Ailiseu

... in the Korean Peninsular, you will understand why the North could really win because the spies in the South are always deeply in love. Even in situations where there are lives at risk, possible terrorist attack or even nuclear bomb detonated, the two lead characters will always have time to spill a few tears of longing. They always seem to be in the verge of crying and when they are not, they are wondering about the other which leads to more sorrow close-ups. If you can stand extreme melodrama then the action and plot is not too bad.

If you like 24 series, I think you'll like this too. However I find there's a bit too much love triangle in the series. It has action, thrills, suspense, love, friendship, betrayal, some mystery on the IRIS organization. The leading actress is pretty & make it more enjoyable to watch. In summary, it's a very good show if you can don't mind the love story & love triangle.

Wikipedia gives the following information: "Iris is a South Korean espionage television drama series broadcast by KBS in 2009. With a budget in excess of 20 billion won (17 million USD), it, along with its spin-off Athena: Goddess of War, share the record for the most expensive Korean dramas ever produced. Premiering in October 2009, the series was a critical and commercial success, with an average viewership of over 30% in addition to ranking as the top program consistently every week after its debut. The series also took home many of the highest honors at the 2009 KBS Drama Acting Awards, including Byung-hun Lee winning the top recognition, the Daesang Award. Among other nominations and recognitions, Lee and Tae-hee Kim were also named as one of the best on-screen couples."

My Review In One Breath: This series (20 episodes, 60 minutes each) concerns a National Security System agent who attempts to take down a secret organization. After the introductory opening episodes, the missions are similar to what one would find in the American "24" series (excluding the "real time" element), with agents attempting to stop terrorist attacks with the use of satellites and information support technicians. Of course, this is in the Korean style with some romance and melodrama blended in. Acting is top notch, with Byung-hun Lee in the lead role and a very good supporting cast: Tae-hee Kim (his love interest and fellow agent), Seung-woo Kim (a North Korean agent) and So-yeon Kim (as the gorgeous North Korean sniper). Production values are slick, the scoring is great at times, and the pacing is very fast for a K-drama with plenty of shootouts (a few of which are fantastic) and suspense. Storyline is clichéd but the secret organization is intriguing and represents a brilliant little twist on the North/South Korean conflict. Consequently, the relationships between the characters change significantly in exciting ways and the viewer will have an emotional investment in the protagonists. Highly addictive stuff.

... in it's heart-stopping action scenes, this drama is the closest cousin to Bond and Bourne I have seen on TV, with death-defying stunts, a huge budget and a massive body count. It also boasts a very physical turn from Byung-hun Lee as a highly believable super agent.

It is unfortunate that the plot wanders too far away from credibility on occasion to maintain the suspense.

The opening action sequence grabs you by the throat. Then there is a hiatus while the past history of the characters and their relationships are presented. Stick with it and once the action kicks back in it just does not let up.

Lee Byung-hun stars in one of my favourite movies "A bittersweet life" so I am always going to be generous with my rating in whatever he is in. As usual he puts in a great performance along with the whole cast and there are some really great action scenes which reflect the budget. My issue is the story does not flow as well as it should and the series concentrates on the big explosive scenes and not enough time on the development of the characters. Enjoyable action packed drama but could have been great.