Gwang-jang

"Mercy for None" is a lean, stylish South Korean revenge thriller that wastes no time getting to the point. Across seven tense episodes, it delivers brutal, well-staged fight scenes, a dark neo-noir atmosphere, and a simple but gripping plot that keeps you hooked. So Ji-sub gives a strong, grounded performance as a man dragged back into the violent world he tried to leave behind. If you enjoy fast-paced, gritty action in the vein of John Wick, this one's worth the binge.

From brutal hand-to-hand combat to wielding his signature baseball bat and mastering blade fights, Bones crack, bodies fly, and blood stains the walls of many villains' hideaways. So Ji Sub delivers an electrifying performance that sets a new standard for action storytelling.

Mercy for None lands its blood-soaked action sequences and sufficiently surprising plotting to stay engaging.

-The series maintains the high-energy melee flair that the best South Korean thrillers have, with stellar fight choreography.

-The duration of the episodes was good, each of which is between 30-40 mins long, which I found super refreshing. It doesn't make you bored.

-In conclusion, this show is only for fans of action and bloody violence.

I binged this over two nights, and usually if the show doesn't catch me with the first episode or two, I won't finish it. This one grabbed me and pulled me in - you don't even have to understand Korean culture to like it. Nam Gi-Jun is a retired mob enforcer / killer, but when his kid brother is killed, he returns with a vengeance. Plenty of violence and bloodshed (they're not shy about the blood, either, the stabbings and the splatter), and Gi-Jun is an unstoppable force, just like Wick. He's not immune or immortal, and the whys of his brother's death come out slowly, but it's good. Probably not something I'd watch again, but it was worth it.

I really enjoyed this show. I appreciate how succinct it told the story, nothing was dragged out. It has phenomenal fighting and interesting/new (to me) camera work. The only reason why I don't give it a 10 is because I liked other shows a tad bit more. Specifically: "Bloodhounds" and "Worst of Evil".

Both shows also have amazing fighting, but Bloodhounds and Worst of Evil have more fleshed-out stories (even if Bloodhounds retcon'd near the end due to a scandal involving one of its actors). Mercy For None's storytelling cuts out just a little bit too much, enough so that I was wishing I cared more about the main character.

Nevertheless, it's an exciting show. Totally still worth the time. Highly recommend.

The English title, Mercy for None, is an accurate description for the show because Nam Gi Jun shows no mercy for those that played a part in his brother's death. The plot itself is simple and it wasn't hard to guess who was the real mastermind behind Nam Gi Seok's murder, but it was still fun to watch NGJ demolish everyone as a one-man army. The fight scenes were violent because the preferred choice of weapon was anything but a gun, which allowed the characters to be more brutal with their attacks. As a character, NGJ wasn't very compelling (but then again, I don't think he's meant to be) but his single mindedness for revenge was admirable.