City Hunter (2011)

City Hunter is known to be one of the most exhilarating (yet well-paced) dramas. With the action and romance, the story is packed full of interesting situations between the characters. After seeing the first episode, I could not stop watching in order to see what happens next.

The cast was chosen perfectly for this drama. With Park Min Young and Lee Min-ho as the hero/heroine combo (who eventually started dating each other for a little while), the drama was very appealing. Not to forget that they also enhanced the appeal to the drama with their good looks. The cast even consisted of big names at the lesser-yet-still-important roles, such as Goo Hara, Chun Hojin, and Lee Kwang-soo. The music used was also quite appealing. Songs by Jonghyun (of SHINee), Rainbow, Girl's Day, Kim Bo Young, and Gyuri (of KARA) definitely drew me in.

Although I won't say what it is, the one thing that disappointed me about this drama was the ending. After finishing this intense and awesome drama, the ending just felt rushed or unfinished. It just didn't fit all the character development that occurred throughout the story.

Ending is a big part of a drama, therefore I give City Hunter an 8. I really did like City Hunter, but I wasn't completely satisfied with it.

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City Hunter was one of drama for me that I was particularly attracted.

The story is very gripping and full of action (I love drama and action films), the cast was spectacular, the actors were very great.
Especially Lee Min Ho is an amazing actor, I also followed Boys Over Flower but in this drama has surpassed himself.
Park Min Young that interprets Kim Na Na I only saw this drama and I must say that she is very good.

I almost want to see him again, I do not think easily forget this drama

I recommend everyone to view it. I'm not English so I apologize if I wrote something wrong ^^

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This drama has shaped up to be one of my favorite dramas of all time!



Everything about this drama was amazingly done.The 2 main leads (MIN-MIN Couple) provided all sorts of emotions. The supporting cast was phenomenal...prosecutor and heck even the evil dad Lee Jin-Pyo was amazing...and I give props to Hara because she was actually quite good for her debut drama. Lee Minho stepped into something new taking on an action drama unlike his 2 previous dramas with BOF and Personal Taste. The story plot was one of the best I've seen. One of the biggest and most exciting twist to a story from start to finish Ive seen in a while or should I say in any kdrama...ever. Every episode gives you something to look forward to, very suspenseful at most times because it provides some VERY GOOD cliffhangers, its hard to predict whats going to happen unlike some other dramas. Even though I see this as a thriller drama, the 2 main leads gave off very cute moments and the loveline was freaking great! I was ONLY slighty disappointed in the ending because THERE WAS NO KISS to make it complete. I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS DRAMA TO ANYONE. VERY EXCITING!!! TOO BAD IT WAS ONLY 20 EPISODES....

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I have to admit that I only watched this drama because of Lee Minho and in the end I don't regret watching it at all.

Story?
+ The story is interesting and exciting. I forget to go to sleep because I was curious what would happen next in the drama. The characters are interesting and even though some of them didn't do only good things I liked them...
- During the whole drama I hoped that some persons didn't die, well, in the end I still ended up crying but if I think about it, I think the ending makes the drama PERFECT although I didn't really LOVE it...

Acting/ Cast?
+ I can't say anything on this matter. Lee Minho and Park Min Young showed great acting skills, as well as the remaining cast...I also liked the acting of Kim Sang Joong very much. The emotions seemed real and I forgot that this was just a drama and they were acting...

Music?
- I don't think the music was as good as everyone says. There were some songs whcih I didn't like or scenes where I thought that the music didn't match with the actions...
+ The second ending song which was also used in some scenes was really good. I liked it and it was perfect for all the cliffhangers at the end of the episodes.

Rewatch?
Even though I think this drama is really good and I could always rewatch some scenes, I think that all those long and complicated conversations would be annoying if you already know what will happen.

Overall?
A great drama with good music, an amazing story and wonderful actors...I think this drama is a MUST-WATCH, at least if you like Lee Minho or any of the other actors...

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I'll be honest. One of the main reasons I was so hesitant to watch "City Hunter" was because of all the hype. I've tried watching other "hit dramas" before (Secret Garden, Boys Over Flowers), and I've learned pretty quickly that I don't really agree with the general public when it comes to dramas. But I finished "Heartless City" and fell into a drama slump, so I reached for "City Hunter" because the premise seemed very similar.
Story: I didn't really like "City Hunter" until about episode 8, because before that point it was as if the writer had no idea what genre she was trying to write. She would have a rom-com scene, exchange it with some badass fighting and then have another rom-com scene. Needless to say, I think I suffered some whiplash. The thing is, I doubt she could have made the transition smoother, because there wasn't really a way for her to do so in the expository episodes. Once she did get the genres to blend together, I fell hard for "City Hunter".
It's not perfect. In fact, it's pretty far from perfect. But the writer knew what she was doing. She knew what story she wanted to tell from the start and didn't try to change rails suddenly. Another thing was that the writer put in so much heart into her story that it just resonated so well in most of the viewers. You couldn't help but root for Yoon Sung and his journey.
Plus the... resourcefulness of Yoon Sung. Like the water-bottle fight scene. Or the spoon fight scene. Or pretty much every fight scene he had.
Acting: I think I'm one of those people who can *see* why Lee Min-ho is popular, but just doesn't *understand*. Yes, he's pretty. Yes, he's a good actor. But beyond that, he doesn't really come off as all that obsession-worthy. I think I saw more of why he's popular, but I'm still not his biggest fan. "City Hunter" definitely played to his strengths, showcasing his wide emotional range and amazing chemistry with co-star Park Min Young. Park Min Young was also pretty good here. She was sweet and likable and knew how to hold her own against our sometimes-douchebaggy lead. Lee Joon Hyuk was a bit emotionally walled off, but still good and I just couldn't connect with Hwang Sun Hee.
But the one who stole the show was definitely Kim Sang Joong. He switched between the hardass father and a man broken over his comrades' deaths with equal intensity.
Music: I'm not a big fan of ballads, which sucks because guess what most drama OSTs are mostly composed of? That being said, ballads are great when you want people to be sad. But what about happier songs? What about those songs for when something fist-pumpingly awesome happens? I might be mistaken, but I don't remember if "City Hunter" had an actual somewhat-happy song in there.
Rewatch Value: Definitely. I loved this drama, faults and all. It just hit all the right notes in me, mostly due to the assured writing and the awesome directing.
Overall: I guess the main reason I loved "City Hunter" so much is the fact that it brings back old childhood stories. Stories where the hero might be a little worse for the wear, but gets his happy ending and goes off to save the world again.

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I've finished watching city hunter last night , for me the drama was really fine and I enjoyed watching it :).
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well , before stating this drama , I've heard many opinions about it , most of them said :( This drama is the BEST drama EVER) .. So I was too curious,and I built a great ambition on it -depending on the viewers opinion I thought that I will be promised to an atomic bomb drama..after watching the 1st episode , I said ye, my feeling says that this drama is going to be really great just as I heard ! ,,, but after finishing each episode this feeling was reducing gradually because many underrated things have happened , plus many unrealistic scenes have occurred , and there were many graphic Errors ...
and I think the screenwriter was very rushed in writing the Final Episode , I think the last episode needs time more than 1hr just to make everything clear ,,

Ok ... to make my message brief , my overall Review :
the drama was really good , but not THAT great :)

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In The Poetics, Aristotle noted that beginning dramatists tend to be adept at creating believable characters and moments, but often struggle to fit them into tightly constructed plots. City Hunter, oddly enough, suffers from exactly the opposite problem. The overall story structure is fairly sound, with a compelling through-line and decent pacing. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details. Individual scenes make little sense, with character motivations that shift on a whim depending on the screenwriter’s immediate needs. It doesn’t help that the characters themselves (and, in the case of the leads, the actors who play them) seem completely out of place in the world the script tosses them into. For the sake of the Republic of Korea, I hope that the HR department at the real Blue House is a better judge of competence than whoever assumed that Park Min Young would make a great secret service agent or that Lee Min Ho was an MIT-trained PhD. I’m willing to suspend disbelief to an extent, but when the character who’s supposed to be the show’s resident super genius resorts to dropping flowerpots on his beloved’s head in an attempt to incapacitate/flirt with her I’m out.

The sheer incompetence on the micro level is particularly frustrating because on the macro level the show is dealing with genuinely relevant and intriguing problems, ranging from age-old questions of justice vs. vengeance and vigilantism vs. the rule of law to more modern issues of affordable health care and access to education. It’s a show that could have worked, and worked really well. The narrative architecture is there, but perhaps they should have brought in a novice writer to do the decorating.

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Compelling.. Highly Gripping.. I AM AMAZED!.. Hands down.:)

Story: Fast-paced., Episode 1 will give what the story is all about so don't you dare miss it! I love how the story builds problems and conflicts but it will be solved in a way that you will be satisfied, surprised and will keep you at the edge of your seat. The revenge theme was there till the end, no loose ends,it's good. This was really action packed- for me, I was not even bored, I want to finish it at one seat-- only if I have all the time..The romance was enveloped in way that it helped develop the main story and the characters as well. I also loved how most of the characters had their own stories to tell, giving more depth on the story. I was satisfied in the ending because there was a feeling that everything perfectly went on their place.

Acting/Cast: For me, I felt their suffering, happiness, love, hate, sadness, revenge, the mother's longing, everything they want to convey, I felt all of them. Lee Min Ho is so good in his role, I love him! His acting was incredibly superb! The chemistry between the couple was evident,though I wish there was more on them after everything was resolved. I love all the supporting cast and how their portrayals all seemed important in the overall story. I want to hate the main antagonist but I can't,I felt pathetic for him. Indeed, no one can really fully understand someone unless the exactly same thing happened to him/her.


Music: The music was created in such a way that it enhances the atmosphere of the episode! So fitting! I found myself humming the songs even after I had finished this.

Rewatch value: I finished this 2 months ago and had an idea of giving it a review after rewatching it 3 times. So far this was the only drama that I rewatched since I was bored recently. Still it gave me the same feeling.

Overall: I guess I said all I want to convey only for you to be convinced to watch this! I absolutely loved this, no doubt it's my all time- favorite :)) Kudos to the authors, directors and City Hunter family.

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Cute, entertaining, addictive.

I finished watching this drama quite a long time ago (roughly 2 years?)but I still remember, well, most of it. Since I re-watched bit of it yesterday, I figure I should write a review.

I absolutely love the idea of the plot. This type silent hero who seeks for revenge just kills me. My first impression of the drama was: "Oh, something like the modern version Iljimae?!" so when I watch first episode I was not impressed. In many ways, the drama could have done better. While I appreciated that it was necessary as the foundation of the story, I found it hard to swallow and lengthy. The story did get better when the revenge and romance kicked in later in the middle of the drama. It focused more on love line than the actual substance of the revenge so that was probably why it was not THAT THRILLING given the plot idea. Well by not that thrilling I meant the story gave the hero so many easy wins and the detective couldn't have any real impact to the hero's revenge plan, not till the very end. As I was watching I kept wondering how can it be so easy in Korea to kidnap a high ranking politician, too easy that it was frightening. Well, staffs in the Blue House was a mess. Compare to a very similar drama in same genre: Galsitak which came out later in 2012, Galsitak was definitely more thrilling in terms of keeping our hero on his tip toe. BUT, I did have a lot of fun watching it, as it was very edible and entertaining. The characters were not that hard to read and probably why it was very addictive, suitable for entertaining. I love the twist at the end however I think the ending could have been more momentum. I do love the action in the drama. I think the drama was very cute despite its suggested route of a melo-drama. So while Galsitak, Iljimae and City Hunter have the same feel, the way they presented it was not the same.

The cast. I have seen several dramas starring Lee Minho as well as Park Min Young and I personally don't think they have great acting ability. For Lee Minho, probably because he hasn't yet chosen many different types of characters for his works but I think he suits this kind of mysterious hero well. The chemistry between two actors was actually great. They suit each other perfectly and it was why the love line was very vivid and cute.

The music, probably worst music I have seen in a drama. Most of the time because it was misplace and the choice of song was not suitable as well. Normally I wouldn't care less about the music, but the music in City Hunter sometimes really kills the mood.

Re-watch value? I like to rewatch City Hunter many times. Although the drama itself was not exceptional but and even after I was aware of its bad points I still want to re-watch its bits and bits. I love the idea very much and its very entertaining even when you rewatch it. Its very addictive, I would say.

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