Good Visuals , Somewhat Entertaining but.....
i have never written a review on mdl but for this I had to write one because of the wasted potential. The first half of this show was fine and and not that great on which they could have build something. But soemthing was wrong from the beginning. This series is heavily plagued from bad writing which made the show from great to okayish.Now I will break it down into what was good and what was bad.
The Good :-
1) The cast - The cast is of superior quality and they all have done a fabulous job of what they were given.
2) The basic premise - The premise from the beginning was interesting and worth exploring . It was rich and it really fascinated me what could be done from it.
3) The characters chemistry - The characters were setup great and their interactions were enjoyable and their dynamic was great.
4) The location and Visuals - The place it is set in is really breathtakingly beautiful and the level of CGI they were able to do is unseen in kdrama. Some set pieces were really too good to be true.
So All in all it had the right ingredients for it to be a great kdrama so where did it fail.
The Bad :-
1)The pacing - The pacing was all over the place and I don't know what was happening sometimes . Some moments the story was moving too fast and other times it crawled to move.
2) The action - I don't know whose idea it was to do action in this way but everything was filmed in jump cuts and we could barely see characters fight. Somebody would make a move and the opposing thing would have a reaction and thus it continued . It was so jarring and was really laugh worthy.
4) The Characters Motivation was barely explored on what made them tick. Why they continued to fight and what kept them going.
3) The execution - This really takes the cake on what made it "not great" . They could have done so much with the interesting premise but they squandered it . The scriptwriter had no idea how to write such a epic and often times scenes that played were predictable or illogical. You knew while watching it that it could have been much more grand and of the potential it had. It shows that how difficult it is to write a epic story.
for e.g.. They did not explore the lore in enough detail to make us understand the details behind the power of characters such as Yohan and how he gained sudden powers unexplained before.
So all in all a great story squandered. And honestly after the scriptwriters last drama (Jinxed at First) I was sceptical for Island but I held on to hope. I really wish it could have become the grand story I anted it to be.
Disclaimer :- They review is based on the knowledge of the author and what he felt while watching the drama. He does not claim of being a expert on anything.
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Enjoyable after turning brain off
The drama is one where you turn off your brain and just enjoy what is presentenced on the screen.Story = A nice story worth watching
Cast= You will love Chae Jong Hyeop as his adorable self. Nikaido Fumi is quite good in her role but it is weird watching her here after seeing her performance in shogun.
Rewatch Value = None , just enjoy it once.
One Time Watch!!!
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Best couple and empowered female lead
One of the best dramas to come out of China. The way it tackles multiple issues and topics while also balancing the comeback story is superb. The cast of Zhang Jing Yi , Hu Yi Tian , Lu Yu Xiao is brilliant and was able to portray their characters beautifully.If you enjoy a love story that has a subtle growth and the angst is to the minimum then this drama is for you.
If you enjoy an empowering female lead who fights for herself this drama is for you.
If you want a story about power and fight for the crown and how greed corrupts a person, this is for you.
RECOMMENDED!!!
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Simply Brilliant
One of the best shows have watched. In case of very famous shows your expectations sometimes are too much and then you get disappointed, but this meets all the expectations. It is brilliantly crafted and made in such a way that you just cannot stop watching it. And Brilliant performance from all the cast. Really kept me guessing and intrigued to the end.The world building is amazing in this too, as you keep watching it you get to know about how corrupt everyone is, and anyone can be the bad guy because they are all bad guys in some ways.
The lead had a big task to act without emotions and his acting is phenomenal, as the shows progresses you just fall in love with him more. The female lead is impeccable too, it was my first drama of hers’s and I really loved her in it. Will watch more if her work.
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