Naksken
Cambodia
Lets start with the story. This is a story that's filled with disaster and tragedy, and whether or not he saves her life, or she saves his life, she gets to yell at him afterwards, and he gets to crack jokes. Why these two like each other is beyond me, the writers didn't give me a chance to get to know either character in a normal situation. Every time they finally got some time together, they were separated for his work or her work or her mother and then the next time they saw each other was an emergency. I had no time with them, i don't know who they are and so I can't care about them.
After 13 episodes I felt like I had disaster exhaustion and I wasn't sure if I had the stamina to complete a dramatic story with characters I didn't care about. I should have stopped. Without spoiling the ending I have never before felt like the writers thought I was an idiot and the whole production team was laughing at me for following them to the end. If you do decide to watch Descendants of the Sun, just stop watching after episode 14.
Song Joong Ki and Kim Ji Won were excellent. I believed their characters and their reactions to the world around them. Well done to both of them. Onew - this was the second worst case of overacting I've ever seen. he should never be allowed to act again.
If Lee Seung Jun hadn't been as funny as he was I might have stopped watching this drama after they returned to Seoul from their volunteering trip. So, a personal message to Lee Seung Jun: I will hate you forever for contribution to my watching this nonsense to the end.
The music was terrible.
Rewatch value, 0. I'm furious to have been treated like this by a writer and producers. I will never again watch anything for which they're responsible.
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I decided to watch because I have no problem suspending disbelief and I'm a huge Kim Hee Sun fan, I think she's brilliant and this drama is no exception. She has no business being THAT good at acting like a teenager - she's amazing and believable.
The story is great, complex, fast moving for the most part and entirely believable. It's a bit slow in a few episodes in the middle, but that doesn't ruin anything. It tackles big issues like corruption, and high school bullying well and with feeling.
All the acting was fabulous, everyone did a great job with complex and interesting characters. There was great personal development from everyone. Almost all the characters were likeable and by the end even some of the bad guys had my sympathy and i'm sure much of this was due to the brilliant performances put in as well as the well written characters.
Watching Ji Hyun Woo play bumbling, ultra caring, teacher Park Noh Ah grow a backbone was so satisfying. He was such a great character played so well. Kim Yoo Jung as Oh Ah Ran and Ji Soo as Go Bok Dong were both brilliant. These are two young actors I'll follow closely. Both of their performances were nuanced and believable. Kim Hee Won as gangster Ahn Dong Chil was so wonderful, my feelings towards him changed slowly as he changed as a character, it really was an excellent performance. The standout, of course, was Kim Hee Sun. I really love how expressive she is without huge gestures, no screaming, over the top crying which is all too common for Korean "mom" actresses. I felt her pain when she hurt, I felt her exhilaration. I thought she was fantastic.
All of the side characters were really well built characters and all of the actors put in good work to bring them to life. Han Gong Joo and her two stooges, and secretary Joo Ae Yeon had interesting stories, brilliantly portrayed
Where this drama loses points is the same place most dramas lose points for me. An over-played, too evil bad guy (or two). I just can't believe their motivations because they're too bad. It happens so often and I'm so tired of it. In this drama it's extra jarring because all the other characters are so good, and all the other acting is wonderful. I wish writers would stop writing bad guys like this and hiring such bad actors to portray them.
The music was used well in the right context.
I think rewatch value for this is quite low, I can't imagine watching it again now that I know the resolution and have watched the plot play out.
I highly recommend this drama. The story is solid, the acting is excellent. If you haven't already, give it a go.
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Good acting, good story I didn't notice the music so it must have been OK.
There's enough suspense and the story was engaging enough to keep from dragging for the entire 16 episodes.
Even though the story is about serial killers and is quite heavy, there's enough comedy to stop it becoming too sad or too heavy.
I cared about every character, good or bad, by the end, so, great characters and great character development.
Seo In Guk was excellent as Lee Hyun, I first saw him in Love Rain, and thought he was quite a good comedic actor, then I saw him in The Kings Face and thought he was quite good as a romantic lead, and now I've seen him in this and I think he's good as a "serious" actor. He really is good. I think after this I'd watch anything he's in.
I've never seen Jang Na Ra in anything before, and now I want to go and watch everything she's ever been in. She's great at both comedic and dramatic scenes. I really enjoyed her. Her character was great and she had a lot to work with and did it well.
The rest of the cast were great everyone did a good job, there were no hangers on.
To the writers: I'm only rating this 7.5 because of the crappy ending. Look, the last episode is not bad enough to ruin the whole drama, it's just lazy and if you're going to do do one of those endings that ties up all the loose ends, don't leave more loose ends (unless you're planning a sequel - please plan a sequel, because then I will take this back and give it an 8.5)
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I'll admit I downloaded this drama because for some inexplicable reason I thought Seo In Guk was the lead. I watched the first episode and realised that the lead was Lee Seung Gi and, because the only other thing I'd seen him in was "My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho" (which I dropped because I couldn't stand him), I almost stopped watching. But the story was captivating so I kept watching - and I'm so glad I did.
This drama keeps the perfect pace. There's enough going on to maintain 20 episodes, which is rare. Revelations are made at just the right time and they're surprising and engaging. Too often in Korean dramas the writers spell everything out for the viewers who are just waiting for the characters to catch up and the only real surprise or reveal is how and when the characters find out the truth. This is not the case here. There are very few things the viewer is told before the characters. Some of the revelations had me catch my breath and just stare at the screen, jaw open in disbelief. If you like a good crime story, this is a great example.
There's also the right amount of suspense, romance, sentimentality, hurt, and comedy. Without the comedy this drama would only be half as good. The comedy is natural and unforced.
One of the things that really makes me like a drama is great characters. People who I like and care about and I can carry with me, who I wonder about when I'm doing other things. This drama has characters like this in spades. There's real, well explained character and relationship growth from everyone. Characters I hated early on I loved by the end. No characters acted in a way that betrayed their personalities.
And each character really gets a chance to tell their story, and all the stories are interesting and engaging. Well done to Lee Jung Sun for a great story and awesome characters - I want more.
The acting is superb, including Lee Seung Gi. I plan to stop avoiding shows just because he's in them and will probably start seeking him out. His portrayal of Eun Dae Gu / Kim Ji Yong was nuanced and perfectly played. In the early episodes I couldn't stand Eo Soo Sun played by Go Ah Ra, but I realised about half way through that I loved her to bits. Ahn Jae Hyeon was great as Park Tae-Il and Cha Seung Won was perfect, absolutely perfect as Detective Seo; what a fabulously acted, excellent character. Every actor in this was wonderful except Jeong Dong Hwan - I wish people would stop casting him.
This brings me to where this drama loses points
1) Over-egged bad guys over-acted by terrible actors. Korean Drama producers, can we agree to stop this nonsense? Bad guys who are too bad and behave in ridiculous ways that even terrible humans don't behave - It's my biggest complaint about K-drama. In this instance though, I think it's more acting than character, his story was quite believable
2) people crying over injured people instead of immediately calling an ambulance and giving first aid. Stop this trope; it's 2016. Call the ambulance, administer first-aid and then cry (or cry while doing the first two) - especially if you're a detective.
3) Continuity errors with an ice-cream - when you see this scene, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's hilarious, but it really took me out of the drama and I was betting with myself about how much of the ice-cream would be eaten the next time the camera angle changed. It's just lazy.
The music is great. Most of it is already on my K-pop playlist so it was nice to watch a drama where I recognised all of the songs. It's not too loud, it doesn't distract from the action and it's not inappropriate, ever. Well done to the music peeps.
Because of the great characters, I think this drama could warrant a second watch even with the plot spoiled.
Well done to everyone who was involved with this drama. It really was great. If you haven't watched it yet, do so as soon as possible, all 20 episodes are worth your time and attention - a very rare feat.
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I'm not sure what the director was thinking but there was too much crying, by everyone, all the time.
Almost every scene in the latter episodes contained crying. Yoon Eun Hye's nose was red through the whole second part. This drama could have been half as long. If you removed all the crying it would probably only total 3 episodes.
This is the first time I've seen Park Yoo Chun in a drama (I think) and despite this stupid drama, I liked him and will watch more of his dramas.
I've liked Yoo Seung Ho since Warrior Baek Dong Soo and I've liked Yoon Eun Hye since Coffee Prince but this drama almost made me stop liking both of them until i realised that they were doing the best they could with absolute drivel.
Thankfully Oh Jung Se was in this drama. Without his character, I might have killed myself before the final episode.
Finally Song Ok Sook as Lee Soo Yeon's mother, what can I say, WORST ACTING EVER, how this actress continues to get work never ceases to amaze me. She is too dramatic, so dramatic that she makes dramas boring.
Honestly, the story was good, the actors are excellent (except Song) this drama should have been fabulous. Clearly the director thinks everyone needs to be crying all the time to portray distress - in fact, it just made me stop caring about anyone except Joo Jung Myung. A little bit of understatement can go a long way and the director should learn this.
Every time I even think of this drama I want to give it a lower score on the whole. Since I've watched this drama I've been raising the original low scores I gave to other dramas. If I could give Rewatch Value 0 I would have.
Did i mention there was too much crying?
EDIT: I lowered the score, AGAIN.
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The story was OK. I think it could have been shorter and there really wasn't enough going on to sustain the length of the show. If you like a vampire story it's solid, but it had so much potential. There are plenty of slow episodes that could have been done away with and we could have more information about Kim Sung Yeol at the end.
Lee Soo Hyuk was excellent. I've only seen him in HSK and I hated him, but this role really suits him and he revels in it. If you're a fan of his, definitely watch this drama, you'll love the scope he's given and what he does with it, he's absolutely mesmerising to watch and plays his character perfectly.
I've never seen Shim Chang Min in anything before. He played his character believably and put in good work, he was likable when he should be likeable and horrible when he should be horrible. I cared about him too.
Kim So Eun. I'm adding her to the list of women capable of playing good strong accomplished characters. She was exceptional and so was Jang Hee Jin who i really didn't like in the beginning but by the end I really wanted her to be happy and I was proud of her and her hard work.
Lee Yu Bi is solid as Jo Yang Seon. There's nothing too special about her. At first I thought she was a bit too much like Park Shin Hye in You're Beautiful, but then she settled into her character and I really cared about her by the end.
Now, Lee Joon Gi. Sigh. He's either over-acting (screaming, crying and writhing) or not acting at all (staring). The only reason I cared about him at all is because I wanted Jo Yang Seon to be happy. I'm pretty sure the king says as much at some point. I'm SO GLAD HE WENT TO THE MILITARY INSTEAD OF PLAYING CHOI YOUNG IN FAITH. I felt like he was trying to mimic that character and the way Lee Min Ho played it instead of making Kim Sung Yeol his own, and it's sad, because we all know he can act.
Overall, there was so much potential here and one of the best bad guys ever and it's such a shame that it wasn't enough to make this drama good enough. As for the ending...sigh - without giving anything away, there's just no excuses for that kind of mediocrity. no excuses at all. Cut the guff from the middle and use that time to make a proper end.
The music was all over the place. Too loud, too mediocre, used inappropriately. I found it annoying when it should have been contributing to my feelings towards characters and plot points.
While I don't regret watching this drama, I won't ever re-watch it.
I'll recommend this drama for people who are fans of any of the actors except Lee Joon Gi. Otherwise, just skip it and spend your time on something better.
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This review may contain spoilers
What an excellent drama! It's up there in my favourites list now with Healer and Faith.The story was great. It was great to see something totally different. It was well written and the pace was perfect, it was slow when it needed to be slow, and fast moving when it needed to be fast moving. It was quite a simple story but so beautifully told. It was hilarious and it made me cry (I'm not a cryer usually). The writers did such a great job without leaning on tired tropes
The actors were expert. The only one I was familiar with was Kim Seul Gi, which was why I watched this drama. She's fabulous in everything she does even if the drama is not so great (I'm looking at you "Flower Boy Next Door") . The lead actress Park Bo Young was so wonderful to watch. She essentially played 3 personalities in this and was convincing in each of them. The lead actor Jo Jung Suk was great too. I'm not sure why but i really didn't want to like him, but he'd won me over by the second episode. All of the actors were superb. There wasn't a single character, minor or major, good or bad who I didn't care about by the third episode. It's nice to see a well played bad guy who is not a walking cliche - two thumbs up to the actor (i don't want to say who it was for fear of spoilers) for being just the right amount of creepy and the writers - great job!.
Rewatch value is right up there. I would watch this again...and again. It really is a classic drama. RECOMMENDED!
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