Vincenzo (2021)

overrated ? i dont think so- not for everyone

I tend to get bored easily with long series, but I stayed in suspense throughout all 20 episodes.
One of the excellent things about the series is that the plot only develops and improves from episode to episode and keeps the interest of the viewer.
Another special and amazing thing about this drama is the exact combination of action, sophistication, and humor.
The series has such funny parts, exactly at the right time and in the right dose.
Highly recommend the series!! She is officially one of my favorites, and I will watch her over and over again.
such a refreshing role to the ML not typical like most dramas.
the cast was amazing the chemistry between the main lead was great, even without a full of romance scene.

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Very good storyline

The reason why I started watching VINCENZO when it came out was for a very dummy reason. As an Italian, I heard this was about the Italian's mafia and honestly hearing Song Joong Ki swearing in Italian was pure comedy. But besides the stupid reason, I found this kdrama really really amazing. The storyline was actually pretty solid and smooth but the end got me in tears. Also, I had suspicions on who the antagonist may be and I was mad at the fact that I was right but it made me realise how good Ok Taecyeon is with his acting.
The cast per se was really really on point.
Hope for a second season honestly.

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A flawless K-drama that sets the bar for future black comedies

- no plot holes; even minor plot arcs are formally tied up, and you don't feel like they're forgetting anything at all. this is probably thanks to the extended 20 episode length -- they got everything that they wanted to in

- satisfying ending for all characters, again even for the minor supporting characters. everyone got their fair share of justice, and likewise their ending is satisfying and you build an emotional bond even to characters that were so minor due to the memorable writing that were perfectly played out by their actors

- brilliant acting; the ability of the main actors to turn from mischievous, to playful, to remorseful, to every single emotion in the book is second to none. i was super surprised to see that ok taecyeon play the main antagonist role (especially after watching him in save me, another great drama) -- but he exceeded my expectations and managed to make me despise his character and everything he did, even with that beautiful face!

- brilliant screenwriting -- the writers KNOW this plot is absurd, so they go full in and embrace it. this is the right way to approach these sorts of dramas; even when something happens that seems completely ridiculous, they've built the foundation of the characters so well that you think it's completely plausible they might do something despicable and or so stupid. you feel like you're apart of the family of protagonists, which is such a rare trait for dramas to have and is another testament to the screenwriter(s)' flawless storytelling.

- great use of special effects; EXPLOSIONS GO BOOM!!!

- memorable soundtrack (shoutout john park)

- memorable moments and gags (shoutout inzaghi and his pals)

literally a flawless kdrama

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Finished watching in 5 days instead of my regular 2 days

Likable
1. Ok Taec-yeon as Villain
2. Death Scenes of Hong Yoo-chan, Jang Han-seok & Choi Myung-hee
3. Park Joo-hyung as Vincenzo
4. Modern day relationship dynamics influenced by past instances & regret after losing loved one's (Hong Cha-Young relationship with her father & Vincenzo's resentment towards his mother)
5. Jang Han-seo character development. The only character that actually developed or improved with time according to me.

Dislikable
1. Entire Save Geumga Plaza Fiasco-Didn't like "over-the-top" sacrifices for Vincenzo. All tenants except monks & hacker were useless.
2. Over-Exaggeration of Consigliere & his Powers on other side Babel & power it holds.
3. Too many side-characters, divergence from main-plot, cassano family & filler comedy scenes.
4. Vincenzo's veiled past, Cha-Young's role from manipulative-smart lawyer being reduced to Vincezo's devotee. Reason behind Cha-Young's mother committing suicide & more shades of her character could be explored.
5. Jang Han-seok despite of being the mastermind relying too much on Choi Myung-hee for executing his plans & protecting himself.

Above Average-Neither too Good nor too Bad-Watchable after skipping filler scenes.

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LOVE OF MY LIFE

I watched this drama while it was airing and loved every moment of it. I even remember the date it ended istg I simply LOVE this Kdrama. It has everything you want in a drama. It has thriller, suspense, crime, action, comedy and romance. The perfect formed cast kills it not only with their visuals but also with their perfect acting. The production is top quality and I to this day still listen to its soundtracks. They were just spectacular. After this drama I only gained favorite actors whom I continued to cheer on their new projects.
Song Joong Ki and Jeon Yeo Been were like yin and yang in this drama. They completed each other so well and harmoniously. I loved watching them together. I cried, laughed and screamed with them while watching. The drama is longer than the usual Kdrama, but as you watch you want more and more, so those long episodes goes by fast. Do yourself a favor and go watch Vincenzo. I binge watch it every other 2 months and never get tired of it. Please, don't let negative comments effect you, and let this piece of happiness take over your Kdrama loving soul<3

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not for everyone

I just finished watching 'Vincenzo' and I have to say, it was...fine. It was a solid, middle-of-the-road drama that didn't really blow me away, but didn't disappoint me either. Unfortunately, it did kind of bore me at times.

The cast was good, with Song Joong-ki and Jeon Yeo-been delivering decent performances. Song Joong-ki was charming as always, but I felt like he was playing a similar character to his previous roles. He had great chemistry with Jeon Yeo-been, though, and their romance was sweet. Jeon Yeo-been was a highlight for me, she brought a lot of energy and charm to her character. I also appreciated how the supporting cast added depth to the story.

The story was interesting enough, with some twists and turns that kept me engaged. But, I felt like it was a bit predictable and didn't have any major surprises. The pacing was a bit slow at times, and some episodes felt like they dragged on. I also felt like some plot points were resolved too easily or conveniently.

One thing that did stand out to me was the themes of social justice and corruption. I appreciated how the drama tackled these issues and shed light on the darker side of society. It was refreshing to see a drama take on these topics and not shy away from the harsh realities.

The cinematography was nice, with some pretty shots of Italy and Korea. But, I felt like the editing could have been better, some scenes felt disjointed and didn't flow well. Some of the action scenes were also a bit choppy and hard to follow.

The OST was fine, nothing really stood out to me. I didn't find myself humming any of the songs or feeling particularly moved by the music. It wasn't bad, just forgettable.

Overall, 'Vincenzo' was an okay watch for me, but it did kind of bore me at times. It didn't wow me, and I wouldn't watch it again. If you're looking for a light, easy watch with some nice scenery and a decent story, 'Vincenzo' might be up your alley. but,if your looking for something more complex. Thought-provoking, or emotionally resonant, you might want to look somewhere else

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How to enjoy it? Be blind about the plot writing

Contain indirect minor spoiler.

I was watching this drama when everyone raved about it, so it was prolly more entertaining back then because of the euphoria around this. But still, there were few mistakes in terms of storytelling I can't see past, 1) it tried so hard to convince me that the main villain was THAT bad psychopathic bitch, with all random fun killing + taking trophy from it when he was young, but he was so helpless (most of the times) in front of our protagonists, 2) which led to low stake, it was hard to sympathize with our male protagonist bcs he was doing just fine, except that one time in the hospital, 3) the 5 minutes cliffhanger that would be solved within 10 minutes of the next ep is lazy writing, I hardly cared about the consequences or felt tense after few eps. I finished this for Song Joongki and Song Joongki only, (I lie, I also love Hanseo).

So my advice to all of you who wanna watch this, don't look too much into the storytelling side, especially if you expect intricate character development or mystery. This is, as it said, a dark comedy action. They have great casts, good comedy and action, and wonderful cinematography, simply enjoy the action scene and laugh with the characters.

Bcs, if you love the kind of slapstick comedy, the characters are overall great, even the minor role of Geumga Plaza. They pulled surprises throughout the series which drove few moments into an unpredictable fun one. The connection grew, you would not care for lots of them at first, and our Vincenzo didn't care either, but as time goes, they became a good team who shared foods and jokes. Our villain team was great too, God, I was so SO in love when Myunghee and Hanseok were having a dance after their killing, *chef's kiss*. Also Jang Hanseo, adorable and lovely, he has the biggest growth!!

Love inzaghi too lol, my fav character besides Hanseo. And the ending, was nice seeing Vincenzo didn't change that much.

p.s. I'm still bitter about what they did to Hanseo, so that's one more pet peeve.

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Dissenting opinion here

Please bear in mind that this is ONLY my opinion!

The cinematography in this drama was fabulous, as was the music. Episode 1 started so strongly; I had high hopes for this show. Song Joong Ki and Ok Taec Yeon were both excellent. Plus, there was the advantage of a bunch of actors that I have loved in other works.

For me, this drama had a couple of problems. 1) First, so much bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed. Vincenzo is completely missing a moral compass, which made it hard for me to root for him in any capacity. Then, you have the upright citizens whose moral compasses go on the fritz or something and are willing to do whatever it takes for revenge. 2) The character was just all-around irritating. I kept waiting for her to get better, but no such luck. 3) I didn't feel the chemistry between the ML and FL. They would have been better to stick with the bromance.

But worst of all was the comedy. Don't get me wrong, the comedy was, for the most part, funny, and if the serious parts were less dark and violent, it might have worked well. However, it felt too much like the writers were trying to lighten up the heavy storyline and it felt contrived. The serious parts provided a lot of tension, but I kept being pulled out of the story by the comedy. So often, to me, this felt like a mash up of two diametrically opposed genres.

My review is to remind me of what I watched and what I thought, not to change anyone's mind, so please don't come at me with hate.

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It is always fun when any form of media completely surprises you and sweeps you of your feet, and just exceeds all your expectations. With Vincenzo I was expecting something very melodramatic, boring and quite typical legal drama that I would stop watching for a few episodes because I was dying of boredom but what I got was the exact opposite of that. It was so off-kilter.

The drama actually sounds as crazy as it sounds on paper and yet I don’t think the description does it justice. Usually, I do not like such makjang type dramas or over the top soap opera style shows, but here it is done with so much humor and skill so instead of getting on my nerves I got this weird mix of soap opera, thriller, and comedy and then a group of weird, flawed and morally gray characters. It is a weird mix, but it works surprisingly well together. There is a good balance between all these different factors, and it makes quite a cohesive story.

Despite all the laughs and the absurdity that the drama throws at us, it never seems as if it is mocking the story or this soap opera world that is had crafted around it. It’s more playing with it and really take advantage of it. The show takes itself quite seriously with it tone, and yet it does not because it’s main goal seems to be making the most entertaining story, and achieving that is not easy. It’s shows a certain strength within the story and the vision the people behind it had. And that shines quite clearly within the story and makes Vincenzo quite stylish.

The story goes in circles a bit. Sometimes things just seem to happen just because the story needs them to happen just for it to move forward. Some things feel too convenient but the show seems to be very aware of it that you kinda don’t question it too much. It feels wonderfully self-aware of it’s genre, which also helps you suspend your disbelief and keeps you thoroughly entertained while even the most convenient plot points are happening. The story sort of manages to be logical within this small world it has created.

It plays with the soap opera formula and the clichés that comes with those stories and tales of the mafia, to take the story and comedy to another level, making things more exciting, crazier, without making fun of it. It has all done to entertain us or to provoke sort of reaction out of the audience.

But I think it is the characters that really make this show what it is. They are just so fun or interesting! Every single character, whether they are supporting characters or not, have their own quirks and darker sides, although to varying degrees. They are all quite ridiculous and complex in their own way.

Our hero Vincenzo is more of an anti-hero and even the antagonist gets some nuances and quirks that even if you sort of hated them you also enjoyed watching them. I have personally not enjoyed a villain in a kdrama this much for quite some time. They brought so much tension, drama, and comedy into the show that I was almost more excited to see what they would do more than our protagonist.

The same goes with the supporting cast. I enjoyed every scene, every little side-plot that they had going on, which does not always happen. Sometimes they feel like fillers to extend the story for no good reason, but here the supporting characters get to control both the humor of the episodes but also the heart of the show. They all felt important, flawed, and interesting in their own way. They are not just comic-relief,

The romance in Vincenzo is slow and never takes over much of the story itself, although it is very often lingering in the background and the drama is always alluding to it. However, it is never the center of the drama. It is not the main story or focus, and I have to say for my part I am usually fonder of a slow-burning romance and that really worked well here with everything else going on. I love some good pining and longing because the character does not want to admit that they are in love or have not realized it. And there was more than enough of that in Vincenzo. Both are learning to trust others and become good people. Although no one is really a good person in this show.

Do I feel like the drama could gave allowed Chae Young to save herself a little more instead of always having Vincenzo come and save the day and the drama itself had a tendency to rely a little too much on the charm and the visuals of Song Joongki for my taste. It became a bit too repetitive after a while.

Vincenzo is a style of kdrama that I rarely see. And although it contains many basics of soap opera storytelling and other types of kdramas out there, I feel it does stand out because I have never quite seen this mixture before. No matter what the drama did it was always exciting to see what happened next and it always kept me surprised even though I thought the story went in some circles and brushed over certain things along the way. I never felt like they truly ran out of ideas to entertain me and entertain me it certainly did. It never really dealt all its cards.

Vincenzo is not flawless, but it is a hell of a good time. There is always this tension within it, you kept on wondering what would happen next, what these characters would do. You have no know what is going to happen. There is always a lot going on and so much high drama, such high stakes, yet still always so filled with humor. It was a real roller coaster ride from start to finish.

Vincenzo grabbed me completely and did not want to let me go until the very end. I have not enjoyed a kdrama and the discussions that took place around this much it for some time now. And that is what I will take from it; it was just pure fun. It was pure entertainment for me.

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watched july 17th to 20th

honestly some of the most fun ive had when binge watching a kdrama! immediately fell in love with the characters, especially geumga plaza squad 😭❤️ i love how different they all were but always had each others backs and kept wanting to protect the plaza and vincenzo. hong cha young became one of my fav female leads from how badass she is. I LOVE HER SM. same with vincenzo i loved his backstory with his mom and it made me cry so much when she died, he deserved to know she knew he was her son 💔 and the scene where he kept calling her “mom” just made me BAWL my eyes. the cinamotagraphy is no joke and same with the ost, so many good songs even the intro and outro! tho, i will admit i was very confused throughout the show about certain plots and characters, but nevertheless i still had an idea about the direction of the show and kept going. song joong-ki gave one heck of a performance all throughout the show, playing an anti hero definitely suits him and would love to see him in more projects soon. the same goes for taecyeon, he did not JOKE!
finally, i liked the scene and how it showed that in the end, he is still the “villian” he always was and never changed that.

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So much hype but all wasted

When i saw the adv and rating for this drama i was shocked then i went to watch this , when reached in the middle of the drama it does not impressed me personally there is no new improvements in story plot and director is only focus on evil character as well as hero and funny scenes etc. We don't know what is happening at last episodes like something is going on parallelly we know it, at first they said it is thriller and comedy , action! We can only see these two rather thriller. Only suspense part is that villan is the colleague of heroine at office so that is all nothing else is there! Why name it as thriller then, and only few scenes stands for me remaining either pulling off the episodes etc.

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