As an action film , it is not as good as Healer ( also with Ji Chang Wook in the main role ) . There are fewer bits when you can relax a bit and the romance is not as good either although sweet and moving in parts.
But there are worse and if you are a fan of Ji Chang Wook as I am then it will not be a waste of time to watch the series.
Was this review helpful to you?
Ji Chang Wook shower fight scene...your welcome
I had mixed feelings about this drama before I even started it - I was excited to watch it because I LOVE Ji Chang Wook and wanted to see him in an "action" role BUT was also not super excited because my roommate had made it to episode 11 or 12 and completely dropped it. But I ultimately decided to watch it, knowing that I really wanted to watch it for Ji Chang and because over the past year my roommate and I's taste in dramas have totally shifted from one another and we look for different things.Did I LOVE this drama...nah, but I really enjoy it. Really enjoyed it. I think my ONLY issue was that the plot seemed to be all over the place. It got super confusing, that I couldn't properly binge this drama, and was only able to digest 2 or 3 episodes a day, needing time to stop and think about what was going on before I moved on. I thought that maybe something was wrong with me and my ability to process this storyline.
The things I did love about this drama? Kim Je Ha's character. Which is where my roommate and I start to disagree. Normally, I am not a HUGE advocate of characters in any kind of story who is motivated by revenge, but wildly, I didn't mind Je Ha's character or his reasons. Normally, in these dramas or any story, we need some kind of major character development, so they make the person who is blinded by revenge extremely sloppy. But that wasn't the case, which I extremely appreciated. Je Ha was always on the top of his game and always put his morals before his revenge.
Yes...we get a little of that with Goh Anna, but it was a single slip up in one episode and you can't really blame someone who has been raised by nuns her whole life to have perfect social skills and know when someone is playing her.
Ultimately, it was that slip up that made my roommate drop this. Anna wasn't a stereotypical obvious "strong female lead" like Strong Woman Bong Son who my roommate and I gravitate more towards because of her "girl power" literally. But I believe Anna was strong emotionally vs physically. I think she knew she wasn't strong like Je Ha, or had power like her stepmother, but that didn't stop her from trying to live a normal life and try to reopen her mother's murder case. I think that is what attracted Je Ha to her - in this craziness of a drama, Anna was a breath of fresh air who has also been dragged through the dirt, but it didn't change who she was which was an emotionally strong and caring woman. I think it is endearing.
But I believe my favorite part was that even though they were motivated by revenge at one point or another, they fully embraced a new motivation when they met one another. There was never an issue about them deciding between love and revenge. They still fought for what they believed in, but they both always took the time to step back and reassess what was important and what was needed to be done in order to get that. They weren't one-sided like a lot of the characters who only knew one way of doing something, so they stuck with it even if it stopped working. But I must say, there was only a single time I teared up from this drama....and it was a moment between Anna's stepmother and her father...even though I hated both of their guts. Ultimately, this drama was about people's motivations and what lengths people are willing to go to get what they want or think they want. It was about the evilness in people and the story of how people either live with that evil or trying to fight it.
Was this review helpful to you?
decent show
decent show, some violence thoughk2 was the first kdrama i watched and although i had some mixed opinions about it as i was watching it, i definitely felt like the show was worth watching.
the storyline is quite unique, along with the male lead and female lead’s lifestyle.
ALSO THEYRE LITERALLY SUCH A CUTE COUPLE like i love their romance because its so sweet.
ive probably watched the k2 about 4-5 times (im not too sure why tbh) but i still enjoyed it everytime for many reasons
im not too sure if i would recommend this show to everyone, feels like the kind of show some people would drop because the story gets a bit slow, but if your into the themes listed in the show, and you like watching kdramas, i would definitely recommend.
Was this review helpful to you?
The romance had cute parts to it, but overall it didn't have the chemistry to keep me invested.
All the actors did their best and likely would be good in other roles, but this script just didn't give them much to work with and it became hard to watch without cringing.
Was this review helpful to you?
Choi yoojin made this drama!!
Choi yoojin I just can't put enough how phenomenal her acting was, whenever she was on screen I was hooked I wanted to watch more, a rare complex not black and white character. A strong woman with many flaws. This is the first time I love a villain even more than FL (I love yoona, I am actually a girls generation fan, but not her best drama ). Not gonna lie the score being this high isn't because of this being a masterpiece, no this is sometimes a hot mess, I skipped most of FL and ml scenes it just was forced and very clichéd. The chemistry between Choi yoojin and jeha was just something unexpected, they didn't have any romance together yet even without that they had more chemi than most couples in kdrama. I just want another drama with these two! I feel like I have been robbed, just give them a drama even with a slight romance. And yes that's why I gave it this score because you can't find a relationship like what jeha and Choi yoojin had in any other drama. Kdrama masters pls pls pls make it happen. One of the best scenes,*****spoiler*****
Is the umbrella scene and how he told Choi yoojin to keep her head up, my heat fluttered. It's been so many years but this scene is living rent free in my mind
Was this review helpful to you?
Another Disappointing Action Thriller
I really wanted to love this drama. This was my second action thriller (City Hunter was the first) and the first show I've watched with Ji Chang Wook (really enjoyed him first few episodes then his character becomes super annoying too).I was really excited after watching the first 4 episodes. By the 7th episode everything became cliche and boring and the romance aspects started to kick in which I hated. (that was 10 months ago, I just came back to finish the series). At any rate, the main reason I continued to watch is for Song Yoon Ah. Brilliant and beautiful actress and she was a great villian, as believably sympathetic as she is ruthless. She carried the show. Makes me want to see everthing else she has played in.
Overall I would not recommend.
Can someone recommend a really good action thriller without a stupid romance element that inevitably gets the ML doing stupid shit and ruining the show? I really would like to see one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Vamos aos fatos: um drama muito bem estruturado
Um dos dramas mais consistentes e profundos que já assisti. Óbvio, tenho algumas críticas, mas a atuação juntamente com a história e desenrolar dos fatos me fez ficar viciada do início ao fim nesta obra.As cenas de luta são um tanto irrealistas, mas em compensação, o drama de Anna é possível de se sentir apenas com a mísera informação que você recebe ao longo dos episódios. Yoona é uma atriz excelente, e juntamente com o Ji Chang Wook, que também é um ator magnífico, não poderia esperar menos. Embora o romance seja o de menos nessa história, a química entre os dois é de tirar o fôlego. Um beijo muito bem feito, esse do final, nossa.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
- such a good combination of political thriller, drama and romance- what can i say, ji changwook never dissappoints
- god tier OST, not even kidding it's so good, especially the instrumental ones
- made me heart eyes for both yoona and ji changwook, they look so good together
- the main bad character was so well-written and powerful, i loved her too (even though she is pure evil)
- unfortunately there are some problematic scenes, especially some middle east scenes
- in my opinion, the ending was good, but i can see why some thinks it was not satisfactory
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This dude is legit a kissing god.
This drama was my first foray into non-fantasy/supernatural/sci-fi k-dramas. I watched it because the male lead was in Healer. I didn't expect to like it because it's basically an action romance and that's really not my thing at all. However...I ended up really enjoying this drama. The story is really well done, the actors play off each other with a lot of chemistry, and the action is really well scripted. I'm not usually into succession type storylines, but this one had enough mystery and intrigue without being banal and overplayed. It ended up being one of my favorite dramas.Part of that, while I'm ashamed to admit it, were the exceptional romance scenes. There's this one scene under a blanket where the male and female lead share their first kiss and wtf level of god-like thirst goes into this dude's facial expressions when he's kissing. It's not in every role he's done, but it's for sure in many several of them. Dude like...idk...half closes his eyes and they get a little red and he looks almost drunk with passion and it's like melt-your-bones level sexy. Some kdrama leads are plenty hot but their kiss scenes are just like...eh.... but this dude TURNS UP THE HEAT. Dude alternates between being disgustingly cute watching the chick cook ramen, being super stoic and quietly forceful interacting in powerplays, and being super engrossed in his romance. His range is really great in this drama.
The main female antagonist is also really well done. She gives a very memorable performance that resonates with every expectation you'd have for a power hungry but still vulnerable matriarch. The other side-characters are ok, but she is really impressive to watch.
Overall I'd watch this again...not for the story but for the lead actor's unearthly hot romance faces. XD
Was this review helpful to you?
Watch it for the villain and all the feels.
A lot of plot twists that keeps you at the edge of your seat. With a cast that consists of one of the best villains I have ever seen in a k-drama, a male protagonist that hits you in all the right spots, a female protagonist that is naïve and clueless just the right amount and a supporting cast that just brings it all around.Kudos for the production and visual effects team that made this full of fun car chases, explosions and all around bad-assery in high quality. The OST gave it the romance feel that sometimes you just felt you needed, which brings me to another really good point, which is the very good balance between all of the punches and politics and estrategies with the much needed romance. The protagonist's chemistry was to die for, but this one has some excellent writing and you will find yourself getting teary by the fact that the villain didn't get her way. Haha.
Was this review helpful to you?
They focused on the wrong thing.
I am not gonna lie, I started watching this just because the bodyguard x protégé trope is a cliché I have always been obsessed with. The eight stars rate I am giving here is definitely more than what the drama as a whole deserves, but the acting of the male lead and the female antagonist, plus the well executed action/fight scenes that I found really entertaining to watch deserved a shout out. There were so many lose ends, plot holes and unnecessary scenes (speaking of with, I would like to remark the romantic ones) that it makes so obvious that the screenwriter and the director just focused on the wrong thing. No one actually cared about the female lead, I think. We all were cunning for the "Evil Queen". Should have they exploited the amazing chemistry between Jeha and Yoojin , it would have worked for the better. I love when thrillers have a little romance, but, man, it needs to be well written to avoid forcing things up: everything about Anna and Jeha felt, I don't know, a little ridiculous. Yoonah's poor interpretation didn't help at all, she was kind of a weak counterpart for Ji Changwook who single-handedly stole the scene. This is when you notice the difference between an actor and an idol. IN CASE ANYONE IS PLANNING TO RETELL THIS FAIRYTALE (AGAIN): WRITE ROMANCE THE RIGHT WAY OR LEAVE IT ASIDE.Was this review helpful to you?
