This review may contain spoilers
Satisfying series! Highly reccomended.Binged watched the whole series in one night. Engaging from the start till the end., the twelve episodes were used perfectly!
Coming in, you'd think you are watching a semi-fantasy scifi show. Its a story of a missing IT tycoon whose consciousness was mysteriously trapped inside a mobile phone. The phone landed in the hands of a seemingly unlucky jobless man who wasoffered to be the CEO of the company to solve the mystery of the boss' disappearance
I loved that the male princess cinderella transformation wasnt overdone. I specially enjoyed the main lead's boyish charm and acting and his dynamics with his family. I was also happy about the way they resolved the mystery of the trapped boss.
If there's anything con ts the fact that Chae Jong Hyeop's arms are so distracting, cause the guy oozes masculinity even without taking his shirt off.
Give it a go, you'd enjoy it too. Overall its an 8.5.
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You NEED to watch this!
I started watching this without many expectations and but I got hooked up from the very first episode!! I thought the story was dumb, a boss locked inside a phone?!! And I wasn't very satisfied with the casting line up BUT the drama told F*UK U in so many ways!!The cast had very good chemistry, from the lil baby girl to the evil witch in the story!! an absolute best performance!! The story basis is very simple, a jobless guy finds a phone with a CEO of an AI company stuck inside, and the jobless guy becomes the temporary CEO overnight and starts to investigate to what happened on the day his boss disappeared with the help of his secretary and a bodyguard. The three musketeers go on an adventure to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of their missing boss.
The story is simple but it was written with perfection with no loopholes, keeping the suspense until the very end and was perfectly delivered by the cast.
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Second half better than the first
When I first started watching Unlock My Boss, I was slightly disappointed because it wasn't as interesting as the promos made it seem. It has some comedy elements but not much. It's more of a mystery revolving around what happened to CEO Kim Sun Joo and how did he get stuck in the phone. If you can speed through the earlier parts of series at 1.25x, you'll start to really enjoy the latter half of the show. But because of the slow nature, I am not giving it more than an 8. That's the criticism, now onto the stuff I enjoyed.Loved the male lead, Park In Sung, right from the start. He's a good guy and he certainly charms you as the series progresses. Same goes for the female lead, Jung Se Yeon. She has a tough exterior due to the nature of her work but isn't a bad person and we see that right from the beginning when she exchanges shirts with the male lead after she spills coffee on it accidentally. They make a good team. They have good chemistry too but the romance is hardly there, if at all. Mostly towards the end because rest of the time, it is too intense for anything to happen.
Then there is a 3rd character, Ma Pi, who was an interesting addition. We delve a bit into his background and his interactions with the male lead brings out a new side to him as the story progresses. He is also involved in several action sequences which were fun to watch and at times a little hard as well.
There is also a cute girl, Kim Min A, who is the young daughter of CEO Kim. Scenes involving her were sweet and tugged at your heart strings.
Of course our CEO in the phone is pretty cool too. And it's nice to see some comical moments involving him.
Coming to the main plot, I loved that our heroes were clever and their work towards the answer was bearing fruit step by step. To be real, the conspiracy was fairly obvious as you get to know the characters. But it was still enjoyable to see how the leads slowly unpack everything with limited resources. The show, unlike other kdramas, doesn't leave everything for the very end.
I loved the little things too:
- The way each episode is "unlocked".
- The integration of AI and VR tech especially Baro the robot.
- The little jokes and moments of positivity. This show is not a depressing one even though there are some sad moments.
- The interactions of every cast whether good, bad or grey really made this show a good watch.
I know a few people were upset with the way the show was ended but if we're honest with ourselves, that was the best way it could have concluded. There was no need to draw things out and we can imagine how things could have gone further. All the important aspects were shown.
If you can be a little patient with it, you'll have fun!
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It's actually better than you thought
I really like this drama a lot. It's like a breathe of fresh air. I like how cute this drama is despite having lots of action and serious scenes. The male lead actually did great in this series, as well as the female lead. I've only watched 10 episodes because it's still ongoing, but I really liked this one.I am actually in the tech field that's why I find this so interesting. The concept alone piqued my interest and I did not regret it. I've watched many kdramas before, and I've been watching for like 6 years. I don't want to force you guys to like something that I like but I hope you can give this a try. It's only 12 episodes so you can expect that it's quite fast paced but IT IS NOT DRAGGING. I've been looking for a kdrama with a fresh atmosphere and I'm glad I found one.
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MUST WATCH.
I logged in to this account after years just to add a review on this show, IT HAD NO BUSINESS BEING THIS GOOD. The cast was just amazing and the relationships and bromance was spectacular. It was hilarious and exciting. The plot twists just keptttt coming. Don't think twice and go watch it alr!!!.Another thing is that it's suitable to watch with parents around cause there isn't too much touchy romance.
I'll miss all the characters soo much.
2023 so far has been THE year for k-dramas. (This kdrama did come out during the end of 2022 but still)
The music during the fight scenes get u in the moood.
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Rough around the edges, but still a hidden gem
Having an engaging opening episode is important in any drama/movie. The concept is quite new but to be frank, I wasn't hooked by this Kdrama initially. It really took some time (around episode 4) before I warmed up it since there was something that still kept my attention, almost like a hidden gem.The charming Park In-seong (Chae Jong Hyeop), despite now being the company president, is portrayed in the most realistic way wherein he can still commit mistakes but is capable of developing himself more by adapting to the fast corporate environment. He has to "wiggle" himself between two sides of the same coin (Bumyoung vice chairman and executive director) while at the same time, trying to save the previous president Kim Seon-joo (Park Sung-woong). I was very pleased with his character and the actor himself, but to be honest, I wasn't really convinced by his acting during the more serious moments. It felt forced and foreign to him to convey more serious emotions which is in contrast with how excellent he carried the more comedic and light scenes. Still, CJH has more time to polish and he is a very promising actor.
It was refreshing to see that sub-plots - mostly the obstacles that In-seong and company dealt - were wrapped neatly within one episode and questions were answered right away. Also, since there were only 12 episodes, they did not drag certain problems unneccesarily. I liked that they were smart on how to deal said problems right away. There was a little bit of deus ex machina, but it was executed quite well.
The romance between In-seong and Se-yeon (Seo Eun-soo) was really given some time to bloom. After all, this was not the main plot, but the glimpses of their brewing romance shown per episode created a slight suspense as to when they would end up together. At times, one might think whether the "romance" part is necessary as it only has a secondary relevance to the overall story, but for me, it added some "flavor" and made the plot more tolerable, as well as providing relief during the heavier scenes.
I also loved the relationship between In-seong and his parents. I hoped that his parents could've been given more ample screen time but their relationship with their new companion, Baro 4.0 was also entertaining and wholesome.
The greatest character development has got to be Ma-pi (Kim Sung-oh). I really thought that his role would be ended after the debt would be played. I really commend that his character was given depth with a proper background story and is able to explain to us why he has come to have a macho, uber-cold external persona. Yet the writers did him dirty big time, and that also affected this show's quality to be honest. It's only here in this Kdrama where the peak was on a specific episode, then greatly went downhill the episode thereafter. The succeeding episodes were already expected and nothing new, but there was something already lacking at that point, and I suspect this is due to the aforementioned.
Although the production value is sub-par in Kdrama standards compared to other shows in the same genre (at times, camera shadows are present), it redeems on the story pacing. I like how the comedic, thriller, corporate, and romantic aspects among others are balanced out, and improves the overall direction of the plot, for the most part.
For the antagonists' side, I wasn't really convinced with Oh Mi-ran's (Lee Sang-hee) characterization. The twist as to who the real villain is was not surprising to be honest, but the real villain's wickedness could've been more amplified. It just lacked the "oomph factor" that could've challenged In-seong more.
My ultimate concern for this kdrama is that whether Kim sajangnim will still able to recognize In-seong for the things he has done in his behalf. Will not provide spoilers but I was contented with how it turned out. The ending was realistic and proper in all aspects. It wasn't rushed but it also wasn't significant to be remembered for a long time.
All in all, Unlock My Boss really is a hidden gem. It is not perfect in all aspects. Rough around the edges, but still a hidden gem.
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A HIDDEN GEM
I don't write reviews but thought this deserved one because of the low ratings. This drama has everything from mystery, and suspense, to comedy and romance. I loved Chae Jong Hyeop's role in this show. He brought every scene to life and made it either hilarious or suspenseful! The way he adjusted to his new role as CEO is hilarious! His excitement is pure but when he gets serious, he changes to become cool! I haven't watched him in a show before but now I am a new fan! The story hooked me and honestly, the twists this show brought were unexpected that it caught me by surprise. I went into the show thinking nothing much of it but left wishing I could erase my memory to watch it again! I do have certain opinions on how I wished the ending could have gone but overall, it was such a fun ride! Better than what you would expect! I say, give it a shot and watch it out! If you like ENFP main male leads, unlikely friendships, well-developed side characters, and a bit of light-heartedness, then watch this show. You might end up liking it.Was this review helpful to you?
Put it on for a laugh but ended up loving it
Omg I just finished watching "Unlock my boss" and it was so damn good.Like, a lot of it was obvious/predictable but it was so enjoyable that it didn't matter.
Lots of crime and intrigue, and a few sad and sweet parts.
But I have NEVER felt so emotionally attached to a phone as I did for the phone in this show!!! XD
I will definitely be watching this one again as I don't feel like there was anything I disliked about it. Well, there is one part that I wish was different, but it was really well done and the writers really knew what they were doing.
I loved the soundtrack which melded perfectly into the show and didn't distract you - except during fight scenes. I LOVED the fight scene music.
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update: haha im done. it's actually a nice show but there is definitely something missing in it. i cannot pinpoint what it is but one of it is jonghyeop's acting. he did a job well done but i just know he can do better than that. also, what i did not like a lot is how they just showed a few seconds of my fav character's important day. i love how the scenes unfolded at the last ep though haha. annoying villain
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This review may contain spoilers
Disappointing
I don't know how this got high marks! Every episode was so slow and drawn out that I kept forgetting that I was on the same episode about thirty minutes prior.I liked the cast but there wasn't hardly any chemistry among anybody. I most definitely hate the way Lee Sang Hee who played the villain talked. OMG her voice was so annoying. It was too quiet and dead. I was like why is she talking like that??
The plots and twists were shaken up by the 9th episode so if you thought you knew who was behind what you were sadly mistaken. It kept changing.
Of course they had to throw in some romance. It didn't even need to be added. Seo Eun Soo who played the personal assistant face was annoying. She looked like she was annoyed all the time and didn't want to play her role.
Plus the main ML who kept pretending he was this and that got old quick.
My favorite person was Mafi. I've seen this guy play in several dramas but he always play the bad guy. I guess if you look the part you'll play it.
The last episode was all over the place for me. I'm most of the time always dismayed at the last episode of the Korean dramas that I watch. There's usually no closure for me. If you watch this and you're looking for that, forget it. I don't understand how things could go unfinished when each episode dragged on and on!
Honestly if I had known this drama was going to be like it was I would've skipped it. If you watch the first episode and skip some you won't miss what happens in between. The first episode and the last two was all this drama needed for me. Thank goodness it was only 12 episodes. I think I would've stopped watching if it was more than that.
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Just mixt fatasy/thriler/humor => An excellent watch
Eye-catching series that skillfully mixes fantasy, suspense, humor + a hint of romance. She is brought to life by great actors (I discovered Chae Jong Hyeop, who I find fantastic in this role).PLOT: an unemployed man discovers by chance a smartphone, in which the CEO of an IT company was stuck. He will replace him as CEO and they will together try to understand, what led them in this situation, with the assistant's help.
PROS:
+ great casting, all the actors are good, including the child.
+ intelligent story, careful production, dynamic
+ cool OSTs
CONS:
- I'm a romantic, I would have liked a little more romance.
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Série accrocheuse qui mêle habilement fantastique, suspense, humour + un soupçon de romance. Elle est mise en vie par de super acteurs (j'ai ainsi découvert Chae Jong Hyeop, que je trouve fantastique dans ce rôle).
PLOT: un chômeur découvre par hasard un smartphone, dans lequel s'est retrouvé coincé le CEO d'une société d'IT. Il va devoir le remplacer comme CEO et ils vont essayer de comprendre, avec l'aide de son assistante, ce qui les a mené là.
PROS:
+ super casting, tous les acteurs sont bons, y compris l'enfant.
+ story intelligente, réalisation soignée, dynamique
+ OST sympas
CONS:
- Etant une romantique, j'aurai aimé un peu plus de romance.
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