I came after watching The Genius S1-S4, and I am not very far into the first season yet, but oh my god... They intentionally picked the most unlikable cast on purpose, right? I hope all of this is scripted.
You can find it on youtube with sub. For example on Kharo channel
Was there ever actually a Blu-ray release of the first season? I tried to search the other day, but I couldn't find evidence for any form of HD physical release.
I am so surprised how few people have seemingly seen this, and how relatively poorly rated it is in comparison to everything else; I'm stunned this doesn't at least have some sort of weird cult following or something, if not a must watch.
Yes, the plot is essentially intentionally barely a footnote simply for the purposes of being an explanation for why everything is happening, but again, it's on purpose; do not go into this expecting some sort of super deep storyline, it's not at all the point.
It is a beautifully hilarious satire of seemingly a dozen different films and genres, and of course, roughly the Manchurian Western > Spaghetti Western > Traditional Western in particular -- but it is not a generic low-budget, low-effort "Spaghetti Western" itself either; in fact, I was really pleasantly surprised by the absurd effort put into it.
The closest movie, overall, to compare it with that I can personally think of is Hardcore Henry; it's non-stop stimulation with scene-after-scene all being some of the most absurd and ridiculous, yet satisfying kinetic, creative action -- in both films, seemingly each on their own would qualify as some sort of "epic action moment" in most movies or series, yet the just keep coming, one after another, ever increasing in octaves of ridiculousness.
I am sure many of the people on here who have seen enough k-dramas have probably noticed the occasional series that isn't *bad*, or, at least, series that is objectively not "bad", but just isn't good either; the production may be totally fine, or even quite good, the acting is never worse than fine, there's nothing really "wrong" with it per se, but it's just... generic? A series that feels sort of like a bunch of extremely qualified, talented people were hired to make something safe that no one will hate, but no one will love -- a series that isn't being made because the people working on it are particularly invested, but rather because someone else told them to make it, and people need an income.
But suddenly, after seven episodes of drudging along the same corporate revenge story or whatever else, someone comes along and informs the camera, chereography, and stunt crews that their is just enough of a quota for one action segment coming up, and it needs to be filled. And like magic, it's as if all of their talent, budget, effort, passion, soul, and creativity comes out all at once in the most absurd, over-the-top flash of insane cinematography, stunts so ridiculous, yet somehow don't pull you out of it, that you can't help but laugh and enjoy the fleeting ride while it lasts.
The entire movie feels like a two-hour-long montage of the soul of every k-drama action choreographer's dream sequences that they never got to fulfill. It feels like amphetamine-infused chaos the entire time, but in the best of ways, and everyone involved, from production to acting, is more than qualified for the roles; it's a breath of fresh air, because it's just so obvious that it's a film that everyone is having a blast making -- you can tell there is so much passion put into every little thing; it feels like it's a movie that they were making because they wanted to make it, not because someone told them to, and they were making it how they wanted to make it, and everyone is having a good time while doing it, and if other people happen to enjoy it, great, and if not, it doesn't matter either, because it's their thing.
The ridiculous creativity and absurdity will make you laugh, and the totally unpredictable over-the-top chaos -- that, ironically, feels predictably something only a Korean writer could've come up with -- will inevitably and repeatedly catch even the most film-snob of film-snobs off-guard.
There are a number of scenes where they deliver what feels like the punchline, on purpose, to have you laugh and think that was the case, and exactly on time just as you thought that was it, they fake you out by immediately increasing the octave and catching you by surprise with the real punchline of the gag.
Everyone was great, but Song Kang-ho, as always, was just perfect; I loved his smile, laugh, the way he talks, the way he walks, the way he gets hurt or reacts to the environment, and so on -- he just shows such an excellent grasp of, for lack of a better description, the delivery of that physical comedy; he somehow oozes this charisma and depth, despite, again, you step back for not even thirty seconds and realize this film intentionally has ZERO depth -- yet you can't help but be charmed by it.
Watch it. If you liked this, you'll probably like Hardcore Henry, and vice-versa. Another worthwhile mention is another under-discussed Korean comedy, "Going by the Book", that gives off a similar vibe in terms of style of humor and seemingly exponentionally increasing insanity.
Edit: changed my mind; the basement is hilarious.
Yes, the plot is essentially intentionally barely a footnote simply for the purposes of being an explanation for why everything is happening, but again, it's on purpose; do not go into this expecting some sort of super deep storyline, it's not at all the point.
It is a beautifully hilarious satire of seemingly a dozen different films and genres, and of course, roughly the Manchurian Western > Spaghetti Western > Traditional Western in particular -- but it is not a generic low-budget, low-effort "Spaghetti Western" itself either; in fact, I was really pleasantly surprised by the absurd effort put into it.
The closest movie, overall, to compare it with that I can personally think of is Hardcore Henry; it's non-stop stimulation with scene-after-scene all being some of the most absurd and ridiculous, yet satisfying kinetic, creative action -- in both films, seemingly each on their own would qualify as some sort of "epic action moment" in most movies or series, yet the just keep coming, one after another, ever increasing in octaves of ridiculousness.
I am sure many of the people on here who have seen enough k-dramas have probably noticed the occasional series that isn't *bad*, or, at least, series that is objectively not "bad", but just isn't good either; the production may be totally fine, or even quite good, the acting is never worse than fine, there's nothing really "wrong" with it per se, but it's just... generic? A series that feels sort of like a bunch of extremely qualified, talented people were hired to make something safe that no one will hate, but no one will love -- a series that isn't being made because the people working on it are particularly invested, but rather because someone else told them to make it, and people need an income.
But suddenly, after seven episodes of drudging along the same corporate revenge story or whatever else, someone comes along and informs the camera, chereography, and stunt crews that their is just enough of a quota for one action segment coming up, and it needs to be filled. And like magic, it's as if all of their talent, budget, effort, passion, soul, and creativity comes out all at once in the most absurd, over-the-top flash of insane cinematography, stunts so ridiculous, yet somehow don't pull you out of it, that you can't help but laugh and enjoy the fleeting ride while it lasts.
The entire movie feels like a two-hour-long montage of the soul of every k-drama action choreographer's dream sequences that they never got to fulfill. It feels like amphetamine-infused chaos the entire time, but in the best of ways, and everyone involved, from production to acting, is more than qualified for the roles; it's a breath of fresh air, because it's just so obvious that it's a film that everyone is having a blast making -- you can tell there is so much passion put into every little thing; it feels like it's a movie that they were making because they wanted to make it, not because someone told them to, and they were making it how they wanted to make it, and everyone is having a good time while doing it, and if other people happen to enjoy it, great, and if not, it doesn't matter either, because it's their thing.
The ridiculous creativity and absurdity will make you laugh, and the totally unpredictable over-the-top chaos -- that, ironically, feels predictably something only a Korean writer could've come up with -- will inevitably and repeatedly catch even the most film-snob of film-snobs off-guard.
There are a number of scenes where they deliver what feels like the punchline, on purpose, to have you laugh and think that was the case, and exactly on time just as you thought that was it, they fake you out by immediately increasing the octave and catching you by surprise with the real punchline of the gag.
Everyone was great, but Song Kang-ho, as always, was just perfect; I loved his smile, laugh, the way he talks, the way he walks, the way he gets hurt or reacts to the environment, and so on -- he just shows such an excellent grasp of, for lack of a better description, the delivery of that physical comedy; he somehow oozes this charisma and depth, despite, again, you step back for not even thirty seconds and realize this film intentionally has ZERO depth -- yet you can't help but be charmed by it.
Watch it. If you liked this, you'll probably like Hardcore Henry, and vice-versa. Another worthwhile mention is another under-discussed Korean comedy, "Going by the Book", that gives off a similar vibe in terms of style of humor and seemingly exponentionally increasing insanity.