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This review may contain spoilers
this couple doesn't work for me
first off: I am a huge fan of Lee Jun-ho as an actor, he had several really good roles in the past, and he totally blew me away in 'the red sleeve' - one of my all time favourites.
I also liked him and Yoona in 'king the land' - their chemistry was fantastic, and every scene was such a joy to watch, no matter if serious, funny, romantic, it was just so good. And I guess that's one of my main critical points for 'Typhoon Family' - the two leads have no, and I really mean ZERO - chemistry. I have seen Kim Min-ha just in one other role, in 'Light Shop', where I thought she was really good, particularly in that role because of the love story shown there. She played that part very convincing and touching. Here now, nah, I just don't buy any of it. I even made the effort and looked up promo-videos of the these two on youtube, and it's the same there. They are friendly with each other but there is zero chemistry, no idea why.
Why only a 5.0? Also the rest of the storyline is comparably weak. It's just an endless adding of cliche-scenes everyone has seen a million times, but with the visual 90s setting to create some nostalgia. Doesn't work for me either., because they plot is just too weak. I have a good Korean friend who experienced the late 1990s in South Korea, and when this crisis hit, it was such an awful time for many people, so awful that there was a sharp rise in suicides, and my friend told me there were people even jumping from ski scrapers, because they had lost everything. My friend's family (and many others who could manage) fled South Korea to the US, Canada or Australia at that time. This show here doesn't really depict the mood back then, the seriousness of this situation. In the first episodes it does show that some cleaning and office personell is let go etc. but it's all too soft and friendly, the whole mood of the show is. There was real desperation on a large scale there back then and I can't feel any of that in the show. There is 'funny' trips to Thailand, there is always street vendors and plenty of food everywhere etc. I get why they did that, but it's just not at all what happened back then.
Another problem: I don't really care for any of the characters because - again - they seem created and unreal to me. Lee Jun-ho plays his role good as always but it doesn't help this time in that setting. Also Kim Sang-ho, who I mostly know from funny and friendly roles, is fantastic as evil and mean antagonist, and I was impressed he could convincingly play someone so unlikeable and evil. But it just doesn't help for the rest of the story. I made it to episode 12 now, but only with skipping lots of the last 8 episodes and fast forwarding all the time. I now just watched episode 12 and found myself moaning at the end thinking : yes of course, now they very artificially create an acute life in danger situation, one of the few cliche-parts in the 'how to build a simple storyline' - book Oo.
And lastly, apart from the absolutely missing chemistry between the lead couple: their 'love' story is just not credible to me and meanwhile it annoys me. He is running after her for the past, I don't know, 6 episodes, looking, smiling, complimenting her all the time, they kissed once (only after he had to do a mountain of effort to realise that kiss with her), now he suddenly even told her he loves her - and every single time the reaction is a full frame of her staring, mouth open, eyes wide open, just like the deer in headlights? I get that she'd stare once after some kind of confession, but seriously, he confessed now what feels like 15 times, so why the face? And still she spends all her off work time with him, but at the same times tells him she isn't interested. I find that annoying, and I find that as a woman even Oo
Result:
They would have had a chance to create a really great drama, which combines nostalgia (which people long for these days more than ever) and at the same time really captures the seriousness and sheer desperation of that financial crash time in 1997 in South Korea. They could have given it a way more serious approach and in it create a credible, strong, adult love story. Sadly, for me, they did the opposite. These two leads together were the wrong choice for my taste, and the storyline just walks through from one cliche scene to the next, they even seem disconnected at times. All tinged in that nostalgic light and clothes, and adds, and cars- but that's not enough to conceal an uninspired, flat storyline.
As Lee-Jun-ho is one of my absolute favourite actors meanwhile I hate to give such low rating, but I really can't say anything better this time =/
I also liked him and Yoona in 'king the land' - their chemistry was fantastic, and every scene was such a joy to watch, no matter if serious, funny, romantic, it was just so good. And I guess that's one of my main critical points for 'Typhoon Family' - the two leads have no, and I really mean ZERO - chemistry. I have seen Kim Min-ha just in one other role, in 'Light Shop', where I thought she was really good, particularly in that role because of the love story shown there. She played that part very convincing and touching. Here now, nah, I just don't buy any of it. I even made the effort and looked up promo-videos of the these two on youtube, and it's the same there. They are friendly with each other but there is zero chemistry, no idea why.
Why only a 5.0? Also the rest of the storyline is comparably weak. It's just an endless adding of cliche-scenes everyone has seen a million times, but with the visual 90s setting to create some nostalgia. Doesn't work for me either., because they plot is just too weak. I have a good Korean friend who experienced the late 1990s in South Korea, and when this crisis hit, it was such an awful time for many people, so awful that there was a sharp rise in suicides, and my friend told me there were people even jumping from ski scrapers, because they had lost everything. My friend's family (and many others who could manage) fled South Korea to the US, Canada or Australia at that time. This show here doesn't really depict the mood back then, the seriousness of this situation. In the first episodes it does show that some cleaning and office personell is let go etc. but it's all too soft and friendly, the whole mood of the show is. There was real desperation on a large scale there back then and I can't feel any of that in the show. There is 'funny' trips to Thailand, there is always street vendors and plenty of food everywhere etc. I get why they did that, but it's just not at all what happened back then.
Another problem: I don't really care for any of the characters because - again - they seem created and unreal to me. Lee Jun-ho plays his role good as always but it doesn't help this time in that setting. Also Kim Sang-ho, who I mostly know from funny and friendly roles, is fantastic as evil and mean antagonist, and I was impressed he could convincingly play someone so unlikeable and evil. But it just doesn't help for the rest of the story. I made it to episode 12 now, but only with skipping lots of the last 8 episodes and fast forwarding all the time. I now just watched episode 12 and found myself moaning at the end thinking : yes of course, now they very artificially create an acute life in danger situation, one of the few cliche-parts in the 'how to build a simple storyline' - book Oo.
And lastly, apart from the absolutely missing chemistry between the lead couple: their 'love' story is just not credible to me and meanwhile it annoys me. He is running after her for the past, I don't know, 6 episodes, looking, smiling, complimenting her all the time, they kissed once (only after he had to do a mountain of effort to realise that kiss with her), now he suddenly even told her he loves her - and every single time the reaction is a full frame of her staring, mouth open, eyes wide open, just like the deer in headlights? I get that she'd stare once after some kind of confession, but seriously, he confessed now what feels like 15 times, so why the face? And still she spends all her off work time with him, but at the same times tells him she isn't interested. I find that annoying, and I find that as a woman even Oo
Result:
They would have had a chance to create a really great drama, which combines nostalgia (which people long for these days more than ever) and at the same time really captures the seriousness and sheer desperation of that financial crash time in 1997 in South Korea. They could have given it a way more serious approach and in it create a credible, strong, adult love story. Sadly, for me, they did the opposite. These two leads together were the wrong choice for my taste, and the storyline just walks through from one cliche scene to the next, they even seem disconnected at times. All tinged in that nostalgic light and clothes, and adds, and cars- but that's not enough to conceal an uninspired, flat storyline.
As Lee-Jun-ho is one of my absolute favourite actors meanwhile I hate to give such low rating, but I really can't say anything better this time =/
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