Ailiseu

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.

This is a review of season one. The story line is fast paced and keeps your interest with tension. The production values are better than average for a Korean TV series, with the exception of the then, trendy, camera jerkiness which is horrible at times. Don't expect the production values to be as good as a movie.

There are the typical plot holes, but the show moves fast enough you can mostly ignore them. It is amazing to me that still, in 2020, most Korean shows never admit the ability to track a cell phone for location or recent calls after a bad guy or phone number has been identified. Regardless, I didn't mark this 2009 show down for that omission because my review is in comparison with other Asian dramas.

The show is well written enough that I couldn't always tell what was going to happen next, which I really enjoyed. Most shows follow pretty standard plot lines and this one follows a common overall plot arch, but the details were often difficult to predict, especially early in the show. Later in the show it becomes more formulaic.

The main characters aren't the best actors in the world, but they had chemistry with each other and with others, so that worked well.

SPOILER ALERT! I have to admit that I was disappointed in the tragic ending which I assumed was a vehicle to pull the female lead back into the spy agency. But, turns out that is not the case. So, just another Asian drama with a tragic ending.

I am usually very analytical (an engineer by education), but I generally want my shows to lift me up at the end, so that is entirely emotional and I did not enjoy the ending.

I just want to mention that Season Two is mostly new characters, weaker writing and weaker production values. It starts roughly 3 years after season one.

A stunning miniseries from South Korea about the 'NSS' (the South Korean Secret Service). Pardon me if I struggle with the character (or actor) names, but several performances are quite stunning. Character-development and -relationships are superb, irony occurs frequently, and there's plenty of action to match the slower sweet scenes showing the developing love-story between Choi Seung-Hee, the pretty female Service leader, and Kim Hyun-Jun, a stud recruit to the spy service. Talk about star-crossed lovers! They get separated, find each other, and then lose track of the existence of each other for months, but only after some very near connections. It's one of those: 'HEY! HEY! Look to your right - she's still alive... HEY! HEY.. Oh No..!' Unexpected sentimental stuff when you are are watching a cold-hearted spy & intrigue show.

IRIS also features a 'cross-over' character {that's a term I invented, by the way, so credit me if you use it!}: a character who switches sides, for some reason, to aid the protagonist. Example: the cowboy who breaks free from the wealthy townfolk in 'SHANE' and rides out to warn SHANE about the pending ambush. In IRIS, it's a pretty North Korean agent who falls out of favor with her bosses, and joins Hyun-Jun in his quest to get to the bottom of this IRIS conspiracy (after a few attempts to kill him, of course).

Also in the show is one of those super-assassin types, whose imminent presence is signaled by the camera focusing on his distinctive cowboy boots. Lots of fist-fights and shoot-em-ups to go with some well-staged car chases. Plenty of double-crosses and plot twists. It has everything U.S. network primetime action shows DON'T have. Like I said, run -- don't walk - to tune this thing in. I am writing this in early December: if you have down-time this month, add IRIS to the mini-series that will dominate your time, instead of clearing snow.

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.

... 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.