I remember telling my husband after I watched the very first episode of this drama that if there were a Kdrama I could get him to like, it would be this one. It felt that different and that well done. The directing, the acting, the music - all of it feels cohesive and unlike your usual Kdrama fare (which I love mind you, but it's refreshing to see something new). Well, not that new to American audiences, since this drama is the epitome of Noir. It is an homage to Noir right down to its smallest molecule. Over at The Vault (http://vaultofdoom.wordpress.com/) there are several brilliant reviews of Cruel City including some very insightful information about the Noir genre, and he describes Noir and praises Cruel City much better than I ever could so I won't even try to approach his level of sophistication or detail here. However, I just wanted to post a review so more MDL'ers will give this show a go. I'll start with the acting, which is what I loved the most. Bad acting will turn me off a drama very quickly, but great acting will just as quickly suck me in for the long run. Nam Gyu Ri (Soo Min) and Lee Jae Yoon (Hyung Min) are the weak links but they are serviceable. Jung Ji Soon (Chairman Jo) and Son Chang Min (Min Hong Ki) were really great. And, Kim Yoo Mi (as Jin Sook), Choi Moo Sung (Safari), and, of course, Jung Kyung Ho (Doctor's Son) are BRILLIANT! Past brilliant! Their performances were transcendental and I will be measuring so many future acting performances against them. Jung Kyung Ho was quite good in Time Between Dog and Wolf, but in this he is better than nearly any Kdrama actor I've ever seen. Even if you don't like Noir, come from Jung Kyung Ho and stay for Jung Kyung Ho, and you won't be disappointed. Next the directing and cinematography. I couldn't see any flaws here. The drama stayed true to its grittiness from beginning to end. It has that kind of dark cool look to it that reminded me of Vampire Prosecutor, with the muted colors (except blood). The fight scenes were excellent and early on there is a fight scene homage to Old Boy that was just so very sweet! The writing is quite good, although gets just a little sloppy and repeat-y towards the end, but less so than most dramas. What it does best is keep the romance to the sidelines to focus on the meat of the story, never falling into that Kdrama trap of pandering to the female audience. It never loses sight of it's Noir roots and for that I really applaud JTBC and the writer. They had a vision and they let no amount of audience pressure force them to romance it up or tone down the Noir. I have found that to be why cable channels in Korea often have the best shows, since they don't bow to the ratings god and maintain more integrity and uniqueness. Finally, I'll cover the music, which is something I don't tend to get too excited about one way or another with dramas since it's just not really my thing. I am all about acting and directing. However, the music in Cruel City is really something to be praised. I noticed right away how the music was always the right volume and the right kind for the moment. They knew when to cut it out and what kind to use to ALWAYS add and never detract from the action. It was bloody brilliant. One of the best Kdrama soundtracks I've ever heard. Overall, this is a drama not to be missed. It's unique. It has integrity. It is exciting and fast-paced. And the acting is stellar. I will be thinking about this drama for a long time, and using it as a measuring stick against which I will judge many other dramas that aspire to do the same. For example, Shark ended the same time and I watched the finale of Shark the same day I watched Cruel City's. They were both very dark melodramatic dramas. Shark had a bigger budget and a more star-studded cast and a writing team with a very good reputation. At the end of Shark I said "meh" and went about my day. I just really couldn't be made to care at that point because I the writers and actors never really made me care throughout the whole drama. At the end of Cruel City, well..............I can't really say because it might be considered a spoiler, but let's just say I really, REALLY cared about what happened to those characters, as if they were real people. A day later and I am experiencing Kdrama hangover from Cruel City and I know that means it was great.