This review may contain spoilers
Ridiculous, pointless drama saved by amazing acting
I found this drama through Kim Nam-Gil, my favourite actor. Was this drama bad? Yes. Do I regret watching it? It's complicated...Just as I pointed out in the headline, this drama, if not for the amazing acting delivered mostly by the lead actors, wouldn't be so popular. Although the acting and the high budget, that seemingly went into all these action-packed scenes was very visible, the plot itself fell flat. It was genuinely so ass - so ridiculous and absurd. I guess it just didn't fit my tastes, but I would definitely drop this drama after the second episode if not for Moon Baek's appearance.
I continued watching it out of curiosity about Lee Don and Moon Baek's relationship, that was really fun to see at the beginning. I really hoped to see a silly lead x serious lead dynamic, bonded by their similar unresolved traumas and in a small conflict over their beliefs. This part about the show was definitely my favourite, so I was extremely disappointed seeing Moon Baek's sudden shift into a typical, cynical antagonist that works for the Americans.
The shooting scenes itself were really good - they were unimaginably immersive, especially the one in the school. I was genuinely stressed over them, as they pretty realistically portrayed the awful, awful violence the guns bring in our world. But besides that it was sooooo absurd. Moon Baek knew that the school student would go to the city centre near a shooting club, so he organized a street fight, stole a gun from the nearby bar and started throwing cool ass moves to impress the young kid.... What the hell?
The mafia story was very forgettable and really Whatever. I guess the actors were playing really well, but I feel like the drama itself would survive without the whole mafia plot, really.
And the ending... The ending was genuinely so pointless. Don't get me wrong, I love Lee Do's whole character - I'm a big fan of savior complexed, hopeful characters, that would rather protect the innocents than kill the main antagonist, that caused the chaos in the first place. But what the hell? The ending was so unrealistic, since in the real world nobody cares after seeing scene of crying children comforted by adults in midst of war. The whole point of the show was that the society nowadays is so doomed, that they would easily become violent if they ever got the opportunity. So why would the citizens, the insensitive society that straight up ran to get guns to kill each others and get their "justice", suddenly shifted their mindset after seeing one video of it?
Overall, definitely wouldn't rewatch it. Why did I finish the show? Out of sheer curiosity about what else this drama has to offer, since, really, this show was pure comedy. So much lost potential and waste of talented actors and the massive budget - it would be amazing if it went into something more realistic and really hopeful, something with a message about our society and the long history of violence instead.
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