It took me forever but I finally sat down to watch this movie and I’m so happy I did! I was already thrilled at seeing my lovely Crown Prince Lee Chang as one of the leads (Kingdom fans, where you at?! haha) and I was very quickly pulled into this little gem that is Antique Bakery.

STORY:
I’ve never read the manga nor watched the anime or drama, so I had no idea what the story was about other than what the synopsis here told me. I went in expecting cute fluff, so imagine my surprise when a fully realized, thought-out story with actual substance appeared. There’s a dash of something here for almost everyone: humor, mystery, camaraderie, all wrapped up in an interesting, dynamic plot. I also really enjoyed the direction and execution of this movie. Some parts were very reminiscent of an anime (though not quite as over the top) or Jdrama, which I thought was a nice nod to the source material.

ACTING/CAST:
I absolutely adored the four main leads. They were all so well-crafted; each had their own defined personalities and backstories, all of which were portrayed seamlessly without slowing down the plot. Each actor did an amazing job bringing these characters to life, and the chemistry between them was wonderful as well.

OVERALL:
Really nice movie that exceeded my expectations. If you’re looking for a good way to spend two, hours, I would definitely recommend giving this a try! I’m off to read the manga~