The Bride of Habaek

I don't think I've ever written a review for IMDb, but I felt compelled after reading a couple of unpleasant reviews. It you don't like fantasy and romantic comedies, you probably won't appreciate it. I liked everything about it.; the story, the actors, the characters, the special effects, the scenery, the cinematography, the comedy, and the music. I understand that there are people that don't like K-dramas, just like I don't like gore/violent movies that have no point, but if you enjoy fantasy/love stories, this one will captivate you.

I saw some great reviews and some really bad reviews for this show and decided to give it a shot. I don't think it deserves a really poor rating, but a rather strong start to a rather cute story ultimately fell short. The acting was pretty good but not great, the special effects were fine but not amazing, and the story was cute but not powerful. Strong emotional moments failed to connect with me, and although I felt sorry for our characters, I never cried (and I am a BIG crier). Also the female characters in this show were just SO annoying that it actually made me cringe a few times. In particular the main girl is rather immature and has reactions varying from cute manga reactions to total stupidity (fainting at the sight of an ex). Her and her friend were also the FARTHEST things from actual psychiatrists that I had to actively pretend I didn't know anything about psychology to get through the series. What was frustrating about the lack of anything resembling actual doctors is that I have seen two other medical based K-Dramas that did a great job of portraying the medical field and the professionalism and care that would be required in a hospital setting. I get that our main girl has her own clinic and doesn't have the "rules" of a hospital, but come on, barely listening to an obviously disturbed paranoid schizophrenic and then screaming like a child when he proceeds to have a breakdown? (BTW This happens in the first 15 minutes so its not a spoiler). It was ridiculous and brought the whole show down in my opinion.

I started this drama because i love supernatural dramas or like fantasy dramas, whatever you want to call it. I like the whole being gods thing, but i wish Habaek had more chances to showcase his power. The female lead was really annoying at times, she was always a damsel in distress, which i like to an extent, but come on she cant do anything? She is apparently a therapist, but she definitely does not act like it. Mura was also annoying, her constant jealousy got on my nerves, even when she was with Biryeom(?) she was still jealous of the female lead. Apart from those things, it was pretty decent and i liked the story line. Nam joo hyuk was absolutely stellar in this. I loved the dynamic of the 1st couple.

I'm still not sure why i chose to watch this, but i'm glad i did. It is a good mix of fantasy and everyday life, with some great one liners and a few good fights thrown in. I don't know the original tale about the water god, so it seemed a nice story. I've been to Korea though, it's a lovely place i'd like to see more of and i've been to some of the places shown, but i never saw men there with frilly or lacy shirts with giant bows around the collar (maybe i wasn't in the right place and to be honest nowhere else in the world i've been to either has men dressed like that), but it somehow fits in here with the gods and their OTT lifestyle. The acting was good, the ending was pretty good and I'm glad i watched it.

Let me start by saying that after excitedly recognizing the characters and art style from the Manhua (Bride of the Water God), I was horribly disappointed to discover that this story has nothing in common with it at all. So for readers of the Manhua, this is likely to be a let down.

HOWEVER, that being said, I still can't understand why this show has received such poor ratings. If you look past the title and treat the film as a stand alone product, it is actually pretty solid (as K-Dramas go). While the story lacks originality, the script itself is well written. The acting, though not Oscar worthy, is mostly believable (especially CEO Shin). The special effects are acceptable (some are even pretty cool). And the other technical aspects (such as cinematography and soundtrack) are all nicely polished.

That's not to say it was perfect. I struggled with So-ah's fainting (which was probably meant be slapstick but only translated as annoying), her clueless character early on in the show, and the disparity between her caring personality vs her standoffish behavior. I also never bought her role as a psychiatrist. On the other hand, I loved how she was humble enough to admit her faults, yet never let others put her down.

Some other nitpicks include Habaek's "smile twitch" (what was the purpose???), the rushed ending, and the fact that Habaek's backstory gave absolutely no explanation that the curse caused him to become a child during the day and revert to an adult at night (a major point in the Manhua). This made the 2-3 scenes with his "younger" self completely disorienting.

In addition, the plot also took some unnecessary turns toward the end (but what K-Drama doesn't suffer from those?), and the current subtitles on Netflix had several critical segments of conversation where the wording was out of context or failed to tie together the larger meaning/subtext of what was being said.

In summary, despite some minor problems, I thought this was a pretty decent film overall, with lots of romance. If you are a fan of manga and K-Drama with a splash (no pun intended) of fantasy, give it a try. Recommended!

ROMANCE RATING: 10/10. I thought the lead couple had good chemistry (though others may disagree), and they share the largest number of kiss scenes I have yet to see in a K-Drama (7+). Additionally, in comparison to the brief or static "pecks" used in many K-Dramas, these kisses didn't skimp on dynamics or duration. This flick also deserves a nod for its' plentiful amount of skin/fanservice, courtesy of Nam Joo Hyuk and Gong Myeong's gorgeous torsos.