Unpopular Opinion - People are only rating this drama high, because SJK is in it, and he's a popular actor in Korea and internationally, so anything that he's in will get hyped up. He's like the BTS of K-Dramas.

Now, I will say that SJK's acting was amazing, and of course I was drooling over him like everyone else. But let's not lie to ourselves by saying that this is a masterpiece of a K-Drama, with an amazing never-seen-before mind-blowing story, the best one that came out in 2021. Yes, there's people that say stuff like this. Why not just admit we're enjoying it because SJK is hot as fuck? I can see how people might like some elements that I don't enjoy. But saying that the story is amazing is just a lie.

The things that I personally disliked that other people might find endearing are:
The Story - To me, it wasn't original in any way, shape or form, it just wasn't unique. There were no crazy plot-twists that would leave my jaw on the floor (the only one was the revelation of the real Chairman). At the beginning, it seemed like Vincenzo was going to follow a totally different structure from the other K-Dramas we see nowadays, but the structure of the story quickly became repetitive and predictable. It was pretty much just: Conflict happens. Vincenzo solves it. Humour. Conflict happens. Vincenzo solves it. Humour. And then it just pretty much follows the same formula, except maybe sometimes there's a death of someone that throws off this formula, but not for long. There's not much struggle for the characters, or a sense of urgency, or suspense, which makes it boring for me to watch. If there is some conflict, it either gets solved in the same episode, or in the next episode, which makes you feel like there are no stakes for the characters. Like, what's the point of introducing this conflict if it will be resolved right away? Another thing that threw me off was some funny moments that just felt misplaced at some points. I didn't hate all of them, but some of those just felt like unnecessary filler, which -again- made me feel bored. All in all, the pacing wasn't the best.

The Main Character - I know. I'm horrible. Although I liked the acting (and the visuals of SJK), the way Vincenzo was written just wasn't in my style. In my humble opinion, Vincenzo represents a Gary Stu. If you don't know what that is, here's a definition: "A male version of a Mary Sue. Seemingly perfect character with no flaws, or who always overpowers other characters." Again, people might disagree, but I feel like Vincenzo fits this description well. He's too OP, always solves everything, and never struggles, unless it's convenient for the plot. For example, throughout the whole drama, Vincenzo is this guy who's so smart and conniving, who always finds the most creative ways to destroy his opponent, which I wouldn't even dream of, he always ends up surprising us with his clever ideas to get out of bad situations. He's always ten steps ahead. But, when the writer wants to kill off Jang Han Seo, all of a sudden, Vincenzo turns into a coward who wants to run away. He always has these crazy ideas to win, but when the villain is lying on the floor, with the gun out of his hands, he fails to do the most simple thing - which is take the gun, beat him up, and capture him. Vincenzo doesn't struggle much throughout the story, and when he does, it's done in a way that doesn't make sense for his character. It would be fine if he was a side character, but because he's a main lead, it means we have to follow him around. It's not endearing at all. I like following characters that struggle, and that have weaknesses, because that makes them more likeable. If they have flaws, weaknesses, struggles, and end up failing from time-to-time, it makes them more realistic, which makes them more relatable, which makes them more sympathetic. Not to mention, if a main character starts out practically perfect, it means there's no room for character development. That's Vincenzo. He's smart, witty, strong, handsome, and creative. And when he does have a bad trait, it's a trait that ends up not changing. As a result, Vincenzo ends up being the exact same person in the first and last episode. It's something others seemed to like, but as someone who's a sucker for good character development, I wasn't impressed. Personally, I didn't have a problem with any other characters. Some I was okay with, some I even liked. Because Vincenzo played the biggest part of the story though (obviously), that's probably why I ended up feeling bored most of the time.

The Humour - I actually didn't hate this. I have mixed feelings about this. There were times where I appreciated it, and times where it felt forced, unnatural, and it ruined my immersion. In those moments, the humour felt unbearable. Especially during moments I didn't find funny, I would cringe, or just want the story to move on. I also know a lot of people liked the not-realistic aspects and that K-Dramas aren't supposed to be realistic. But for me, some of the things that happened were too much, even for K-Drama logic. There were some moments that just felt like an obvious filler, and I just couldn't get over some moments how a character would die in one scene, and then straight afterwards, we would have them acting all silly. Sometimes, it just didn't fit the mood, and there were moments where I wished they would of let the dread and suspense linger, because it would make the humorous moments more impactful, in my opinion.

That being said, I didn't hate everything. That's why I didn't give it one star. The things I did like:
Cinematography - I loved the camerawork, and how they shot certain moments. You can see the high budget reflected in the drama, when you watch it. Of course, the amazing cinematography captured SJK's beauty well. I also like the symbolism behind some shots.

Acting - I think they chose great actors, who portrayed their roles perfectly. There was not one actor I've seen in this drama, which I would find to not do well. The heroes, villains, and anti-heroes all showed great range of emotions.

Antagonist - I noticed that a lot of people don't like Jung Woo being the real chairman, because he's too silly and cartoonish, and because he dances around and acts like a fool. But that's exactly why I liked him. Because he has a personality other than the fact that he's evil. People think that he's not a scary villain, because of this, but that's exactly what's scary about him. The fact that he can manipulate people like that without batting an eye, and change his personality. People also complained that he's not smart enough, but not all bad guys have to be smart and meticulous. I found him interesting, because he was so short-tempered, vengeful, and totally insane.

The Humour - Like I said, I had mixed feelings about it. Although it felt out of place sometimes, I did appreciate it. Because I found the story boring, as well as the main character we followed, the humour ended up being the thing to keep me entertained, as well as some interesting characters. I especially liked the more subtle humour.

Character relationships - I liked some relationships between the characters. For example, the development of Vincenzo's relationship with the Plaza tenants, and how they started liking him the more they got to know him. I also like the slow development of Vincenzo's and Hong Cha Young's relationship. It felt realistic, and endearing, how they got closer to each other the more they've been through together. Everyone who interacted with each other at some point, ended up having visible chemistry, which is something I could enjoy.

Writing - Although the story felt recycled, I really liked the writing. It made each character's personality stand out. I especially enjoyed the metaphors and proverbs they would sprinkle in, at certain situations. It felt rewarding to be able to destroy the bad guy by being witty, and turning the script on them. The dialogue was clever, with quite a few call-backs, which I appreciated, as well as some entertaining references.

Overall, though, all the good points didn't save the drama for me. I just didn't find myself enjoying it like everyone else did and couldn't understand why everyone felt like this drama was so revolutionary (but now I think I know). It just feels like one of those moments where a basic drama gets over-hyped by everyone, and actual amazing and creative dramas will get overlooked, and will be underrated, because they don't have famous actors in it. Maybe I expected too much, because of how much praise this drama got, but I left disappointed. In 2021, I watched dramas with similar genres and tags to Vincenzo, which did way better in everything that Vincenzo lacked in. In the end, it was nothing special.