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Social commentary and Kim Young Kwang
A really great watch, although quite violent. 2025, 10eps x 50mins ea = abt 9 hrs watchtime. A police procedural becomes a kdrama with the addition of a fantastical villain, scads of social commentary and traumatic pasts all around.
Excellent vignettes of individuals encouraged to pick up a gun to address their crushing grievances. The legendary action star Kim Nam Gil wearily struggles against the seductive desire for violent vengeance. Kim Young Kwang, all tattoos, swagger and excellent tailoring, takes revenge upon the society which abandoned him as a child. His performance is what makes this small kdrama so enjoyable.
The merciless bullying and barely suppressed anger of daily life in SK is the context, guns are the 'triggers' and the grand climax of this 10 episode series is a large cleansing violent setpiece. The use of smoke renders it dreamlike and poetic. The shadowy mostly American gangs of armsdealers who back Young Kwang's character seem determined to see SK as a market opportunity for gun sales.
Gun violence is not as common in kdrama since guns are banned in RL Korea -- villains in drama usually use an imaginative array of other weapons. The discussion of the use of guns and their potential effect on SK society is therefore uniquely interesting. Always interesting to consider, given the fact that in a society with universal male conscription, exactly half the population is already trained to handle guns.
An excellent Netflix production. The soundtrack is great, by the experienced composer Hwang Sang Jun. Director, Kwon Oh Seung.
Excellent vignettes of individuals encouraged to pick up a gun to address their crushing grievances. The legendary action star Kim Nam Gil wearily struggles against the seductive desire for violent vengeance. Kim Young Kwang, all tattoos, swagger and excellent tailoring, takes revenge upon the society which abandoned him as a child. His performance is what makes this small kdrama so enjoyable.
The merciless bullying and barely suppressed anger of daily life in SK is the context, guns are the 'triggers' and the grand climax of this 10 episode series is a large cleansing violent setpiece. The use of smoke renders it dreamlike and poetic. The shadowy mostly American gangs of armsdealers who back Young Kwang's character seem determined to see SK as a market opportunity for gun sales.
Gun violence is not as common in kdrama since guns are banned in RL Korea -- villains in drama usually use an imaginative array of other weapons. The discussion of the use of guns and their potential effect on SK society is therefore uniquely interesting. Always interesting to consider, given the fact that in a society with universal male conscription, exactly half the population is already trained to handle guns.
An excellent Netflix production. The soundtrack is great, by the experienced composer Hwang Sang Jun. Director, Kwon Oh Seung.
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