Mr.Kill

Let's dissect why this wasn't great..

My first review in.. in quite a while. And I really felt like I had to write one for Mr. Kill because I had a lot of thoughts. And some time to actually write them down which helped.

Mr. Kill is your typical GMMTV mystery drama. I've watched a few of them, and I'd say of the ones I've watched, this was quite typical of the genre for the company. As in, completely predictable. Did not help that it was also marketed as a bromance because we know what that means in terms of creating mystery. Well, I'll say it anyway, it means there's not much.

This series is actually good on premise if I think about it - a series of murders that copy a dark webtoon, which just so happens to be written by a person with some sort of connection to each of the murder victims. It's a great setup, especially with the (b)romance vibes from the very beginning, where they had Pat and Kay, the two leads, be very ambiguously attracted to each other. It's good when you know they're about to be pushed against each other very soon and then find their way back to each other as the truth about the murders slowly comes to light. All well and good, and it all happened exactly like that.. but.. it still wasn't good?

Let me explain. I just did not get enough of the mystery or the bromance. The reveal that was coming was obvious from the beginning, and the bromance I waited for only came for two minutes at the end of every episode. They tried so hard to balance the plot and the people who star in it that they may have forgotten to give either any depth. I'm going to do something weird now, but bear with me, and compare it to Wu, which was on air right before Mr. Kill - and I'm not going to say Wu had an extraordinary plot but the bromance there was so intense that I think it compensated a little for what I expected of the plot. I know it's not a fair comparison but it really stuck with me for some reason and even though there's quite literally nothing to compare between the two shows, there was atleast something about Wu that made me grow attached.

I'm not going to spoil anything, because honestly I'm not sure if there's even anything to spoil? It was quite a predictable series that didn't really hinge on anything to make itself interesting and I think that's quite a dissapointment. It's not a terrible show by any length, it was actually quite enjoyable at parts and at times. But I wanted more. It wasn't even my expectations that let me down, I'm just a little sad that even without them, I'm feeling a little underwhelmed with the series as a whole.

But I will say, I did like Dew and Tee's performances, and in the moments they had together, it was some good chemistry. As far as the cast goes, I have no complaints, all of them did well. But it sucks that the cast and the opening credits were my favourite parts of a series that had the potential to be amazing.

Just that, the story or the mystery or the bond or quite literally anything, any aspect one would expect out of a plot like this one was non-existent. Yup, just a bit dissapointing.

6.75/10

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I know better than anyone that we don’t always get to choose what we are.

I’m honestly struggling to write a review without diving into details and spoiling all the important things, because there are so many aspects that made me fall in love with this series.

So…
This show completely broke my brain — in the best possible way — thanks to my silly habit of trying to fit everything into the familiar patterns I’d built from watching too many crime series. Every time I tried to force it into those patterns, they just cracked apart. The twists, the turns, and the emotional, angsty journey this series takes you on are next level. There is never a dull moment. My mind was either eagerly absorbing every new piece of information or melting over the romantic developments… cough Friendly developments, I mean. Yes. Friendly. Super friendly.

The pacing was great. The characters were great. I loved the growth each of them went through, especially Kay. Phat is such a well-balanced character — sharp yet soft at the same time. I also really enjoyed the new characters introduced later; they added so much more intrigue and doubt to the story.

And if you’re yearning for some friends-to-lovers romancing, please pay attention to the fact that it’s tagged as Bromance. We got some really hearty crumbs of their story… and I ate them all up. The bromance took a bit of a backseat to the main conflicts and adventure, but I actually found that refreshing. We were given just enough tension and stolen moments to feel satisfied, while still leaving us wanting so much more.

It wasn’t perfect. There were moments that felt a little too convenient, and I did want a bit more from certain aspects. But overall? I had so much fun with this series. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a story with heart, history, and a journey worth taking.

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Needed more doom, didn't come close to its obvious inspirations, but enjoyable nonetheless

I'm learning that it's hard to write complex crime-centered plots that don't lose steam. Despite this story not being original at all, it worked reasonably well right until the end, with the last episode being a total failure on all fronts. Did they completely run out of money and drive or what? The acting was also just good enough for a non-BL (Off, Neo, and Dew probably gave my favorite performances), though it sometimes falls apart (most noticeably with Singha and Tee), and certain heightened emotions didn't convince me, and some supposedly life-threatening situations lacked the necessary urgency.

I found out in the middle of my watch-through that this is "just" bromance (I really need to start reading the tags), which is fine because I believe this subgenre can do some things better than straight-up romance. But this show unfortunately only intermittently gave me what I was looking for. Still, I must give everyone their flowers. Kaye looking all pensively at Phat cooking him breakfast, and Phat pulling a gun on Nop, telling him to drive after Nop says Kaye won't make it out of this—that's the shit. Even if I've seen it all before, I'm never going to get sick of such moments.

I think for this to actually work they would've had to commit to a certain degree of tragedy (I believe in you, GMMTV), be it death or separation or, you know, any real danger with lasting consequences. Otherwise the stakes don't work for me, I can't take the relationship seriously, and it takes the enjoyment out of the leads' delectable emotional turmoil. You cannot give the main characters too much of what they want; half the fun is in what they can't have despite desperately wishing for it. And no, Praew's tribulations, the uncle's death, and the short-lived loss of contact at the end don't count because Kaye and Phat weren't seriously distraught for a significant chunk of time.

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Dumbest thriller ever.

Honestly, I’m a huge fan of Dew’s acting, and while the core concept of the story had potential, the execution and direction were outright painful to watch. As a fan of horror and thrillers, I was expecting a grounded, realistic investigation. Instead, the plot was riddled with gaping plot holes, and the mystery was so poorly maintained that I had already figured everything out within the first five episodes.

The biggest issue lies in the complete lack of basic logic. Why would Phat constantly go hunting for a serial killer without any actual police backup, all while routinely putting Kay’s life in danger? Kay is just a writer, he has no combat training, nor is he qualified to handle life-threatening situations. It made zero sense for Phat to drag him along to every active, dangerous crime scene. On top of that, the finale manufactured cheap drama just to artificially inflate the tension.

GMMTV has produced some fantastic thrillers in the past, but this definitely wasn’t one of them. It’s hard to take a police investigation seriously when the main detective acts like he’s the only officer in the entire department.

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It's good! Had me hooked!

"I'm lucky, aren't I? I have a great sister. And I have a great partner." — Phat

"Even if I had a hundred lives, I'd have to spend all those lives saving you." — Phat

can't stop giggling as I write this, and honestly can’t express how good this series is! Dew and Tee’s chemistry literally had me screaming and smacking the air. The plot is an absolute thrill ride. I wasn't expecting much going into it, but wow—the acting, the romance, and the suspense were all incredibly well-built.

Have to admit, I kept guessing that Kaye was Nekros. But the final reveal was such a shock! The mastermind behind all those vigilante crimes turned out to be you-know-who, and it made perfect sense. I absolutely loved seeing Off; omg, he is so handsome and played his role brilliantly. His characters are always fascinating. On the other hand, why did they have to kill Nop? *crying His character was so enjoyable, but dang. Meanwhile, Praew made me angry and sigh so many times, but thank blimey she was smart at the end with how she handled it.

Maybe it’s because I binge-watched it, but I was completely hooked the entire time. Even though the pacing occasionally felt a little obvious or lacking something, the twists and the unreal chemistry between Dew and Tee kept me glued to the screen. *screaming happily

"In this world, justice has a cost." — Kaye

"Lies become truths if the people who know the truth choose to stay silent." — Thun

I think the series did a fantastic job of uncovering real-world societal problems, like how corruption and silence distort justice. Plus, Kaye's manga sketches were so amazing; I totally loved them.

P.S. Thinking about how much Dew must have enjoyed himself the whole time! *cough cough

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Somewhat predictable

Mr. Kill was one of the mock trailers that really stuck out to me, so I was super excited to watch this show. I really enjoyed this version of a crime drama, where it is unclear to everyone, including the viewer, what the main character is up to. While I thought Dew's performance as Kaye was incredible, I feel like his character arc left some things to be desired. I also thought it was quite obvious from pretty early on what the twist would be, so it didn't feel like much of a surprise unfortunately.

Kaye (Dew) is a manga artist known for his romance novels, but before writing those, he used a penname to write a dark and gore-filled murder manga, Nekros. When police captain Phat (Tee) is tasked with investigating a murder, it turns out the exact murder scene had already been drawn in Nekros. Phat start off by suspecting Kaye is involved, but also needs his help determining what the killer may do next.

I really enjoyed following the police chase after this murderer, but definitely thought that they could have done more with Kaye's character! It felt like they were really trying to bait the audience into doubting Kaye, but I just felt like they could have made this more compelling. I also wish we got a little more of Tee's character with his little sister. Still, this was an enjoyable show. In a similar vein to GMM's show Wu, I was quite annoyed with the way that this "bromance" show was done in terms of the relationship between the main characters. I'm not saying it needed to be queer - I am totally fine with a show like this having zero romance. However, the slow motion falling into each others arms, the lighting a cigarette by using the others lit cigarette, and the music choices when the characters are close are soooo romance drama. If you're going to make a drama that's not a romance, maybe don't make the scenes so romantic? Regardless, the show was a fun crime drama even with the pretty expected twists.

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Absolute watch thriller

I honestly believed that I would stop watching this drama after 2-3 episodes, but the storyline had me hooked enough to watch each new episode every Tuesday patiently. I really like thriller dramas like these where real topics and themes are also highlighted and I believe personally that they did a good job on encroaching upon the fact that monsters are not born and that they are made. People usually see the world in black or white but this drama helps you see the grey too.

The characters(male leads) acting was something I was looking forward too and I was not disappointed by the phenomenal acting delivered by Dew and Tee, though was hoping to see more of their bromance and I know that if the show had more episodes then we would certainly have gotten the ending we deserved and not the quick one.

The scenes were a bit gruesome but it is not half of what actually goes on the real world so it was a bit interesting to watch how each case would go and though the killer was a bit predictable the drama still kept you on tenterhooks and that was what I mainly liked about it.

I would recommend this drama 100% to anyone who asks and would certainly rewatch this again sometime

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A killer premise that never delivered the blow.

I finished Mr. Kill and unfortunately the finale was a letdown. What should have been the culmination of a dark and suspenseful crime thriller never built the intensity I was waiting for. Instead, it was filled with more of the same missteps that bothered me throughout the series.

The premise was actually very good…an artist whose drawings eerily resemble the work of a serial killer, making him a suspect himself. There was so much potential for paranoia, psychological darkness and suspense. But somewhere along the way, I found myself questioning the writing more than questioning who the killer was. And yes…the murderer became rather obvious. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut.

But the finale really tested my suspension of disbelief. You kidnap a police officer and nobody thinks to search him for a gun? After everything these characters supposedly planned? And Praew kidnaps and somehow there seems to be remarkably no consequence for what she did? Earlier we had someone being shot in broad daylight by the river, the gun casually handed to a henchman despite fingerprints…and again I was expected to simply accept it. I can believe corruption. I can believe powerful people manipulating investigations. But the story still has to give me something believable to manipulate.

The performances unfortunately never compensated for the weaknesses in the writing. Dew, Tee and Off had characters that should have given us vulnerability, frustration, manipulation and darkness, but I rarely felt the intensity these roles demanded. Too often I felt I was watching actors playing characters rather than people actually living them. The supporting characters were equally fragmented…much like the storyline itself.

For big fans of these actors, I can understand enjoying Mr. Kill. They certainly have the looks and there are moments of chemistry. But from my own experience watching darker crime and psychological dramas, good looks can only take me so far. I needed to feel danger. I needed that uncomfortable darkness that makes you suspicious of everyone and keeps you glued to the screen. Most importantly, by the finale I needed suspense…and I never got it.

A thriller can mislead me, surprise me and even make me believe the unbelievable…but first it has to create a world believable enough for me to get lost in it.

GMMTV…please do better. You had a killer premise. Unfortunately, Mr. Kill never quite delivered the killing blow.

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Not for everyone, but for those it will be epic.

MR.KILL - Review

Mr. Kill with Dew and Tee as main protagonists featuring Off and Neo, this was a bromance murder mystery series. So, no BL here, despite being made by GMMTV. So keep this in mind.

Mr. Kill was a dark, emotional rollercoaster, asking uncomfortable questions about life and the world we life in. It was deep, unsettling and excellently played by all involved. Warning: it does contain gruesome imagery so it is not for a faint of heart (though I have seen worse), and you may say, eh bromance? Nah.

Still, I must admit I felt greatly entertained despite the story being entirely in a gray area, where good and evil quickly blur and simple answers vanish. Still I felt it was something we all feel, even if we keep it just at the brink of our thoughts. I had a bit a "V for Vendetta" vibe just "we live in it and it is smoother, so we can easy delude ourselves." Which is a powerful message and a challange to the viewer, keeping you thinking.

Knowing what I would get and getting way more, all excellenlty made I have nothing bad to say to this masterpiece of its kind.

10/10
Not for everyone, but for those it will be epic.

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Slightly predictable but still gripping!

I'll start off this review with my least favourite part of the show just to get it out of the way, the sister. Good lord is she stupid, i get that she's young but be prepared to want to throw something at the screen everytime she appears, what an idiot, not the actor, just the character, think my least liked character in recent memory.

On to the series though, it's brilliant, i started watching late as i knew waiting weekly would stress me out and its definitely a really good show to binge watch as i didn't want to stop watching. The story is a little predictable, and you do have to suspend your disbelief at times but i think you have to do this with most crime shows.

The chemistry between the 2 male leads is phenomenal, i can understand people wanting this to be a BL, but it works so well as a bromance as well. Personally i choose to believe its just a very slowburn BL where a future season (or fanfiction) shows their romantic side. Please don't dismiss this show if you are a BL fan wanting pure romance, it has all the elements you could ask for and it is definitely worth giving a try if you like the harsher dramas.

I'd probably put this series in my top 5 that i've watched this year!

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