Good action drama packed with a killer OST
"Revenge needs no NAME"Just finished binge watching this drama, and I've got to say the thing that hooked me most despite the OST in all the right parts was definitely the action and fighting scenes. Of course the acting of So Hee and Hee Soon was the cherry on top of the cake in this drama. The way they conveyed emotions and portrayed their characters is what carried this show through and through.
"Now your life is in your hands. Whatever you do, we'll protect you."
Moo Jin's words hit deep as the story progresses and we realize just what he meant and how willing he was going to go and test her. As if it was one last shot of redemption, for a late friend whom he trusted and someone he could in fact trust in.
Because My Name deals with the dark ways and harsh mob initiation and lifestyle, where no one can or should be trusted. Our main character discovers that in her own way, although she was trained for it, and given everything she went through her life, to not trust anyone for good reasons.
"She wants her revenge. Let her."
Those words somehow felt like a final sentence, a resigned fate.
To see how far she was willing to go with her personal vendetta.
"If you want to kill him, you should be capable of murder."
Always inciting her, always leading her in, always waiting for her.
"No one can know, my enemy, my revenge, my name..."
The trailer of this drama was promising enough, and although I've enjoyed the show we can't disclose it's a typical plot of revenge, dealing with cops, mob, narcotics, the whole chill pill. Nothing quite new there, there are always those petty ones seeking for a quick revenge going all like big guys only to end up like spineless idiots. Per usual, many attempts of plot twists to confuse the viewer of the real culprit and lead a person to a wild goose chase with the FL. And of course the pity party couldn't end with her life, they have to add the ML too to make us all empathetic to his motives and a way to connect him with the FL.
"Romance" was off for me. Sorry but is true, this was only for the sole purpose of her mission. And sure she deserve better in life, but to save that involvement, that intimacy for the last given episode, felt rushed and pointless to me. No build up for that in the previous episodes. What I saw was understanding and a connection, a partnership and a start of a friendship.
Why write that for the character and then rip it away is beyond me.
To add more drama? Or stir up her motivation once again? Really??
Still, despite all of this and more. Even with its pros and cons, - MY NAME - is an interesting drama to waste an afternoon for.
Netflix provides us the same old cinematography style of action movies, combined with first player game POV in certain shots. The dark aesthetic tone of the drama is well suited for the theme. It's like a light NOIR storyline if we can even name it that. The OST is darn good, those catchy beats on action scenes and repetitive English lines in some enlightening plot moments.
The ending is bittersweet and satisfying in an odd way.
It depicts how certain actions and decisions in a web of deceit creates numerous fated predicaments.
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Betrayal, Revenge and a Badass FL
Wow! Where do I even begin?! My mind is blown and my heart is broken.I binged this within a single night and was unable to look away from the screen for even a second.
It has been a while since a drama - or any series in general - was able to capture me so completely. It is kinda rare that a story serves so many of my favorite tropes:
- Main character having to go through some rigorous physical training
- Revenge plot
- Secret identity
- Good main character goes dark
- Scene where main character looses all humanity and descends into darkness
- Love interest discovers secret identity
- Badass FL
- People changing sides
Seriously, give me any of these and I’m a fan. Give me ALL OF THESE?!? and I’m obsessed.
On top of that, Han So Hee’s brilliant acting catapulted this drama into untouchable greatness.
I agree that many times, writers force unnecessary love side-plots on us. But among all these cases, it seems viewers now cry „unnecessary love story“ way too soon, without considering the nuances this side plot brings to the story.
In this case, the love story made total sense - besides, I’m not even sure you can call it a love story. We watched two characters connect through their shared pain and seek comfort and warmth from each other. Pildo showed Jiwoo that it is not worth losing herself in the darkness and throwing her life away for revenge - but at the same time his death ended up being her breaking point and the final push she needed to complete her transformation.
The chemistry between Jiwoo and Pildo was tangible and the progression of their connection done masterfully.
I don’t think I will ever be over this. But I will definitely rewatch it and hurt myself all over again. Immediate addition to my top-10.
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You had me at what happened to pops!
Based on a recommendation, I decided to watch this drama. WOW! Fantastic! I have to say the main roles played by Han So Hee, Park Hee Soon and Ahn Bo Hyun were indeed delicious to watch. Typically, this is not my go to genre but I was blown away! So much the case I watched all eight episodes in one setting. A special bravo to Park Hee Soon. Man … it’s a joy watching his subtle yet on point non-verbal communication skills. His character had me at go! What an incredible actor! All three main actors did a great job. Han So Hee’s eyes have incredible depth in portraying emotions. For me personally, she never disappoints. I am new to watching Park Hee Soon. Not just a handsome face ... serious acting chops. Looking forward to watching more of him. Overall excellent script, acting, the car chases just plain fun to watch nail biting moments. A big shout out to the music department on the musical score. Very in line with this drama. Just a sheer joy ride! I highly recommend this drama!Was this review helpful to you?
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A short but fulfilling story
What I liked:- The acting. This was my first time seeing Han So Hee and she was great at acting a complex character like Yoon Ji Woo. It was perfect.
- 8 episodes with 50 minutes each were just nice. Short but fulfilling.
- Compact and concise storyline. The story was interesting from beginning to the end.Not draggy and less filler scenes. Also succesfully keep you on the edge of your seat most of the times.
- Great action/fight scenes.
- Hot and badass looking antagonists. Especially Choi Moo Jin (such a charismatic presence and I loved his deep voice) and Jung Tae Joo (His loyalty to his boss and the organization charmed me). I fell for their characters and rooted for them most of times.
What I disliked:
- I wish the intimate scene in the last minute between the leads never happened. Too sudden and random.
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The only thing I'll remember is Han So Hee's fierce fighting skills
Props to Han So Hee for doing her own fight choreography and making it look so believable. It is so nice to see an actress willing to do her own stunts and willing to show a not so pretty image. Not only was Han So Hee great at the action, but she was great in the acting as well. I think other actresses should take note. A huge pet peeve of mine is when they cast a FL who's supposed to be tough, but then it's so obvious they are weak or not doing their own stunts or they just want to look pretty. Not here. Han So Hee prepared and delivered...Girl, you got my respect!The rest of the cast was also great, esp Park Hee Soon who was charismatic as the gang leader. Unfortunately, the story was not as good as the actors' performances. It was too predictable and too much of the plot was based on the ignorance and obliviousness of the police . I think better direction was needed here with the editing. More than once, because of the way a scene was shot, I often asked my self "Why don't they just run the license plate?" The holes in police procedure were too obvious and you just can't do that in this day and age where thousands of cop shows have taught us the basics. Audiences aren't stupid so once you stop treating us as such, you'll most likely have a better drama.
But despite the flaws, I still would recommend to anyone looking for some good action scenes, esp from a female lead. At only 8 episodes, it's a quick watch and worth it just to watch So Hee.
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Han So-Hee broke her image of romance actress!
What a role for Han So-Hee. Like Song Kang with Sweet Hone, she chose a role that is the complete opposite of Nabi in Nevertheless. Her acting is incredible and the scenes of fighting WOW! My Name follows the now classic 8 episodes drama concept by Netflix.Why you should watch it?
The drama has an incredible cast! Story and production are at the Netflix entertainment level (meaning good). Action scenes are well choreographed and the drama is entertaining.
For Ahn Bo hyun acting and visual (and abs Are bonus scenes). The story started really well. Everyone loves a plot like Nikita’s ! This is a pure action / revenge drama!
You can expect torrid scenes with Ahn Bo Hyun and Han So-Hee. It was rare to see any explicit hit scenes in kdrama yet it seems that it became the trademark of Han So Hee with Netflix.
Why you shouldn’t watch it?
You can guess the outcome of the plot as soon as episode 3. The 2 last episodes were full of incoherences and the end is a botch job, like most the Netflix 8 episodes concept. You expect a season 2 but at the same time, the concept was already pushed too far in season 1 so I don’t have high expectations for the second part.
Now some incoherences bothered me in this drama :
**ATTENTION SPOILERS **
Episode 4 - Gangjae could have used the phone he took from her to e pose her identity. Yet, nothing.
- Detective Pildo could hear what Gangjae told her while torturing her yet that episode made him convince she is on their (cops) side.
Episode 7 - the scene at the hospital when she hides her blood with her foot .... but then the detective doesn’t see any traces of blood when she walks away :/
- After she kills Taejeu, she retrieves her goods but isn’t bothered by the missing phone she uses to call Choi Munjin.
- She could escape the police building so easily ... she was seen at the back door ... but none stopped her. She passes by Pildo on her motorcycle but no one stopped her either “-“
Finally, a miss for me in Han So Hee transformation was Her perfect white & aligned teeth. She is an orphan who grew up in a gang fighting to survive. Despite all the scars, her teeth are perfectly intact & shining brightly! It so didn’t fit her character. Am I the only one who was bothered by that ?
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Heavy-Handed Cynicism
Wonderful cast, direction, and writing—even though I'm not a fan of gang fight scenes and hate the ending. The cast are all so good they kept my attention throughout, and I cared about all the leads, esp. HSH’s Ji Woo—a ferociously tragic heroine so tough and strong she commands respect; I hope the actress rakes in the awards. Both male leads are compelling in their roles as well, and I admired them, too.However. There are plot holes such as no depiction of her police training and how she became a Detective. But most of all, the ending is cynical and cruel. Absolutely pointless within that plot and for that character, and I was left angry and broken-hearted. The relentless horror this protagonist endured doesn’t ever let up even at the end—-for no reason but freaking ironic tragedy, which for me made an excellent series soulless at the end. It deserved better: they all did.
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Series that will make you watch in one sitting.
At first, I was curious about what this series was like and wanted to see Han So Hee's acting, and then I fell in love with the intense story and characters in this series.The story is interesting, maybe some people will be able to guess who the culprit is, I also guessed he was, but instead I got carried away by the story and turned to support him because I thought he was a good person, and suspected the team head.
I like warm scenes like chamomile tea, at least in the heart of a gangster there is a soft side that is rarely shown.
The action scenes were very intense, I praised Han So Hee's acting because she acted very well in this series. The facial expressions she shows are also very slick, how it feels to desperately seek justice for his father, the expression of revenge against his father's murderer, the expression of sadness when the loss of loved ones, and the disappointment of being betrayed by a trusted person.
I watched it in one sitting, I was curious about the next episode. Thank you for this series, because this just 8 episode, so I think you can rewatch it anytime.
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Amazing story, production, and ACTING!
This drama blew me away and definitely exceeded my expectations. I looked forward to Han So Hee’s acting when the trailer was released and after watching her in this action/crime genre, she did AMAZING!The whole plot was very smooth and there wasn’t any point in the drama of dragging out the story. Every moment was important and captivating.
This drama is filled with intense action and incredible emotions! I watched the whole drama in one sitting because it was SO good. There were a lot of twists and turns that were shocking even if it was somewhat predictable or not.
In the end, I was filled with a huge and intense emotion with some sadness but it offered a realistic outcome.
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Outstanding if harrowing
I've only just find it hard to find fault with this series, though I've just finished watching it, and if I really thought about it I might, but why would I search it out?Exceptional writing and direction provide an unpredictable plot (well, mostly) extremely well paced. Acting is outstanding from all present. Characters are mostly pretty well rounded and not simply caricatures. Evil walks in human form and retains an element of mystery even until the end.
It IS very gory, and if you don't like realistic fights then don't watch this. That said, one flaw, perhaps, might be the way characters can sustain grievous injuries and still hit their opponent just as hard with apparently no weakening. That's a piece of nonsense, but something of a trope so can be forgiven. Fights are forceful and balletic.
The fact that these events are awful is as they should be. This world is not a nice place to stroll : it is not pretty, it is not gentle, it is not clean, but it manages, just, to be human.
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Solid. Try to watch it on a binge.
Interesting short series. It could have dragged on with fillers (e.g. more about the budding love story, more about the past of the dad, more about stuff in the high-school, more about this and that), but the author and/or movie maker decided for the more compact version.Some stuff is predictable (e.g. who killed the dad), though one must wait a sec to find out the motive behind.
Gladly, I didn't see much product placements. I am sure that people better versed than me in that field would have noticed more than the few cars, and other items, which I noticed.
Last but not least: for several episodes one is left wondering what the title means until ... (won't spoil it).
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Gangs, Drug Lords, and Revenge
Going into this show, I was a huge fan of the director because of my love for Extracurricular. This show is a great follow up. First of all it's bloody, violent, and vengeful; and I'm almost impressed with how much I enjoyed it. The acting is top quality: this the 3rd drama of Han SoHee that I've seen and she is just amazing at playing her character with conviction and goes above and beyond what you expect. Park HeeSoon is beautiful to watch and I loved every single scene with him in it. Lee HakJu stole the show, honestly I loved his grey character and how he portrayed it, he had me scrambling trying to figure out who's side he was on.Some criticisms I do have: fight scenes start out great but later on shaky camera is induced and it starts getting a little messy. Plot was great but can be predictable, I already figured out a lot by the 4-5th episode. The relationship between JiWoo and PilDo, loved the friendship but didn't really want the romance (it felt kinda shoved in and more like a pity thing).
Overall it's heart pounding binge that will keep your attention for at least a few hours. Can't wait to see more from Kim JinMin!
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