Narcosantos

South Korean cinema and television continues to impress with NARCO-SAINTS, a retitling of THE ACCIDENTAL NARCO now showing on Netflix. Like SQUID GAME before it, this is a limited TV miniseries which has the production values and expense of a movie, and it looks absolutely fantastic too. It tells the true story of a Korean pastor in Suriname who turned out to be a drug lord on the side. Hard to believe, but this perfectly-paced thriller packs in the realism for a gritty and suspenseful adventure. Ha Jung Woo is the perfect lead and supported by a couple of Korea's hottest stars, and together they shine, their performances underpinning typically exciting action bits.

Don't expect the original Narco's series level of production, but Saints was entertaining, and largely as it was based on a true story, held my interest. It gets more interesting as the episodes evolve, but good that it was kept to 6 episodes.

I could hear in the first couple of episodes particularly some strains of background music very reminiscent of the Narcos themes. Thought that was funny, but this ain't that series. If you go in expecting that you'll just be disappointed.

You'll also have to stretch sense of belief to a rather large degree as some action events are rather not quite realistic or believable, forget feasible.

But it's an intriguing story you might enjoy watching.

Once you pass the 1st episode which is a bit too long (but helpful to understand the main character's personality and motivation) the series gets better and better with a great finale which keeps you on the edge of your seat for 60 minutes. The 6 episodes format is perfect as it allows to develop the story enough while being crisp at the same time.

The story is well built and well paced, the acting very good - not surprising as the show features some top actors from the Korean movie.

Hwang Jung Min nails it as per usual in his role as the ruthless, devilish drug king and finds perfect chemistry with Ha Jung Woo who is equally impressive in this guy-next-door-turned-hero.

Great suspense and action, a must watch for fans of the genre!

The story is loosely based on a real-life story. The story itself is absolutely fascinating, how a Korean criminal mastermind built a drug empire in Suriname and the efforts to bring down that empire. The acting for the most part is just outstanding, mixed with some cringeworthy acting by few minor characters. In addition, there are obvious plot holes and scenes that will make people shake their heads. Korean shows do a great job on most things, but they rarely deliver when guns are involved.

Anyways, as mentioned above, the fact that this is loosely based on real-life characters and events makes the show interesting enough. The show is only six episodes long, meaning there are very few unnecessary filler scenes. I do think it's worth the investment of 6+ hours for this show.

It would be absolutely unfair to compare this series to Narcos, but it's a gripping and exciting thriller nonetheless which gives you a glimpse into a less known story within the War on Drugs era. The casting is excellent, the action sequences and dialogues are brilliant, and the characters were so great that you'd feel like rooting for all of them regardless of whether they're good guys or bad guys. And well the setting - who doesn't like a classy narco story set in the Latin tropics?

But the main thing for me was the CINEMATOGRAPHY - Korean shows always kill it when it comes to this department. It's a slow burn yet taut thriller that's so much fun to watch, it's easy to look past it's only con - there is no genuine cultural characteristics of the country of Suriname on display here, would've definitely liked to see more of Surinamese culture in general, even though the entire series seems to be set in the region.