Climax

Toxic Pointlessness

​At the beginning of the series, there were details regarding abuse that really caught my interest. However, as the show progressed, these details surfaced far too late. Moreover, the overwhelming male dominance in the cast was a major disappointment for me. The romance between the two female leads was given very little screen time. It felt like these elements were suddenly shoehorned into the 6th or 7th episodes as an afterthought because the show wasn't gaining enough traction. In that regard, the series failed. While the premise is excellent, the opening is perfect, and there are several compelling scenes along with a stellar cast and atmosphere—the overall execution felt slow and aimless.
​The most positive thing I can say about the series is how well it portrays the power struggle. None of the characters are truly "good." Naturally, people involved in such schemes would harbor some level of darkness within them. I'm actually glad the series was short; enduring this much toxic masculinity for 16 episodes would have been incredibly difficult.

Read More

Important Story, Uneven Execution

With an A-list cast led by Ha Ji-won and Ju Ji-hoon, the drama dives into the dark relationship between money, celebrity, exploitation, and the entertainment industry. It touches on the kind of sinister power dynamics the world has seen repeatedly and tragically and for that alone, I think Climax deserves credit. It agitates an uncomfortable but important subject in a raw and necessary way.I

Unfortunately, where it lost me was in the actual execution.

As strong as the premise was, I found the cinematic choices weak. There were stylistic flourishes, blurred transitions, nonlinear storytelling decisions, and visual techniques that felt more distracting than effective. Instead of elevating the material, they often made the drama feel oddly amateurish and flat. It gave the impression of a director who perhaps didn’t have a full grasp on how to shape such heavy subject matter.Kudos though to the queer storylines. They added a good mix of push and pull factor but yet again, the show flails around.

The screenplay also felt tired in places. Some arcs were rushed, others underdeveloped. In particular, I thought the prosecutor’s storyline had real potential and nuance, but it never received the depth it deserved. Too much focus was placed on Ha Ji-won’s character at the expense of other compelling threads.I also felt the actors weren’t always guided properly. Ju Ji-hoon, who is usually excellent at portraying intensity and layered charisma, felt uneven here.

Because of all this, I ended up dropping the drama after the first few episodes and only tuned back in for the finale.

That said, I still think Climax is significant. Social commentary-wise, it’s aiming high. Thematically, it’s saying something important. But dramas need more than intention - they really need craft.

There was a genuinely good drama buried in here somewhere, unfortunately, it just never fully emerged.

Read More

A story about corruption at the highest levels of South Korean society, or so we're led to believe. Everyone's despicable. No one worth saving. Because the cruel world these people inhabit demands it. I would have preferred less self-indulgence, though.
In reality, it's a just decent thriller about three or four individuals, but not really about politics, neither corruption...

Unfortunately, in my opinion, there are too many ostensibly shocking choices thrown in just to brutalize the audience. And then, again and again, that same way of portraying relationships between women ; it can only be sad and end badly, nothing else is possible. To be honest, it really gets on my nerves seeing that all the time.

It's a twisted series in which all the characters behave strangely, solely to conceal plot points. Or to give Nana and Ha Ji-won their moment to shine. (They're brilliant in those scenes, of course.) But that's obvious, and it really annoys me. As a result, the ending feels like a real slog to get to. The first episode promised a daring story and I have to say : that's not the case.

Why is everyone breathing heavily or sighing non-stop ? I don't like having someone breathing down my neck for 10 episodes.

Read More

A bunch of insane psychotic people elbowing up and having a mud fight in a cesspool

This is like a study of insane psychotic people
a bunch of ppl doing whatever it takes to climb up the social/power/money ladder.... Like a huge mud fight in a cesspool.... So ugly... and without ANY character growth... the characters keep going down, instead of up...
So this is very Hwood type plot .... contrary to the principles of good storytelling ... and thus, a waste of time. NO CONTENT.

The characters start being shady... FL is a chronic liar and manipulator pushing to move on up higher.... the ML is the only one who is somewhat decent, at least his initial goals were to bring justice and revenge for his father. Nana poses with her French haircut and super thick obviously plastic lips...

And the drama keeps getting only worse
This is like a study of insane psychotic people all playing mind games as to how to step over each other. BORING.
6 episodes was enough to get the idea and DROP

The drama has some good acting but a cheap plot - and the lack of content is "made up" by shocking provocative decadent scenes, like .... grabbing an item by bare hand out of a used toilet to appease the villain, or two women making out hard.

Some people said the drama is supposedly a social commentary on what actors etc are forced to do - but that is the point, this drama shows NOBODY FORCED THEM - these ppl **** willingly chose **** to engage in very low level and criminal stuff to get status etc and climb up to the top.

THE CHARACTERS IN THIS DRAMA ARE ALL SUPER GREEDY ELBOWING UP AND THEY NEVR GROW, there is nothing noble or positive (except ML had some and lost it)
Why spend 12 hours watching a bunch of ppl in deep hell and CHOOSING to stay there

Read More

Ambição que Cansa

Climax foca no jogo sujo da política onde a ex-atriz Chu Sang A faz de tudo, até se envolver com cartel, para colocar o marido promotor na presidência. O drama tenta ser um suspense político profundo, mas acaba se perdendo um pouco no meio do caminho.

Por que a nota 7?
Atuação Boa: O elenco é de peso e carrega o drama nas costas, principalmente a Chu Sang A entregando aquela vibe de "esposa perfeita" que esconde segredos perigosos.
Crítica Social: É interessante ver como o poder corrompe e as loucuras que as pessoas fazem por status e carreira, mostrando que ninguém é santo nesse meio.
Ritmo Arrastado: Dei nota 7 porque, apesar de ser interessante, o dorama fica chato demais em vários momentos. A trama política é densa e às vezes o ritmo demora tanto a engrenar que dá preguiça de continuar assistindo.

No fim, é uma produção caprichada, mas falta aquela dinâmica que faz a gente querer maratonar sem parar. Vale pela atuação, mas tem que ter paciência.

Read More