Saturday, August 17, 2013

K-Drama Review: City Hunter

*Note: my knowledge of Korean dramas is not the greatest, so if you're looking for someone who really knows what they're talking about- that is not me. I would like to recommend Dramabeans. They have episode recaps, and javabeans and girlfriday are just hilarious reviewers along with all the other reviewers. As for me, I just like to give my opinion and ramble about my thoughts. But there also other great reviewers out there who probably know more than me on this subject...

Drama: City Hunter  
Released: May 2011- July 2011
Network: SBS
# of episodes: 20
Rating: 4.5/5 stars- WILL SOMEONE BRING ME SOME CHEESECAKE FOR MY POOR BROKEN HEART

Synopsis: (As found on Wikipedia as Carmen couldn't find a synopsis that was not too short or too long.. sorry. #fail) 

In 1983, the South Korean president and his delegates are visiting Burma when a bomb planted by North Korean agents explodes, killing some high-ranking officials. This historical event is called the Rangoon bombing (also known as the Rangoon incident). To strike back, five South Korean officials plan a covert operation, codenamed "Operation Cleansweep," to enter North Korea and kill several top members of the North's high command. Lee Jin-pyo and Park Moo-yul, two Presidential Security Service bodyguards and best friends who were present at the bombing, organize a 21-man team for the mission. However, as the team wreaks havoc in Pyongyang, the five officials abort the plan to avoid an international crisis if the mission is discovered. Their major concern is that the United States will withdraw its nuclear protection if the mission is made public, in light of Seoul's official declaration that it will not retaliate.
The operation is successful, but as the troops swim out from Nampo to an ROK Navy submarine assigned for their extraction, snipers aboard the submarine open fire on them. An already injured Park sacrifices his life to save Lee. Lee swims back to shore and returns to South Korea, where he finds out that the assault team's service and personal records have been erased.
Vowing to avenge his fallen comrades, Jin-pyo kidnaps Moo-yul's infant son. He flees to the Golden Triangle to raise the child as his own and trains the boy intensively in combat. Following an attack on a village they are living in, Jin-pyo confesses his long-term plan for revenge to the child, Lee Yoon-sung.
Seven years later, after successfully finishing his college years and attaining a doctorate in the United States at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yoon-sung returns to South Korea to fulfill his adoptive father's plan for revenge. He enters the Blue House as an IT expert under the National Communication Network Team. He is warned by Jin-pyo not to trust anyone and never fall in love, as doing so will put the people around him in danger.
While working at the Blue House, the plot takes off after Yoon-sung meets bodyguard Kim Na-na. Eventually Na-na helps him to take revenge, as they discover that they have the same goal in mind. Problems occur as Jin-pyo's revenge plot unfolds, especially when Yoon-sung defies his surrogate father at several occasions as they try to identify and kill the officials, known as the "Council of Five."


Review:
First Kdrama review :)

Oh. My. Holy. Cheesecake. Goodness. What a ride.


Yoon-sung (played by Lee Min-ho) was a terrific protagonist to the story: a damaged soul, torn away and raised in secret, you can see his emotions and conflictions across the screen. His charaer was absolutely bad-ass yet very human, and not to mention it's Lee Min-ho. I MEAN HELLO HOTTIE. No shame to admit I've watched almost all of his dramas. (Boys Over Flowers, Personal Taste, gave up on Faith) 

Na Na (played by Park-Min-young) was in this way less than I would've like. MORE INTERACTION WITH YOON-SUNG PLEASE. But overall, her character supported the story well, and she brought a out a side to Yoon-sung that added dimension with his character.She felt almost the same as the character she played in Sungkyunkwan Scandal though.

Combined with the other supporting characters- Lee Jin-pyo, Kim Young-joo, etc, this makes for an exciting and tense plotline- ultimately the fight for justice and the removal of corruption from society and the revenge of the crime they've committed.

I'm happy the romance didn't take over the plot and it spur the story- the story was spurring the romance. However, it did slow it down a little halfway then picked up again. 

Also, I swear the writers love giving us heart attacks, because I swear EVERY episode ended with a cliffhanger that made me go "*gasp OMG AHHHH!!!" But the ending. MORRRE NOOO WHAT. 

There were sacrifices and just moments that like pulled at you, make your eyes go wide and just a one track emotional train wreck.

Overall- an intense emotionally gripping drama, with strong and interesting relationships and awseome fight chreography with some pretty good eye candy :P I walked away from City Hunter with a whirlwind of emotions and somewhat satisfied- I just wished we saw more ends tied up.

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