Really Good. Enjoyed it a lot Excellent fight scenes which, for me, were the highlight of the show. For all of its length, the movie moved quickly. The back story, told with many flashbacks seguing into the present day lives of the 4 old friends, is captivating enough to provide a center and cohesive bond between the explosive fight scenes. The ending is typical kdrama though so fell a TINY bit flat for me, considering the violence that is so prominently displayed through the rest of the movie. I don't mean it was necessarily a bad ending, but the back story hinted at a darkness in the reality of these mens' lives that the ending really did not match with. But I was not disappointed with it, it's always nice to enjoy a good ending instead of the dark and brutal ones that abound. So it's still 9/10 for me, mainly because of the great effort of the actors, director, and fight choreographer in this.
The Scan- well done, really good cast, great balancing of what could have been very dry material with action and enough tension to keep me glued to the screen. Just the mention of Yong Ha makes my heart seize up and the tears start to flow. His personal story is so overwhelming....8.5
Girl-Great acting. Good movie. One HUGE GAPING plot hole! Even in Korea rape kits are SOP. 7.5 Big knock down for sloppy writing of that plot point. Made the entire end of the movie fall flat for me. It did a great job of leaving a huge question about what really did happen, which made the movie even more thought provoking. Who was that girl really?
Cat-Sweet and a little sad. Really enjoyed it. 7.5
On this Mother's Day,watching the final episode, we have 2 mothers who exhibit unconditional love, acceptance, support, and forgiveness. The words Tae Suk's mom said are the heart and hope of every mother for her child. And Dong Woo's mother, despite her unremitting and unbearable pain at the loss of her precious son and the overwhelming anger at the boy who took him from her, with a true mother's heart and insight found it in her to give forgiveness and hope to a young man drowning in guilt and pain. Among a multitude of unforgettable scenes,these were 2 of the most beautiful...perhaps because I am the mother of a son and because it is this day.
I am filled with heartache at leaving this show behind. I don't want to leave these people. This drama was so perfect in so many ways and it is discouraging and frustrating at the lack of audience a brilliant production like this elicited. I guess because it was not full of idols and romance and young people, it just wasn't worth watching for many people. I hope the critics will remember and recognize the quality of this show and reward it handsomely. The casting, acting, writing, direction, and production in this drama were perfection. Not a single thing missing or off. Loved every single minute. the perfect word for Memory....UNFORGETTABLE!!
idiotic open ending. ff thru half of all the eps I did watch. What a waste of time. skipped 20+ to 72--didn't miss a thing. That ending...what a complete joke.
As always an interesting article with a variety of dramas to choose from. Only seen 3 of these. But School dramas are tiring to watch since invariably they deal with my most hated topic of bullying. This is an exhausting topic for you I'm sure since just reading some of your reviews of the darker shows is depressing!! Thanks again for all the great information and for all the work you do searching out these dramas. Your reviews are always very insightful.
It's a 10 for me. I don't give them lightly and I probably shouldn't for this one as there were way too many cliche's and I've grown too tired of them lately. But...for these 2 actors and this production and the feelings this show draws out of me, it deserves every point.
Nobody does psychotic split personality better than Kim Kang Woo (A Man's Story/Slingshot). The writing in this is a bit ???/off/not sure?, but no worse than a dozen others I end up watching. I'm in it for KKW's performance mostly. I think everyone else is doing well enough too. It's just that the story is missing some element and I'm not really sure what it is.
I don't care if it's a story we've seen a 100 times....honestly, is there a kdrama out there that doesn't, in one way or another, repeat virtually every cliche in the book? But there are too many wth type incidents, too much of the cliche good-guy-getting-shafted scenarios. This thing started out looking like we would have a good battle, with good guy winning some and bad guy getting foiled...but it has degenerated into the typical kdrama where our good guy loses all the time and the bad guy gloats, the good guy 'bravely' takes the fall and shuts out all his friends to protect them, and he's maybe dying too!! I'm betting next exam he will have a brain tumor to go along with that shrapnel in his head....can amnesia be far behind?
If the acting and the writing and production are hitting all cylinders, I can be happy....since the only one lacking in this is the writing, I'm still sticking with this and enjoying the performances for what they are, and it is lovely to look at with excellent production values. KKW is killing his character....(and several others, or trying to, while he is at it!!!) ;) Every episode is uncovering one more psycho thing he is doing which drives me nuts, yet I still love him while he is doing it...such a sick puppy! :) There is little to no chemistry with our lead couple, unfortunately, though they are sweet. And Yoo In-Young seems like she is sleep walking her character, no wonder since she (the Character) is beyond dumb.
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I wrote the above after 9 & 10. Just finished 11 & 12. :( Don't know...do I finish or just come back for the last episode and see who all dies?
really excellent performances, writing, production. The 3 male leads gave stellar performances, but Lee Jung Jin in particular handled this difficult role beautifully. All the 'themes' the writer wanted to get across were in-your-face all through the movie (innocent until proven guilty, crowd mentality, guilt by association, etc), telegraphing the predictable end of this tragedy. My only quibble is the continuing theme in K drama and movies of portraying the police as inept bigots. I think the Koreans must despise their police force as the vast majority of shows portray them as inept or stupid, unable to follow even the basic police procedures we, as average citizens know and have memorized from years of watching good crime TV!
Started out pretty good. Dark, irredeemable people doing really dark disgusting things to everyone, including themselves. Gritty and realistic and some of the most vicious fights I've seen, most especially the final one. Unfortunately, the director then took it over the edge of reality into rolling my eyes implausibility. Absolutely unbelievable that an obese, drunk, out of shape man who recently had his kidney taken from him (still has his stitches!!) could have the living crap beaten out of him multiple times and continue to get back up and fight. And the sheer schmaltz when this man, who brutalized his 'son' for years, suddenly develops this 'heart' and wants to save him...no character development at all to establish where that came from.
And we are supposed to believe an organ supplier, who kills people as a matter of course for their organs, will develop a heart because some father begs him to save his son? Also, what are today's doctors doing? Here you can operate in a filthy storeroom, removing and installing organs at your whim and everyone just gets up and walks away all better??? Even getting beaten to a pulp moments after surgery (on apparently both your kidney and liver), get kicked in your wounds repeatedly and can still get up and fight over and over again?
The final scenes are textbook melo...the long look shared across the table, the son calling out apa, the violins cranked up to the max...the whole thing made me cringe. Too bad because there was some good acting in this by the adult cast and it is obvious they nearly killed themselves in those fight scenes. But, the whole thing just went off the rails into soap opera territory, which totally did not fit with the brutality of these people. Poor character development is what I blame on that...less fighting, better writing.
Just finished tonight's episode of Marriage Contract. Never have I seen a more beautiful, intense, loving, joyful, fulfilling, realistic, passionate portrayal of 2 people finding love than this drama is showing. Every single episode seems to outdo the previous one in the escalation of the joy these 2 lost souls are discovering in their relationship. And with every episode we come ever closer to the painful agony of what the ending of this show appears to be. Yet, even so, I wouldn't give up a moment of this. This show is an absolute revelation and honestly the best love story I have seen in I cannot remember how long...because it absolutely feels so REAL every single moment. And it's not just their relationship..it's her little girl--who is beyond amazing in her part, his mother and her brother's stories, his relationship with his father and brother, and all the supporting characters...they fill up the spaces of this story beautifully. I have cried buckets of tears from both joy and heartache. I wouldn't give up a one of them. I cannot recommend this show highly enough.
For me....filled with more emotional impact and realism than the majority of kdramas. No fairy tale, just some painful realities faced as best as these people could. Really well written and acted.
Bleak, Madness, Dark and Murderous, Claustrophobic, Tense. Lots of great adjectives to describe this. Tiny bit of soap opera romance did not appreciably lessen it's impact for me. Directing and Photography were standouts, the story gripping and horrifying. The crew's descent into murderous madness absolutely done brilliantly without histrionics or over acting. It was like watching an insane asylum sinking in front of my eyes...literally. INTENSE.... absolutely. 9/10
Great article. Music in kdrama, no matter what genre, is a huge part of almost every drama. Even if it is not part of the story. So many times the music in the background not only sets the tone (light hearted, melancholy, etc), but often gives an indication of the subtext behind a scene or elaborates on a point the director is trying to make. It's why I so appreciate it when the lyrics of songs are translated. It's Okay was great at using songs to match what was happening on screen.
I cannot find the words to describe how terrific this drama is. And absolute gem and it's such a shame it isn't getting the attention it deserves. Brilliant acting and brilliant writing, gorgeous production over all. There isn't a single aspect of this that is lacking in any way. Excitement, emotion, absolutely excellent story telling. It's all there. One of the best! Right up there with Misaeng, Punch, Signal, Assembly, Awl. Just breaks my heart that more people have not discovered it.
Girl-Great acting. Good movie. One HUGE GAPING plot hole! Even in Korea rape kits are SOP. 7.5 Big knock down for sloppy writing of that plot point. Made the entire end of the movie fall flat for me. It did a great job of leaving a huge question about what really did happen, which made the movie even more thought provoking. Who was that girl really?
Cat-Sweet and a little sad. Really enjoyed it. 7.5
I am filled with heartache at leaving this show behind. I don't want to leave these people. This drama was so perfect in so many ways and it is discouraging and frustrating at the lack of audience a brilliant production like this elicited. I guess because it was not full of idols and romance and young people, it just wasn't worth watching for many people. I hope the critics will remember and recognize the quality of this show and reward it handsomely. The casting, acting, writing, direction, and production in this drama were perfection. Not a single thing missing or off. Loved every single minute. the perfect word for Memory....UNFORGETTABLE!!
I don't care if it's a story we've seen a 100 times....honestly, is there a kdrama out there that doesn't, in one way or another, repeat virtually every cliche in the book? But there are too many wth type incidents, too much of the cliche good-guy-getting-shafted scenarios. This thing started out looking like we would have a good battle, with good guy winning some and bad guy getting foiled...but it has degenerated into the typical kdrama where our good guy loses all the time and the bad guy gloats, the good guy 'bravely' takes the fall and shuts out all his friends to protect them, and he's maybe dying too!! I'm betting next exam he will have a brain tumor to go along with that shrapnel in his head....can amnesia be far behind?
If the acting and the writing and production are hitting all cylinders, I can be happy....since the only one lacking in this is the writing, I'm still sticking with this and enjoying the performances for what they are, and it is lovely to look at with excellent production values. KKW is killing his character....(and several others, or trying to, while he is at it!!!) ;) Every episode is uncovering one more psycho thing he is doing which drives me nuts, yet I still love him while he is doing it...such a sick puppy! :) There is little to no chemistry with our lead couple, unfortunately, though they are sweet. And Yoo In-Young seems like she is sleep walking her character, no wonder since she (the Character) is beyond dumb.
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I wrote the above after 9 & 10. Just finished 11 & 12. :( Don't know...do I finish or just come back for the last episode and see who all dies?
And we are supposed to believe an organ supplier, who kills people as a matter of course for their organs, will develop a heart because some father begs him to save his son? Also, what are today's doctors doing? Here you can operate in a filthy storeroom, removing and installing organs at your whim and everyone just gets up and walks away all better??? Even getting beaten to a pulp moments after surgery (on apparently both your kidney and liver), get kicked in your wounds repeatedly and can still get up and fight over and over again?
The final scenes are textbook melo...the long look shared across the table, the son calling out apa, the violins cranked up to the max...the whole thing made me cringe. Too bad because there was some good acting in this by the adult cast and it is obvious they nearly killed themselves in those fight scenes. But, the whole thing just went off the rails into soap opera territory, which totally did not fit with the brutality of these people. Poor character development is what I blame on that...less fighting, better writing.