gcolt-29658

I wanted to like this given its great cast. There are lots of familiar faces, all of them struggling to make this work. But, the storyline and dialogue are woefully substandard for Korean films. It seems to be inspired by the "Pirates of the Carribean" series with its mix of action and joviality, but fails to deliver. There's no real excitement or tension. It seemed like the director discovered CGI for the first time and couldn't resist using it at every opportunity. It might be fun and exciting for a younger audience, although there is a bit of fake violence and death. What a waste of talent, especially of the always beautiful, female lead, Ms. Han Hyo-Joo and her talented counterpart male lead, Mr. Kan Han-neul. The whole thing had the feel of a quickly and poorly made film designed to exploit interest in pirate movies. If you are willing to watch anything starring Ms. Han Hyo-Joo, maybe it's worth watching.

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.