Alice, the Final Weapon (2022)

Strangely amazing

I really came into this not expecting much. The description sounded enticing, so I decided to try it out. After finishing, I can honestly say I'm quite dumbfounded. It was awesome in its own weird way, and I don't think I've ever watched a show that has made me laugh in confusion and disbelief more than this show has (in a good way).

Liked:
- Great acting by everyone in this show! Especially loved SGH has Yeo Reum, as he played his character very convincingly. Not to say everyone else didn't do an equally great job, it's just that he stood out to me the most with his crazy character.

- Well done action shots and fighting scenes, I was really impressed that it was this good for a miniseries. And the guns weren't blurred! Yay!

- Quirky music that felt out of place, but fit really well given what the drama is going for. It lightened the mood, even in the darkest situations.

- Dark comedy is done really well! I enjoyed that aspect of the show greatly.

- Great intensity in the second half!

- Just the overall quirky vibe mixed with action/thriller was something right up my alley.

Disliked:
- A certain common trope was used, which I didn't really care for. It didn't matter too much, but it was just a little annoying/unnecessary. That's the only really tropey thing in this show though.

- I won't dive into this spoiler, but I was really confused/annoyed by a certain part of the show in the second half. Like I'm not sure what really happened there, but if it didn't happen, things could've ended up drastically different.

- First half definitely pales in comparison to the second half.

As for this show's rewatch value, I'd say it's very rewatchable! It's pretty short, so I'm looking forward to rewatching it later with better quality subs.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this show if you want to watch a great quirky teen action show. I do wish it was longer so that we could find out everyone's backgrounds a little more, but given the length of this show, I'm very satisfied. If you were looking for a more romance-centered show, this may not be the show for you, as romance was definitely not a focus of the drama (the romance is there but it's not your typical lovey-dovey romance drama). Well, that was my first review, so I hope it was helpful for you. Adios!

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Not your usual twisted thriller...

This is complete fantasy, not in the sense of a fantasy world, but fantasy as in phantasmagorical. It’s a sort of teenage dream sequence and I like it. (Thanks Skitc for the recommendation) It couples total teenage angst with savage violence. This isn’t about reality, but the balancing out of intense impulses, living at the extremes. An allegory for the raging torrent/torment of hormones that just about allows you to hang in there by your fingertips and survive, somehow appearing almost normal on the surface.

Just don’t try and make rational sense of it. Don’t look for credible motives or realistic psychology, simply immerse yourself and enjoy the ride. There are lots of lol moments, gory moments, weird moments, surreal moments and, strangely, smile moments.

There are also clunky moments with the script and a few convenient tropes like the obligatory memory loss and some clumsy plot structure. It’s also pretty clear what’s going to happen in the end. But overall it holds up without being unnecessarily complicated, probably due to the short length.

I like the cinematography for the fight scenes, which is not coherent, but messy, just like the fights themselves. I also appreciated the soundtrack which doesn’t necessarily take the obvious path.

The best of it are the scenes between Park Se Won and Song Geon Hee as the central couple. They had a great dynamic and their relationship was the glue that held everything together. The other cast is quirky-weird with great performances by Yang Yang (Cha Joo Young ) and her sidekick Jang Hyeon Min (actor not listed on MDL, cast list needs filling out, sorry can’t do it don’t read hangul). Also in the mix is an OTT drug induced psychotic villain who twitches his way through the series and a creepy sadist who does, well, creepy sadist things. And yes, it’s pretty violent and twisted.

What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.

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