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!

Read More

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.

Read More

Has a similar vibe to some CLASSIC Hollywood films

I found this show through a clip on tiktok and was surprised when I saw on here that it hadn't gained much attention from people. Nevertheless, I started watching it since the premise was interested and boy oh boy, it didn't let me down.

It's definitely not like anything I've watched before. The pacing has to be quite rushed since the episodes are short and there's only so much you can fit into 4 hours but the story was gripping and exciting.

PROS:
- I really like the naming of Gyeo-ul and Yeo-reum to signify Winter and Summer (just a nice little addition)
- Great cast
- The characters are very unique and makes the story that much more entertaining. I find it so fascinating when two crazy people fall in love and work together in their craziness. Kind of like a 'there's someone for all of us out there'?
- The scene where Gyeo-ul speaks a couple rushed lines in English was really impressive. I haven't seen many actors speak their English lines in a convincing way but Park Se Wan's acting here really stood out.
- The way they managed to incorporate some humour amongst all of the intense scenes was, at least on my part, very appreciated
- They filmed it according to an MA15+ rating and didn't try to soften the plot to fit a wider audience.
- The fight scenes had great choreography.
- The soundtrack is amazing and I love it when they put a completely different soundtrack over a scene. E.g. The scene where Gyeo-ul and Yeo-reum shoot the guy and the soft 'oooh ooh' with like a 60s tune plays over it. It gives me Kill BIll vibes.

CONS:
- Some minor plot holes. E.g The scene where Gyeo-ul and Yeo-reum get attacked by a teacher. How did the teacher work at the school if he's part of the assassin school or association? How did he not recognise Gyeo-ul at school? The teacher really just came out of nowhere and was suddenly an assassin which didn't make sense.
- The pacing felt a little rushed and I definitely think the show could have been done over a few more episodes just so the viewer has a better understanding of the story and the characters.
- I guess this counts as a plot hole but I was kind of annoyed how the cop was a better shot than the assassins. Like... weren't they trained for years to kill? Why do they keep missing?

Overall, this was genuinely entertaining and would recommend!

Read More

Good Enough

Korean Drama " Ultimate Weapon Alice " is a noir action drama.

The series creates the right atmosphere, dark and intriguing, just like a spy movie. It keeps that noir atmosphere right till the very ending.

The start is also pretty intense, as the mystery of each character slowly unravels, with some flashbacks here and there. There is also a comedy tone to the story.

On the other hand, the drama is to short. Thus, the story is rushed and the relationships between the characters aren't that smoothly developed and matured.

The performances were pretty great though.

So, overall, six out of ten.

Read More

Waste o time

It had an interesting premise from the description but so many plot holes it bacame truly unwatcheable. I dont blame the actors who gave it theur best dhot but the director and scriptwriters should be blamed for overall guidsnce.
Too many what the hell moments when you can only shake your head at what decisions the characters maje. Yes its fantasy but good fantasy deoends on people making understandable decisions given the situation they dace. These characters did not. I wont ger into soecifics as i dont want to spoil it...to be honest i dont know how it ends as i gave uo after yet another stupid decision 70% of the way through.
Female lead did the best she could but the make lead was handcifed by the scroot and direction into appearing stupid.
I guess you could say i did not enjoy it..a waste if a few hours and i couldnt even myster the interest to watch the last 60 minutes ti see what hapoened.

Read More

Larger than life

Well, well, well this was a very strange trip.

As I was watching it, I thought it had been based on a manga. It gave me that feeling of being out of proportion, fantastically real. Even the main protagonists names tell a story: Summer, a boy, and Winter a girl.

Winter used to be called Alice and was a student of a particularly twisted school in England training children to become assassins. One day she decides to escape and severely injures the school principal, a psycho of the tallest order. She escapes to Korea and hides in Summer's school. He is a loony kind of a boy, suffering from a trauma, put on suicide watch and constantly asking to be beaten up in order to feel alive. The principal activates his criminal network in order to find Alice. And when he does, all hell breaks loose!

You have everything in this short drama, so much so, I wished it were longer. Just read the tags. What I liked the most was the black humour in this. Every character in this drama is seriously twisted, the world they live in is a genuine nightmare. And Summer is the king of this world. He is deadpan, untouchable in his school. He is so calm that he scares the local bullies. And he finds a soulmate in Winter, who is his opposite, trying to be normal. He does not care about being normal, he is only looking for a reason to live in this cutthroat world. Winter gives him that reason.

What is this about? Only gratuitous violence? Not necessarily. In a twisted, strange way it tells you a version of "nature or nurture". Can you be taught to be a killer or do you need an incentive to kill? Alice was raised to be a killer but could not kill until her soulmate was killed (or she thought so!). Both of them, ultimately, do not think twice and kill in order to protect each other.

The actors are all amazing but especially the one playing Summer, Song Geon Hee. He managed to express Summer's feelings and states of mind through a single almost invariable wide smile: that could be goofy and cute quickly becoming crazy and ending up surprised all within a minute! Amazing! Give this guy more lead roles!

This is not an easy drama to watch: it is very bloody and violent but everything, at the same time, is so exaggerated. Cinematography goes well with this: it is gray, dark almost monochrome.

Ultimate Weapon Alice is not for everyone: the violence, the ugliness, the violence, the insanity and the violence is the main theme here!

Read More

Well, I binged the whole thing in a day, so I think that's a good indication of how much I liked it. I'm not sure how objectively good it is but it was certainly entertaining. It's pretty different from anything else I've watched recently (or tbh in general). Have you watched The School Nurse Files? If so, you might relate to my difficulty in putting into words what this show is like, because it has a similar off-kilter vibe to it. The main duo are absolutely great in this show. They're just so... weird. Like really weird. They laugh maniacally together, it's their favorite thing. They're two strange, damaged people who fit together really well. The actors have good chemistry and their scenes are all great. I liked their two father figures, and while the Big Bad is extra AF he is entertaining to watch. Given the short length (30 min episodes, 8 ep total) the plot certainly keeps moving along but doesn't feel too rushed. I almost wish the episodes were longer but that's just cause I enjoyed spending time with these characters, not because I feel like they skipped over stuff. Don't get me wrong, the show is bonkers (I mean, its main character is a girl who was trained to be an assassin since she was a kid, you can't get hung up on how 'realistic' that is) but it all works. The first several episodes set up the characters and their relationships really well, which makes you invested when the more action-heavy parts at the end happened. There are some humorous parts of the show, which are "black comedy" perhaps? I'm not familiar enough with it to say. But I think the show is plenty aware of how bonkers it is. It's hard to know how to recommend it. I guess if the premise of "high school assassin trying to keep her identity under wraps while this crazy organization is trying to hunt her down" appeals to you and you enjoy action and weirdness then this show is for you. Oh btw it is R-rated, so keep that in mind.

Read More

IMMA SUCKER FOR DARK ROMANCE

absolutely amazing drama highly recommend especially if you’re a sucker for dark romance!!!

Story the cast everything was really amazing to watch. It was the most dark suspenseful balanced K drama that I’ve watched in a while. I love the plot and the story development with the romance. It was just the perfect combination everything I love in 1K drama.
One thing I do have to point out that I was disappointed about was the end. We didn’t get any closure to the specific stories with the main characters when they were little.
we only got the flashbacks, and I understood that they were wounded and mentally unwell, but we never got the full story which kind of made me upset

other than that, I think the acting was incredible. I watched it all in one sitting, and there was never a boring scene.

I do love how The main characters vibes both changed at the last episode. They realize that they both love each other, and they realize that they can kill for each other and that really close to their relationship and is very satisfying way, but I do feel that if they were going to love each other that much at the end then I feel like there was some missing development throughout the whole show, since it was only eight episodes, it felt a little rushed, and I wish there was more added scenes solely for their romance and stories

other than that every factor of the show was really great I really enjoyed it. I am a sucker for dark romance and this is exactly the drama that got me out of my slump. Can’t believe I’m only finding the drama now in 2024.

i’ve seen the actor in lovely runner, and the vibe is completely different. I think he’s a brilliant actor and I really liked the dark side of acting. It was very convincing, very satisfying.

overall very good drama highly recommend if you’re a fan of darker mood dramas like me and Thriller/ action, of course.

Read More

Love at first choke, dark, sweet and bloody oh so bloody...

This is a drama that teaches you that there really isn't anything more romantic than the words " I will shoot you if I must" Or something like that a dark chocolate teenage romance with gazes and fluff surrounded by death, blood and suicidal thoughts all woven together with psychopaths and amnesia and a love of self harm.

So really what is not to love?
Well the pacing was kind of meeh, some of the side characters where just a little bit to bullyish in a bad way and slightly over the top. But the leads did a really good job with these roles coming off as both sweet and bad ass at the same time.

The grown ups are pretty decent at being complete psychopaths or kind and not much in-between... There are some really good lines here and there but also a side of cringe and some type of love will save you or make you die for someone else type of eal but nothing in-between. Sometimes this is good others not so much.

All in all a decent short binge

Read More

The editing is just not doing it for me.

Ehhh... I like the concept of this drama, however, something about it is just not clicking for me. The world the Director is trying to create on screen is not consistent at all. I can understand what they're trying to do, however, some scenes can feel very awkward, and leave me either confused or cringed. If you go to episode 4 and look at 16:24, I understand the tone they're trying to give off, like "2 people on the verge of insanity, laughing at the mess their life is" however, I don't feel it emotionally. It's not subtle at all. And it kind of feels like a filler, something to drag out the time. Also, the music is just- idk, It leads me to a different emotion that I feel doesn't fit the scene. But out of all the things I critiqued it all leads to one department; editing. Long story short, this drama could've stayed in post-production a little longer.

Read More

Never Trust A Transfer Student!

Alice, the Final Weapon (2022) is similar to Hanna (2011) and The Psychopath Diary (2019) but if the plot were set in high school. The best part of the show for me is the chemistry of the main actors: Park Se Wan, and Song Geon Hee. The main characters' chemistry is oddly sweet in this dark film, and their comedic scenes really made the show unique. The music choice also adds a bit of charm to the scenes, and makes the romantic scenes really stand out. The weakness of this show are the villains, I think they are a bit over-dramatic throughout the whole show. However, the action scenes can be very intense, and definitely added the sense of danger throughout the story. This is a show that doesn't take too long to watch, and I'm sure people will find a new gem while watching. Definitely worth checking out blind!!

Read More