The K2

I was kind pessimistic that Ji Chang Wook could play well in this movie since his face is too handsome, too friendly, and too soft to cast a highly trained spec ops soldier. I thought So Ji Sub would be better for this role since he is bigger and has tougher face than him. But after I see him acting in this movie my doubt disappear. He must be trained and prepared very well in this movie because I can see hungry predatory stare on his eyes and also showing excellent athletic and fighting skill. Two thumbs up for Ji Chang Wook. Also I give special credit to Song Yun-ah who played the role as smart ambitious beautiful and tricky chaebol heirs which you can hardly tell whether she is truly generous or just a gimmick to get sympathy from people. Ji Chang Wook character was half forced to cooperate with this evil woman but he can not refuse her offer because he need her unlimited resources to revenge the death of her lover. The conflict in this movie is kind of complicated since the "good" side is not that good and the "bad" side is not also that bad. Many grey area shown by character in this movie to show how rotten the politics is.

I had to do a lot of math to arrive at my rating for this show. My overall impressions of the plot, script, cast, acting, filmography and soundtrack landed it an 8.5 for the baseline material, which was generally very solid and well executed.

However, I had to add 1 star purely for the absolutely riveting performances delivered by Ji ChanWook (K2) and Song YunAh (Choi YooJin), which propelled the story into a whole new stratosphere. Frankly, Song YunAh could have carried the entire film on her performance alone. I have never seen a more tragic and broken villain, or a more believable portrayal of so many raw and opposing simultaneous emotions (tears+laughter, defiance+betrayal, menace+fragility). I was completely floored!

I also added 0.5 stars for the excellent choreography of the fight scenes (which were plentiful). I would have added a whole star, but sadly, around half the scenes were shot in ways that made it hard to appreciate/follow the action. However, the ones that were clear were quite brilliant. The group shower fight scene in particular was outstanding and original, both in terms of concept and content (all those abs and biceps didn't hurt either!). Watch it on half speed if you want to really appreciate it!

Unfortunately, I then had to turn around and deduct 0.5 stars for the awkwardness of the initial romance scenes (though the later scenes get better). It's not that I found the chemistry to be as lacking as many viewers said. It was just poorly conveyed, IMO (both how it was written and edited). Additionally, Anna's subtle character (who is supposed to be fragile, fearful, and comparatively helpless) just doesn't match the feral intensity of the power-hungry characters around her (especially YooJin), which could in turn create the perception of a lackluster romantic dynamic.

Lastly, I had to also deduct 1 star for all the camera wobble (starting about 3/4 way through). Which is truly sad, because there were so many scenes which were beautifully acted, but it was hard to focus on the emotion coming through or the action taking place because the shaking screen messes with your eyes so much.

So in the end, I ended up back at an overall 8.5 stars (rounded up to 9), though there is 10 stars worth of great content, if you can get through the 7 star moments! Highly recommended!

Of course I love Ji Chang-Wook (who doesn't?), however in this series I loved Yun-ah Song who plays Choi Yoo-jin. Both the script and the play for her character were at the highest level, and this kept me watching and watching and watching until towards the end of episode 16. Kim Je-ha is non plausible in plenty of situations, Anna is not bad, but unnaturally full of wisdom after an entire life of complete wisdom-less, the others either laugh like cows when they shouldn't or behave like clowns when the situation requires a completely different attitude. Yun-ah is amazing, Dong-mi and Sung-ha are kind of ok, the others are pathetic. The script is not bad, but the other guys make it ridiculous.

Can this storyline be any better? No. Can there be such a better strong female antagonist? Definitely not. I loved the fact that this drama kept the typical k drama romance aside and really flourished a UNIQUE COMPLEX never seen before chemistry between protagonist male and antagonist female. Bravo to the actress playing Choi Yoon. Would have rated this drama a solid 6 without her in it. I was confused about what Kim Je Ha actually thought about Choi Yoon though. How come he asked nothing about her to Mirror? Well, I was in cloud 9 after watching this. I hope u will be too!

The reason you should give this a watch is for an outstanding female antagonist unlike anyone you have ever seen before. Song Yoon Ah who played Choi Yoo Jin is truly remarkable and her character has so much depth that she deservedly outshines everyone in this drama and beyond. I couldn't help but empathize with her throughout the story due to her emotive acting and was constantly rooting for her even though she was the main antagonist.

Things I liked:

• Best female antagonist (unbelievably, she wasn't even nominated for Best Actress at Baeksang Art Awards)
• Fast paced screenplay
• Good action choreography (over the top but enjoyable)

Things I didn't like:

• Quite a few implausible events in the plot