I think the story was well thought out and there were no inconsistencies. I do think that they used a lot of flash backs, but if you are confused about anything, then it does help explain events. Although they reveal the criminal early on in the drama, it doesn’t take away from the suspense. He is like one of the smartest criminals I have seen in a drama and I was totally happy about it. I get tired of watching stupid “bad guys”. Watching the cyber team try to take him down is very intense and at times I found myself screaming at the monitor. The ending is off the hook!!!
So Ji Sub is my favorite actor so you may see this review as biased. LOL I think he did a great job playing Woo Hyun as cold and serious and then playing Gi Young as Woo Hyun with a more passionate attitude. He seemed like a different person to me and I would have seen right through it. Uhm Ki Joon plays Hyun Min, the “bad guy” with perfection. I could sympathize with why he did some of the things he did even though I don’t condone his actions. I totally fell for him. His smirk is just too cute. You should watch him in Scent of a Woman. If you are watching this for Choi Daniel, then don’t waste your time, because he is barely in this drama. He is in the first few episodes and in flash backs. All of the other actors did a great job too. I especially like Kwak Do Won as the Mad Cow and I always love seeing Kwon Hae Hyo. Hae Hyo is totally underrated as an actor. I have seen in tons of dramas as the supporting actor and he is always awesome!!!
The music in this drama is off the hook!!! I love the Phantom of the Opera music.
I don’t know if I will watch it again since I know what happens, but it is definitely a must see for those of you that like crime dramas (and/or So Ji Sub).
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It really keeps you on your toes to find out what happens next. Honestly, this is the first drama I have watched at a go(in 3 days) because I just wanted more.
I reccommend this to anyone looking for a great crime, mystery drama.
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The show did start pretty strong, but it's story could have been easily told in 12-14 episodes instead of dragging it out for 20.
This show had the potential of being an awesome drama. Has great actors, well developed characters and a good premise but the writing....oh, the writing. The only talent the writers had was for great product placement and the Scheherazade effect - keeping you wanting more at the end of most of the episodes. (But what good are 10 minutes of an hour show.)
Ignoring all that could have been done, what it seriously lacked was suspension of disbelief. I could not get caught up in the story and just run with it. The characters were all over the place. While one character was finding out one thing, the other one was finding out the exact same thing somewhere else, so they both end in the right place at the same time right after everything has been ruined by the bad guys.
It was the story of an incompetent police squad that made me want to smack the characters with something over their heads and sympathize with the evil master minds. Believe me, not the intention of the writers. It would show the team failing time, after time, after time, after time, after time, after time, after time...well you get the idea. While, at the same time, tries to sell them as the top elite anti-hacker squad in South Korea.
There are so many moments when they fail to achieve anything that once they finally get something or someone one becomes excited that they actually did something right.
If you are into dramas that you can enjoy all the way through, without forcing yourself to go at it 'til the end, then think twice before choosing this one to e watch in a marathon. Make sure you have other things you can do in those long breaks you will surely take when trying to finish an episode. Even better, just watch a couple of episodes a day or every two days. It is likely that if I had watched it as it aired, my review would be different.
On the plus side: Good actors (good-looking too), a lot of action, a cute romance, and a good final, yet predictable ending.
Oh, and be forewarned, you may end up wanting to become a computer programmer or something of the likes. They just make it look like anyone can do it.
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Every episode right from the first kept you glued to the TV screen because of the suspense and the way the plot is being developed. I can personally attest to the authenticity of the technology and techniques shown and watching it actually makes me like my own job even more.
Of course, a good plot and script would not have succeeded without a good cast. This is where the whole acting cast did a fantastic job, personally I am surprised by the acting of Uhm Ki Joon, he played the villain role superbly considering how well he also acted as the super good teacher in Dream High. Lee Yeon Hee is as beautiful as ever though I feel that she is simple too pretty and delicate to be a cop chasing criminals lol, nonetheless she did a great job as a rose among the thorns.
The OST of this drama complement the entire show well especially at key moments which actually adds to the feeling of suspense and intrigue.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey in the virtual cyberworld of the show, now back to the real cyberworld where I worked in :)
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Idea of the show is GOOD, a lot. What about realization... plot is captivating, you are hooked and so on, but some things were a bit annoying. First, have they heard of fingerprints or DNA? Lots of such silly details ruined the credibility.
Second, too much episodes in general (i'd stopped on 16) and two much series devoted to cat-and-mouse between Big Good and Big Bad. For these two years police haven't had any other cases... I wanted to see them. Like two eps about suicides in high school. They were great and very korean, where teens' suicides is an urgent question.
Third, lack of flashbacks about Hades (which I suppose, could be very interesting) and lots of annoying flashbacks which were on non-stop repeat. Some parts were shown about ten times in case that you have an amnesia.
And last...So Ji Sub is a very talented actor, but I didn't notice much difference between his characters here (If you know, which I mean)
What was AWESOME (no comments, just pluses):
-OST
-tension
-unpredictable plot
Bitchy Cow and other supporting characters
-good final
Sum: worth watching in many aspects.
Common sense is advised to be not ignored during the process of watching)
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Firstly let me say that this drama is a good example of detective story. So the storyline is a perfection. It's difficult and I was amazed how the story remained the same, there was only one major problem which was enriched by other stories which at the same time make the final choice fatal. So you won't be bored by the storyline, that's for sure.
Then acting. It was really good too. So the big plus from me. Although I liked Daniel so much better. G.O. by the way was magnificent. I didn't know that he is such a good actor. And there were a lot of attractive nerds if you catch my drift ^^
The absolute advantage is the absence of widespread love story. However there are three couples taking shape. And that was kind of adorable.
Music was modern and good. But I give 10 for the Phantom of the Opera. It was nerve wracking here.
And finally I must say about my favourite character. I just fell in love with Jo Hyun Min. Some people may say that he was an ordinary villain. Oh no this time it was different. And the finale, Oh My it was unforgettable for me. Seriously he made me think. The revenge... what is its cost? The love? The alliance? Uhm Ki Joon did extremely well. And its worth watching just for him. But this drama is much more than that. And if you have free time and want to spend it in puzzling over the script this drama will be just for you.
I liked it a lot! 10!
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But let's break it down.
Acting/Cast: I first saw So Ji-Sub in Master's Sun and absolutely loved him. I still do love him. But here I was continually frustrated by his utter lack of expressions. There's a difference between subtlety and wooden, and I'm afraid he too often fell on the wrong side of that line. It wasn't a terrible showing, however, and I think he managed to carry the character adequately. Everyone else put in a good show as well, Song Ha-Yoon and Kwak Do-Won really brightened the place up when it needed it.
Music: Oh dear. I'm really not very picky with music, but if I burst out laughing whenever one of the songs comes on I know I'm in trouble. I love the Phantom of the Opera, don't get me wrong, it's honestly one of my favorite operettas... but that was just a little too much for my tastes. I did like the intense rap song by Block B, however--I still listen to it
Rewatch value: I'm not planning on revisiting this drama anytime soon. If I want to watch anything by this writer it'll be Signal, which I enjoyed a great deal more. I guess that's really the moral of the story here--it's not a terrible watch in the grand scheme of kdramas... but there are better thrillers to invest yourself in.
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The prime reason why I started this drama was because it dealt with computers and all things technological, which I love. Also, the drama doesn't try to insert romance between the characters. Romance elements are implied but it is more to provide comic relief than anything. What makes Ghost different than other dramas in the genre is that it essentially focuses on one case. Keep in mind that a few cases in the middle had little to do with the main case but these episodes give more insight to the characters and their lives. I'm going to be honest, I was expecting the ending to disappoint me but it did the exact opposite. In the last two episodes, everything comes back full circle and doesn't leave me feeling like something was left out. I really appreciate how flashbacks were used in the drama. They were not only used to refresh the mind about what already happened, they were also used to show things that the viewers have not witnessed at that point.
Typically, villains are the most hated characters of a drama. In this drama, I wanted to hate the villain but that was so hard to do. The way that the story comes about in revealing the villains motives for everything kind of had me feeling sympathetic.
The actors in this drama were really spot on in delivering and executing their characters. At first I was skeptical about So Ji Sub's acting because I have not seen anything with him before so I was expecting him to just be a pretty face with no substance. I am happy that I was wrong. SJS was able to pull off playing one person with two different sides. Uhm Ki Joon did a wonderful job playing Jo Hyun Min. Whenever his characters would get that sense of accomplishment it would just send shivers down my down.SJS and UKJ really fed off each others acting in heir scenes together which I loved. The supporting actors added to the synergy. Ghost unlike some other dramas utilizes its supporting characters to its full advantage.
The writers really know where they were going with this drama. When something is only referenced in simplicity in one episode, it comes back in another episode and is explained in full detail. One thing that I felt that the writers of this drama did wrong was deviating from the initial case and getting involved in other cases. However, this is only a minor technicality since it kept with the same flow of the other episodes.
The music in this drama, solidified my love for it. Sometimes music in a drama makes me wonder why it's there because it doesn't fit the flow of the drama. Ghost does the exact opposite, the music complements both the writing and the acting. The one dislike that I had with the music was that "Burn Out" song that plays at the end of the first few episodes annoyed me a little bit. However, it does appear near the couple of episodes near the end but more as motif when hacker mode is in play.
In future, I do see myself watching this drama again. Not all 20 episodes but a few episodes here and there since some episodes near the halfway point were boring to me.
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I am a big fan of City Hunter, therefore I gave this drama a chance because there is a lot of technology is involved. Definitely awesome!!!!! Too bad there wasn't any action, but who cares. The actors did an awesome job. There were well chosen- many cute guys (even those who are evil- so it's hard to tell until the writer wants you to know).
As a fan of City Hunter, I loved the music- here it's pretty much the same story. SIMPLY AWESOME MUSIC!!!!!
Therefore overall a great drama, if your into Crime and Investigation. You might be disappointed if your favorite genre is Romance. You won't walk away with nothing because there is a lot you can learn about the tech.
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Something fishy about the ending...
But I like the way it goes, the plot, the mystery, the ost background, and the Yoo Gang Mi... So Ji Sub... hahahaha....
Now, there are rare drama that have a very interesting theme, such as detective, or hacking, or not mainstream. I like the idea of it. Instead of many many love drama spreading along...
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