Impressive under every aspect
This is by far one of the best thai production of this year and frankly one of the best I've ever seen: with a very strong and well written plot, an exceptional acting performance from the whole cast and a well developed romance, Jack & Joker sets a new high for plot-focused BL dramas that don't want to simply tell a romanitc story.As I already said, the plot is very complex, with many socially and politically aware messages throughout, with many high-tension moments, action-filled sequences and tear jerking moments; at the same time, the romance, although not the focal point of the story, is a very well written and devoleped slow burn, with a very detailed characterization of both the main leads and many romantic and rewarding moments. One of the strenghts of this drama is indeed the way both the action/heist plot and the romance are well devoleped, without any of the two remaining half-cooked.
Acting-wise, this was just overall phenomenal: although all the crew did a fantastic job at portraying their characters, Yin and War were absoultely breath taking, delivering one of the strongest acting performance I've ever witnessed in a thai production. War is especially good as Joke, and he shines particularly during his most dramatic scenes, and is in my opinion the highlight of the whole drama.
In the end, this is absoultely a must-watch for BL fans that are getting a bit tired of the same old romantic stories and want something refreshing and never predictable. Highly recommended!
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Enemies to Lovers DONE RIGHT
This show was incredible. A true enemies to lovers, complete with a beautiful slowburn and tension all the way through. Yin and War did an INCREDIBLE job as the leads, and knowing that this was made by the company they started themselves only makes it better. I almost started rewatching this show before it even finished it was so good. Even with the longer episodes, it was able to hold my attention for every single minute, and had me excited to watch every week.After a brief encounter, it seems that Jack (Yin) and Joke (War) hit it off. When Jack goes to the bank for a much needed loan to pay off some debt collectors, he's surprised to see that Joke is the branch manager. What he doesn't know is that Joke is lying - and actively trying to expose the bank for its corruption. Joke gives him money he stole out of the safe, but the cops are quick to catch on. Joke, feeling bad, confesses to being Joker, an infamous thief that exposes corrupt businesses, and goes to prison. However, this leaves Jack with no way to pay off the debt collectors. Flash forward 5 years and Jack has been forced to become a debt collector himself, and has sworn to get revenge on Joke if he ever sees him again. Joke spent his last 5 years in prison coming up with every way he could make Jack forgive him. Upon his release, Joke immediately searches for Jack to apologize, only to be confronted not with the sweet young Jack he once knew, but a Jack dubbed the "Grim Reaper" by the locals. Regardless, Joke attempts to get close with Jack and help him out of the debt collector hell he's been forced into, while Jack swears that if he tries to get close to him again, he'll kill him.
Jack and Joke were absolutely wonderful to watch. I love a good slowburn and this one delivered in every aspect. Starting off with a full episode on the backstory of them was brilliant, and watching them go from beating each other up to slowly realizing they shouldn't be enemies, to a clear romantic tension between them was FANTASTIC. The action scenes were some of the best I've seen in a Thai show, and you could tell how hard they worked to make the fights good. That, combined with the tension of the heists Joker pulls off makes for one of the most entertaining watches ever. It'll have you on the edge of your seat the whole time and hit you with unexpected twists at the best times. The relationship development is perfect too, with issues that aren't too drawn out and a beautiful ending for the characters. ABSOLUTELY worth watching!!!
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A true masterpiece from start to finish
I absolutely love this series. It's definitely one of the best (if not the best) Thai show I've ever watched, under every aspect: the writing, the plot, the acting, the characters. Everything is extremely well done.I'll start by saying that if you're looking for a cute series to watch because you simply like to see two pretty boys kissing then this one is probably not for you. I saw way too many people complaining that Jack and Joke don't get together until way too late in the series, and that there's too much plot and not enough romance; but the point is that this show isn't a romance - sure, the romance is there and it's extremely important, but there's also a very heavy and important plot that is what makes the show move forward.
But, if you're looking for something different from the usual Thai drama, then this might be for you. Because Jack and Joker doesn't follow the usual Thai drama narrative structure and frees itself from all the classic tropes, both plot-wise and romance-wise.
The story deals with a lot of deep and different themes, and it touches upon them with care and attention: poverty, class difference, rich people and the power they hold are the main obvious themes of the show, tied directly to the main plot; but it's also a show about forgiveness, about family, about education, and so many other things it would be difficult to list them all here. Yet it manages to deal with them all in a complete way, nothing feels half-done or thrown in there just because. Frankly, the more I think about it the more I find new things to analyze and think about - it really gives you food for your thoughts.
At the same time, though, it's not a heavy show: the drama and heaviness of the story is perfectly balanced with some more goofy scenes, so it never feels heavy or too much to watch. It's heartbreaking in some aspects, it will make you suffer in some scenes, yes, but it will also make you laugh and in general give you a sense of hope - hope that things will be okay and that it's worth living despite everything that is wrong in the world.
Both Jack and Joke are fantastic characters: they're realistic and flawed as every human is, they make mistakes and they try to fix what they did wrong; both of them have a beautiful character arc that make them grown during the story. I could write whole essays about each of them and their relationship, really. The slow burn of their romance made me go crazy in the best possible way, which made the moment they finally get together all the more satisfying.
Yin and War are amazing, their performance in this show is simply perfect. We already knew they're great actors, but after watching this I'm not afrai to say they mightjust be the best I've seen. They really made the characters come alive in every little detail. War especially really shines a lot in this show: as Joker, he has to interpret a lot of different roles, and it's amazing to see just how different War carries himself when he's being Joke who's acting like someone else. Not to mention the dramatic scenes: no one can act a dramatic scene the way War does; be ready to cry, because when Joke cries it will be impossible not to join him.
Yin too is incredible. I'm so glad he got to act so many action scenes, because he's simply amazing at them; all the fighting scenes are so well done, I could watch Yin fighting for hours honestly. He said he prepared a lot for this role and it shows, because he did an amazing job. And he's way too good at crying too. The two of them together will make you cry, no doubt about it.
Do I even have to say anything about the kissing? Yin and War literally invented kissing and they sure gave it their all in this show.
Anyway it's not even just the two of them, literally every actor in this series is amazing and every character is perfectly written; they're not just background characters, they really are their own people.
So, it's really a beautiful show, from start to finish, I have already watched it twice and I will definitely rewatch it again and again in the future.
Frankly, I can't recommend it enough to whoever wants something different from the usual Thai BL (and even to people who don't usually watch BLs).
Yin and War made this show from scratch using their own money, and they did it for their fans. All the effort and love and care they put into it really shines through, and I couldn't be more thankful.
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Good action series
This series was really good.I really liked the actors and their roles.
I think my favourite role was Jack's Grandmother-
I loved all the scenes she was included to.
She made many scenes funnier and had such a
pure heart.
Some parts were like a rollercoaster,but thats
something what made the series even better I think.
It kinda gave me the vibes of Kinnporsche or other
action series and I really liked that.
I think Jack & Joker had a connection to reality
at some points and this is something I really liked
too.
I would definetely watch it again!
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They stole my heart; why does it have to be them again?
This self-produced labour of work is a story of two possibly fated lovers: Jack, who righteously cares for those around him and does not choose the easy way out because he's seen how things can go from good to bad to worse when dishonest measures are used, and Joke, who intensely cares for the good and warm-hearted and would do anything to make sure his loved ones are free.The show does a decent job of reflecting the issues faced by the working class, the depths to which one can sink when choosing illegal measures (eg, collecting debts from loan sharks or straight up robbery) and what the repercussions of such methods can be. It does not shy away from being honest, although sometimes, it could do with a little more grit and passion. There were times that I felt that the heist scenes could have been more...professional, or at least a little less leaning on luck. But in the end, it makes sense that the heists are the way it's shown since the characters involved are not people with abundant cash flow or connections and it helps to show how impulsive one can be when in a stressful situation.
So ultimately, it does not take away from the messaging and the romance.
Speaking of romance, since it's a slow burn, we can see Jack & Joke having these little moments of falling in love sprinkled throughout the show. Yin and War have done a fantastic job at speaking through their eyes with each other and their chemistry keeps you hooked.
The show is also a good reflection of flawed yet tight friendships. Hoy, Tattoo and Aran are funny, sweet and deserving of all the love in the world. Bonz and Prom have excellent comic timing and Mark is such a cutie, after a few episodes, I really wanted to keep him in my pocket.
A hero is only as good as the villain and honestly, the villains here will make you want to go across your screen and finish them. Boss and Carbon are so easy to hate and they must be applauded for it.
A special shoutout to Grandma, Toi Ting and Rose, these three girls stole hearts so easily. They were the consciousness of the show in a way and it made for a pleasant watch.
The music, cinematography and direction of the show are well done. I want to applaud the action scenes, they were so well executed and it kept the balance between pure action and comedy.
The writing shows the characters, especially J&J, being fairly opposites but still fitting together perfectly. If one is logical, the other is impulsive; but when they team up, they can do wonders. And why do they team up? Because at their cores, they both have an extreme sense of justice and want to make the world a better place for the people they love.
All in all, I'm proud of YWPB for venturing into producing something that would push the boundaries of romantic shows and doing it quite well.
So should you watch this show? YES, a thousand times yes. It is one that you won't regret.
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This was fine.
I'm so angry with myself for not liking this as much as I hoped! I was so damn sure "Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart!" was going to be a winner 2024.I’m on the fence as to how to grade this one. The plot is good, the characters are appealing (I really liked Jack, Joker and the cast of side characters) and the ending was pretty satisfying too, and I was happy to see how everything wrapped up.
If you’re in the market for a socialconflict, dramatic romance with a lots of intrigue and slight comedy, then perhaps Jack & Joker will work better for you than it did for me.
The series is full of hot, flirty fun between Jack and Joke while also diving into lots of schemes and secrets. There are crushes, trickery, honou, amily dynamics and quite a bit of insight into the debt collectors.
I think I'm just not the right spectator for this series. There were definitely aspects I enjoyed. There were lines that made me grin and some plot elements I really liked. Unfortunately the way it was presented I never felt fully engaged. Even the plot points that I felt excitement over never fully grabbed me, partly because of the pacing and partly because of my expectations.
7.5 stars
I can't bring myself to only give this 7 stars, because I liked the characters and their relationships.
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This review may contain spoilers
As I was finishing the series, I initially thought about not writing a review. However, the actors delivered such outstanding performances that it would feel disrespectful not to acknowledge them.I enjoyed the storyline up until around episodes 7 or 8. After that point, it started to feel rhetorical and repetitive. Jack and Joke's love story was so brief, it left me wanting more. The fighting scenes, on the other hand, felt excessively long and dragged out.
Another missed opportunity was the introduction of love stories among some characters that were never fully addressed. It’s disappointing because the series had so much potential to be truly great.
That said, the cast was excellent. This was my first time seeing Yin and War, and I can confidently say they were fantastic.
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This review may contain spoilers
i mean it was a level up from love mechanics i guess
right off the bat, this one is gonna require your suspension of disbelief because what happened in that 1st ep... you just gotta let it go lmao. production-wise, this was such an upgrade from the last yinwar project. i think both of their acting has improved as well. the story tho... i wasn't crazy about it. hmm well after you let go of how that scene in the bank went in the first ep, i thought it was interesting at first but then it just got boring in the middle. i would've loved it if joke's reason for doing what he's doing is deeper than "daddy issues" but oh well. for me, the more serious and action sequences did not blend well with the comedic antics of the characters. it just wasn't executed smoothly. there are times where i don't think this knows what tone they wanted to have. the villains in this story became such caricature in the end there that it's so ridiculous because again, the tone is trying to be ~serious~ but they're acting so silly. what do you mean you're supposed to be powerful and scary then lost to a hangman game!!! Zorry, i just did not buy it lolhowever, i did think yin and war still have that chemistry. i love my slowburns but the romance did feel like it was put on the back burner at one point. i don't know that they pulled off a "good slowburn romance" to be honest. it just lack some more development(?) or more yearning(?) i guess. don't get me wrong, i love them together and i definitely had that "finally!!! :)" feeling when they got together but i guess i wanted more??? especially the development of them getting to know each other after 5 years. they were basically strangers even before joke went to prison so.... yeah.
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So close to being a master piece
Everything about this drama was perfect.... except for the scenario.With such an original and interesting trope, I was hyped from the first episode. It unfortunately didn't last long, but let's start with the things I enjoyed:
-The characters. They all had such great, complex, and human personnalities. Their developpement was also on point, and all the characters grew up and changed in their own ways. Even Boss, who was pretty much your basic mafia villain had some traits that made him interesting. My favorite ones were definitely: 1, Joke. A bit stupid and playful, makes everything look simple, but is very emotionally sensitive in all the good ways possible. 2, Aran. Spoiled brat who has a very good heart and loves his father no matter what. He is very human, for someone who started off as the daddy's princess stereotype. 3, Rose. I expected her to be the tipical annoying BL female rival when she was first introduced, but turns out that, while she still is a bit of a spoiled princess, she thinks logically, makes smart decisions and respects/supports Jack no matter what.
-The acting. I know I'm not taking any risk by saying that War's performance was phenomenal. But even if it's hard for the others, especially Yin, to stand out when playing alongside War, I still think they all did an amazing job and none of them stuck out with bad performance, EXCEPT for most of Boss's guards (especially in episode 12. I laughed a few times at how ridiculous their acting was, but I'm gonna say it was probably a director's choice to make them look stupid).
-The relationships. Let's put the romance aside for now and focus and the relationship itself. I really liked the dynamic between Jack and Joke. It weren't some clear Top/bottom bullshit were the bottom is basically treated like a woman or a weakling the whole show, and even during the NC scene, it wouldn't have shocked me if they had decided to switch roles. I also liked Aran and Tattoo, Tattoo and Hoy, Hoy and Nang, Nang and Rose, Joke and jack's grandma, with his family, with Toi Ting... all of the relationships, although not always developped, had some importance to the story and made everything look very natural.
Now... let's dive onto what didn't work at all: the scenario and the romance.
I am aware that this is fictional and that it doesn't need to be realistic. But there are some limits that should not be crossed if you want your story to be taken seriously.
It started from the very beginning, with the first time we saw Joke steal. I remember thinking "there is no way he got away with that." Same goes for the scene at the bank, and then for every single action/stealing scene. The employee at the bank sending a regular customer (jack) to the headquarter manager (joke). Joke knocking over a whole box of fish and icecubes in the guard room at Rose's mansion and them sitting there later like it never existed. The security camera screens giving also acess to Boss's bombing system in the last episode. Nonsense. If it were just that, it would be acceptable, but there are sooo many more moments where nothing makes sense because of the lazy writing and easy short cuts. Even though it doesn't have to always be realistic, a story must keep somewhat of a logic otherwise the audience will just stop taking it seriously. It was especially annoying in the last episode with the guards being completely useless and stupid, Boss not thinking a single time Joke could have written Zorry (and I checked, he didn't even try the W! He just pressed whatever), Joke kicking the tablet instead of bringing it closer to grab it, Jack jumping to Joke instead of grabbing that tablet later.... And I was glad the ring turned out to be the horsemen playing with Boss, because I was so done when all the sudden he was seen as this unstoppable villain just because he got his hand on some ring.
This could have been mostly ignored if it was supported by a good romance, but it was mild. A lot of people mentionned it already so I won't talk about it for long, but Jack and Joke's realtionship was treated more like a bromance than an actual romance. They had a few sweet moments, but I didn't feel that emotional/physical attraction between the two before the first kiss. Also, there were so many characters and things going on that they rarely got to share a moment just the two of them, or when they did they were surrounded by others. I really liked the scene after Rose's rescue in the first episode where Rose is trying to talk and the two guys are just looking at each other like they're the only ones to exist, but the only moment we got to enjoy this vibe again was in the last episode when they were about to die. Plus, they hurt each other so much during the whole show, that I would have wanted a more intense moment only between the two at the last episode after everything was over. We only got to see a sweet ice cream eating moment where as we should have had something more serious, more deep that could have end up in them finally and properly putting behind them all their struggles to be able to make the most out of their future. At least that's how I felt.
Anyway, it was overall a good watch and I'm gonna miss them a lot.
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This review may contain spoilers
Great start but...
So first of all I'm the biggest fan of Yinwar and I was hyped since the concert trailer for their concert (that had a similar concept as Jack & Joker). The first couple of episodes were amazing: great cast, great acting and a new and fresh storyline. War's acting was top-notch as expected as well as Yin's. And their visual...breathtaking every single episode!I also really like the plot of the gang with Arun, Hoy and Tattoo. On the other hand I found the couple Hope and Save kinda too much, just because they had a lot of screentime compared to other more important storystrings. I loved the scenes were the heists were happening, and I hoped that there were more! I mean 3 were a lot but still...
The turning point was the 4 horsemen, because what exactly was the plan there? Since they appeared the story got more and more confusing. I also thought it was unrealistic that everything turned worse just because Boss took one ring ?!
I see a plothole there.
The last episode was disappointing and also reaaallyyy long. The kept dragging on, to random storyplots (Boss had way too much screentime). The ending was fine I guess because it was a happy ending but it felt too rushed. And yeah of course I know it's just fiction but is it really realistic that even Boss got forgiven by Arun?
For me the actress of Toi Ting and the grandma were so amazing, I hope I see them again in another series.
The sweet moments between Jack & Joker were not enough in my opinion. I really hope tho that we will see them in another series again.
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Serie of the Year!
Jack and Joker is absolutely the series of the year! If you're new to the Yinwar fandom, get ready for something completely different. While Yinwar is known for its emotional, lovey-dovey stories that often leave us in tears, Jack and Joker is a true masterpiece filled with action and tension. If you're coming in expecting the usual NC scenes, this might not be for you. But trust me, this is worth a shot.This series dives deeper into the characters' lives, focusing on their emotional connections rather than just physical attraction. While previous shows had their own connections, this one really highlights how these two very different characters find comfort in each other. It raises an interesting question: how can someone find solace in someone who has lived a completely different life?
It's about two opposites discovering calm and peace together when they couldn't find it anywhere else. If I could name a song that screams Jack and Joker it would definitely be "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez or "Lovers" by Anna of the North! If you haven't seen Jack and Joker yet, or even if you have, those songs will enhance your experience!
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I hate it and am obsessed with it
The first two episodes were unbearable. They weren't bad per se, but just so slow. I watched them in 1.5x, otherwise I wouldn't have made it pass them. There was just a lot of unnecessary scenes that took way too long, especially fight scenes.Someone wrote that Jack and joker is trying really hard not to be just a BL and it shows. I totally agree now.
I think if you watch the series just to see some cute ships outside of the usual school/university set up, you'll have a great time.
But don't expect a cinematic master piece. I think they tried to write characters with deep stories, but they completely missed the mark. it feels like every character is missing a deeper layer of emotion. Luckily the actors are talented and can cover it up a lot of times.
I think in theory jack and Joker could've been a lot better. The "comedy" really shows it. In theory they had a lot of great jokes, but the way they edited the series made them all land flat.
Even though if now mostly spoken bad about the series I still gave it a 7. This is mostly because of the ships and the chemistry between the actors. Even though a lot of the characters fall kinda flat, they have a good amount of interesting enough characters to keep you interested. Sadly it takes a long time to reach that point. I'd say it only starts to get really interesting at episode 5. Considering every episode is a hour long... that's just too much.
So yeah just watch the first few episodes in 1.5 speed and once you forget to turn on 1.5x, you're already obsessed and wish there are more episodes.
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