Mad Dog

I finished My Country: The New Age on Netflix and wanted to watch something else with the fantastic Do-Hwan Woo in it, and this was something that looked promising. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this show, as the premise initially sounded quite boring. An insurance scam? Insurance fraud workers? How exciting could it be? As I said, I watched this purely for Do-Hwan, who was definitely the main draw as his character was irresistibly charismatic which masked a deeper, darker part of himself. The other characters definitely grew on me, and the story kept me interested enough to finish. I think its worth a watch, especially if you are a fan of Do-Hwan. His cocky attitude and the love/hate relationships he has with the members of Mad Dog are definitely the best parts!

I'm not sorry to say I watched simply because the lead actors were easy on the eyes, particularly Yoo Ji-Tae who, for me, is the perfect tall, langy and handsome leading man. Those lips!! Anyway, the plot itself is pretty generic and wasn't as captivating as I'd expected; nevertheless, it was good enough to while away a few hours.

The most annoying thing about this drama is the main baddie wears his tie in what is called the "European style" and if you like symmetry once you watched it you will understand what I mean. Anyway the drama centres around a team of people who investigate insurance fraud but there main aim is to uncover the truth about a plane crash which killed their leaders wife and child. It is an interesting story line which is well acted but I failed to bond with the characters and their frustrating relationship in the beginning which led to the deaths of people.

I grew quite fond of Korean crime genre. They tend to provide excellent stories with complicated intertwining plot. What I love about this genre is the never ending give and take and creative schemes from both the fighting parties. Mad Dog is all that and more with shocking reveals and hints of romance between Woo Do-Hwan and Ryu Hwa-young, who really was the undeniable beauty of this series. The ending was really good and a great way to end the series on a satisfying and fulfilling note. It was really cool to watch. A must watch!!!

Following the death of his wife and son in a plane crash Choi Kang-woo, former leader of Taeyang Insurance's investigators team, sets up his own team, called 'Mad Dog' that will investigate fraudsters using methods that bend the law somewhat. Two years later he crosses paths with Kim Min-joon, a former fraudster whose brother was the pilot who had according to official reports deliberately crashed the plane. Min-joon believes his brother was innocent and wants Mad Dog to help uncover the truth. Initially they don't trust him but soon they uncover evidence that something is wrong at the airline and insurance company; something certain individuals will go to great lengths to keep secret.

This was a really enjoyable series. There was a good sense of drama, plenty of twists and turns and a real sense of danger at times. There was also plenty of humour which was unforced and didn't get in the way of the story. The 'Mad Dog' team was full of fun and varied characters. The villains are suitably villainous... if airline vice president Joo Hyun-gi had a moustache I'm sure he'd have twirled it! Instead he made do with wearing his tie in a peculiar way. There is lots of scheming as our protagonists work to uncover the truth and the villains seek to hide it or shift the blame onto somebody else. The cast is solid bringing some humour to their roles without getting silly. Overall a solid series that is well worth watching.

These comments are based on watching the series in Korean with English subtitles.