Signal

Why do people of South Korea under rate their movies, TV-series so much? Why? Believe me when I say "If this show was made in Hollywood, It's rating would have been 9.5 or above". The amount of thriller provided in just the first four episodes is higher than the aggregate amount of thriller provided by all five seasons of TV series like Breaking Bad. I have watched every good Hollywood movie and TV- series, but I have never reviewed anything, This is my first review and it is coming for a South Korean drama, but the irony is I just don't have words to explain how I feel after watching this show. I am Speechless. I feel so bad when I see that there are not even 500 votes here. These directors, actors and the whole production team needs to be appreciated. They are giving us so much, I can't find ways to thank them. Why the world is living in ignorance? These 18 hours are right here, which can give them a next level thrilling experience. If someone by chance is reading this review, please do yourself a favor and watch this drama.

This is an exciting and fast paced thriller. Any loss of impetus caused by the plot contrivance setting up interweaving times lines is swiftly compensated for by the deft plotting and fine performances. The whole thing is propulsive, carrying you along willingly for the ride.

I was going to award the series a 9, but found the final episode disappointing. Everything was left in the air, perhaps for a second series, but this was not the problem. It was the loss of pace as the characters resorted to lengthy exposition to tidy up plot loose ends. Still an 8 though, so don't let this reservation put you off!

This emotionally rich drama chronicles the life of three individuals whose lives are intertwined. The screenplay which realistically beautiful,especially how the characters interact,allows a smooth flow for the narration. Lonely melancholic characters which are perfectly written and easily relatable is one of the aspects that upholds my emotional connection with the film. Sad to see that it is criminally underrated.

SIGNAL (Sigeuneol) (2016) was such an interesting premise. I really enjoyed this crime series. I'm not sure how to best describe it though. It was such a unique experience. While it was a investigative crime drama series there were also definite amounts of science fiction or possibly even paranormal elements which makes it a very unusual watch for me. I really enjoyed that aspect however, especially blended with criminal investigation aspects. Although a strange mix of genres, it really worked here.

I loved Lee Jehoon (as Park Hae-Young). At first I really didn't think I would like him but he ended up being phenomenal in this. He is far from being a stereotypical lead character. I love the emotional connection he gets with cases. Given his background it really endears viewers to him. I love Kim Hye-su (as Detective Cha Soon-hyeon) and Cho Jin-woong (as Detective Lee Jae-han). They are both great actors and their characters are really cool and likable.

I also really enjoyed the two timelines. I think they did a great job portraying two different eras and overlapping story and cases. The concept is fascinating. Visually and aesthetically it was appealing and very original series. The acting was great, the story was great, the music was great, I loved the three main characters. Everything was really well done.

The main reason I hesitate giving this 10 stars is for a few small reasons. Mainly because of the way it ended. Without giving away any spoilers I will only say the ending felt very open-ended, and hopefully it is open-ended intentionally for the purpose of sequel seasons. Until then, I hesitate in rating it too highly because it felt incomplete and needed so much more. Secondly, while I loved the three main characters so much, many of the other side characters felt a bit flat to me. I felt there could have been more depth and character building. Otherwise this show was so unique and worthwhile.

While Signal is very intriguing and full of heart, it also has a very dark and dreary feeling, with a lot of very sad themes (i.e. Murder, corruption, suicide, rape, etc.) and not a lot of happy moments to balance it. The overall mood of the show is very heavy. A lot of the story revolves around some very depressing, tragic themes and is quite hard to handle at times. Even still, this is one of my all time favorites.

[EDIT: There are rumors there will be a season 2!]

STORY: 10/10 CINEMATOGRAPHY: 10/10 ART/DESIGN/VISUALS: 10/10 MUSIC: 10/10 OVERALL RATING: 9/10.

This is no ordinary series. It demands your unwavering attention and significant exercise from your grey cells.There are multiple arcs and the underlying story is complex and multilayered. The director does excellent job in amalgamating it all into one beautiful seamless narrative. The actors are great with the exception of Lee Je - Hoon (who plays Park Have - Young), who at times seemed laboured. Cho Jin - Woong (who plays Lee Jae - Han) is exceptional, I don't believe I have seen anyone do better in a role. He is the soul of this series. The production values are really high.

Yes, it is at times a slow burn and towards the end seems stretched. Liberties have been taken with logic but with a complex script perfection is exceptionally hard to attain.The shortcomings in the script are generally concealed by the director and skill of the actors.

Excellent!