3
2
Salatheel
Turgid and relentlessly predictable
Look, I’m never going to love a show like this.
The first half of this show is a let’s-pretend-we-are-saviours-of-the-poor-downtrodden-unfortunates. The second half is is the usual predictable gangster/corruption stuff. The script totally smacks of being written by someone who has zero understanding of what they are writing about. Everything from the emotions the characters are required to exhibit to the conversations that they have is totally unrealistic and wide of the mark. The gangsters are caricatures and there’s a lot of cringeworthy faux laughing. The plot and actor’s lines were so predictable that I was almost saying it with them—actually I did say it with them on a number of occasions. There’s a credibility gap as wide as ten ton truck in the way they behave. Dressed in plain clothes, they never identify themselves as police, but just wade into fist fights on every possible occasion, randomly throwing in a few gunshots without warning.
Not only that, but so many fragments of plot around the FL’s family hang off the edges of the main action like flailing fish and there is no credible character development. Son Ho Jun as Han Jin Woo simply looked embarrassed about being in the show at all. All the other characters had one mode of being and acted it out from beginning to end because they had no choice. I’m a real fan of Kim Hee Ae and that was why I picked up the show. But this is not one of her best performances.
All I can think is that this was the show where director Ahn Gil Ho learned from his mistakes, because Watcher and Stranger are light years ahead of this drama. But he had different writers to work with on those productions and, well, it really shows.
OK, it’s Sunday night bland entertainment, with nothing except fantasy-land porridge to offer. Was there anything to like about it? I think like is a bit strong… The OST made no impact on me whatsoever. The other production values were uninspiring and perfunctory. I only got through to the end in order to post this review. Jeez I need to go reward myself for diligence!
If you want something like this done properly, then I’d recommend "Live".
What my rating means: 4+ I forced myself to go through to the end of it, but only because I was committed to writing the review. It annoyed the hell out of me. Actively avoid.
The first half of this show is a let’s-pretend-we-are-saviours-of-the-poor-downtrodden-unfortunates. The second half is is the usual predictable gangster/corruption stuff. The script totally smacks of being written by someone who has zero understanding of what they are writing about. Everything from the emotions the characters are required to exhibit to the conversations that they have is totally unrealistic and wide of the mark. The gangsters are caricatures and there’s a lot of cringeworthy faux laughing. The plot and actor’s lines were so predictable that I was almost saying it with them—actually I did say it with them on a number of occasions. There’s a credibility gap as wide as ten ton truck in the way they behave. Dressed in plain clothes, they never identify themselves as police, but just wade into fist fights on every possible occasion, randomly throwing in a few gunshots without warning.
Not only that, but so many fragments of plot around the FL’s family hang off the edges of the main action like flailing fish and there is no credible character development. Son Ho Jun as Han Jin Woo simply looked embarrassed about being in the show at all. All the other characters had one mode of being and acted it out from beginning to end because they had no choice. I’m a real fan of Kim Hee Ae and that was why I picked up the show. But this is not one of her best performances.
All I can think is that this was the show where director Ahn Gil Ho learned from his mistakes, because Watcher and Stranger are light years ahead of this drama. But he had different writers to work with on those productions and, well, it really shows.
OK, it’s Sunday night bland entertainment, with nothing except fantasy-land porridge to offer. Was there anything to like about it? I think like is a bit strong… The OST made no impact on me whatsoever. The other production values were uninspiring and perfunctory. I only got through to the end in order to post this review. Jeez I need to go reward myself for diligence!
If you want something like this done properly, then I’d recommend "Live".
What my rating means: 4+ I forced myself to go through to the end of it, but only because I was committed to writing the review. It annoyed the hell out of me. Actively avoid.
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