The first thing that caught my attention, or should I say that later it totally drew me in is when I found out that our main protagonist is a villain and that he helps bad people and cleans after their dirty work. It was very unusual for me since we are all used with a hero male lead right from the beginning. But, once he finds out that he has a couple of months to life and after his most precious people got infected with the evilness of those bad ones, he changes and fights against them. He's not fighting with fists, but with his intelligence and every episode makes you excited wanting to see who will throw the next 'punch'. How much I was happy and cheering for him at the same time I was angry and furious because how much punches he thrown thinking it will lead him to the winning that much punches were pushing him back. But, I can say that this guy is a true hero and even though he's playing dirty, he's doing it for his beloved ones, for a better tomorrow. I can say that I was maximum invested in a story and I can guarantee that you'll too. If not, you can freely yell at me and get angry.
Another thing that makes this drama strong and deep is its characters. What I loved the most is that every character is not black or white, what more they're all grey with its own faults and mistakes. It was really interesting to watch what character and to what extent he/she can becomes either evil or good. Our main villain, Tae Joon is one of the best and most fascinating villains ever. In fact, I wouldn't consider him a true, pure villain, hmm I'd rather call him a villain with emotions. He knows for a loyalty, respect and love. What this drama makes more special is the relationship he and Jung Hwan shared. Their relationship is some kind of special, filled with respect. I think that he considered Jung Hwan as his own son and that's why their bond never breaked even after Jung Hwan's death.
Our main hero, Jung Hwan as I said before is a man of words, a true hero. I loved that progress in a drama how he was turning from a cold-blooded and ruthless villain to a strong man and a fighter. Since the story is in fact all about characters and their life I don't want to spoil anything about him more.
And the woman I loved the most in this drama is Ha Gyung. Even though everyone around her are playing dirty she's the only one 'clean'. The only one who's following law and principles. She's not stupid nor idealistic. Ha Gyung knows that world is a corrupt, but she took the oath to make a world a better place and she's sticking to it. In a progress of helping Jung Hwan to correct his mistakes and to take care of his responsibilities they slowly learned and felt that their passion and love they had for each other once is not extinguished yet. She's the the female lead I dig and respect most in dramaland: strong and independent.
Oh how much I love when the writing is brilliant and smart, especially when the drama has smart, life lessons dialogues! And this was a case for this drama. Every thing they said, every sentence they sent each other are so smart, clever and well said. Hehe, the funny part is how most of them are related to food giving this drama a great metaphore and comparasion. Actually, using words they throw punches to each other's face.
I have so many words for this drama, but I don't want to ruin the excitement for you. I'm just going to say that it's one hell of a drama, full of suspense, thrilling, intensity and most importantly it'll keep you glued to the screen. I didn't get bored for a second, it's fast pacing with twists and turns on every corner leaving you behind an unforgettable enjoyment.
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This review may contain spoilers
Punch is the kind of drama that makes me reevaluate all the dramas for which I have given a rating of 10. All the elements of a great drama are pulled together to elicit a range of emotions. I cried, yelled, laughed, etc. This drama just wrenched every emotion I guess like being "punched". The writer did a great job of blurring the lines between right and wrong. The main lead isn't exactly a "bad guy", but he has done what he needed to survive in a world of rules that he did not create. I have no moral compass so in my eyes if he manipulated people to further himself while the ones that claim to be righteous were doing the same thing, then it is all good in my opinion. I could go on and on, but I'm on the verge of spoilers so I will just stop for now. Needless to say this drama will have you asking yourself all kinds of moral questions. Also, the dialog is smart. There are so many good quotes from this drama. The relationships between the characters are twisted. Some of them are freindemies. The romance is there and the chemistry is good. It may not be displayed in the typical way, but it is there. Kim Rae Won is an acting genius. It makes me wonder why I haven't seen him before. His portrayal of Park Jeong Hwan's strength and weakness is excellent. I'm not sure if it is just me or if he really was losing weight as the drama proceeded through his illness. Regardless, I love him.
Kim Ah Joong's portrayed Shin Ha Gyeong with great strength and dignity. She is the only one that was true to her values.
I had a love/hate relationship with Jo Jae Hyeon as Lee Tae Jun. I understand where he was coming from and honestly if he had just not done the first thing to hurt Jeong Hwan's family, then he probably wouldn't have been seen as that bad of a guy. However, he went from bad to worse. For some reason though I just can't find it in me to hate him. What a great actor and character.
I truely hated Choi Myung Gil as Yoon Ji Sook. My biggest hate is hypocrisy. You will see when you watch that she is the most hateful person of all. (is that a spoiler? If so, then sorry)
The other actors are good too.
The music is good and appropriate.
I will probably rewatch this sometime.
I recommend this drama to everyone that enjoys a good emotional drama.
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Punch is a fantastic drama that shows how hard it is to take even one more step towards a world like that. The writer Park Kyung Soo's previous dramas also dealt with corruption and the fight against powerful people and with Punch he delivered another amazing drama on this topic.
What first drew me into Punch when I started it was that our protagonist is just as cold-blooded and ruthless as the main villain. He is the one who helped the villain to get his position, but when he discovers that he only has a couple of months left to live and people start to mess with him, he decides that he can't be the only one going down. His journey of trying to take down the other corrupt people leading the prosecutor's office is thrilling to watch and kept me glued to the screen not wanting to miss even one second! The plot moves fast, giving you twists and turns at every corner. It might even be frustrating to watch, because for every step the lead comes closer to winning he gets pushed back just as much. Since most of the drama takes place in the prosecutor's office it could have become dry, but the plot was always presented with just the right amount of feelings that I was 100% emotionally invested in the story. Punch also has one of the best final episodes and endings that I've seen so far. It wrapped everything up realistically and I can't think of anything I'm not satisfied with!
Aside from the story itself the strength of this drama are its fascinating characters. This drama doesn't have the usual black or white characters; they come in all shades of grey and it was captivating to watch and see in which direction of the good and evil scale they would develop. Our anti-hero Jung Hwan actually does some really despicable things at the start of the drama that usually you'd only see a villain do. Tae Joon, the main villain, is one of the most fascinating villains I've ever seen (I'd put him up there with Mishil, for those of you that have seen Queen Seon Duk) and I loved that he wasn't the usual cold guy without feelings who has never even heard of the word loyalty before (although that doesn't necessarily mean he can't throw it away). I actually have so much to say about the character development, but it is one of the points that make this drama so awesome and I don't want to spoil it.
The actors and their portrayal were as awesome as these characters deserved and especially Jo Jae Hyun as Tae Joon stole the spotlight for me. Kim Rae Won also showed an engaging performance as the anti-hero, which caused me the dilemma of wanting him to take everyone down but at the same time hoping that Tae Joon's downfall wouldn't be too hard. The only small complaint I have is that the female main character seemed less complex than the rest. She was pretty much the only non-corrupted character in this show and therefore very much needed as a good example, but in my opinion that also caused her to fall a bit flat compared to the others.
The third aspect I really loved about this drama is the dialogue! Coming from this writer intelligent dialogue is a given, but I want to point out how creative his metaphors are. A lot of them were related to food and I always found myself looking out for the next one, because they brought across the points of the characters so well. In line with the drama's title there were also a lot of hard-hitting lines that must have felt like a strong punch to the stomach to whoever they were directed at. (Oh, and since I'm already talking about the title, be aware that some things the characters do or say might make you want to punch your screen!)
Now since my review is getting too long and in case all of my rambling was too much to read, here's the tl;dr version:
Thrilling drama with brilliant writing and acting, awesome dialogues and fascinating characters! In my opinion a must watch for everyone who likes dramas dealing with serious topics!
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Two ideals, clashing since the beginning of the world.
Two high-ranking officials in the Prosecutor's Office. Two right-hands for each of them. Conflicts of interest. Twists and turns. Conflicts of interests bis.
I basically summed up the storyline. Add some intense drama here, a tragic element there; sprinkle with a background story of a couple ruined by their ideals, and top with the every vilain's motive ever: The Journey to A Better World, and you get Punch in a nutshell.
This drama couldn't have been any better than this, because there's a problem with the storyline: it's too repetitive. It is one idea: plot twists, extended on a period of 16 episodes, considering the first three are an intro. 16 episodes of twists, twists, twists.
You know what's also repetitive ? Lines. Many lines were said more than a handful of times during the series, only sometimes they changed a word, but mostly they remained intact. I probably never read the phrase 'See you in jail' as much in my entire life than while watching Punch (and it was always another character saying it after yet another plot twist)
And those flashbacks.. Sometimes you just gotta play it subtle. No need to bomb the viewer with 5 flashbacks to refer to a certain line or a certain scene. The whole series could've easily been 16 episodes if they only just got rid of filler flashbacks and repetitive lines. It would've been much more digestible.
As for the acting, it depends. Some characters were portrayed in a really plain and annoying, sometimes unrealistic way (hello Yoon Ji Sook, hello Choi Yeon Jin), and although I loved Shin Ha Gyeong's character, she was more on the plain side too, but Jo Jae Hyeon and Kim Rae Won were a pleasure to watch. Kim Rae Won especially. He was excellent on his illness scenes.
...Which leads to yet another plot issue: the main character is supposed to be sick, that's the tragic element, but it doesn't feel like he's sick at all. It is known to the viewer that he's going to die, but the symptoms started showing only near the close end ? Not realistic.
To me, the last episodes really saved it all. Plot twists (again!) but they were intelligent. Lots of crying, so prepare a box of tissue. This was a 7.5, yes, but a nice 7.5.
And although Punch is not a romantic show, it has the most beautiful portrayal of true love, which some people could confuse with affection, but that's really it, a strong affection, genuine care. No passion here. No lovey-dovey scenes and butterflies everywhere.
But one child, the physical link between two people; and one idealistic goal:
that the child grows up in a world of justice.
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The show’s overall worldview bothered me as well. Since making morally “good” decisions tends to get folks squashed like ants, the drama, perhaps unintentionally, leaves viewers with the problematic suggestion that, since the game is rigged and everyone is cheating anyway, it’s better to choose open corruption over hypocrisy. I’d personally vote for “not corrupt” but that isn’t presented as a viable menu option. There are lots of strong moments, but I wanted to care more about the final outcome, rather than being forced to pick, as one character put it, between a “bad person and a slightly less bad person.” Because even a slightly less bad person is still, well, bad.
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Story: Park Jung Hwan goes head to head with his former boss Lee Tae Joon in order to make a safer place for his wife and daughter to live in when he is gone. I loved their "battle talks". They'd seem as if they are enemies but could somehow still be cordial with each other and have fighting talks without getting into an overly heated argument. I'm amazed they didn't get indigestion lol
Cast: Park Jung Hwan (Kim Rae Won) If there is ever a good man who does not so good things but still makes you love him, then he is the one. Lee Tae Joon (Jo Jae Hyun) he played a bad character who I just couldn't seem to hate that much, especially toward the end, it's weird the longer it went on the more I found my dislike turn into an almost likeable state lol. Shin Ha Gyung (Kim Ah Joong) This is my first time seeing this actress but I must say she does a great job, sometimes her character was a bit too righteous or good but if you're a prosecutor who is supposed to follow the law, I guess that's how they should be. But I think if you keep getting squashed you should try something else that might work as long as it doesn't go against your conscious too much lol. and now for Yoon Ji Suk (Choi Myung Gil) <epitome of wicked, I seriously hated on her character throughout the drama. Park Ye Rin (Kim Ji Young) PJH & SHG's daughter - she was special on this drama, really brought the family ties into the story. All other casting did great in their roles.
Music: Besides the instrumentals which were great, I can't say that I remember any songs...
Re-watch Value: 9/10 I'll come back to this drama if I need some intensity - cause this drama really kept me "on my toes" inside my head - with all the battles with words.
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Thank you too to Park Kyung Soo...what a brilliant writer. You outdid yourself on this one. If there is justice in this world, you and this drama should win many awards and you and this entire cast and crew should be extremely proud and reap many rewards in your long careers in dramaland. Thank you! Kamsahamnida!
There were certainly times in this drama where I felt I had not only reached a breaking point, but gone long past it. The constant push pull/success failure were exhausting, wearing, frustrating, angering. The battle seemed to go on forever and ever, until I just prayed for the ending...even knowing what I would be facing at the end. The brilliance of this show is it took every single idea that I have ever seen in a legal Kdrama, used it, and twisted and turned it and changed it so that at the end of every single episode, without exception, you were left a wringing, shaking, exhausted mess and begging for it to be over. But on it went. It took everything I had to click on those last 2 episodes. I knew already what I would be facing, what was going to happen. I could see how he would get the chip to him, how he would ultimately save his wife. Yet, just like I could almost see every single failure and success coming in each and every episode, never for a second did my stress or anxiety abate...not for a moment throughout this entire show! Such was the greatness of the acting and writing in this.
It was also beautifully filmed. The cinematographer for this is also to be highly commended. The visual images of so many scenes were so striking and really set the tone for what was happening. I have so many of those images printed in my brain now.
I highly recommend this show. I guess that's pretty much a given! I can't imagine anyone watching this not being impressed by this drama!
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This is, hands down, the best kdrama I have ever seen. The shining star was the writing/plot - it was so amazingly tight, crisp and detailed and not a wasted moment or glance, that I have to say the writer is a complete genius. His characters were complex and multidimensional, and even though many of them were morally bankrupt, each one had a well fleshed out backstory to how they became the corrupt individuals who would stoop to almost anything to achieve their ends. The relentless back-and-forth between the characters and plot twists had me almost gasping for breath after each episode. By the end of the series, I fully understood why it was called Punch -- it really was like a very long, exhausting but exhilarating boxing match. (And I'm no boxing fan by any means lol).
I loved the use of poetic metaphors that the villain character delivers. You can tell the actor really relished his lines by the way he rolls them off his tongue with a deliciously evil glint in his eyes. All the actors were superb – not a weak link in sight. They did full justice to the wonderful writing by just allowing the words to speak for themselves, and not overacting or over dramatizing. Given the nature of the story this could have been very tempting for some lesser actors. All credit goes to the director as well for keeping this as tight and minimalistic as possible.
I loved the hero (or should I say antihero) – such a brilliant mind who could come up with the most twisted trick and pull it off against all odds. At first I kept thinking that there would be some magical cure for him -- this is a kdrama, after all, right? And then, when this looked more and more unlikely as episodes proceeded, I felt I would not be able to bear an unhappy ending -- not after all the struggles and heartache and redemption he goes through. (I rarely connect so deeply with a drama character ...I was really wishing for a miracle). His relationship with his ex-wife was so quiet, tinged with the slight sadness of "what might have been" but their truly unbreakable bond was their child and that finally ends up defining everything in his life. How beautiful and how realistic! When the show finally did reach its inevitable conclusion, to my surprise, all the pieces actually just fit together naturally and made perfect sense. The writer brilliantly chose to deemphasize the tragedy and instead focused on all the other events that were rushing headlong in parallel. After all, life .... just goes on, doesn't it?
The final thing (and maybe this is the most important one) that I absolutely adored was the portrayal of truly strong women in this drama. There was not one nitwit in sight, no dolled up 30 yr old acting like a particularly dumb 13-year-old, no girl getting dragged around by her wrist like a rag doll in teetering high heels and loving it, and, actually hardly any romance to be found. The women here were REAL women -- strong professional characters, with their own mind, own ideas (gasp!), and ability to think independently and fast in high stress situations without needing to sink into a man's shoulder every 2nd breath. Other kdramas must learn from this one on how to portray strong women while keeping them sexy and attractive (after all this is showbiz).
I am now checking out all the other dramas from this writer because, did I mention, he is a genius! :-).
(Note : I gave a low rewatch value, because I think that once you know what's coming next, it may not be that interesting, and I don't rewatch much anyway.)
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Plus, there was a total overuse of dramatic music like soaring choruses.
As the show progressed, I appreciated the storytelling style of the writer, where we are thrown into the moment of the story, but we also get to understand the background and history between different characters through their eyes.
What I really liked about the story is how the characters shift and morph through the course of the show, in terms of their motivations and their allegiances. Sometimes I can feel that the writers are toying with our allegiances to the characters, but I was willingly ‘manipulated’ because it was enjoyable to see the characters choose how to play their chess pieces.
My favourite is probably the relationship between Kim Rae-won and Jo Jae Hyun’s characters. So complex, compelling and heartbreaking all at the same time. Great performance by both actors too.
Another thing that annoyed me about the show is the very unrealistic portrayal of the legal system and prosecutors. I am familiar with legal systems but not so much with the Korean legal system. Even then, I’m pretty sure this is pretty unrealistic. In any case, it’s a drama, not real life, so I’ll drop this point.
And my gripe about overuse of dramatic music remains. While there are definitely many twists and turns in the story within every episode, I became extremely desensitised to these twists and turns because every scene would use the same dramatic music.
Overall, an enjoyable thriller.
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Acting........exceptional!
Music.........moving!
Rewatch value.........you bet!
Kim Rae Won was at his best,
I highly recommend this drama.
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