4
This review may contain spoilers
Go hard or go home!
On paper, this show should be a slam dunk. Strong cast, interesting premise and high production value are the holy grail of any drama. This is watchable but with caveats.
The cast is the dream team. Top stars and veteran actors formed the core. The problem is that they are mostly one dimensional.
The ML is a human punching bag. He takes a lot of punishment but return them 5 folds. His boyish good looks and winning smile is his trademark. He has a very strong moral compass but he is impulsive to a fault.
The FL is smart and capable but she shows very little emotion and keeps her cards close to her chest, that is until she fell for the ML. Our leads are obviously the OTP. In fact, he has been chasing her for years. It feels a little stilted. They are cute together, I'll grant you that. It is a bittersweet romance.
The 2ML is the brain of the team. He is the FL’s ex but we know very little about their backstory. He plays it straight. The discus thrower is the standard issue gentle giant. The bumbling Captain rounds out the ensemble. He provided most of the slapstick humour. The Olympic Avengers (their words) is assembled but there is not a lot of team building. Their damaged psyche complicate things as well. It is the classic Band of Misfits.
Speaking of bumbling, the commissioner is ineptitude personified. I still have flashbacks about his role in When the Stars Gossip. (Groan)
Unsurprisingly, the antagonist stands out. He has been hiding in plain sight and is the mastermind of a Cartel of Evil (I'm getting MCU vibe). He is cold, calculating, ruthless and remorseless. He looks ordinary but some of his scenes will give you nightmares. Kudos to the actor. His interaction with the team is . . . peculiar. He could and should have taken all of them out and then take a vacay in the Bahamas. I suppose the show must go on . .
The plot is fairly straightforward. Money + Greed = Corruption. Crime pays -> do more crime. Our team are earnest but they are mostly incidental heroes. The police is inept most of the time and is always one step behind. Hence the need for our Band of Misfits.
The production value is undoubtedly high. There are a number of very elaborate fight scenes and chase scenes. They are well choreographed and creatively shot. Mr Tarantino would be proud. In fact, the whole series is somewhat Tarantino-esque.
Such elaborate set pieces work great in a feature length movie. Your senses are overloaded and you hang on for the ride. When you have 16 episodes to fill, the pacing becomes an issue. The extreme highs and lows make the show feels choppy.
This brings us to the pachyderm in the chamber. The violence is egregious. There are lots of graphical violence and many innocent people are hurt in the making of this series. The show double downs on this. The body count rises and the fights gets bigger and bigger as we build towards climax. If you are thinking of recommending this to your genteel granny then don't, just don't.
Violence is no stranger to k-dramas, just look at the popularity of Squid Game. The difference with GB and Squid Game is we know dozens of faceless extras are going to die each ep. In this case, our team are the good guys. When they get beaten up, it is personal and visceral. The sheer amount of it does desensitise us.
Regardless, this show has good bones. It can soar like Icarus but also plumbs the depth of human depravities. It throws a lot of stuff at you from the start. It is like a challenge. "Can you handle this? Are you having fun?!" The show is not interested in the middle ground. Go hard or go home!
The last 2 eps is pure fan service. Our team can do no wrong. All the baddies fall like dominoes, but with extreme prejudice. ;) There are plot holes that a Big White Truck of Doom™ can drive through but who cares.
I'm sure there is an audience out there for this show. It failed to engage me completely and that's on me. The violence is excessive. The plot is surprisingly threadbare once you pare away the window dressing. It will leave you breathless at times but it lacks depth and resonance of the best in class. Peace.
The cast is the dream team. Top stars and veteran actors formed the core. The problem is that they are mostly one dimensional.
The ML is a human punching bag. He takes a lot of punishment but return them 5 folds. His boyish good looks and winning smile is his trademark. He has a very strong moral compass but he is impulsive to a fault.
The FL is smart and capable but she shows very little emotion and keeps her cards close to her chest, that is until she fell for the ML. Our leads are obviously the OTP. In fact, he has been chasing her for years. It feels a little stilted. They are cute together, I'll grant you that. It is a bittersweet romance.
The 2ML is the brain of the team. He is the FL’s ex but we know very little about their backstory. He plays it straight. The discus thrower is the standard issue gentle giant. The bumbling Captain rounds out the ensemble. He provided most of the slapstick humour. The Olympic Avengers (their words) is assembled but there is not a lot of team building. Their damaged psyche complicate things as well. It is the classic Band of Misfits.
Speaking of bumbling, the commissioner is ineptitude personified. I still have flashbacks about his role in When the Stars Gossip. (Groan)
Unsurprisingly, the antagonist stands out. He has been hiding in plain sight and is the mastermind of a Cartel of Evil (I'm getting MCU vibe). He is cold, calculating, ruthless and remorseless. He looks ordinary but some of his scenes will give you nightmares. Kudos to the actor. His interaction with the team is . . . peculiar. He could and should have taken all of them out and then take a vacay in the Bahamas. I suppose the show must go on . .
The plot is fairly straightforward. Money + Greed = Corruption. Crime pays -> do more crime. Our team are earnest but they are mostly incidental heroes. The police is inept most of the time and is always one step behind. Hence the need for our Band of Misfits.
The production value is undoubtedly high. There are a number of very elaborate fight scenes and chase scenes. They are well choreographed and creatively shot. Mr Tarantino would be proud. In fact, the whole series is somewhat Tarantino-esque.
Such elaborate set pieces work great in a feature length movie. Your senses are overloaded and you hang on for the ride. When you have 16 episodes to fill, the pacing becomes an issue. The extreme highs and lows make the show feels choppy.
This brings us to the pachyderm in the chamber. The violence is egregious. There are lots of graphical violence and many innocent people are hurt in the making of this series. The show double downs on this. The body count rises and the fights gets bigger and bigger as we build towards climax. If you are thinking of recommending this to your genteel granny then don't, just don't.
Violence is no stranger to k-dramas, just look at the popularity of Squid Game. The difference with GB and Squid Game is we know dozens of faceless extras are going to die each ep. In this case, our team are the good guys. When they get beaten up, it is personal and visceral. The sheer amount of it does desensitise us.
Regardless, this show has good bones. It can soar like Icarus but also plumbs the depth of human depravities. It throws a lot of stuff at you from the start. It is like a challenge. "Can you handle this? Are you having fun?!" The show is not interested in the middle ground. Go hard or go home!
The last 2 eps is pure fan service. Our team can do no wrong. All the baddies fall like dominoes, but with extreme prejudice. ;) There are plot holes that a Big White Truck of Doom™ can drive through but who cares.
I'm sure there is an audience out there for this show. It failed to engage me completely and that's on me. The violence is excessive. The plot is surprisingly threadbare once you pare away the window dressing. It will leave you breathless at times but it lacks depth and resonance of the best in class. Peace.
Was this review helpful to you?
