Enjoyed the slice-of-life aspect and nostalgia throwback, romance could have been better
This movie follows the life of two high school students in the early 1980's: one being the female leader of a brutal gang of girls and harboring a crush for the second who is the goofy playboy of the school. I liked the slice-of-life tone of this film, mixed with some teen angst / gang wars elements but I found the pacing of the scenario quite sluggish and the romance aspect relatively lacking. I found the ending enjoyable but quite rushed compared to the introduction which took really a long time to set up the story.The cast was pretty great. Lee Jong Suk is totally credible as the quite lame but attractive playboy and Park Bo Young is charismatic as the main female protagonist (even though given her size, it is not that believable that she would be the strongest fighter among the other students). Kim Young Kwang as the male antagonist was very badass and cool, I will be looking forward watching him in other roles.
The production was very good overall: it has a real old school / nostalgia vibe, totally fitting with the thematic of the film. The soundtrack is pretty nice and suits well the vibe of the story. There are some really cool fight sequences that are not repetitive and that keep you on your toes regarding the well-being of the protagonists.
I would recommend this to people looking for a coming-of-age story set up in a South Korean high school in the early 1980's. It has a strong slice-of-life tone, romance being more secondary than the main focus of the script which is more about the growth of teenagers living through high and low of high school in the countryside.
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Felt like a drama recap were if you haven't watched the drama you wouldn't feel the connection
Such a missed opportunity! I was so excited seeing the leads and so disappointed as I finished the movie.The story is your usual youth stories, the main characters were really interesting, the hopless playboy, the female school leader, and the mysterious new Seoul girl. They had so much potential but got totally sidetracked by the mix of everything in a small pot.
Like so many side stories shouldn't have been there because we got barely any attachment to anyone in the movie. The 2nd female lead had an interesting story that was left vague and never told.. even the fl was kinda never really explored. The story losses the way from the very beginning, you end up not knowing what was all of this about.
Like there are even characters (the beared guy who's always in MLs house) that serve no purpose but to take up screentime as if the movie has alot to spare!
6/10 It's watchable until the end
Rewatch value : never
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this was kinda sad. especially given the FL's back-story and life in general. as tough as she seems to be, that's how fragile she really is. found that endearing and heart breaking.
the movie is written and "shot" in a way that took a while to really know the characters, everything is unclear at the beginning (even towards the middle) and u go by what u see.
there r the bullies or Queen Badass Young Sook and her male counterpart Kwang Shik, who run sh*t and r in an alliance. not romantically involved, even though Kwang Shik begs-to-differ.
then there is Joong Gil the player, who needs to flirt and "get it on" with every girl in school. he was childhood buds with Young Sook, and is her childhood sweetheart. who she is not so secretly pining over. add fire to the flame by adding So Hee, a supposedly fragile sick girl transferring from the big city. and of course she has to be drop-dead-gorgeous (not in my personal opinion, cause even as a mean-girl Young Sook's baby-face wins), so Joong Gil who needs to conquer every girl in the vicinity, will fall head-over-heels for.
this is what u see, and then in the middle u start to get more info about each character that changes ur view and opinion about them.
the ending reminded me off Officer and A Gentleman with Richard Gere and Debra Winger, which was cute but not executed for full effect, as in the American movie mentioned. but positive ending, so whatever.
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I like the idea of the story being about the king and queen of the school that don’t really cross paths. Young Sook leads the girls and Joong Il leads the boys and there is clear segregation.
The girls have a very structured hierarchy and order to their gang. The boys are rather scared of them.
“You’re Gwang Sik’s girl.”
“Who says? We just have an alliance.”
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COULD'VE BEEN GREAT
I would like to start off by saying I completely enjoyed this. The story is amazing and not once did I take my eyes off the screen. It's intriguing to the point you even forget it's 2hrs long. Like the headline says it could've been great. Before reaching the end I had already awarded this a 10/10 read..but of course, they had to sprinkle a bit of fatphobia that added NOTHING to the original plot. It definitely wasn't needed and it would've been perfect without it. Did I enjoy watching it? Yes. Would I rewatch it? Probably not.Was this review helpful to you?
(Music is 1 because I don't remember what the music was like.)
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I once dropped this in the middle..But started again because of park Bo young ...Super casting...Super acting....Classic...Worth watching..
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This review may contain spoilers
É....... o que dizer dessa marmota.
A verdade seja dita: só me predispus a assisti-lo porque queria ver o casal épico formado por "Bong bong e Sukinho"... tô até hoje procurando esse casal que não teve.Assim, eu aconselho você assistir isso:
1. Se você é muito fã tanto da Bo Young quanto do Suk e quer ter o título de "assisti tudo deles" como eu.
2. Se você quer adquirir experiência em filmes/dramas ruins.
3. Ou então se você simplesmente gosta de perder seu tempo.
Resumindo o drama: o único personagem que prestou foi a Bong bong e eu dei 4,5 só por causa do elenco, que é formado por atores maravilhosos que eu amo, adeus!
Concluído por mim: 24/12/21
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