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This review may contain spoilers
Favorite Jae Wooks, Big Love, Crazy Villains, but the Show Needed More Cooking to Gel
As another reviewer mentioned, this show contains my two favorite Jae Wooks, too. I wanted to like it so much more. I don't know what happened here, but this should have been a strong 9.7 show, but fell short of the goal. Overall, I think that it just wasn't "baked" enough. Maybe they were under short production timelines, but I think that they did not spend enough time to lock down exactly what type of movie this was going to be so that the actors could deliver a consistent performance across the cast and/or the director could provide the right guidance. Maybe they were talking past each other, as we say.
And, as others have mentioned, maybe the script needed more time allotted to further digging into the emotional side of the human tragedy. (I felt like I had plenty of exposure to the abuse, that's for sure, and plenty of exposure to the fight scenes.) Coming from a book (which I haven't read), I can see how the story was complicated. It was probably a long book. In the book, there were probably good ways to tell which faction each of the similar looking middle-aged men belonged to. I really found it difficult, especially with the (beautiful) movie-type dark lighting and similar realistic costumes. I do think that it might have been possible to streamline the story. I understand that false trails and dead ends are needed to develop any good mystery, but with so many story lines running at the same time, it felt a bit over-the-top.
If they really wanted the whole show to feel over-the-top, they could have been a bit more clear about it. There were a few key moments, quotable lines that made me think that it wanted to be like a Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Western" revenge movie, that it was purposefully supposed to be exaggerated. It is listed here in MDL as a melodrama, after all. But this stylization was not strongly consistent throughout the episodes. It also went big on the fighting scenes (mostly swords) in a Japanese martial arts overkill fashion, but the fighting scenes were all fairly consistent in style and lacked the gruesomeness that was quite front and center in the torture and abuse scenes--scenes that, with a slight adjustment, could have been as iconic as James Bond strapped down and headed into a buzz saw, or the scenes from the movie "Seven." Can anyone un-see those? I still get nightmares. (I mean, if you start the series with villains losing eyes and limbs, it should remain clear to everyone where we're headed, right?) One thing did become fully clear as the episodes progressed: the typical story of nearly everyone being "evil." Oh, except the man who we are led to believe may be Hong Rang's father, who after 11 episodes of silently following orders, ended his story arch with a tear in his eye. ("and...Scene!" Very Spaghetti Western).
The FL had a solid hold on her character's development arch, but she felt too brittle to me and too old for the ML (or the ML was too young for her) even though she was emoting like the Energizer Bunny. I didn't see her relax into a deep and sensual love that really would have driven home the reckless and desperate nature of the two leads. Again, could time or rehearsals have built this up? Probably. On the other side, the ML did much better in lending heart to the love scenes and developing the love story. He really brought the sexy to this (Much appreciated!), but his portrayal of the continuing story arch seemed a bit odd. I was bothered by his repeated wide eye movements, which I don't recall him using much in the past. Maybe he had too much botox and couldn't frown? Maybe he was foreshadowing the health problems that oddly showed up at the end? The facial expressions as the show progressed just didn't seem natural or realistic for a man who was supposed to be a stone-cold killer. I would think that not too much should have confused or alarmed him by that point. Yes, this could have been an attempt to show an awakening of a formerly dead soul, but, sorry, for me, they were excessive.
In the final climactic couple's scene, the FL really brought it home as it was exactly what she is best at. Yet, our ML needed a bigger build-up, something, something more in the script build-up or camera angles or dialog coming into the scene, something to bring the weight of the moment home for me. Some angsty crack of the voice? (If you have seen the movie "Midnight Cowboy," you have seen a good build up to a weighty final scene.) Really, I think a different FL may have created a better pairing that would have unlocked deeper emotions more naturally. Don't get me wrong, the FL is a GREAT actress and did a fabulous job in nearly all the scenes. It was the combo that felt off. The storyline/dialog/scenes of why they were supposed to have liked each other was there (maybe more so to justify his feelings than hers), but ultimately it was the softness, the deep ache, the hunger, that I couldn't see in them combined. I thought getting together was supposed to "unlock" them, but I didn't feel it that much, nor did I feel--as a couple--the desperation. It was probably a pacing or camera angle/close-up thing. It could have been a weather thing: the quilted hats and jackets during the wedding led me to believe that they had started filming in frigid temperatures. I don't know enough about filming to know the cause and solution.
I do think that the other Jae Wook, playing the increasingly indifferent and delusional Prince, brought his character home, given the fine line that the producers and directors seemed to try to walk between realism and "Kill Bill" Korean action mystery. (In my mind's eye, though, as I watched this, I kept seeing the scenes drawn in a manga in big, bold graphic images, rather than with realism.) As I write this, I am starting to think that the production team just wasn't experienced enough or give time enough to get everything to hang together as needed. I think this had the potential to be a block-buster in the Princess Bride (non-comedy) category. Sigh....
Finally, usually the music has something to do with creating the emotion. Honestly, I didn't notice the background instrumentals, so they must have worked, but I know the theme songs were fantastic! I don't know what the lyrics mean, but the songs sound wonderful, if modern. I will likely buy the soundtrack if I can find it. SO, I will rewatch, fast-forwarding to the relationship scenes to get a better grip on the love story. Maybe I was too distracted by the gore and double-dealing to see the subtle beauty before me.
And, as others have mentioned, maybe the script needed more time allotted to further digging into the emotional side of the human tragedy. (I felt like I had plenty of exposure to the abuse, that's for sure, and plenty of exposure to the fight scenes.) Coming from a book (which I haven't read), I can see how the story was complicated. It was probably a long book. In the book, there were probably good ways to tell which faction each of the similar looking middle-aged men belonged to. I really found it difficult, especially with the (beautiful) movie-type dark lighting and similar realistic costumes. I do think that it might have been possible to streamline the story. I understand that false trails and dead ends are needed to develop any good mystery, but with so many story lines running at the same time, it felt a bit over-the-top.
If they really wanted the whole show to feel over-the-top, they could have been a bit more clear about it. There were a few key moments, quotable lines that made me think that it wanted to be like a Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Western" revenge movie, that it was purposefully supposed to be exaggerated. It is listed here in MDL as a melodrama, after all. But this stylization was not strongly consistent throughout the episodes. It also went big on the fighting scenes (mostly swords) in a Japanese martial arts overkill fashion, but the fighting scenes were all fairly consistent in style and lacked the gruesomeness that was quite front and center in the torture and abuse scenes--scenes that, with a slight adjustment, could have been as iconic as James Bond strapped down and headed into a buzz saw, or the scenes from the movie "Seven." Can anyone un-see those? I still get nightmares. (I mean, if you start the series with villains losing eyes and limbs, it should remain clear to everyone where we're headed, right?) One thing did become fully clear as the episodes progressed: the typical story of nearly everyone being "evil." Oh, except the man who we are led to believe may be Hong Rang's father, who after 11 episodes of silently following orders, ended his story arch with a tear in his eye. ("and...Scene!" Very Spaghetti Western).
The FL had a solid hold on her character's development arch, but she felt too brittle to me and too old for the ML (or the ML was too young for her) even though she was emoting like the Energizer Bunny. I didn't see her relax into a deep and sensual love that really would have driven home the reckless and desperate nature of the two leads. Again, could time or rehearsals have built this up? Probably. On the other side, the ML did much better in lending heart to the love scenes and developing the love story. He really brought the sexy to this (Much appreciated!), but his portrayal of the continuing story arch seemed a bit odd. I was bothered by his repeated wide eye movements, which I don't recall him using much in the past. Maybe he had too much botox and couldn't frown? Maybe he was foreshadowing the health problems that oddly showed up at the end? The facial expressions as the show progressed just didn't seem natural or realistic for a man who was supposed to be a stone-cold killer. I would think that not too much should have confused or alarmed him by that point. Yes, this could have been an attempt to show an awakening of a formerly dead soul, but, sorry, for me, they were excessive.
In the final climactic couple's scene, the FL really brought it home as it was exactly what she is best at. Yet, our ML needed a bigger build-up, something, something more in the script build-up or camera angles or dialog coming into the scene, something to bring the weight of the moment home for me. Some angsty crack of the voice? (If you have seen the movie "Midnight Cowboy," you have seen a good build up to a weighty final scene.) Really, I think a different FL may have created a better pairing that would have unlocked deeper emotions more naturally. Don't get me wrong, the FL is a GREAT actress and did a fabulous job in nearly all the scenes. It was the combo that felt off. The storyline/dialog/scenes of why they were supposed to have liked each other was there (maybe more so to justify his feelings than hers), but ultimately it was the softness, the deep ache, the hunger, that I couldn't see in them combined. I thought getting together was supposed to "unlock" them, but I didn't feel it that much, nor did I feel--as a couple--the desperation. It was probably a pacing or camera angle/close-up thing. It could have been a weather thing: the quilted hats and jackets during the wedding led me to believe that they had started filming in frigid temperatures. I don't know enough about filming to know the cause and solution.
I do think that the other Jae Wook, playing the increasingly indifferent and delusional Prince, brought his character home, given the fine line that the producers and directors seemed to try to walk between realism and "Kill Bill" Korean action mystery. (In my mind's eye, though, as I watched this, I kept seeing the scenes drawn in a manga in big, bold graphic images, rather than with realism.) As I write this, I am starting to think that the production team just wasn't experienced enough or give time enough to get everything to hang together as needed. I think this had the potential to be a block-buster in the Princess Bride (non-comedy) category. Sigh....
Finally, usually the music has something to do with creating the emotion. Honestly, I didn't notice the background instrumentals, so they must have worked, but I know the theme songs were fantastic! I don't know what the lyrics mean, but the songs sound wonderful, if modern. I will likely buy the soundtrack if I can find it. SO, I will rewatch, fast-forwarding to the relationship scenes to get a better grip on the love story. Maybe I was too distracted by the gore and double-dealing to see the subtle beauty before me.
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