Recommended if you like action, good acting and good villains
To execute his revenge, Bong Sang Pil (Lee Joon Gi) becomes a lawyer. With the cunning and skills from his gangster upbringing, he arises to become one of the highest winning rate attorneys of the country. A disbarred attorney Ha Jae Yi joins him and together, they are involved in the dangerous game of trying to expose the corrupt people in power.Lawless Lawyer has a lot of action, comedy, and a hint of romance that developed quite fast. The premise about underdog heroes who have tragic pasts caused by corrupt people in power is quite familiar and there was not much unpredictable plot twists. While the story may not be entirely new; the non-stop action scenes were very entertaining, sometimes very funny. It has enough suspenseful moments and sweet romantic moments to keep me watching.
Every cast did a really good job, Lee Joon Gi gave a boost to Bong Sang Pil not only through his amazing action but also the micro gestures, his acting is just brilliant. And although I think Seo Yea Ji's character was too exaggerated, she perfectly embodied Ha Jae Yi that she disappeared into her role. Choi Min Soo was another highlight, as the slimy-underworld-crime-boss-turned-politician, he brought Ahn Oh Joo character to life, whose actions you both love and hate. Overall, I enjoyed it, this one is not a disappointment.
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Ambitious plot, ambitious characters, poor execution.
The second half is bad and ruins the whole show. The last 3 episodes things get all mixed up together the characters are full of themselves and things get too unbelievable for me to suspend reality. The first 4 episodes were interesting. Yes, Sang-pil was fighting 20 people alone and winning but this was the only over-the-top thing happening.The end felt rushed, characters were waiting to do things for the sake of the script. e.g Ahn Oh Jo, screaming he is going to kill himself then it looks like Sang-Pil stops him then doesn't actually take his gun away so he shoots himself anyway after their conversation. This is very bad writing and it happens multiple times in the second half. Also, the scene after Jae Yi gets kidnapped by Ahn O Jo and Sang-Pil goes to rescue doesn't make sense. Why give Jae Yi the gun? Why did O Joo try to kill Sang-Pil then suddenly not kill him and decide to fight him? If he had kidnapped Jae yi to force Sang Pil to do something why did he never make the demand, why keep Jae yi alive if he wanted to kill Sang-pil? Kill Sang-pil he is left alone with the kidnapped leverage (Jae yi)....This just makes no sense.
The acting wasn't very good either. The characters were all one-dimensional.
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this drama became my cure for k-drama slump/ Perfect Villain
Things I liked://
1. The Villain... No matter what others say I absolutely love a good antagonist in a drama. After all, an antagonist is what builds/makes a hero 'a hero' or else the hero would have been a mere common man.
The representation of the villain in this drama was very on point. I absolutely 'adored' the character and the motive the character had was relatable enough (just sayin).
A good villain can actually drive the story and that's what happened in this story.
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2. The way this drama portrayed the 'reality' of the politics/politicians. (I hate politics/politicians in real life)
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3. Right amount (maybe a little too much but...) of gas lighting (verb. manipulate (someone) by psychological means into doubting their own sanity) when and where ever necessary felt right.
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4. Muuuaaaahhh... Fighting scenes
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Things I hated:
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1. The romance part... I would say the romance element in this drama ruined the beauty and rawness of this drama.
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2. Destined lovers from childhood cliche... (Just whyyyyyy?) They could have worked much better as professional partners though.
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3. The weird circumstance under which they fell in love. (like...wtf!)
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4. The ending... it demanded to be more thrilling and a bit more...spicy?
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The attempts at comic relief(lawless law office crew) failed woefully and the end of the villains was really bland.
If you are in search of a satisfying revenge drama, this is not it.
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1.great actors and actress
2.story is good
3.undeniable physical chemistry of the main couple
4.good action drama
5.Lee Joon Gi is really good in action drama
DISLIKE:
hmmm... Nothing too much to dislike maybe the story is more great if the story it's not focus on revenge plot
IT'S BETTER IF:
1.the story is not too focus on REVENGE.
2.add some case to be solve
3.add some side story
Trivia:
This is the 4th kdrama(Two weeks, TBWD, Criminal minds) of lee joon gi I watched.
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Who is the king of this drama?
Lee Joon Ki? - yeah, he is not bad. He fights well and he likes it, moreover everyone there likes to fight with fists. But his legal romance is not sweet and not convincing.
The evil judge Cha played by Lee Hye Young? She`s not bad, well, yes, she is bad: cold, calculating, manipulating, distinguished and cruel. However, she doesn't arouse profound disgust and she doesn't truly frighten us.
Seo Ye Ji as female lawyer? Unfortunately no. She was an amazing princess in Hwarang and acting in sagueks with long hair suits her better.
Then, who is the king? The bad guy.
Choi Min Soo gave a really good performance. His An O Joo is a gangster from a provincial town, a murderer, a parvenus who dreams about himself in a better future. He is cruel, threatening and terrifying, but on the other hand he is like a beggar or a dog who asks for praise and acceptance. He has my all attention and I wish he would be a hero in his town.
Drama has rather a light style. There are gang wars, some politics, some court hearings, some secrets, some plot twists and a bit of romance, but generally it's drama of action. The story is ok, but the cast is not very good for this story: the main character should be ugly and smart and female lead should be smart and beautiful. The cinematography is excellent. The music is ok. The young Bong Sang Pil (Lee Ro Woon) is cute.
If you are tired of long, boring romances, heartbreaking scenes, great tragedies - watch this drama. And if you love Lee Joon Ki and SeoYe Ji in any role – of course, watch this drama.
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Love, hate and respect
All crime shows follow a predictable plot: good guys go after bad guys, wins in the end. So the difference really lies in the characters (likeable heroines, and a villain you can respect) and the story telling.You need just enough plot twists to keep you interested, but really what seals the deal is that you enjoy the way the writer reveals the information and sets up the characters so their decisions are believable. I have watched too many US/Asian shows where characters randomly did stupid things just to fill up an episode. In this show, characters still do stupid things, but it's aligned with their personality.
I never felt the writer lost control of the story. I KNEW the ending, I enjoyed how the show got us there. The characters had their own personalities, and the episodes had a good balance of humor, action, and sweet moments. I don't think I was ever bored in any episode. Frustrated, yes, but always intrigued.
Brilliant acting. I really can't imagine these roles played by anyone else -- from the leads to the loveable sidekicks that made the Lawless Lawyers agency the unlikely candidate for Best Co-Workers in KDrama Land.
All in all, it's a good watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the best series out there. Don't break it by a stupid continuation, please.
A total masterpiece. Let me tell you why.Both the ML and the FL are not stupid like in other dramas. They're not passive - they demand answers here and now, they understand the world around them, they do not make stupid decisions for the sake of the story - aka - stupid decisions without any reason of doing so. Here everything makes sense, everthing is justified. Even a theoretically stupid decision is just a distracting tactic and it is required for the sake of everyone. The FL understands it perfectly afterwards and she is even more thankful because the ML saved her mother by doing so when she thought she's lost her because of him.
Both ML & FL are strong. They do not bow to anyone, they do not lower their eyes because of some stupid hierarchy, rituals etc. - I know it is Korea, I know this society and I know why it's depicted like that in many other series but Lawless Lawyer as well as a couple of other series I love show it is not needed even in Korea. The strong character may be strong, may spill water in the face of the asshole even if this asshole is the most powerful being of the whole town while still paying respect to people who deserve it because of their actual deeds.
There's nothing I am able to criticize about this show. The intrigue - great, characters - great, actors - great.
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This review may contain spoilers
I found this to be a fun, generally easy watch even with the tone of murder, revenge and corruption. It has all those elements with a quirky, funky vibe as well as awesome (if totally unrealistic) action scenes and a dash of romance as well. I also am not generally a fan of legal dramas because I know too much about that area and the legal aspects are ridiculous and it is hard to suspend reality. Nonetheless, this show has the benefit of spending the absolute minimum amount of time in a courtroom.Are there flaws? Sure, here's what bugged me though I have to keep it vague to avoid spoilers:
- Love the uncle and the scenario he was involved in would have made more sense with one or two conversations to set up the situation better.
-Some noble idiocy that doesn't last long and seems unnecessary and contrived and, with a little better writing, could easily have been avoided.
-I can't believe I'm saying this because sometimes dramas give too much build up to the bad guys, but I actually wanted a bit more about how these baddies came together.
- A bit too much of people having the, " I will take you down" talk which I took as just wanting two certain actors together to show their stuff. Once is fine but around the 3rd time, it's a bit much.
- There are a few things that happened throughout the drama that needed that one conversation that tied things together a little better. It doesn't take away much from my enjoyment, but I did notice and others did as well. Probably a victim of the live shoot. It's odd how when a drama really works, I notice the small things yet when a drama is just okay, I forgive huge gaps in logic. I guess I'm a bit contrary.
The things I liked:
-Strong female lead and not cookie cutter. The writer of this drama also wrote the melo, Remember: Son's War and I recall there were complaints that Park Min Young's character got sidelined. I'm not a huge melo person so I can't speak to that drama, but any concerns in this regard can be disregarded. Again there was a story arc in the second half that was meh but it was shortlived. Otherwise, I found the female lead to have depth. She's not the over the top sassy that might be assumed from her punching person after person early on. We really get to know her here and she gets to show her stuff both in and out of the courtroom. Someone commented BSP saved her a lot; well she saved him as well. AND she got to drive the muscle car.
-To have a drama like this work well, you have to have a great antagonist. We get 3 from the judge to her minion to her thug. These three actors elevated this drama and a special shout out to Choi Min Soo who has more charisma than any other actor of his generation that I've seen in k-drama. I believe another actor had to back out so he came in late, had to immerse himself in this character and learn the dialect as well. If anyone gets an award from this drama, it will be him.
-The music is fantastic. The opening right away lets you know the quirky vibe of the drama and the background music and OST songs are all fantastic. Also the setting; it's nice to hear a dialect and get out of Seoul.
-Direction is great. Was there a bit of the shaky camera here and there, yes, but he didn't go crazy. This PD knows how to shoot action (yes, totally unrealistic one man against 15). He also sets mood well with the foggy, ominous vibe of the early episodes especially effective.
- Romance. I wasn't really expecting much but it surprised me how well this worked and it wasn't the normal route to romance that we see in k-dramaland. I liked that. The writer is a dude so we don't get all the sweet talk and, as much as I love all that stuff, I can get it from a romance drama. This relationship has a mature -we're-adults- here tone that worked quite well for me to the point I wanted more.
-Lee Joon Gi & Seo Ye Ji. Alone and together, they work. They are both solid actors with a lovely chemistry that shines through even though romance isn't the main focus of this drama.
-I've dinged the writer a bit for not always having all his ducks in a row, but it's a gentle chiding because this story has a lot of moving parts and many actors. I respect that this isn't always easy to do and the story does generally work with some nice twists and turns as well as fun and romance along the way but there is no doubt in my mind that the actors, director and music elevated it. Also, I give the writer credit for advancing a romance story in a different way instead of a dot to dot love storyline that seems thrown in just to satisfy the romantics but nothing that's really satisfying. (Full disclosure: I loved it, some were a bit doubtful.)
So overall if you can suspend reality and sit back for a fun ride in a solid though imperfectly written, well executed and acted drama this might be for you.
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The acting is good even if some of it is over the top. Lee Hye Young as Cha Moon Sook is so unbelievably well done. She stole the show. I have never seen Choi Min Soo act like that. The way he bows down as Ahn Oh Joo is really strange to watch. I like him as an actor, but this character was totally weird. The fight scenes with Lee Joon Gi and Choi Min Soo are awesome though. I thought the actors worked well together and all had great chemistry. Actually all the fighting is fun to watch. I wonder if some of them accidentally got hurt. Seo Ye Ji as Ha Jae Yi was strong and vulnerable at the right moments. She did her character proud.
The music is good.
i won't rewatch this.
If you like lawyer movies, then you will probably enjoy this one.
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This review may contain spoilers
Unable to digest there love making in ep 6
it was okay to watch kind of show if you remove there intercourse from ep6 because it was insensitive timingFL just got to know about her mothers death and after 30sec they are kissing , I can understand that can be consolation
they did not stop there but undress each other and had intercourse that scene alone looked gross then romantic because of the news of her mothers death
they did not have that kind of chemistry till that point for that...
There should be only 8 ep then this drama would have look right
other then that it is watchable for once
Story doesn't have any logic in it, our ML is a loan shark lawyer who put FL in jail right after they meet but we later found out he was sponsoring her education, so he know her before hand and play tricks motherless girl for his own enjoyment,
she is some kind of toy for him
he insult, humiliate her , but it is all comedy because man is doing to woman and that man should be consider handsome but to me he look starving.
then he forcefully make her work for him,
everything is easy for male lead, he is rich, he is well educated, he is even monkey king
which make this drama boring and unrememberable.
rewatch value 3/10 because if you don't mind wrong timing love making then you can rewatch it or skip that seen and pretend it never happened, because even after that scene our leads just remain same as usual there relationship did not progress after all that so why it was there ?
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Seo Yeji has been been one of my actor girl crushes since moorim school and she did not disappoint here as well but i hope she'll pick a more well though out dramas(like Save Me was) in the future.
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