Reviews

A shame

I saw the trailer for this movie and got so hyped. I literally couldn't wait for it, so I read the entire manga beforehand. I loved the manga and was excited to see it as a series....oh, wait, a movie? Ok movie it is then. In my opinion making a series out of the initial story would've been a better fit, but I digress.

There are both negative and positive points about this movie, which I will get into shortly. But if you'd like a short answer, if it's worth watching: It depends. I could see someone absolutely falling in love with this movie, so at least give it a shot. But, to be honest, it could also be a bit confusing.

As for what I disliked:
- Storytelling & Character depth: hhhh, not to be a hater, but I think with this movie adaption they kinda missed the whole point. What I especially liked about the manga was, ofc, the dynamic between the two leads. Both, respectively, have some fierceness to them. They are both used to being a leader. What happens when two people in charge clash? Conflicting feelings, passion and lot's of emotion. I just didn't see that in this movie from a story telling perspective. (The actors themselves were actually great, more later). That's actually why I was so confused to see this as a movie instead of a series. The lead's feelings built up over a long time and many dance parctises, time you don't have in a movie. I get if they wanted to put the focus more on the dancing itself, but for me it is so closely tied to all of their complicated feelings. They said it themselves in the movie: Only love makes the dance complete. But imo there was no time for love.

HOWEVER, there were some absolute beautiful things about this movie. Namely, cinematography and acting.
- Cinematography: Istg just visually, the whole movie was absolutely stunning. The locations, the costumes, the camera work, the coloring - chef's kiss.
- Dancing: Again, visually, so nicely done. There's always a chance of movies coming of as pretentious when depicting difficult technical skills like dancing, but it was so beautifully done. I believed that they were dance champions.
- Acting: Probably my favorite part. The acting was beyond everything else!! Both of the ML's were amazing portraying the characters, but especially the guy playing Suzuki had me on the floor. I loved everything from his facial to his body expression. Small but: This at the same time saddens me. Because you have actors who deliver, yet because of the story telling, pacing, directing or idk what the issue was, I just didn't feel it. Their chemistry could've been deadly, but somehow it wasn't.

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English and Portuguese Review

𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 (No spoilers for the ending)
From the very beginning, The Merciless already grabs your attention with its concept. An undercover cop who gets too involved with the criminal he’s supposed to watch and ends up stuck between two sides. That alone creates a really strong sense of tension.

The movie takes a bit of time to fully get going. The plans take a while to unfold, and at times it feels like the story is moving slower than it should. We follow the protagonist deliberately getting himself arrested to get close to a certain character, and that relationship starts to go beyond just work. He forms a real bond there, and that begins to completely mess with his choices.

The timeline can be a little confusing, so it’s worth paying attention so you don’t miss important details. But once things start connecting, the impact hits much harder. The plot twists are great and genuinely surprising, constantly making you change how you see the characters. You can really feel the protagonist’s inner conflict, and it’s impossible not to empathize with him.

The atmosphere is heavy and tense from start to finish. The ending makes sense within the film’s proposal and does what it needs to do, but the way it wraps up left me feeling like it could have been better. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but that feeling is still there.

Overall, it’s a dense film, full of tension, betrayal, and difficult choices. It’s not fast or easy, but if you’re into this kind of story, it’s definitely worth watching.

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𝐔𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 (Sem spoilers do final)
Desde o começo, The Merciless já chama atenção pela ideia. Um policial infiltrado que acaba se envolvendo demais com o criminoso que deveria observar e fica preso entre dois lados. Só isso já cria uma tensão muito boa.

O filme demora um pouco para engrenar. Os planos levam tempo para acontecer e, em alguns momentos, dá a sensação de que a história está andando mais devagar do que deveria. Acompanhamos o protagonista sendo preso de propósito pra se aproximar de um certo personagem, e essa relação começa a ir além do trabalho. Ele cria um vínculo real ali, e isso começa a bagunçar completamente as escolhas dele.

A linha do tempo é um pouco confusa, então é bom prestar atenção pra não perder detalhes importantes. Mas quando as coisas começam a se conectar, o impacto é bem maior. Os plot twists são ótimos e realmente pegam de surpresa, fazendo você mudar de opinião sobre os personagens o tempo todo. Dá pra sentir o conflito interno do protagonista, e é impossível não criar empatia por ele.

O clima do filme é pesado e tenso do começo ao fim. O final faz sentido dentro da proposta e entrega o que precisava entregar, mas a forma como termina acabou me deixando com um gostinho de que poderia ter sido melhor. Não chega a estragar, mas deixa essa sensação.

No geral, é um filme denso, cheio de tensão, traições e escolhas difíceis. Não é rápido nem fácil, mas se você curte esse tipo de história, vale muito a pena.

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An episode feeler!

Don’t worry, even if you do not watch it, you are not missing out on anything grand!🥺, it is enough to watch as an episode feeler. If you are patient enough the storyline is okayish to keep you watching till the end but not great enough to rewatch!

I found the editing a bit awkward at some points. It felt as if some scenes were cut probably leading to absence of smooth transitions but you can look past these if you are more interested in the plot.

I would recommend this movie if you are up for something light. Do not watch this if you are up for a deep/ intense or nerve wracking type of natural disaster plot! Moreover, the flood and how deeply it impacted everything as a natural disaster was not the intense type. I mean you wouldn’t say, “ Wow, indeed that was the great flood” after watching the drama!😂😭It felt so dry therefore you may easily feel bored or triggered to drop it.

At some point we do get the message they wanted to convey but it ended up as a miss.😭

However, Dami and Park Hae-soo nailed their roles and that can’t be overlooked!

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Difficulty level. 10

I like that this movie reminds viewers of the biblical story of Noah and the Flood, in which life on Earth was saved in the ark. God promised never to send the Great Flood again, but here we are—and this time there is no Noah, no Ark, no animals, and no God. The fate of earthly life lies on the shoulders of a troubled mother with a special mission.

Her endeavor reminded me of video games, where there are different difficulty levels depending on how hard it is to win. The movie raises the bar to the maximum—level 10. I would certainly give up halfway through.

The first part of the movie serves as a reference point and carries a strong sense of suspense and urgency. The second part has a completely different feel, with more confusion and exhaustion than enjoyment, but it ultimately leads to a satisfying ending that offers a lot to think about and discuss. The movie is quite relevant to our time, even though it is still science fiction.

There were some inconsistent details that bothered me, such as fish suddenly appearing and fire appearing and disappearing between shots. Still, these flaws are redeemed by strong human moments, and overall this is a memorable movie that I can recommend to everyone.

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I've seen this plot way too many times

Honestly, I was loving the movie until the ML confessed, but then jokingly, I remembered movies I'd seen before, where after a confession something tragic inevitably happens, one of the leads has to leave (which 90% is the ML from my own watching experience), then the one left is all like I never loved you, I hate you, whatever, they cut contact. Cue a few years pass, they reunite in the last 5 mins of movie, and Happily Ever After. I wish they didn't have to do this exact formula to bring issues in the plot, It just feels monotonous, as soon as this exact thing started happening, my mind disconnected from the movie, and I just couldn't enjoy the last 25 minutes of movie, I skipped a few frames till I reached the ending, as expected, the same thing. It's not that I don't like clichés or anything like that, often I'm the first to support them, but it feels a bit lazy for these movies to always do this (clearly, it's not all movies, but I've seen enough with this formula to recognize a pattern), with no true meaning behind it, not character development, closure of existing problems, or introspection. It's just for te closure of the movie, with nothing important in it to make it relevant to the characters. I don't know, the movie that had me excited and even gushing for the characters at the start, left a bitter taste in my mouth, which drastically impacted my overall view of the movie.

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When marimbas start to play....

I never watch movies, but as soon I saw even the tiniest snippet of this, I knew I had to watch. This is sexy, dangerous, and full of yearning almost too much to bare. 10Dance, what a beautiful story you are.

Let's Dive In.

A stunningly produced movie. It was great to see Machida Keita on my screen again and the lovely Takeuchi Ryoma. These two together created absolute MAGIC on the screen. Through dance, they were about to breed sexual tension like none other. It's the biggest highlight of the movie.

Suzuki is an interesting character. A free-spirited dancer troubled with the idea of being compared to Sugiki. When approached by the latter with the invitation to learn 10 Dance, he is initially disinterested until pure anger and distaste leads him to agreeing. It's another hour thirty minutes of complete angst, yearning, tension, and suspense. The only part lacking is the romance.

This story is about two straight men opening up doors they have yet to explore. Sugiki does it out of his own greed of needing to be number one while Suzuki has harboring selfishness until it turns into something else completely. This movie is not romantic. It is lustful. And that's okay too. I don't believe the movie aims to show that these men have love for one another that is anything but dance. They are trapped by the desire to be like the other, and because of it, it turns libidinous. Even with the passion between them, it is dwindled by Sugiki and later completely eliminated until a time jump shows that in six months, that same sensual affection is there.

This is left slightly ambiguous, but as the audience, it's our job to interpret that ending as we see fit. Personally, I think nothing comes out of it. They both know the kind of person they are and the kind of lives they live, and that's enough. They'll dance, they might kiss, and then move on until it recycles all over again.

Obsessed with the women in this series. While given the back burner, they outshine with their own conflict perfectly accomplished by the incredible acting of Doi Shiori and Ishii Anna. In some odd way, I felt their characters together had more underlying romance than the leads.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - It's less plot, more dance. Isn't a bad thing, but I wish they would sharpened some of the dialogue and story between the characters. A beautifully shot train kiss, probably one of the best climax kisses I've seen. Odd editing decisions that take you out of the story.

Acting: 9.5/10 - Incredible acting. Everyone is brilliant. My only gripe is that with most non-native english speakers, some of the english dialogue doesn't come off as poignant as it could've.

Music: 8.5/10 - Lots of great music. I forgot Sway by Michael Bublé existed, so thank you for that.

Recommendation Value: 9/10 - it's a great movie regardless of my critiques. Watch it! Plus, Ryoma is an ethereal being when shirtless, and I am hear to testify that his hips seriously don't lie.

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Teacher, do you love me?

I like viewing old movies and most times they are more interesting when we watch them in context. The constructs are different as well as the production style. I went into this thinking that the ending would be full of pain and frustration, and unresolved. Most teacher - student relationships end either badly or ambiguously. I was suprised that this was not the case and was handled with the only outcome that best suit their situation.

The greatest asset of this film was that the players that were introduced were used effectively. Amakami entered the school as a new student and both recognized each other immediately, tho with different responses. Amakami with intrigue and pleasure. Aoi, the teacher, with fright and horror at the thought that he slept with a student. Amakami game of toying with him began.

Here we insert the other characters worth mentioning. Ichiyo and Riku. One spinless and the other ruthless. Ichiyo, Amakami's room mate, immediately was drawn to him while Riku, the school's bully, only felt disgust and jealousy. Amakami's aloofness and popularity irritated him. Coupled with the fact that Amakami refused to sleep with him, this set in motion events that change the lives of both Amakami's and Aoi.

Whatever business you enter, there must be a goal and a time to achieve it. Amakami's side gig as a prostitute wasn't any different but like any plan, it came with the unexpected. He didn't expect that one of his clients would be his soon to be teacher and the main reason for doing this, would no longer exist. The home he puchased would not be for his lost family. His brother had already forgotten him.

I hold no sympathies for anyone else other than Amakami. Aoi, constantly acting from a position of fear, could do nothing that would help Amakami. Ichiyo's actions proved how desolate he was and Riku's proved how depravity can thrive off of wealth and power.

What I didn't like were the quotes directing the audience on how to feel on the given scenes. Let the work speak for itself. What I liked at the end were the words spoken by Aoi to Amakami.

Amakami: Teacher, do you love me?
Aoi: Maybe
Amakami: Then would you kill me? Living like this will be a burden on us. I like this moment, I want to end it now.
Aoi: Is that so?
Aoi kisses him.
Aoi: Let's go home.

Later
Amakami: Are you going to kiss me again if I say I want to die?
Aoi: That kiss wasn't for a guy who wants to die.

Decent watch. If this is your type of film, I recommend viewing Suddenly Last Summer.

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Gorgeous but jarring in many ways

The costumes, the sets, the people themselves - everything was quite breathtaking. The four main actors and actresses fit their roles perfectly. All their interactions were natural, with a good mix of subtlety and drama. The dancing was also very impressive. The train scene as well as the training sequences (and even the final dance to some extent) left an impact on me both aesthetically and emotionally. Luckily, the whole icy ballroom dancer meets passionate Latin dancer dynamic just about landed on the right side of the enjoyable trope vs. offensive cliché coin and is a classic for the dance movie genre.

Everything else though? The plot: not enough and badly executed non-linearity. The side and background characters: a bunch of hackneyed stereotypes spouting even cringier lines. The music: almost comically unimaginative. The treatment of the female dance partners: definitely comically unimaginative (Thank God for the couple nuances they were granted despite everything!). While I'm glad that 10Dance got the budget it deserved, I hope we get a little more creative and pay appropriate attention to all aspects that make up a good movie next time. On more than one occasion, I thought I was watching one of those American musician biopics. Many BL shows and movies have a certain charm to them that acts as a buffer against criticism. When you remove that, well, I'm tempted to rate them the way I would more mainstream productions.

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Redefines the sci-fi disaster genre

Mindblowing, presented in its most literal way, still isn't enough to describe this almost 30th floor tall of emotions flooding onto humanity's peak evolution, the scale of this movie is literally earth shattering cinematically on steroids. The visuals are extremely realistic and you could really feel the apocalypse in the first half and the determination in the second half, though a little bloated at its plot development but understandable as it is necessary for that enormous buildup to work out, at least the ending did pay off for it. The whole premise is one very ambitious act done in an unthinkable way that redefines the sci-fi disaster genre, truly unprecedented like never before.

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Maybe it just wasn’t for me

So… Where to start…

I didn’t enjoy this movie. It’s not even strong enough to express what I feel about it. Part of it may be because the expectations given by the trailer were not met. But, I can also say that I still wouldn’t have enjoyed this movie even if the trailer had been honest about what this movie is about.

Before I start pointing out what I disliked about 10Dance, I just want to say that the fact that I didn’t liked it, doesn’t mean you won’t. If you want to watch it, give it a try. Also, English is not my first language so I apologise in advance for any mistakes you may find.

So, let’s start. First, with the positive, because yes, I did found some positive during the two hours I spent watching this or I wouldn’t have been able to finish it.
- The actors did a phenomenal job with the dancing. It was truly impressive. I have no idea how they managed to learn all this but really, they were extremely good.
- The two female characters were the best, I loved them. I wish we had seen them more and that they were the main characters. Justice for the girls!!!!
- I guess, the lights? The movie was pretty to look at, which is why everyone is praising the cinematography. But more on this in the negative points.
- They tried to make a good movie so I’ll give them that. One star for trying, I guess. But, for me, they failed. This was a bad movie.

Which leads us to what I disliked about this two hours to the point that I wish I could erase it from my memory. To give you an idea, I took notes while watching. And when I take notes, it’s usually not good.
- The two main characters. I disliked them from the start, gave them the benefit of the doubt, and they didn’t change. Well… not exactly. The Latin dancer became less self centered, kind of obsessed with the other guy and got played so I kind of felt bad for him at the end. But the ballroom dancer! Please. What did anyone find charming about this guy? Please tell me, I’m curious. He was arrogant, a player and sexist!
- The blatant sexism in the entirety of this movie was the first thing that made it painful for me to watch. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong until the twenty (?) minutes mark I think, when they start training all together. The Latin dancers arrive and the first thing the other guy say is: « Put your partner in a skirt. » Excuse me? He didn’t even look at her, didn’t say it to her, he just… ignored her. He also talks to his own partner twice in the two hours. Yes, I counted. The two times during a flashback. The first time, we don’t even see her, the second time he berates her while she’s going through a ptsd episode. A great guy as you can see. The rest of the movie, this poor woman is barely considered. He throws a glance at her a few times I think but yeah… He, obviously, never talks to the woman Latin dancer. It’s not only about how the male characters treat the female characters, it’s about how the movie treats them. 10Dance does not pass the Bechdel test (which is not an indicator about the feminist dimension of a movie but gives us an indication of the way they treated the female characters). All of the dialogue between the two women is about the guys, how much they actually admire each other, and apologising for the rude behaviour of their partner. Great character building! (This is sarcasm.) All of the time, the achievements during the dance competitions is the achievement of the guy. « I know you can go farther! » she says when she’s competing at such a high level and part of the winning couple of most competitions. I could go on and on about this but please, consider this while you watch (or rewatch) this movie. It’s bad.
- How they shot the movie. Most of the frames are boring, they always frame the characters and their surroundings in the same way. No experimentations, no trying to express what the characters are going through with the image, which is what a movie is supposed to do. But with a Netflix movie, why am I surprised? When they actually do something, like filming through curtains or with the reflections, it looks empty, like there’s no thought behind it whatsoever except making a pretty image.
- In the same category, the slow motion and freeze frames. That’s it. I hated it.
- Did you ever heard of the « show, don’t tell » rule? This movie does not follow it. There’s always someone here to explain what’s happening, how the character is feeling, why it’s so sad and tragic and you need to like this character because look what he went through. Yeah, no. That’s not how this works.
- The dramatic music. I don’t care how dramatic you make it sound, I already don’t like the characters. You can’t force me to feel sad.
- It comes a little late in all this but: we were kind of promised a romance movie? There’s no romance. I would even go farther and say there was no (romantic) chemistry. I apologise to anyone who disagrees but I felt nothing. No tension, no build up, no nothing except some hatred and jealousy at the beginning. And no, it’s not because two characters joke that one of the guys is in love with the other that it’s going to convince me he is. They kissed twice I think and it felt out of the blue. And the parallel between dancing and kissing each other was made so obvious it made me uncomfortable.
- Last but not least. When someone is cosplaying a dead fish on your bed, maybe it’s a sign to stop kissing them.

If you came this far, thank you. And sorry to those who really loved the movie, maybe it just wasn’t for me. In conclusion, if you want to see some good dancing, maybe you’ll like this. If you want a romance, you’ll be disappointed. But really, in 2025, almost 2026, women on screen should not be treated as props by the male characters and the movie. Please, be aware of what you watch.

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