Gungeomsa Dobeleuman

This series has its strengths and its weaknesses. Its biggest strength is its two leading actors, both of whom are more than up to the task of powering the action and giving us characters to root for.

They are aided by a complex plot with many twists and turns and some well-realised action.

On the downside, the focus on delivering entertainment too often eclipses any attempt at depicting reality, which somewhat punctures the excitement that might have been. Also, many of the characters are rather one dimensional. Goodies and baddies are painted in bold strokes with no room for rounded characters, except the one or two who change their spots as the plot develops.

But still, it's an entertaining watch with two likeable stars, and I was happy to enjoy it for what it is.

Even though this series came out in '22, it has an old-time charm to it. Good guys vs bad guys, some of them very bad. Underdog vs powerful, honest vs. Dishonest, etc. It's a military ensemble work and it's done well. Secondary-role actors are universally good. The writing is good, albeit, some of the characters' parts, such as the law office minions, are just over the top. One of its best elements is the male lead, played ably by Mr. Ahn Bo-hyun, an excellent but corrupt attorney who matures into and honest, brave and selfless advocate for those unable to defend themselves. This is the kind of positive message one regularly finds in Korean dramas of this ilk. The main antagonist is expertly played by Mr. Kim Young-min, who seems to have made a successful career out of being a despicable villian. It never gets old with Mr. Kim. Park Jin woo is hilarious in the role of supervising officer in the prosecutor's office. The female lead, played by the beautiful Ms. Bo Jo-ah, is perhaps the only weak element in the production. Her beauty makes her the object of desire for many male characters and her determined pursuit of justice is an inspiration for everyone. Her acting is adequate, However she exudes smug satisfaction as though she realizes her attractiveness to others is, well, justly deserved. The way her character demeans or quietly ridicules others can get bothersome at times. However, the viewer still hopes that the mostly suppressed attraction between her and "Doberman" eventually surfaces. This series doesn't deserve to ranked among "must-see" Korean productions, but it's a fun, mostly wholesome romp and will provide multiple evenings of enjoyable Korean tv.

When this drama was airing I was never interested coz no one was talking about it but when I was just "giving it a try" from the first scene I got invested and I have to say I really like this one for sure.

First of all, each episode was like a separate movie, kept my interest for all 16 episodes which rarely happens! Even though there was some violence etc, there was always some comedic relief by some of the side characters. All actors were great, but especially Ahn Bo-hyun was perfect for this part!!

I hadn't seen Kim Woo-seok before but he was great in portraying the process of his character change and all the emotions it involved.

Korean Ensemble shows like this one are great when they're good. Even though the theme is different, it reminded me of other successful ensemble series like Diary Of A Prosecutor, Hyena, Good Manager, and many more I won't list right now, which are classics and all time favorites. And I'm glad I decided to give this one a try!

Just a note, even though I loved it I watched it at 1.25 speed, but I do that with most dramas. So if you find it a bit slow that's no reason to give up on it, just speed it up a bit!

Another great show from s/k shame we in uk seem to care more about reality tv these days-no decnt drama-were luck if we get 1hr awk but s/k continues to put rest to shame.