Either Make A Live Adaptation Properly or Don't Make One At All!!!
The title of the drama itself is misleading. The title promised to be a dark military drama promoting women empowerment, but instead it delivered an underwhelming romance drama of the suppossed to be Female General. The story is lacking in many senses, and even the excuse of the scene cut by censors cannot save it. The entire cast seemed to have delivered the worst performance of their entire career. All of their emotion seemed superficial. But this seems to be the problem of the director instead of the actors, in my opinion. I hope that both Zhou Ye and Ryan Cheng will not work with this director in the future ever. Sorry to say, the FL did not look like a general to me from any angle. She is supposed to be a general, but she was only doing stunts in fancy costumes while delivering empty, big dialogues of women empowerment. There is no coherence in the character of the FL. As a general who is well-versed in warfare, FL should be proficient in making strategies that show her brilliance. But all those nice scenes from the novel were NOT in the drama. Nor is there any character development of both the ML & FL. While it gets a bit better in the middle but gets completely ruined at the end due to the writer's obsession with the 2ML. The 2ML had better character growth in the drama. The overdose of the 2ML ruined the drama for me. The original novel was so nice and beautiful, which was utterly ruined by poor script and direction. As a viewer, I could not connect emotionally to any of the cheracters especially the FL's. The show is seriously overhyped in my opinion.Was this review helpful to you?
This Is How You Do A Revenge Drama
This drama is one of the best Chinese dramas I have ever watched. The acting, cinematography, music, and direction; everything has been top-notch. The chemistry between the ML & FL was so good and natural. The adaptation from the original novel has been really good. Though I had read the novel, the drama did not disappoint me at all. I loved watching a different version of the novel. What I loved the most was how this drama treated the women. No matter if it was the protagonist or the antagonist, all were written beautifully. Their flaws, pain, and sufferings were handled with dignity. You cannot like them, but you cannot hate them either. The acting from the entire cast was top-notch. Their pain, emotion felt deep and complex. The pacing was really fast, and though it slowed a bit in many places, it did not feel boring to me. The story did not lose its main focus, which is the revenge of the FL. This drama was an absolute visual treat.Was this review helpful to you?
A Drama Ruined By Badly Written & Poorly Casted FL
The story itself is not that special, but the drama tries to portray a healthy relationship. The relationship dynamics between the characters were written well. The music and direction were nice as well. Yang Yang was nice, but the Actress completely spoiled the drama for me. Sorry, but I did not find any chemistry between the ML & FL. Their romantic scenes looked awkward to me. The FL was not written well, and the actress did not act as well on top of it. She was totally stiff and expressionless. Overall, the story fell flat due to the FL for me.Was this review helpful to you?
A Laughter Riot With Solid Story & Acting
The comic element in this drama was absolutely amazing. The entire cast has done a nice job. The actress has absolutely nailed her character. I loved watching her perform. The screenplay was done smartly, so it did not get repetitive and boring. The suspense element was maintained until the last episode. Though I felt like it could have been shortened a bit, it was not a major problem. But I am not satisfied with the ending at all. The chef coming back to the present spoiled the experience for me quite a lot, as I personally felt like the king got cheated. Nevertheless, it was a very nice watch.Was this review helpful to you?
A Overdose of Gore Action Scenes
Though the prospects of the drama were good but it was ruined by the overdose of violent scenes. I understand it was an absolute crime drama but the action scenes could have been toned down a bit. Moreover, the story was not emotionally rich enough for me to connect with the characters. Despite the heavy action scenes something felt missing for me. Overall, a decent watch for people who only want gore action scenes.Was this review helpful to you?
A Karmic Justice
This story is self-explanatory by its title, as the story nicely navigates among its characters to establish karmic justice in all senses. The fate of the villains feels absolutely satisfying at the end as everyone gets their karma. The story feels nice without any dragging. The story is presented smartly and it does not feel dragging at any point. This was a nice, enjoyable drama in all senses.Was this review helpful to you?
A Decent Romcom With Healthy Friendship & Nice Chemistry
This is a nice romcom that actually feels like a romcom at the beginning. The chemistry between the 2 leads was off the charts in my opinion. I would love to see them together in other dramas in the future. But the drama was too rushed, and I felt like it ended abruptly. This could have been a 16 episode drama, or the Bangsu track could have been shortened a bit. That track felt dragging to me later. The female lead has done a nice job in my opinion, by not making the character overly bubbly. Otherwise, it would have become irritating. I absolutely loved watching Choo Young Woo switching between 2 characters simultaneously. It was a fun ride that could have been better if it was more focused on the leads' relationship instead of their separation. The 2nd ML was a very nice friend, and I am glad the writer did not turn him negative. Overall, this is a nice one-time watch.Was this review helpful to you?
This Is How You Do A Revenge Drama
The first season started a bit slowly, and later it was a rollercoaster ride. I binged the whole show on Netflix within 24 hours. The acting, music, cinematography, and direction were just brilliant. Song Hye Kyo was the star of the drama. I just could not take my eyes off her. The casting of the teenager and adult versions of each character was spot on. The only drawback I felt was that FL did not have enough chemistry with the ML. I felt Song Hye Kyo had more chemistry with the actor playing Park Yeon Jin's Husband (Just my personal opinion). Other than that, the story and the revenge plot were brilliantly executed. The villains all got their appropriate karma. I felt very satisfied as a viewer. Overall, I loved the drama.Was this review helpful to you?
An Highly Overrated Trashy Piece of Nonsense Paired With Absolute Cringe Acting of The Female Lead.
This story was so cringy that it forced me to question the high ratings of this show. I forced myself to watch it till the last due to its high rating, thinking it would get better. The female lead was absolutely irritating and dumb to the point of making my blood boil. I liked the female lead only in the opening scene, where she showed me that she can act. But later, all she did in the entire drama was Seon Jae this and Seon Jae that. She had no life of her own. I absolutely hate such female leads who have no life of their own other than thinking about the Male lead. I lowkey felt like the creators of this show hated the FL. Because otherwise, you can not write such a dumb female lead. The over-the-top acting of the actress made the drama unbearable as well. The male lead was far better in terms of acting and as a character. Though the music of the drama is very nice but it couldnot save this cringefest. Though the last episode was bearable, the experience was spoiled for me due to the uncomfortable expression of the FL which felt like the ML was the only one in this relationship. She looked visibly uncomfortable to me in response of the ML's affection, which made no sense to me as she was risking everything earlier for the ML. Overall, this was an absolute torture of a drama that can be recommended to others as a punishment.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet Special Episode But Not Long Enough
The special episode was a treat for the viewers as it gave a logical ending to the cliffhanger at the last episode of the drama. The special episode was sweet. I would have liked it a bit more if it was a bit more properly edited like the main episode. It felt like it was made up in a hurry. Nevertheless, the drama at least gave us a nice ending. But I would have loved it if it was a bit longer. Overall, it was a lovely watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Body Swap Drama Done Right Except The Ending
The body-swapping concept used in this drama was executed by the creatives and cast perfectly. The main thing to look for in this drama is the acting by both leads and the comedy. The little background music really added a charm. The leads acted brilliantly in my opinion. When the swapping happened, it reflected in the body language of both actors. They mimicked each other very convincingly. The comic elements were really refreshing. But the ending dulled the experience quite a bit for my liking. Overall, it was an entertaining watch for me.Was this review helpful to you?
A Smartly Done Time Loop Series
Time Loops are quite a bit used concept in dramas. But the creatives of this drama have managed to do it engaging enough for me not to get bored. Though the same things happened again and again, it was done quite smartly. Otherwise, for such a plot, it is very easy to get repetitive. The flow of the story was really good. The cast did a good job. Overall, it was a nice one-time watch short drama for me.Was this review helpful to you?
Not A Popular Opinion
This drama started with a bang. The first episode was intriguing and mysterious. But the pacing got quite slow for my liking. The preparation and the elimination of the first enemy took too long for my liking. I dropped the drama twice in between. The acting and cinematography were nice, but the pacing was too slow. There were some thrilling moments in between, but overall, there was not enough balance for my liking. As for the story, the writing was not that good. The revelation of the 3rd enemy was hinted at right from the start, because of the mask. I did not find the main surprise element that surprising at all, unfortunately. Also, the finale did not feel satisfying to me at all. There was not enough tension, and the 3rd enemy got his karma too easily, in my opinion. Moreover, though I understand it was not a romance drama, I unfortunately did not find any chemistry between the ML & FL. The FL was brilliant in the initial episode, but I absolutely did not like how her character later turned out. Though I understand it was a male-centric drama, the character of the FL could have been handled better. The action scenes were nicely choreographed. Overall, the drama was a decent watch. The writing had way too many loopholes. Not too bad, but not that good either.Was this review helpful to you?
One of The Best Short Thriller Drama of The Year
This drama has everything to become an entertaining & captivating thriller series. The story, though, was about a time loop; it did not feel boring and repetitive at all. The writer did a great job. The story was presented smartly to keep it engaging for the audience (At least I did not feel bored). The cast was nice, but my only complaint is the FL. I did not really like her. I felt the romance angle was unnecessary, and the ML & FL did not have any chemistry. Other than that, this drama was thoroughly enjoyable for me.Was this review helpful to you?
A Nice Psychological Thriller Ruined By Poor Characterization of The FL
In terms of story, this drama is brilliant. This drama managed to keep me hooked until the end with its twists. The story is solid except for the poorly written FL. She was overly emotional for my liking. Though at the beginning she was nice, later I felt she just turned into a wallpaper, who was only being treated as the love interest of the ML. I did not like it. Apart from that, the story was brilliant, and Wallace Huo played the role of the complex ML pretty well.Was this review helpful to you?
