The Guardians (2017)

I have finished this drama 15 days ago. I did not rush to write a review because this drama was not exciting and entertaining enough in my opinion. I was not emotionally invested, and deeply excited about this drama.

The story is not bad but not good either. It is quite common.

The female lead was not good but not bad either. Her fighting scenes were not convincing at all, I am sorry. It truly felt not natural. However, her acting when she is not fighting is decent. It is just her fighting scenes, the problem.
The positive note is Kim Young Kwang and Park Solomon who have done a splendid job in their respective role from the beginning until the end. If you are a fan of one of these two, or if you are a fan of both, then it is really worth to watch it.

The ost was quite good, If I am not wrong there is not a lot of osts.

Overall, it is not good but not bad either.

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As a general rule, I never watch a drama because of an idol (unless I have solid proof that he/she is also a competent actor/actress), but I admit that the fact that Shinee’s Key (my second bias from my top bias group) was in The Guardians is what made me become interested in it in the first place.
It was not, however, the main reason why I watched it and stayed for 32 episodes. There were reasons enough to watch this and I’m going to number a few.

The Guardians is mainly a story about motherhood, revenge, relationships between sons, daughters and their parents and ghosts of the past. Being so ambitious, adressing such delicate issues could either result in a success or a flop, but this series manages to work it out.
The fact that every episode it’s just 30min long –as in many other dramas this season-, makes it easier to watch. And since it’s an action/thriller drama, it makes it more exciting as well.

I think the most pleasant surprise in Lookout was most definetely Kim Young Kwang. He was amazing and his permormance is one of the best this year. Also, there were great choices for the supporting roles. It might be odd to watch Choi Moo Sung playing a villain, since he always plays awkward, endearing characters, like in Weightlifting... or Reply 1988. But he did an amazing job.
On a personal level it was great to see Song Sun Mi. She’s a great actress and I have a soft spot for her since I watchedr in Miss Korea. Kim Tae Hoon (who was also in the great but overlooked Angry Mom) and Shin Dong Wook were excellent as well.

Also, since it’s not an easy thing to find in dramaland, I love plots were the female lead is strong –either physically or psychologically, or both-. Lee Si Young’s character is so badass! And Kim Sun Young is a perfect counterpart. It’s also really nice to see a good female friendship depicted on screen for a change.

The only thing I frowned on a little was that cliché-ish bad-to-the-bone villain/psycho played by Solomon Park, although I think the focus is on the whole corrupted political system enough to forget about that.
Also, as in any action drama where technicisms play an important part, I wouldn’t wonder if there were some plot wholes (regarding anything related to computer hacking, for example). But since I’m always more focused on the plot as a whole, where it’s going, where the characters are head to, as well as the acting and so on, I didn’t give it much importance.

All in all this is a well-rounded drama, one of the best this year and I strongly recommend you watch it. Just one thing: do not expect any romance (except just a little of that usual fanservice writer-nim comes up with when an idol is featured in a drama). I enjoy romance myself as a genre, but if you’re craving for some of that right now, then this drama is not for you.

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First of all, i decided to watch it only because i am a huge fan of Kim Seul Gi and it was the only ongoing drama i found while looking for other dramas. So, the review might be a little biased but i would try my best to keep it clean. Crime thrillers seem useless and stupid when merged with an emotional background but this drama is worth it.

Genre : Action, Mystery thriller, Crime, Melodrama, Investigation

Storyline : A secret group decides to do things their own way to get the justice they deserve against corrupt officials. A story that sounds quite usual, is strangely much more meaningful than what you expect. It has a fresh approach to story-telling and makes you excited from the first few minutes. It points out the sentiments exactly at the right emotions and makes you think how something can make you excited yet emotional at the same point. Another thing that impressed me was the consistency of the emotions and how they avoided anything that was unnecessary, from romance to pity (talking about the kids). Although i don't know much about hacking or korean laws, i couldn't help but notice the flaws in the plot at times but i won't spoil it for you.

acting : KIm Tae Hoon, Lee Shin Young, Kim Young Kwang. People i had watched in other dramas and thought thy stood out shined all through the drama. Key was the useless comedy relief till a while but everything, the characters and the story-lines were well formed so i don't think it mattered much. As much as there were other characters that were amazing, the only other actor who i thought needed the recognition he deserved was Park Solomon who played the character of Yoon Shi Wan.

Will i watch it again? Probably no.
Will i suggest it to other people? Yes.

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I'm really sad there are no more episodes for this! Pacing was fantastic throughout, without giving too much away it is satisfying to follow characters who get their resolves especially in an epic manner.
But then Dramas like this really make me wonder about actual legal and justice systems in the world, and how much corruption takes place while justice fails to be served. This cast really amps it up to make the much needed changes when the law won't. The OST is one of the best I've heard this year in a drama series so far it does not disappoint. I would have liked to see some character moments at the end there but it was a wrap!
Rewatch Value I rate 3.5 because I find stories like these are often a one time watch, especially when intrigue and mystery are involved. It's not as gripping the 2nd time around but there might be some moments worth checking out again. The episodes are short enough length you can binge watch this so fast now! Enjoy

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I doubt myself so much after watching this. Why is it so highly rated? Am I the only one who thinks it's almost unwatchable? Are my expectations too high? Am I the only one who noticed all the plot holes, overacting, lazy storytelling and supposedly intelligent people making idiotic and laughable choices?

Is it my problem? I think it is. But I can't help it.

I've just finished binging Stranger (Secret Forest) and Tunnel and absolutely love both series. Stranger has an incredibly well-researched multilayered plot and Tunnel for me was a suspenseful and emotional roller coaster ride. Why didn't I feel the same watching this? My emotion was just dead flat and I really couldn't care about any of the characters.

The story was so riddled with plot holes that I felt like giving up so many times halfway through. I'm not even going to start with how unrealistic some scenes were. A lady cop going around kicking the asses of a bunch of guys who are physically so much larger than her? A prosecutor who manipulates people around him by acting like a brat? Kids who can hack into anything they want and have access to any CCTV they wish? A wanted fugitive who loves to remove her helmet for no reasons under CCTVs and continues to walk around without disguise in public after barely escaping getting caught?

Unfortunately, it wasn't even close to being funny, exciting, suspenseful or emotional in any way for me. The music's terrible too, personally it really spoiled the mood way too much for me; felt like it's targeted at teenagers.

If you are a hardcore crime/mystery/thriller fan, this is definitely not for you. It is however mildly entertaining if you're just looking for some brainless entertainment which happens to have a crime/mystery thriller theme.

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Nose whistles, bird chirps, this drama has it all!

Dude....the emotional parlor tricks at the end of the last episode...why do kdrama directors hate us so much. Like dude, I've already watched 31.5 episodes, do you really need to plant your hook so deep to ensure I watch the last 15 minutes? IDK, it was a dark but reasonably well done drama. The actors were all so pretty, so it was fun to watch. There was nothing super innovative about it, it's a pretty cliche topic. But I guess that's not a bad thing, it felt familiar while still being just different enough that it was worth watching.

The acting was decent, although some of the bad guys were pretty one-note stoic, which was a little weird. The Police Team Leader chick was pretty killer. Her emotional range is really broad and her brisk but assertive tonality in her line delivery really makes me believe the character she's trying to sell. They did an exceptional job with the casting, outside of those few I mentioned before.

Some parts genuinely bother me. Like if you spend 29 episodes making these heroes seem like geniuses, how in the last 3 episodes do they suddenly become ineffective half-waits that suddenly can't solve simple problems. Did they all take idiot pills at the end of episode 29 and I just missed it? Lazy lazy writing to end a story using an easy excuse. Really annoyed with that. The other thing that bothered me is that some of the soundscape noises just aren't right. The birds outside from inside the church were one of the worst offenders. They did, however, manage to catch every inhale, exhale, and nose whistle. This is probably the only show I've ever seen where I hear one of the main leads nose whistle faintly a lot when they breathe. I think I should have used less sensitive speaker settings.

One thing that stood out impressively in this drama was the OST. Some of those songs really stick in your head and the action scene songs really set the stage and pull you into the excitement.

Overall, it's pretty good, worth a watch, not excellent but not every drama needs to be excellent.

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+ POSITIVES
- NEGATIVES
= SUMMARY
~ RECOMMENDED FOR

++++++ POSITIVES +++++
+ The characters are very well developed and they all have their own story that the writers are kind enough to share with us.

+ The actors were all really talented and made their characters feel very realistic and believable. They also did a splendid job with the chemistry. Even if there were few love scenes, they were sending me all the right signals to make a romance possible.

+ The story as a whole is very interesting and keeps you at the edge of your seat. The way everything comes together, case by case was a very nice build up to the final boss.

+ The sound track is perfect and all the songs will be on your "To download" list.

------ NEGATIVES ------
- They were repeating scenes over and over even though the scenes were not important and I didn't gain any information from watching it again with a few extended seconds. Fine if it's to remind the viewer of something but in this case it seemed to be to extend the episodes.

- The emphasis was on the drama and the action. I wish there was more case solving and that they kept more secrets. Because they were so out in the open with everything, the build up to the climax disappeared since the show was just one big climax in itself. They should have worked more with the dynamic of having calm, informative parts and then shock the viewer with something instead of mixing it all together. I got bored.

- The whole series felt like I was going around in circles. Some events would happen multiple times without contributing anything to the story. Instead it would just make the characters seem more incompetent and at last, it was hard to take everything seriously because the likeliness of it happening was reaching zero.

- Some lose ends were never tied and some motives where never found. The ending felt very lazy to me.

======= SUMMARY ======

So to sum it all up, the characters were well developed and the actors where excellent. The sound track gave the perfect feels for every scene and the chemistry was spot on. On the other hand, scenes where being unnecessarily reused often, without contributing anything to the story and I felt like the whole show was going around in circles. Events would happen multiple times which caused them to become less believable every time I saw them happen again. This made the entire story feel dragged, repetitive and longer than it needed to be. Not to mention that although the ending was daring and pretty good, it created a big plot hole and left us with some untied lose ends.

~~~~~~ RECOMMENDED ~~~~~~
If you like action with a story, a little bit of romance, vengeance, lies and deceit, this is the poop for you. You will see people getting shot, falling off buildings, a bit of blood, a few fighting scenes and a whole lot of kick ass. This is not a "solve it yourself" type of criminal series though. You will be hand held through out the entire show, with the answers given to you one by one as the episodes go on. You will encounter a few psychos without motives and quite a few murder attempts. If you want romantic skinship in loads, leave now. This show does not have the focus in that sort of place.

With that said...

... enjoy!!!

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Great Job done by the cast

At first I was kinda disappointed in the ending but then by the next day I realized it was the only way. That’s how much the ending stuck with me. I kept asking myself if there couldn’t have been a better ending because Do Han cleared his father’s name but didn’t get to see his father free. However, I then realized he could never forgive himself for Yu Na’s death and this was the price he felt he had to pay.

I loved how Do Han’s brother, Gun Woo and Soo Ji reminisce about Do Han. Their first impression of him was mine and he slowly ended up being my favorite.

I may watch this one again just so I can watch Kim Young Kwang again.

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This series was very enjoyable; to this day it's still one of my favorites. The plot contains mystery, revenge, remorse, temporary happiness-so many things that were mixed quite well into 32 episodes. This approximately 16-hour worth series entertained me a lot, although the ending was slightly disappointing. I loved Jo Sooji's character, and the fact that Lee Siyoung, the actress, was pregnant whilst doing all the stunts herself only increased my respect for her as well as my love for this series. Kim Youngkwang (Jang Dohan) and Park Solomon (Yoon Siwan) easily climbed up my favorite actors list. They're so talented.

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This K-Drama series was very interesting to watch. It wasn't like any other series I have watched so far. It was different... it had a lot of positives and a few negatives but nothing serious.
First off, I was fascinated by the story line of this series as it was full of epic plot twists, revengeful action packed scenes and intense cliff hangers. The beginning of this series wasn't that compelling but as each episode progressed, it successfully improved after one another. I became very fond of all the actors, especially the antagonists of this series. Park Solomon did exceptionally well with his character. His emotions and actions portrayed as the antagonist really paid off. He was definitely my favourite character of this series and impacted on how I reviewed in terms of story and overall. Afterall, I look more into the villans than the protagonists. All actors played their roles well and I admire their hardwork and determination.
I would recommend this series to K Drama Fans who like to be surprised in every episode and like to have their emotions played with. It will get you riled up when evil occurs and excited whenever revenge takes place. You won't be disappointed. This series will lift your spirits if you are in the mood for a revengeful series. ?

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