Cool concept and weak ending
It really reminded me of one of my favorite King books The Long Walk (I wont go into details). The start was really strong and imo the first game was the coolest. After it got a heavy Black Mirror vibe. Oberall it has a good concept and I was tottaly fascinated with the scenery. Later into the series I started finding a lot of undlogical and sometimes funny moments. (Spoiler: I'm sure everyine noticed how the VIP masks were hilariously not fitting the distance of human eyes making it impossible for them to see).Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
How far are you willing to go to satisfy your dreams
The concept of the drama is nothing new, but the team did a great job in executing this drama to almost a perfection. Even though some parts of the drama was somewhat predictable there were some great twists and turns too. There were games to play and mysteries to uncover. And there was also the heartwarming or heartbreaking backstories and interactions to balance the whole thing. What is one willing to do survive? How much is one willing to change in times of crisis? And who or what were controlling things behind the scenes? The story progressed very smoothly with no dragging and flashbacks to slow it down.The atmosphere created in the drama along with the somewhat childish but eerie music was a huge part of the drama. The attention to details was a pretty good touch from the production team. The casts were very good and did an amazing job in my opinion.
Overall it was very refreshing and fun to watch. If you don't mind some gores and deaths in drama then it is one of the best dramas of the year for sure.
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Poor and Greed can distort a human.
When my significant other told me: Hey, Squid game top number one ranking in US on Netflix. I was like, okay let’s watch it.
Now, having heard mix reviews that It is plagiarized from Battle Royale or Alice in Borderland, but since I have not watched any of those mentioned, I tune in with the least expectation, though knowing dark theme is unavoidable.
After more than 9 hours of cursing, screaming, and hiding inside my blanket, here is my review:
The story begins with Gi Hoon, a man hit his low end due to some failed business decisions, in bad debt, leaching off his mother’s bank account , gambling days by days and cab barely afford finance for him and his daughter.
Then one day, he was chosen to play the game in which he could win millions of dollars.
There were 456 players selected to play 6 rounds of game which resembled childhood game; however, the difference is that if one makes mistake or luck is not with him, he/ she would end with brutal death.
Each main character had their backstories and reasons for entering the game. None was righteous nor skillful, in the end they need to take all desperate measurements in order survive.
This is Netflix original series and thus the quality production is top notched. The casting is phenomenal, and I’m very impressed and surprised with model turns actress Jung Ho Yeon. Her acting is raw and real and you wouldn’t know this is her first debut series. Wowww, such a talent..
There are also two big cameos Gong Yoo and Lee Byung Hun. Their appearances only few minutes on screen; however, their exceptional acting really elevate the series to another level.
What I do not like is the character of Gi Hoon, it’s unconvincing and unrealistic to me for him to make a turn at the end. Also the twist of the master behind the game and the reasons
is just plain boring and predictable.
Overall, Hwang Dong Hyuk has successfully conveyed his message to the audiences: this society is full of unfairness and divided, there are the poor struggling to live while the rich, after meeting their physical needs, what made them happy is nothing but toying with the lowest class.
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Highly captivating with great acting
I loved this drama so much. It's realistic in that no one is portrayed as a villain nor a hero. It acknowledges the injustices in the world and tries to depict several realities and personalities. It is a drama that covered several bases as I was just as invested in the game plot as I was in the backstories of the characters. There were definitely a few plot lines that were left unresolved but apart from that, the story, visuals, and acting were all superb. Definitely a great drama for non k-drama fans, as seen by the worldwide craze.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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glorifying violence?
Hear me out. I know, it's a high-quality show. It's very well-acted, the sets are interesting, and the storyline is somewhat intriguing. I'm not saying anything against the quality of the production. What I am saying is that there are some seriously grotesque moments of violence against women before glorified at the end of this 1st season. Like, ummmmm. How is that even filmable to say? You're going to kill an injured woman for her organs but before you do, you're going to have a little fun with her first? I'm . . . I don't even really know what to say to that. I knew the show was violent, m'kay. I knew that and I was fine with it going in, but I wasn't expecting THAT. It's just ick on a whole nother level of ick and I must have been numb by the end of the series to actually be able to finish it. And by the end, I literally didn't care. Oh, okay, we finished, and here's the result and . . . am I supposed to be feeling something because I'm feeling absolutely nothing other than sorta sick and destabilized and depressed. Was the purpose of this to say that men are scary? Maybe it was, I don't know, but to have that happen just in passing, as part of the story, and not even really be fully addressed, just made me sick. So yes, watched the whole thing, have no beef with the quality of the production, but I do have a beef with the reality that men continue to be pigs and women continue to be victims. When is that ever going to turn around and why is it still being represented as a thing? Surely society is actually better than this. Or maybe it's just SK that has the problem because out of all the Jdoromas I've watched (and there have been MANY), they have never given me this kind of ick.You can downvote my review if you want, that's fine. But, please, if you feel the need to comment, just be respectful about your position and allow me to have mine.
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Yay or Nay
It really wasn't horrible or anything just not what I expected to be. After all the hype about it I expected a high quality, super thought through, challenging drama, which I didn't really get.I did get something and it had it's moments and I do understand why it was/is popular and I will watch the second season, but the only thing that made me pull through the whole thing was the police dude I forgot the name of.
I think I would have enjoyed it much more without the hype and expectations I had.
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interesting storyline, not the best under this category
overall, the plot was mildly interesting to me. i was not too excited or nervous to keep watching throughout the show. i loved how this show represents real life problems. but, if you like the concept of survival shows; watch alice in borderland instead.the games were extremely boring and pointless to me. it did not feel or seem like they were fighting for their life and i did not enjoy the concept of taking kids games and turning them into life or death games.
i would recommend to watch this show as a time-killer, since i personally did not get attached to it that much.
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A Somehow Refreshingly Cliched Twist on the Battle Royal Trope
I never imagined my first review on this site would be for Squid Game.I've been a fan of the battle royale trope for as long as I can remember. Battle Royale, the Hunger Games, Alice in Borderland, all are my favorites. I first came across Squid Game through Netflix's Youtube channel and expected to dislike it - at the time, the trailer looked childish with its colorful uniforms and funky looking game regulators with shapes on their helmets. Nevertheless, it stayed on my to watch list, and as the days passed, so did its position on the Netflix Global Top 10 charts. I decided to give it a go.
THE GOOD
What made this drama compelling was its non post-apocalyptic setting, something I'm used to in battle royale, as well as the games. Utilizing games from cherished childhood memories as modes of death was an eerily fresh take. I found the majority vote as a means to an end creative as well, leaving the illusion of choice to both the characters and to us the audience. It's true that actual participation isn't "forced", rather, the preexisting circumstances of each character made the reward money all the more incentivizing. I loved its economic class commentary, moral ambiguity, as well as cinematographic ties to art pieces. Visual artists and fans of thriller like me will definitely enjoy.
THE OK
I found myself persuaded by the acting despite being impartial to the screenwriting. I don't know if this was on purpose, but Gi-hun's face was quite punchable at times. Maybe it was an attempt to portray his gullibility? Not sure, but actor Lee Jung Jae did as well as he could balancing the pathetic yet sympathetic role. I was impressed by Jung Hoyeon's role as Kang Saebyeok (though I'm a little biased since she's been one of my favorite models <3) especially since the idol/model to actress pipeline is so saturated. I wasn't expecting much though. Objectively speaking, her microexpressions really allowed 067's vulnerability to shine through. Stoic characters are surprisingly hard to portray - I'll remember hers for quite a while. Wi Ha Joon makes a pretty officer, but other than a look into the "villain" side of the story, he wasn't offered much substance. Park Hae Soo's role as Sangwoo was memorable and convincing! I kept expecting him to be more morally gray so being caught off guard was pleasant.
THE BAD
This is where I feel most conflicted. Certain deaths were highly predictable just based on screen time and backstory alone. Unfortunately the screenwriting left little room for emotional connection. Sure, deaths were sad, but most of the time they were empty since I barely knew anything about the characters. Halfway through the show the games started to lose meaning. I even think one of them towards the end wasn't a children's game? I was left hoping for something more strategy-based or just a little more depth. Killing occuring outside the games added another level of chaos, as did the small game regulators' scenes, impacting the pacing negatively. The screenwriter didn't do the best job with the masked leaders either; choosing familiarity destroys suspense if not done well, and unfortunately that was the case here for me since I guessed correctly. 9 episodes was not enough. It's obvious to me that this many loose ends means a preplanned second season, which I'm not too enthusiastic about considering the sloppiness towards the end.
In conclusion:
Did I love this show conceptually? Very much yes. Would I recommend watching it? Still, yes, please give it a shot. Do I think it's worth the hype/critical acclaim its been receiving? Not exactly, but it's a major move for a Korean show so I'll celebrate that.
Regardless, Squid Game has left a lasting impression.
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The man who thinks he can get revenge but really can't but, only if the writers make it be.
This year the K-drama called Squid Game came out and, it became number one on the Netflix charts. I read a lot about how good this drama was so I watch the drama out of curiosity to the end and, to be honest this drama is boring and predictable to me. I liked the first game red light green light and, how it showed us the viewers that the contestants was in a death game trying to win money. Then when I watched episode 2 that episode was super boring and, slow because, that episode was just a filler episode when they showed all the main characters problems and, they could have used all that was on episode 2 as flashbacks for episode 3 to show us that. When it came to the rules of the game I hated how they said if they leave only the families of the contestants that died will get the money. I said to myself that don't make any sense because, how are they going to reward the families of the dead contestants the money. That money is for the people that survive playing the games until the end. I found it funny they let the contestants have control with being able to leave the game by voting to let them think they have freedom of choice to leave when they really don't because , it was predetermined from the beginning when they was picked. When it got to the vips episode that was episode 7 I laughed when one of the extras was asking to be number one because, no one in their right mind would ask for that spot and, when I got to the last episode and, they told us the viewers why the contestants was picked I already knew the answer to that so, the conclusion didn't really shock me and, by the end when he goes to get revenge that was obvious that he would want to do that but, I said to myself how is he going to do that by himself? They're always watching him that's how he ended up in the games in the first place! They can get him any time they want and, just kill him.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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Lofty intention but the story writing was not strong enough to truly deliver anything memorable.
It's too serious and preachy to be enjoyable. There is no one to root for. No favs. No OST to make me cry. No love story to make me smile. No jokes. Moral of the story: humans are greedy, people are willing to do a lot of bad things to get what they want when they are pushed into a corner. There is a lot of luck involved in our life outcomes. Gi hun going back? Doesn't even make sense. He barely scraped through the games. lolThe ending is like when you get a meal you have been anticipating then the meal is just average. It's Meh...
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Squid Game ou comment perdre foi en l'humanité
Je ne sais ce qu'il m'est passé par la tête quand j'ai décidé de regarder ce drama alors que je n'aime pas les Survival xD (le seul autre que j'ai vu de ce genre est Battle Royal). Sans doute me suis-je laissée influencée par le succès que l'on m'a dépeint, par le fait que plusieurs personnes de mon entourage l'ont vu également.Enfin bref... Je ne l'ai sans doute pas regardé pour les bonnes raisons en tout cas. Ce dont je suis sûr c'est que je n'étais pas préparée à ce que j'allais voir. Ce drama m'a vraiment bouleversée et je ne suis pas prête de l'oublier. Reste à déterminer si c'est positif ou négatif xD. Je ne sais pas non plus si je regarderai la saison 2 quand elle sortira.
Quand j'ai débuté cette histoire, on m'a avertie de ne pas m'attacher aux personnages. Je n'ai pas trop compris pourquoi sur le moment mais c'est on ne peut plus vrai. Mieux vaut éviter de s'y attacher. Mais même en ayant été avertie, je n'ai pas pu m'en empêcher (c'est sans doute logique xD).
Un des points qui m'a un peu déçue, voir dérangée, est qu'ils ont fort "américanisé" ce drama. Par exemple:
* Quelque chose qu'on voit souvent dans les séries américaines, c'est le cliché du gars asiatique qui a la tête patibulaire et qui est systématiquement un "mauvais/méchant". J'étais un peu choquée de voir ce cliché ici alors qu'il s'agit d'un drama coréen (mais produit par Netflix... ce qui explique sans doute cela XD).
* Un autre élément très "américain" est la scène des galipettes dans les toilettes O_O... Euh... Ok ! Vous m'expliquez l'intérêt de cette scène? :o Vous ne pouviez pas vous contenter de la sous-entendre? Surtout vu la finalité de cette "relation"... Bref !
* Vous me direz que ce 3ème point est sans doute lié au genre mais j'avais vraiment l'impression de voir du trash pour du trash :o
Bonne nouvelle ! Pour les clichés américains, je n'ai rien à ajouter XD
Je ne peux pas dire que ce sont des points que j'ai "aimé" vu que j'ai été épouvantée par ce que j'ai vu mais... l'histoire est vraiment bien construite et nous montre un aperçu abominable de ce que peut faire l'espèce humaine pour survivre. Je peux aussi dire que les acteurs étaient extrêmement convaincants et ils ont bien réussi à me transmettre l'émotion.
Plusieurs éléments m'avaient été dit à l'avance (oui, par définition, c'est ce qu'on appelle du spoil XD) mais malgré ça, à aucun moment ce qu'on m'a révélé n'a réussi à atténuer l'impact du moment quand je l'ai vu. Je me dis que c'est peut-être pour ça qu'il a eu tant de succès.
Pour ma part, je ne sais toujours pas si je l'ai aimé ou non.
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Good Enough
Korean Drama "Squid Game" is bloody, but, somehow, hopeful.It has a nice cinematography, with, sometimes, overused gore, but well executed action scenes. The background stories, moreover, set the drama apart from the rest of the survival game series, and it gives a more 'Korean Drama' feel to it. It makes the story more believable, as it helps the viewer relate to the characters and understand them. It also gave a more humane twist to the story and made it more dramatic, when the settings and the costumes were more on the childish side.
Finally, the performances were great by everyone in the cast.
So, overall, 7 out of 10.
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