I understand that this is just a regular marketing gimmick. But, it made me wonder that Rain might have done the most action sequences in a film or otherwise, probably in the Ninja Assassin movie.
Edit: Some of you ppl are taking this as if I am mocking him. On the contrary, I was just recalling the Ninja Assassin movie where his action scenes were awesome.
I don't mind the ending mainly because I don't mind stories where you zoom on someone's life to only show a bit…
I, too, think that I will have to read the book now, as it was mentioned in some article that screenwriting left out filler bits (quite understandably). Also, I think Anjin did leave Japan, but, maybe after helping Toranaga to Shogun, because in the final episode, he was shown as an old man, with grandkids and those kids had the misunderstanding/heard the tale that the swords were given to him by a Japanese savage and he defeated a number of Japanese with them.
I think reading the book will clear all there vague doubts. :D
Heartburn daily-soap trash masked as slowburn. Robotic female lead. Too many flashbacks. Unnecessarily long loooong loooooong scenes.
First of all, 4 episodes would have been more than enough to cover whatever the excruciatingly long rat dwelling sewerage vomit-inducing stench-filled 14-episode long ordeal that this series was.
Now, my detailed rant disguised as the review for this series:
The story revolves around the son of a criminal seeking misguided revenge against the initial victim. The director and scriptwriter attempt to garner sympathy for the criminal's son, as if losing someone, however evil that person was, somehow justifies his actions.
The main lead actress delivers her lines with a monotonous tone and stone-faced expressions, resembling a robot. It feels as if a director was experimenting with an emotionless robot in the lead role. There seems to be a rule book for Korean actors, where they pause mid-sentence for supposed dramatic effect. To appear melodramatic, they split dialogues into multiple parts with prolonged pauses, maintaining an indifferent demeanor, and hence, becomes insufferable to watch.
The series is riddled with too many coincidences and conveniences favoring the male lead, quite similar to poorly written daily soap operas. It is predictable, and the female lead perpetually shoulders all the problems, likely catering to a female demographic accustomed to being doormats, and here I thought that we should respect people regardless of their gender identities, well, atleast I thought so, clearly unlike the director and script writer duo, and maybe this series loving audience as well, who likens the women like female leads to be a welcoming doormat for all beings present. I don't understand why, but I feel a sense of irrational frustration when these types of roles are repeatedly portrayed as the entire personality of the female leads. Please, move on from these. We can have strong female leads who have experienced loss and while grieving, responded by committing a criminal act, but they should not be portrayed solely as gluttons for punishment.
I stopped watching after the 8th episode, as it surpassed my mental endurance. I initially watched with my family, but there is a limit and apparently mine was episode 8.
The director excessively prolongs every scene, and I do mean every single scene, with 70% of the runtime dedicated to characters reminiscing about trivial memories. It feels like the director's basic premise for the series was to delve deep into every mundane detail, extending every action to unnecessary lengths.
It appears to me that the director's approach for this series was something like this - picture a scenario where your character simply wants to grab a coffee. In this series, that simple act would trigger a cascade of reminiscences, starting from your earliest steps, then recalling your first coffee long ago, followed by another flashback about how you selected that specific cafe, perhaps a flashback on acquiring the credit card used for payment, and even a flashback about the source of your income that covers the credit card bill for the coffee. There might also be an additional flashback involving any person, or even everyone, you've ever shared a cup of coffee with throughout your life. This is how the director stretches the runtime, when 4 episodes would have sufficed to cover what turned out to be a 14-episode series filled with unpleasant and overly drawn-out storytelling.
For those looking for recommendation, do not get duped by whoever is telling you that this is a slow-burn, there is a certain charm in slow-burns, this one is far removed from having any sort of charm, instead this in the name of slow-burn just prolongs every single scene like stretching a single sentence to essay writing. This is not a slow-burn, rather this is a heart burn. And, just too many flashbacks. The moment you feel that story is going somewhere, BAM! flashback and, if you think you are done with that flashback, then, another flashback follows probably accompanied by lots of crying. I hate how they used a beautiful song for this man-made trash. This is not a wonderful world, instead it is dull mandatory-flashbacks-every-5-minutes trashy world, where in the female lead cannot act for the life of it.
You will get combo deal of acidity and IBS if you watch this one, consider yourself warned.
Accordingly, I rate this series 2 out of 10. Heartburn daily-soap trash masked as slowburn. Robotic female lead. Too many flashbacks. Unnecessarily long loooong loooooong scenes. Obligatory but off-topic, F U Chi Chan.
This review is a personal critique and not intended to provoke fan wars. If you are a fan of this series or a certain popular idol, please disregard this review if it offends you. I have no interest in engaging in defensive arguments about it. Kindly ignore it and let this review be with zero comments. Thank you for understanding.
Roughly put, brutally honest even, but I agree with you. Some words I'd choose differently, but the ultimate message…
Well, as for the words used in this review, take it as me venting instead of reviewing., it was that annoying of a show.
I agree that maybe I was a bit harsh on the actors, because after all director has a lot to be blamed on how he/she is telling a story, and meanwhile whatever lacking performances he/she is asking of the actors tailored to his/her vision of the story.
Also, while I understand the effort put in making the show, but I doubt that my rating of 2.0 will have any substantial affect on the show's crews' future career prospects.
is this worth watching? i have seen some tweets about how good it was but i dont know about the finale
I was looking forward it to end to binge it, but, the reviews and comments tells me that this one is full of plot holes and is dumb. Kind of making me leave this one unwatched.
Edit: Some of you ppl are taking this as if I am mocking him. On the contrary, I was just recalling the Ninja Assassin movie where his action scenes were awesome.
Also, there are The Time Hotel, The Devil's Plan, Bloody Game S1 & 2 and slightly dumber down versions such as Society Game S1 & 2.
If you haven't watched The Genius, I recommend starting from S1, but do skip S2 (S2 is just sh!t - all politics no genius).
Seems like the source of the rest of your comment is the book?
Also, I think Anjin did leave Japan, but, maybe after helping Toranaga to Shogun, because in the final episode, he was shown as an old man, with grandkids and those kids had the misunderstanding/heard the tale that the swords were given to him by a Japanese savage and he defeated a number of Japanese with them.
I think reading the book will clear all there vague doubts. :D
First of all, 4 episodes would have been more than enough to cover whatever the excruciatingly long rat dwelling sewerage vomit-inducing stench-filled 14-episode long ordeal that this series was.
Now, my detailed rant disguised as the review for this series:
The story revolves around the son of a criminal seeking misguided revenge against the initial victim. The director and scriptwriter attempt to garner sympathy for the criminal's son, as if losing someone, however evil that person was, somehow justifies his actions.
The main lead actress delivers her lines with a monotonous tone and stone-faced expressions, resembling a robot. It feels as if a director was experimenting with an emotionless robot in the lead role. There seems to be a rule book for Korean actors, where they pause mid-sentence for supposed dramatic effect. To appear melodramatic, they split dialogues into multiple parts with prolonged pauses, maintaining an indifferent demeanor, and hence, becomes insufferable to watch.
The series is riddled with too many coincidences and conveniences favoring the male lead, quite similar to poorly written daily soap operas. It is predictable, and the female lead perpetually shoulders all the problems, likely catering to a female demographic accustomed to being doormats, and here I thought that we should respect people regardless of their gender identities, well, atleast I thought so, clearly unlike the director and script writer duo, and maybe this series loving audience as well, who likens the women like female leads to be a welcoming doormat for all beings present. I don't understand why, but I feel a sense of irrational frustration when these types of roles are repeatedly portrayed as the entire personality of the female leads. Please, move on from these. We can have strong female leads who have experienced loss and while grieving, responded by committing a criminal act, but they should not be portrayed solely as gluttons for punishment.
I stopped watching after the 8th episode, as it surpassed my mental endurance. I initially watched with my family, but there is a limit and apparently mine was episode 8.
The director excessively prolongs every scene, and I do mean every single scene, with 70% of the runtime dedicated to characters reminiscing about trivial memories. It feels like the director's basic premise for the series was to delve deep into every mundane detail, extending every action to unnecessary lengths.
It appears to me that the director's approach for this series was something like this - picture a scenario where your character simply wants to grab a coffee. In this series, that simple act would trigger a cascade of reminiscences, starting from your earliest steps, then recalling your first coffee long ago, followed by another flashback about how you selected that specific cafe, perhaps a flashback on acquiring the credit card used for payment, and even a flashback about the source of your income that covers the credit card bill for the coffee. There might also be an additional flashback involving any person, or even everyone, you've ever shared a cup of coffee with throughout your life. This is how the director stretches the runtime, when 4 episodes would have sufficed to cover what turned out to be a 14-episode series filled with unpleasant and overly drawn-out storytelling.
For those looking for recommendation, do not get duped by whoever is telling you that this is a slow-burn, there is a certain charm in slow-burns, this one is far removed from having any sort of charm, instead this in the name of slow-burn just prolongs every single scene like stretching a single sentence to essay writing. This is not a slow-burn, rather this is a heart burn. And, just too many flashbacks. The moment you feel that story is going somewhere, BAM! flashback and, if you think you are done with that flashback, then, another flashback follows probably accompanied by lots of crying. I hate how they used a beautiful song for this man-made trash. This is not a wonderful world, instead it is dull mandatory-flashbacks-every-5-minutes trashy world, where in the female lead cannot act for the life of it.
You will get combo deal of acidity and IBS if you watch this one, consider yourself warned.
Accordingly, I rate this series 2 out of 10. Heartburn daily-soap trash masked as slowburn. Robotic female lead. Too many flashbacks. Unnecessarily long loooong loooooong scenes. Obligatory but off-topic, F U Chi Chan.
This review is a personal critique and not intended to provoke fan wars. If you are a fan of this series or a certain popular idol, please disregard this review if it offends you. I have no interest in engaging in defensive arguments about it. Kindly ignore it and let this review be with zero comments. Thank you for understanding.
I agree that maybe I was a bit harsh on the actors, because after all director has a lot to be blamed on how he/she is telling a story, and meanwhile whatever lacking performances he/she is asking of the actors tailored to his/her vision of the story.
Also, while I understand the effort put in making the show, but I doubt that my rating of 2.0 will have any substantial affect on the show's crews' future career prospects.
Thanks for being party to my rant.
".