Squid Game (2021)

glorifying violence?

Hear me out. I know, it's a high-quality show. It's very well-acted, the sets are interesting, and the storyline is somewhat intriguing. I'm not saying anything against the quality of the production. What I am saying is that there are some seriously grotesque moments of violence against women before glorified at the end of this 1st season. Like, ummmmm. How is that even filmable to say? You're going to kill an injured woman for her organs but before you do, you're going to have a little fun with her first? I'm . . . I don't even really know what to say to that. I knew the show was violent, m'kay. I knew that and I was fine with it going in, but I wasn't expecting THAT. It's just ick on a whole nother level of ick and I must have been numb by the end of the series to actually be able to finish it. And by the end, I literally didn't care. Oh, okay, we finished, and here's the result and . . . am I supposed to be feeling something because I'm feeling absolutely nothing other than sorta sick and destabilized and depressed. Was the purpose of this to say that men are scary? Maybe it was, I don't know, but to have that happen just in passing, as part of the story, and not even really be fully addressed, just made me sick. So yes, watched the whole thing, have no beef with the quality of the production, but I do have a beef with the reality that men continue to be pigs and women continue to be victims. When is that ever going to turn around and why is it still being represented as a thing? Surely society is actually better than this. Or maybe it's just SK that has the problem because out of all the Jdoromas I've watched (and there have been MANY), they have never given me this kind of ick.

You can downvote my review if you want, that's fine. But, please, if you feel the need to comment, just be respectful about your position and allow me to have mine.

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interesting storyline, not the best under this category

overall, the plot was mildly interesting to me. i was not too excited or nervous to keep watching throughout the show. i loved how this show represents real life problems. but, if you like the concept of survival shows; watch alice in borderland instead.
the games were extremely boring and pointless to me. it did not feel or seem like they were fighting for their life and i did not enjoy the concept of taking kids games and turning them into life or death games.
i would recommend to watch this show as a time-killer, since i personally did not get attached to it that much.

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A Somehow Refreshingly Cliched Twist on the Battle Royal Trope

I never imagined my first review on this site would be for Squid Game.

I've been a fan of the battle royale trope for as long as I can remember. Battle Royale, the Hunger Games, Alice in Borderland, all are my favorites. I first came across Squid Game through Netflix's Youtube channel and expected to dislike it - at the time, the trailer looked childish with its colorful uniforms and funky looking game regulators with shapes on their helmets. Nevertheless, it stayed on my to watch list, and as the days passed, so did its position on the Netflix Global Top 10 charts. I decided to give it a go.

THE GOOD
What made this drama compelling was its non post-apocalyptic setting, something I'm used to in battle royale, as well as the games. Utilizing games from cherished childhood memories as modes of death was an eerily fresh take. I found the majority vote as a means to an end creative as well, leaving the illusion of choice to both the characters and to us the audience. It's true that actual participation isn't "forced", rather, the preexisting circumstances of each character made the reward money all the more incentivizing. I loved its economic class commentary, moral ambiguity, as well as cinematographic ties to art pieces. Visual artists and fans of thriller like me will definitely enjoy.

THE OK
I found myself persuaded by the acting despite being impartial to the screenwriting. I don't know if this was on purpose, but Gi-hun's face was quite punchable at times. Maybe it was an attempt to portray his gullibility? Not sure, but actor Lee Jung Jae did as well as he could balancing the pathetic yet sympathetic role. I was impressed by Jung Hoyeon's role as Kang Saebyeok (though I'm a little biased since she's been one of my favorite models <3) especially since the idol/model to actress pipeline is so saturated. I wasn't expecting much though. Objectively speaking, her microexpressions really allowed 067's vulnerability to shine through. Stoic characters are surprisingly hard to portray - I'll remember hers for quite a while. Wi Ha Joon makes a pretty officer, but other than a look into the "villain" side of the story, he wasn't offered much substance. Park Hae Soo's role as Sangwoo was memorable and convincing! I kept expecting him to be more morally gray so being caught off guard was pleasant.


THE BAD
This is where I feel most conflicted. Certain deaths were highly predictable just based on screen time and backstory alone. Unfortunately the screenwriting left little room for emotional connection. Sure, deaths were sad, but most of the time they were empty since I barely knew anything about the characters. Halfway through the show the games started to lose meaning. I even think one of them towards the end wasn't a children's game? I was left hoping for something more strategy-based or just a little more depth. Killing occuring outside the games added another level of chaos, as did the small game regulators' scenes, impacting the pacing negatively. The screenwriter didn't do the best job with the masked leaders either; choosing familiarity destroys suspense if not done well, and unfortunately that was the case here for me since I guessed correctly. 9 episodes was not enough. It's obvious to me that this many loose ends means a preplanned second season, which I'm not too enthusiastic about considering the sloppiness towards the end.

In conclusion:
Did I love this show conceptually? Very much yes. Would I recommend watching it? Still, yes, please give it a shot. Do I think it's worth the hype/critical acclaim its been receiving? Not exactly, but it's a major move for a Korean show so I'll celebrate that.

Regardless, Squid Game has left a lasting impression.

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The man who thinks he can get revenge but really can't but, only if the writers make it be.

This year the K-drama called Squid Game came out and, it became number one on the Netflix charts. I read a lot about how good this drama was so I watch the drama out of curiosity to the end and, to be honest this drama is boring and predictable to me. I liked the first game red light green light and, how it showed us the viewers that the contestants was in a death game trying to win money. Then when I watched episode 2 that episode was super boring and, slow because, that episode was just a filler episode when they showed all the main characters problems and, they could have used all that was on episode 2 as flashbacks for episode 3 to show us that. When it came to the rules of the game I hated how they said if they leave only the families of the contestants that died will get the money. I said to myself that don't make any sense because, how are they going to reward the families of the dead contestants the money. That money is for the people that survive playing the games until the end. I found it funny they let the contestants have control with being able to leave the game by voting to let them think they have freedom of choice to leave when they really don't because , it was predetermined from the beginning when they was picked. When it got to the vips episode that was episode 7 I laughed when one of the extras was asking to be number one because, no one in their right mind would ask for that spot and, when I got to the last episode and, they told us the viewers why the contestants was picked I already knew the answer to that so, the conclusion didn't really shock me and, by the end when he goes to get revenge that was obvious that he would want to do that but, I said to myself how is he going to do that by himself? They're always watching him that's how he ended up in the games in the first place! They can get him any time they want and, just kill him.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama "Squid Game" is bloody, but, somehow, hopeful.

It has a nice cinematography, with, sometimes, overused gore, but well executed action scenes. The background stories, moreover, set the drama apart from the rest of the survival game series, and it gives a more 'Korean Drama' feel to it. It makes the story more believable, as it helps the viewer relate to the characters and understand them. It also gave a more humane twist to the story and made it more dramatic, when the settings and the costumes were more on the childish side.

Finally, the performances were great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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started better than it ended .. a shame

ok so i tried to go into watching this with no expectations but was hard due to the hype it was getting , but regardless i gave it a watch and i did really enjoy it at first , however towards the final few episodes it started to lose its momentum - for me personally. i think the final episode was awful tbh… i hate how the police guy was just killed by his bro with no explanations, his story was acc the most interesting tbh but they wasted a good opportunity with his storyline, also i hate how ali was made to be so gullible in the show, altho maybe im biased since he was my fave character. none of the plot - except the old man’s connection to the game - surprised me at all , i never felt i was on the edge of my seat unsure of what will happen next cuz its all pretty obvious , regardless it was a nice watch and it does deserve to be given such a great attention, just a shame how rushed the ending seemed , i understand the ending dont get me wrong, i just think it sucked lol

anyways, the acting was incredible though! it made me keep going regardless of the boringish plot

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Here’s What You’re Not Missing, spoiler Alert: Nothing New

I normally take many months or years before I review shows and movies. This peculiar routine has allowed me to objectively think and analyze shows better. Although it's only been a few months, I can't help but want to either save someone from wasting their time or help someone discovers what will soon be one of their favourite shows.

Squid Game is a thought-provoking television show on the one hand. It was all around made with wonderful cinematography, frequent violence, occasional sexually explicit, and contains a caustic caricature of income inequity.
On the other hand, it is a widely used theme across the world. Wealthy and privileged people play games with the lives of those who are less fortunate. You can definitely see it as catering to its audience's twisted inner child. The vividly coloured, massive playground (both theoretically and literally). I didn't find anything remotely fresh and innovative in this plot.
The show tried too hard and failed horribly to persuade its viewers that everyone is evil simultaneously  ( the wealthy gamblers and/or the less fortunate players). As I previously indicated, it attempted to shed light on a topic that we have all encountered and are all too familiar with: when their lives and money are on the line, all human beings become morally corrupt barbarians.

Despite the large ensemble, the premise is glaringly obvious and plain. And the failed comedic portions about the terrible billionaires who come to wager on the game have the personality and dialogues I would come up with as an elementary student when imagining the lives of the top 1 per cent—blatantly laughable and unrealistic. The drama attempted to be more meaningful than it was. It tried desperately to squeeze the viewer's perceptions of individuals and circumstances into overused cliches—restricting itself with its inane jargon, particularly at the climax.
In its attempts at distorting and layering the audience's perception of characters, only around five or six characters were developed decently out of hundreds. The rest of the hundred could have led to great possibilities but they simply remained as food for powder. At first, you may think that some characters appear to be well-developed, but you'll easily find them inexpensive pawns for conveying the drama's fundamental theme.
An example of that being, the covert police officer plot feeling unessential. I will give it the positive recognition of it being thrilling in its own particular manner. However, his only purpose in the drama is to give the audience a peek of the cruelty that goes on behind the scenes. His sole purpose, in the end, was to provide the audience with an inexpensive perspective to look through.

In conclusion, it's a show you should only watch once if you've run out of things to watch. Although director Hwang Dong-hyuk has announced a season 2, I might watch it if it contains a different cast, but it's not necessary. It was terrifying, but not in the conventional sense of a Korean drama that delves into philosophy and morality. Like justice and equality.
If a show that supposedly wishes to contain true philosophical, psychological, and morality v.s. values themes, that show must challenge me in all those aspects and mentally as well as emotionally. That being said, Squid Game definitely did not do any of that. As my last attempt at holding a candlelit for this disastrous show, I will watch the second season and form an opinion that is un-bias and not affected by my opinions of this season.
My final words to you as an audience is to watch at your own risk. You'll either gain dissatisfaction or attain satisfaction.

X0X0 <3
---Taemangi

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A+ Set Design

I'm not wild about the story - it's a relatively straightforward "murder game" take, though I think for me one of the most interesting elements plot wise is the pseudo informed consent of the participants. A lot of murder game takes - from Most Dangerous Game to Battle Royale - have unwilling participants. But these participants (barring the ones in the first game who did not entirely know the stakes) continued to play willingly. In fact, that seemed to be part of the point.

There's no particular reason to stress the anti-capitalist messaging in this. If you have read anything about Squid Game it's probably about that. It's interesting, but also to an extent deeply nihilistic in a way that I find a bit unengaging. while accurate, hopelessness in the face of death like experiences just feels....pointless. I know that I'm likely to go bankrupt if I suddenly get cancer, and I know that there are people who have so much money that they could easily wipe my debts but instead build a (probably fictional) massive murder island so they can sit on human furniture and take bets on whether I'll off myself after she dies. Bleak af.

For me, the thing that stands out the most about Squid Game is the set design. There's a real story in the way that each of the sets is designed from the bright yellow piggy bank floating like a light in a casino above the room to the childrens's school yard at the end. The performances - specifically newcomer Jung Ho-yeon - were also really solid.

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Very engaging, but disappointing ending.

I have to say the strongest parts of this drama are the acting and writing. There are some great performances by the talented ensemble cast and the writing is very good with a few minor implausibilities. The drama is fast paced and keeps you at the edge of your seat. You grow to care for the characters and feel for them when they face tragedies. There are some strong messages of compassion and responsibility for your fellow man in the face of the most horrifying circumstances and how those circumstances changes the contestants for good or evil.

The drama seemed to be going in a good direction, but suddenly derailed with some plot twists that changed the perceptions I had already formed based on the previous episodes. I felt disappointed and manipulated. ML seemed to have a split personality. He was irresponsible and apathetic in the outside world, while compassionate and protective in the game. The over the top violence and gore may not be suitable for some viewers.. I guess it adds a certain sensationalism to the drama and attracts younger viewers given its Hunger Games qualities.

Guest performances by Lee Byung Hun and Gong Yoo give the show an even greater star power and their performances notable, albeit small. I wouldn't be surprised if this show has a second season. The last episode seems to set it up that way. However, I am not sure wether I want to continue on with this story based on its wrap up.

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Good for its genre, weak ending!

It is definitely overrated but the actors are good, the production quality is high enough and especially the middle episodes are very stressful and anxiety-inducing, which is the exact goal of this show. The 'lessons' are very on-the-nose but ultimately - very real. Some of the characters are very very well-written and well-acted and you wish you could be with them a bit longer than you actually are.

If you like survival-style shows, definitely watch this! at least that way you'll know what everyone else is talking about it! Especially all the memes lmao.

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