Big Disappointment*
*I finished the 6th episode and the huge disappointment is that it ended so soon. If ever I appreciated the Korean tendency for 16 full hour episodes it's this one. The closing scene left open a sequel, but I really wanted to binge another 10 hours now.The show is 'quirky' meaning you're going to love it, or hate it depending on your susceptibility to this particular brand of quirk and you'll know before the end of first episode whether it's for you or not.
Only six episodes are promised, so the hope is there will be more.
Bae Doo Na effortlessly does meek and menacing and comedic.
Lee Su Hyun is great in her first outing.
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Supernatural Vigilantism with a Big Bonus
There are many movies and TV series with strong vigilantist themes including a great many from Korea. This one, Judge From Hell, adds something to trigger attention. Seeing some rogue heroes deliver vigilante justice the system fails to provide is always satisfying, but here we get to see the hero, a demon exiled among humans to hunt down sinners, punish the sinners in excruciating and painful detail before sending them on their way to Hell. All in all it is extremely satisfying and very rewatchable.The challenge for the screenwriter and director is to find the right balance among comedy, dark detail, and romance. For me, the comedy was a bit strong at times, and perhaps the main character, the demon judge, could have been a bit more demonlike before softening up, but it all works well enough.
The first half of episodes tend to emphasize the procedural element - showing the sins of a particular culprit followed by the machinations of the demon judge to deliver the sinner's punishment and then send them to hell. The judge likes to leave the bodies to tease the authorities. Once the basics are understood the series shifts to emphasize the struggle among the top demons in and from Hell.
And the ending is an obvious setup to keep the option for a second season open.
It's odd that in this story Satan and Lucifer are two entirely different beings and not just different names for the same.
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Cinderella Plus
With the Cinderella name titled up front you know going in that it’s a romance, a drama, and a comedy with a Cinderella and a happy ending. The romantic entanglement question is over three ‘princes’ vs one. The comedy elements are focused on the step mom and sister (three abusive stepsisters reduced to one). The drama aspects have many extra big reveals that have nothing to do with the original Cinderella story. These reveals tie together seemingly unrelated events from early on and are discovered through flashbacks and in later episodes and deliver some satisfying twists, and of course because this is a Cinderella inspired story our Cinderella here overcomes all obstacles and wins the heart of one of the three princes, and she gets her own happy ending along with better endings for the whole family.The second time I watched I was aware of the many twists and reveals but enjoyed anticipating the hints woven into the story - there are many - of what was to come.
The twist on the original Cinderella story is that the poor abused girl is coerced into cohabiting with three princes (three cousins of a filthy rich family) who detest each other and resent being forced to stay at the family mansion. A bit contrived? Absolutely, but it sets up a fun story with our spunky Cinderella’s presence in a (mostly) hostile house and her ever optimistic, bubbly personality acting as a catalyst to bring about the three princes going through steep character growth by the last episode.
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Delightfully Funny Comedy Delivers
I found the first set up episode a bit weak and dropped until more episodes released. When I came back and watched a few more I realized just how hilarious this was.One problem I had during the first episode set up was the female lead does not look 20 years old no matter how many pink pins she sticks in her hair. But then the jokes about that fact started coming fast and often. The actress/director/writer are well aware she doesn't look 20 and weave that self deprecating humor into the running jokes.
There's a metamorphosis mid way through from the original undercover comedy to a complex Robin Hood Revenge Caper plot full of fun plot twists and turns without losing its identity as a comedy, a deliciously funny comedy. The more I watched the better it got. And the ending was very satisfying.
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Four Episode Pilot for a New Franchise? Plus 2nd watch Comments
First, you do not need to see either of the Witch movies (Parts 1 & 2). Any connections are slim and add nothing. So if you're looking for some sort of continuation of those stories you won't find it here. Instead an action thriller is served up for the first three episodes before the Sci-Fi main course gets fully underway.I found the first few episodes hard to follow. It's like A Shop For Killers in that the viewer is thrown into the middle of intense action and in machine gun fashion the plot and characters' backgrounds are unlayered.
The fourth episode brings things to a conclusion which sets up a potentially interesting franchise led by a fascinating new main character with super powers (Venom character comes to mind).
I wish this Korean series followed the usual 16 episode pattern, because I really wanted to see another 12 episodes of a longer series. So that's my only disappointment here - that it ended just when the set up for something really good was in place.
Hopefully this was a four episode pilot for a new series.
Follow up comments after rewatching.
Much more coherent second time around. Better left apart from the Witch 1 & 2, particularly W2 which I found chaotic at best. These 4 episodes are a great set up for a continuation of an interesting story. There's a hint at the very end via that flashback scene of much deeper early complications involving the main character. Also interesting the director/screenwriter borrowed an idea from All of Us Are Dead where some of the zombies retain their sentience and full cognitive abilities. In this story the main character retains her sanity whereas it's revealed that all of her predecessors infected with the same virus did not. Why that is, how it is, and where this new super powered character goes from here deserves a few follow on seasons hopefully longer than 4 episodes each.
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Should You Watch?
I gave this a try despite several negative warnings in the media. I found myself binging - unable not to watch each next episode. The story and predicament of the characters is intriguing, and the short fast paced episodes hard to resist. These high school kids make some odd choices, but given their ages within the story it's believable. It is obvious early on that given the fantastic and impossible and 'supernatural' things that are happening that this must be some sort of unreal dream scenario. All the impossible things are OK if the ending satisfactorily ties matters up. However, that's the downside - the last 15 or 20 minutes will likely leave you unsatisfied. Does all the good story telling that comes before compensate for the soft ending? I found it did and enjoyed the binge.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Finish Falters
Strong opening and enough intriguing questions raised to hold you to what turns out to be an unsatisfying conclusion. The opening and first few episodes caught my curiosity, but I found myself sticking it out to the end just to find out how it would tie things up. But it didn't tie many important threads up and we don't learn what happened to the characters and in important cases the why behind their actions. I was waiting for a supernatural angle to appear given the physically impossible things occurring, but there isn't any. The makers just walk away from a reasonable finish. That last 'special' episode or epilogue was weird. The idea that a surgeon/doctor would pursue relationships with two or three high school girls was absurd and I suspect as illegal and socially unacceptable in Japan as it would be elsewhere in the world.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Mixed Japanese Take on the Lost TV Series
Going in a potential viewer needs to be prepared for a heavy dose of Japanese cultural behaviors. On the positive side the subtitles were excellent maintaining a high quality translation throughout.The basic story is a Japanese twist on the old TV series 'Lost' with two commuting train cars getting catapulted into the future leaving the occupants to learn to sort out their communities and how to manage to survive. The focus is on one of the cars' occupants (car#5) with the other car (#6) becoming those other people eventually getting discovered by our main characters.
My biggest problem was the writer focused on the relationships to the detriment of the story consistency. A few flaws here and there are acceptable but here even big story line points are trampled on which pulls the viewer away from the story itself and the characters' development.
Fewer background characters would have made for a better plot development. There are just too many people sitting around not contributing to the plot line growth.
Anyone who watched Lost may remember the character Hurley who weighed in at around 350 or 400 lbs for the entire six seasons! (Also the Captain on Gilligan's Island which was a comedy so maybe more forgivable.) The meager food resources the people were finding would have meant some weight loss even for the few months they were stuck in the future. And the hair and clothes would be deteriorating rapidly. It is very distracting to see clean faces and hair styles along with clothes that appear fresh from the laundry episode after episode.
There are other problems not adequately explained. These people are occupying a gone wild landscape with only a few distant buildings intact. Yet they find an intact power generating station nearby. That still works! All the buildings, roads, etc are gone with no trace, and there's still a fueled working power station???!!! The writer would have been better off contriving something with those glowing rocks and a periodically appearing wormhole than to go the route that he did.
Once the occupants of car #5, our main focus and characters, discover the wormhole they don't tell the nearby group from car #6. And then when they set things up to try and return they still say nothing to them apparently intending to just leave them behind, which they do. Not a word of guilt or conscience either before or after they leave them stuck in the future dystopian landscape!!???
It was worth the one time but not rewatching.
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Not for everyone
Watching this you may notice there are no product placements. This is because the whole program, both seasons plus the specials, is probably heavily subsidized by the national police establishment. In Hollywood historically if the proposed TV show, movie, pleases the military (promotes a positive image and encourages recruitment) then it will get crucial support (expert advice, equipment, personnel, etc). I suspect that what's happening with this one. Is that bad? No and it depends. The people stories embedded throughout are entertaining enough. The image promoted of a professional police force, both for the police themselves to aspire to and the people to believe in, isn't in itself a negative.Watch the first episode and you'll have seen enough to judge, although the development and denouement of the various story arcs only come later.
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Covers First and Second Seasons
These comments cover both the original from 2007 and the 2020 sequel 13 years later. Netflix has both under same title as two seasons given most of the original cast returned to reprise their roles.This is a comedy and very focused on a serious issue in Japan - the use (and abuse) of temp workers. After WWII Japanese major companies needed devotion and promised salary men life time employment in return for total commitment. Once the the country hit the rocks in the 90's lifetime employment became unsustainable - the solution was suppression in lifetime salary men numbers and an increase in temp workers with the radical opposite of lifetime employment promise - three month contracts and no benefits. Temp work makes building a life difficult.
So this series centers around a super temp who is so capable and efficient companies pay her extra and soon become dependent on her fantastical wide ranging abilities and skill certifications.
Did I mention it's a comedy? If you can appreciate the pain the society goes through trying to reconcile the irreconcilable, and don't mind heavy doses of Japanese culture then it can be quite funny.
The production is well done. The ratings of 7.5 and 7.6 reflect the cultural hurdles and not the overall quality. If you can appreciate the cultural aspects you have an opportunity to enjoy a series deserving a higher rating.
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Lasting Impression
Perhaps it's the final scene in the movie, or perhaps it was the magnificent revenge scene close to that ending, or more likely the relationship that against the odds develops between the two leads, but this movie is unforgettable. It's left a lasting impression and when scenes pop up on YouTube I can't resist rewatching them.The extreme violence which is sadistic at times is not for everyone, but it has a purpose within the story context.
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Baby Assassin Goes Supernatural
A no frills movie with one of the actors from the Baby Assassins series of movies and TV shows playing a college student who stumbles into being possessed by the ghost of an older hitman betrayed by his new boss.The only way to get unpossessed is to resolve the hitman ghost's grudge. When the ghost actively possesses her she has his super skill level at fighting, shooting etc.
The action and comedy scenes make up for the usual over emphasis of Japanese productions on melodramatic exaggerated acting styles.
The production would have been improved if the comedic side of the college girl being possessed and suddenly becoming an ultimate fighter would have been given more screen time and some of the very long intricately choreographed fight scenes would have been downplayed.
However, despite a few choices I didn't appreciate the overall end result is very entertaining.
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Endearing Comedy
The acting in Japanese TV and movies tends to lean heavily to exaggerated expressions of any emotion or reaction. Not surprisingly this does not work well outside Japan for most people, except for comedies. Japanese comedies sometimes can hit the spot for non Japanese. This show is one of those.The lead is endearing and hilarious stumbling from one situation to the next.
The episodes are short at less than 30 minutes and there are only six. Well worth the time, and this one is particularly well done.
PS I watched this again and was delighted by new layers of humor. This is a social commentary message wrapped within some extremely well done layered humor. I admit, not living in Japan, much probably goes over my head but I get enough to be happy I found this little gem.
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Winning Formula
This series uses a winning formula that's been done several times before because it works. Hometown Cha Cha Cha has a dentist forced to set up her practice in a small coastal town in the rural countryside of Korea where she meets many quirky local characters and finds romance.In an American series - Northern Exposure (1990 - 1995) - a very New York very Jewish young doctor is forced to set up his practice in a remote Alaskan town where he meets many quirky local characters and finds romance.
In a British series - Doc Martin (2004 - 2022) - a very quirky surgeon from London develops a phobia with blood so he's forced to move to a coastal village in Wales where he meets many quirky local characters and has a lot of trouble finding romance.
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Great Follow up to the Original Series
The original TV series had some pacing issues, but the characters and story set up were excellent. This follow on movie has thrilling action with a fast pace, and appears to be the first of a series of self contained movie long episodes with the main characters from the original series. Baek So Jin, the main character and 'hero', doesn't appear until late but she is clearly the center and is defined by her actions as a new super hero. Reminds me of the Dexter character from the book series - not the TV series - who was literally possessed by a demon/evil spirit that resulted in a tense balance between good and evil. Dexter would offer up serial killers for torture and death to this demon to keep it and its influence on him in check. I look forward to seeing what they do with this demon possessed So Jin character.The first time I watched this from an online source the subtitles were horrible. However, I just rewatched a Blu-Ray version and they are much improved.
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