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Failed it's Premise
I just finished watching Reborn Rich for the first time, and I feel like the writers thought the audience was stupid when they wrote that last episode. That's your big finish? A flip phone from the early 2000s automatically recorded a phone call, where the murderer blatantly admits to the crime and even states his own name for no reason? Some recent smartphones don't automatically record calls. And how does a man who got shot in the head survive? And why did Hyeon Woo know nothing about Dojun in his own timeline? He literally caused his death. Didn't he feel guilty? I'm supposed to root for a main character who didn't even care to find out about the identity of the man whose life he snuffed out? And why does he get no legal repercussions for concealing a murder for 20 years? Even Dojun's love interest isn't mad that Hyeon Woo left them in agony for 20 years, when he had the evidence to help get justice. I hope I never have to stumble upon a show with wriing as crappy as this ever again. A show about reincarnation that didn't even touch on the spiritual aspect of it's own premise. What utter lack of creativity.Was this review helpful to you?
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we were robbed.
we were robbed. absolutely fucking robbed. ep 2-15 were absolutely golden, and then ep 16 goes and ruins it. everything was so tight-knit and flowed well, and then not only does the screenwriter go and rush ep 16, but she completely changes the originally ending, which would have been more satisfying and publicly loved. the screenwriter gave us a twist for the sake of having a different ending, not because it made sense. OBVIOUSLY, THE REASON WHY THE OG ENDING WORKS IS WHY THE WEB NOVEL IS POPULAR. if you go and change that, THERE'S NO POINT.the actors were absolutely amazing throughout, but oh my gods. lee sung min and song joong ki. the absolute and undeniable best parts of this show.
song joong-ki, how are you the man that you are. i literally can't imagine anyone else doing this type of role; he absolutely kills it. it's always with the slight smirk, after giving the soonyang family a blank stare/death glare/all-knowing look, and then he absolutely demolishes them with a paper to buy their company. he absolutely kills it and i need more of this. song joong ki, please step on me. ily. please.
unpopular opinion: SHB and SJK's chemistry wasn't horrible as everyone says it was. here me out:
1. yes, it was severely underdeveloped, because they hardly had any scenes together, which made them getting together unbelieveable.
2. yes, SHB's role in the entire show was to purely serve JDJ's needs and story development, making her very flat, and to some (not me) annoying.
3. and yes, in comparison to the thriller and succession war and other elements going on, the romance was hardly on anyone's radar, and just took attention away from the main plot.
but was the chemistry bad? no. it was as good as it could have been with all the other shit going on, especially when it's not a romance drama, it's a thriller. there's no need to hate on SHB when those two did the best they could and worked with what they had. if anything, it's the screenwriter's fault for not developing it properly.
lee sung-min was a fricking maniac; no wonder he's a veteran in the kdrama industry. that man can ACT. his scenes with sjk were so charged with chemistry i was on the edge of my seat the entire time. and song joong ki. oh my darling, lovely, beloved song joong ki. the microexpressions he has when he acts; the various combinations of smirks and stares he has, being able to scare you one second and charm you the next; the way he can act old-young (and JDJ) and truly young (his old life) within scenes: absolutely fucking insane. that man is fucking acting machine. there's no going around it. THREE TIMES this year i've been demolished by his acting. DOTS was sweet, caramel oozing from his eyes. Vincenzo was absolutely terrifying mafia boss. this was a mixture of the two, and then some more: childish innocence + betrayal + determination. no matter who he has opposite him, he manages to drag chemistry out from them (him and JYB tho >>>).
(spoilers)the web novel ends with seo min young and jin do joon being married and JDJ grieves his past self dying off the cliff, all the while succeeding at being chairman of SY. i'm going to gaslight myself and try to remember that as the ending, instead of the shit-show we got in ep 16. i mean, we don't even see YHW try to get into a relationship with SMY again, when he obviously could, and he could obviously tell her of him being JDJ and have it make sense. and don't even get me started on the amount of plot holes that arose in the last episode, all because the screenwriter messed with what was a tight-knit story. first, we see in ep 1 that he has no recollection of JDJ at all, as does anyone else; so did he just HAPPEN to forget that he killed him? the OG author created a tight-knit well-developed story, and the screenwriter adapted that scene by scene, without a single change, up till ep 15, and that's where she went wrong—if she had just stuck to the source material, we wouldn't be in this situation right now, left completely unsatisfied and angry. if we accept ep 16, that means ep 2-15 meant nothing. he did all that work as JDJ only to die and then become chairman without getting any shares? without any of the work that JDJ put in? not only would JDJ feel wronged, but us, as viewers, feel wronged. we spent so much time with JDJ that we want him to succeed, not YHW. it makes no sense, first, and second, i feel cheated. as much as i loved ep 2-15 and i loved watching the actors, i can never rewatch this, now that i now that they mean nothing to the ending. the actors demolished the show and i have no comments against them, but the screenwriter needs to find a new job. don't just add in a twist ending just for the sake of "changing things up". obviously the source material is popular for a reason, and the author for it made it so that everything ends up perfectly. the worst part is: the screenwriter made so many changes to the ending, but not a single (coherent) comment from a character about how JDJ and a YHW lookalike. not a single one. what kind of "happy ending" is that? to go on living after everyone you love thinks you're dead. the only, and i repeat, ONLY reason this is a 9.0/10 is because ep 2-14 were absolutely perfect, and the actors deserve a perfect score. the screenwriter is the reason why i had to rate it lower.
overall: a fine, fine drama to end 2022, but left with good memories and a bitter taste in my mouth.
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An ambitious drama... but maybe too ambitious
I'll start this review by admitting that I am normally not a big fan of plots about greedy rich family members fighting over power positions but once I saw Song Joong Ki I knew I would have to watch this. He never disappoints, even in dramas I don't love, and this unfortunately was one of those dramas. Don't get me wrong, there are some really great things about "Born Rich" and I say this knowing nothing about the book it's based on. The rivalries are intense and keeping up with the lead character's wins and losses flavored with Korean nostalgia was fun each week. This was largely due to Lee Sung Min as Jin Yang Cheol, the family patriarch at the center of all the greed and corruption.Jin Do Joon and Jin Yang Cheol's relationship are what makes this drama so exciting. There are other great characters as well but watching them match wits eclipses everything else. The main story is a pretty standard revenge plot with a retro twist, and clever Do Joon is easy to root for, but what I liked more was the feeling of watching an intense game of chess between two fierce rivals who clearly admire each other. I was less interested in the war between siblings, even with some impressive actors in those roles. The terrible rich people being terrible trope is just not as engaging after a while, and too many of the family members were 2 dimmensional awful people.
One part of the story that really did not work well is the romance plot. I think in this case it wasn't just the writing but Shin Hyun Bin's performance that made this storyline fall flat. Her choice to play Seo Min Young as cold, guarded, and robotic throughout left no room for any romance scenario that made sense. I felt myself rolling my eyes whenever her character showed up, and that's not a good look for a love interest.
Another problem I had with "Born Rich" is that there were a lot of times I had a hard time following what was going on and who was who. There are a lot of characters with agendas, and a lot of agendas conflict and overlap. Add to that a lot of significant Korean history moments going over my head and me likely missing a lot of important details. Thankfully the music helped me know when something sinister was about to go down. lol
Would I watch this again? Maybe. Now that I know the ending I would be slightly interested in seeing it from the beginning with that in mind. However, the episodes are so long that I think without the suspense they may not be fun to watch anymore. I was satified with seeing the main character's evolution and I think that's enough for me to move on from this for now. I know a lot of people didn't like the direction the story went towards the end but I appreciated the twist and what it said about the blind pursuit of wealth and power.
Overall, "Born Rich" didn't disappoint but it did fall a little short. It just felt too inconsistent. By the end of episode 15, I was really excited about this drama's ending, but it kinda fizzled and turned predictable by the very end. Is it worth watching just to watch Song Joong Ki? Yes. Is this as good as some of his other famous roles? Definitely not. Even his infamous charming smirks seemed more low key in this one. If you didn't read the synopsis, good! Don't! I'm glad I started watching knowing nothing from the very beginning. The conflict for me is that I liked the story more than how it was told. I loved the suspense and cliff hangers but hated the repetitive scenes with shadey characters staring suspiciously at each other. Be aware that this is a plot that stays true to one genre and focuses on Politics, Power, and Revenge. If you find people discussing plots and schemes tedious this is not the drama for you.
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Impressive Cast, Addictive Story
As someone who loves Korean dramas and the HBO show Succession, Reborn Rich felt like a KDrama version of that show with a fantasy/reincarnation twist and I absolutely loved it!This show did extremely well with viewers in South Korea and it's easy to see why, There is the chaebol revenge plot, the reincarnation/fantasy element, re-living recent Korean history with actual news clips from the time (allowing viewers to go "hey I remember that"), and of course a cast full of familiar faces all giving strong performances. I will say give this show until the end of episode 3 if you're on the fence as the first two episodes (while enjoyable for me) are not really indicative of what the rest of the drama is going to be.
There are a few elements of this drama where you need to not think too hard about what you're seeing on screen and just take what the show is giving you without question so you don't get annoyed or taken out of the story. Think actors playing the same characters over a 30 year span but with minimal changes to their appearance or a two year real life age difference between actors playing a father and son. These things can become distracting if you let them, but if you just accept the absurdity of it early on you'll be fine for the rest of the show.
I'm sure lots of people here will watch for Song Joong Ki, and he does quite well, but for the most part it's not really a juicy role for him (although when more emotional scenes are required he can certainly deliver). Lee Sung Min gets the meaty role as the patriarch of the family, Jin Yang Cheol, and absolutely steals every scene he's in. From his voice to his posture to the way he looks at others, it's amazing! He makes a character who is quite unlikeable the best part of the show. He also has excellent chemistry with Song Joong Ki and Kim Kang Hoon who plays the younger version of SJK's character.
The supporting case is excellent as well, all familiar faces if you watch kdramas and some in roles very different from what I've seen them in previously. A warning though, if you are looking for romance this is NOT the drama for you. There is minimal romance and the female lead's role is not as large as Shin Hyun Bin's high billing would suggest, but that didn't really annoy me as her role fit in nicely to the narrative.
When I watch shows like this I know I'm not going to understand all the business terms that they throw around but this show does a good job of helping you along so you at least always know who/what you're rooting for. These business and succession plans, while potentially boring to some people, for me, resulted in both moments of great tension and moments of great satisfaction. You'll know fairly early on if you'll find this engaging or boring.
I didn't mind the ending, although I can understand why people had a problem with it, I thought it fit the drama well, but be warned odds are you may not be as okay with it as I was. The area where I did have a complaint was when there would be a scene from Hyun Woo's life thrown in as a flashback; I thought the director didn't make it clear enough what the viewer was seeing. The few times this occurred I was so confused trying to figure out what was happening until I realized I was looking at Hyun Woo, not Do Joon.
Overall an excellent drama (with one of my favourite opening credit sequences) that kept me on my toes and entertained throughout its run. A great drama to end 2022 on!
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A totql workout for the brain and a great drama - a Gordian knot.
This drama was one of the best I have seen in 5 or more years. The concept and execution of the creation of a dual identify character (in a different timeline) that exists for the sole purpose of seeking revenge and ascertaining the culprits responsible for his murder (which was only attempted) was executed by the screenwriter with the highest respect for the viewers' entertainment and mental engagement. There were several times I had to go back and recount incidents to properly knit the story together to its final mindblowing conclusion. After watching episode 15 I was concerned that there was NO WAY this drama could have a good ending. However, I was totally surprised and enjoyed my Christmas day just screaming about how brilliant the screenwriters and directors were to lead to a 100% satisfactory and believable conclusion. The timeline changes were the hardest to comprehend but I used the weightlifter's silver metal (2004) event to account for the 20 years that passed to bring reality and the events of the last episode to a plausible reality as a viewer. Even the 10 years for the Miracle corporation converting into an arboretum was confusing at first -- you just have to remember that Do Jun died 10 years before the company basically removed itself from ownership of the Soonyang corporation. Totally satisfying and worth a rewatch if you are uncertain of timelines and events. A difficult watch but if you enjoy a challenge and a little eye candy to boot - this is one to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
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This drama is INSANE! Highly recommended!
You will think it's about revenge through out episode 1 to 15, until u watch final episode.It's actually about second chance to make things right.
Yoon Hyun Woo (HW) is a loyal employee of Soonyang Company for years. He was sent overseas to withdraw company tactical fund, but he was betrayed and murdered.
After HW was shot, he woke up as 10 years old Jin Do Joon back in year 87. Jin Do Joon (DJ) is
Soonyang's owner Jin Yang Cheol (YC) youngest grandson.
He remembers everything from his life as HW, in the body of JD. In other word, He was reborn as JD, and he took this chance to take revenge. He managed to be successful using his knowledge about the future, and gradually became his grandfather's favorite. After YC died, JD supposed to take over Soonyang, but a car accident took his life..again.
But then after the car accident, he woke up in the hospital, back to current time as HW and found out that he actually survived from the shot and living as JD was only a coma-dream. However, the dream "showed" him of what really happened to JD and he has given a second chance to make things right for both; himself and JD.
This drama has more plot twist than you expected. It has conspiracy in all aspects, politics, family, business, relationship and others. You just CAN'T TRUST anyone.
Everyone in this played really well, and deserve our gratitude.
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Very unique!
Finally finished the show. The first episode felt very convoluted to me and I skipped it, read the summary here, and moved to the 2nd episode. I am glad I skipped to the second episode because the pace & story from ep2 to 2p14 is brilliant. The plot is well made and very unique. (I did feel I was missing some information in the last 2 episodes due to missing ep1 though, but it wasn't significant.)Acting: The actor Joong-ki is amazing. He plays an old guy so well, but he looks so young. It is jarring at times, truly! It feels real! Then other times he looks his age when he looks at his mom, amazing actor and direction. This was my first show of this actor and I have now watched Vincenzo. I have to say, Vincenzo walked so RebornRich could run. Lee SungMin is great as well. I also loved HyukKwon, JungNan, etc. They all did a great job.
Romance: HyunBin, I can't believe she is credited as "Main Role". There are very few scenes of her, and most of them are so dull, I skipped them. The "romance" is completely irrelevant to the plot. They have no chemistry here. The other female characters in the show are so well-made (Kim Hyun, JiHyun, etc.) I don't know why this character is so boring. I think romance wasn't required at all. The other male-female relationships fit the theme much better (everybody was selfish.) The only interesting scene of this character is in ep16. What was the point of this character?
Story & Pace: The pace is amazing from the second episode. I not only didn't speed it up- at times, I actually slowed down or rewatched to understand what happened. The twists are amazingly well thought. Most characters are grey and till the end, you won't be able to trust anybody. I could never guess what the next twist would be- because nobody is loyal here to anything but money. It really does remind me of corporate world, very real. The writers are very smart people. It is a 2022 masterpiece for sure. Must watch.
Ending: The episodes 15 and 16 scrambled my brain. Ep15 was a lot to take in, I was a little confused. But I guess that is what worked for this story. Once the "goal" was accomplished, they wrapped up stuff in the other timeline. I will say ep16 is better- I did feel a sort of melancholy for the character, which I felt he deserved. He loses family, friends, etc. So the suffering is worth it, in a way. So, I was satisfied by the end. I think the writers did a great job for such a fantastical storyline.
Definitely a must watch.
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Brilliant cast!
yes another great drama of song joong ki. He knows what shows to pick.For this, you will somehow satisfied and not satisfied, for the fact we all rooting for jin do joon and ended up with hyun woo' s success. But I think we forgot that it was hyun woo's characteristic and soul in the body/name of jin do joon.
In other note, what a great cast and they really did their roles. The music and the phasing is actually really good. Yet, this series should have been be better and I can't pinpoint on what's lacking or too much.
We will not talk about romance.
Anyways, still recommended to watch, it was worth the time. Little unsatisfaction can't compare what a great series this is. <3
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This Drama is Fire
Loved this, at first I wasn't quite sure if this was the drama for me when I watched the first episode. It really picked up after the second episode when the storyline turns to the rebirth. While rich vs poor and rebirth themes aren't new or ground breaking, this drama takes these themes and runs with it. It excels in the plotting, acting, character analysis, and storyline development. It's also deeply satisfying to see a down and out underdog who was murdered come back as the grandson of a chaebol family. He plots his way to one up his rebirth family with his intelligence and knowledge of the future. Schemes abound, everyone is vying for the grandfather's favor and the keys to the throne. The dirty inner workings of chaebol families is exposed, the plays for dynastic wealth and power play out like Joseon royal family succession politics. It's appalling, vicious, juicy, and scandalous all at once. I like how the drama develops the relationship between the ML grandson and the grandfather, the grandfather initially views the grandson with curiosity, then suspicion but starts to recognize his talent and his abilities which by far outpaces his other potential heirs. It becomes a chess match between the grandson and grandfather, the suspense is not knowing who will checkmate who.A round of applause for the actors and actresses of this drama and how engaging they were in their roles, the child actor who plays the grandson with the soul of murdered ML did a wonderful job. It was my first time watching the ML in a drama, he's super popular and he lives up to his acting reputation in this drama.
A very good watch.
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Amazing series, interesting ending.
First of all let me start by saying that I was waiting each week for new episodes and I don't really watch weekly shows, this show was gripping, tense and entertaining. This show answers the question to basically "If I had privilege and knew the future what would happen" in a realistic way.Its smartly written, characters are interesting and it never derailed from the main story with romance or comedy. I loved it. It handles family relationships in a great way as well, I loved the relationship between the MC and the grandfather, it was such a journey. I think it has to be one of my favourite relationships in any kdrama.
I think the chairman grandfather Jin Yang-choel (played by Lee Sung-min) carries the show, yes Song Joong-ki is amazing and the MC but every scene that Lee was in I was amazed. I hope he gets a few awards for his performance cause he's the MVP of this show for me.
Last episode is interesting, I will not spoil it but its interesting. I'd say don't read any reviews that mentions anything that happens in the last episode, just skip it.
I'd recommend this series to easily anyone who enjoys serious shows.
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2022 AND ITS ENDING CURSED
Don't know what's up with 2022 and the drama endings ... i mean things are going very well but 16 episode and all in the bucket .This drama was in my top list drama .... the story.. the acting... the cast.. the music everything was very well made up to top notch but the ending was very unexpected although it made sense, was a logical way to end the drama but it did not satisfied me at all .
The drama could have been one of the best for me but ending left with me an unsatisfied desire although some will find it a LOGICAL due to the repentance way of writer but still i wanted to see the completed revenge arc.
But still it's an top rating drama with a top notch story ,cast and production so give it a try.
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Great WWE between siblings of wealthy family
"Poor people fight for food and money; rich people fight for the throne and power."1)Song Joong-ki is nearly 40 years old, and the creators are using CGI and VFX to make him appear to be 20. Does this mean a 40-year-old man will play a high school student if he can play a 20-year-old college student? What can I say about this?
2) is it really about righteous?? because he wants to buy Ajin motors because his dad works there, he want know about lab science coz mom from previous life loss money and committed suicide. Tbh actually he want to take revenge for his parents and why they killed him. meanwhile he is talking about righteous then he should have bought every other company to save the workers, he didn't care about Hando steel and their workers as well. But he is so selfish he didn't care about other company yet he believe in righteous
A mere guy with no background went on to become manager of a top company, but he doesn't get any respect despite his hard work. still do his work, from fixing toilets to managing a branch of the company. Nobody supports him when his peers disparage him. He discovered something one day and reported it to the new chairman, who sent him abroad on business. But he is murdered, and it is unclear why this could happen to a second- or third-generation member of the Soonyang family. Here comes the twist: this time he was born as the grandson of the founder of Soonyang Group. The times go way back. The real story now begins. Every member of the Soonyang family is suspect. This is only about the first episode; for the rest, you'll have to watch the series to find out what happens.
The story is the foundation of the film and series. In this case, the author has done an decent job even though this series have all elements, such as thriller, suspense, family war, inside stories of conglomerate families, power struggles, and many more still fucking twat is binded by selfishness about his parents only not about other millions public. I have seen brothers fighting for wealth from an ultra-rich family in court, but we never get the real story of wealthy families, and you can imagine this and enjoy it. This story provides a realistic view of a wealthy family. What is there to say about Song Joong Ki? He is a gem of Hallyu cinema. His dramas are always fucking good. Still, I didn't like the way they made him young. In terms of other aspects, this drama is good enough to watch. This drama takes me back to the 1980s, an era I'd rather be a part of than the current generation X.
My personal opinion about the story of this drama
I'm not sure why I think this drama is inspired by the Samsung Group. So many realities and characters are shared by members of the Samsung Group's family. We may not have the inside scoop, but we can use the disclaimer to create a series. Even though the founder of Samsung Group began his business with distribution, as depicted in the series, the founder of Soonyang Group began his business with trucking. One of the Samsung Group members was married to the well-known Korean actress Go Hyung Jung. Park Ji Hyun, an actress, appears to be the hotel's oldest daughter, or CEO, and the daughter of chairman Lee Kun-hee. Damn, I have a gut feeling that this series is an unofficial biography series based on the Samsung Group with a revenge twist.
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