it off at the end with an appropriate level of baddassery, but you can't give your audience 14 episodes of constant action and then dip them into mediocrity for entire two episodes and expect them to retain their excitement. I was, honestly, pretty annoyed with the little old dude taxi boss guy. Like ok, you want revenge but you don't want to kill people. So what, you try to play god by locking people up and "reforming" them? His character got pretty dark and I was disappointed that he didn't receive more punishment for the choices he made, especially when his choices put literally everyone else in danger. BUT...I guess grieving people are allowed to be a little crazy and make mistakes here and there.

I never thought an "action" drama about a taxi driver could be even remotely interesting, but this one somehow made taxi driving cool. I don't usually rewatch dramas, but I might revisit this one again in a few years just to watch the crazy action scenes. ....providing I can stomach the perm situation....

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Action packed vigilantism with good episodic stories

I'm a simple lad so I'll keep it relatively short.

This show has action, no romance and a simple vigilantism story. It is a must watch but not a binge watch if you're into some kick ass type of story that you have to just accept the ridiculous plot armour that occurs.

One thing to just keep in mind is that the whole premise of a taxi isn't important as I thought this story revolves around taking people on rides and randomly encountering people in taxis doing heinous acts. It's not like that, it's not like some dude brings a drunk girl in a taxi and the taxi driver takes them to a destination and serves justice.

The show could be called The Beekeeper and still be the same but otherwise the missions they complete and the fight scenes were very well choreographed. It's a good show for action lovers and the story revolves around their own trauma's to build some character development.

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