Cruel City (2013)

I simply loved the protagonist of Heartless City as well as the story a super flop drama, but for me a legend.
This was the first time that I watched a drama focused on the Korean mafia. Of course, in other dramas I had the opportunity to learn more about the police, historical times and even spies entitled to exciting pursuits and many scenes of struggle, in addition to this topic about corrupt politicians that we have seen in other dramas.
However, I think Heartless City is quite different. First of all there is an anti-hero, then and the way he develops the characters, except for the female door, everything was in place, and the most important thing was that they kept the suspense, but at the same time the drama is all composed of a dark black color, even the lack of light, gives us a feeling of melancholy and cruelty. Heartless City will join my list of bloodiest dramas.
An anti-hero, no less than a man or woman who supposedly does evil in reality is more just than we imagine the case of our portagonist, who protects people, but does not receive credit for his exploits, and who is considered a criminal and a threat to those in power. While the real bad guy is seen as the "fair" in history.

First of all I want to highlight my passion for this actor more specifically the way his complex, mysterious emotional and at the same time distant but full of charm and style, the type of "villain hero" that makes anyone sigh (even me). Shi Hyun's look has always left me so enchanted.

Plot
In this drama of immense role reversal, we will be in doubt and suspicious of all the characters all the time. In this drama there is no definition for good and evil or whoever is good or bad, but another discovery of each character and their intentions. And you will be carried away by emotion and empathy with the characters. No matter what they did badly ... If they loved it, if they were loyal friends, if they protect people ... Then they deserve forgiveness. The opposite also happens ... If they tried to do something good, with the intention of benefiting themselves, they do not deserve our attention or forgiveness. The plot of this drama makes us wonder if the ends really justify the means. It also teaches us some lessons.

The biggest lesson that Heartless City taught me was: Manipulation is a very dangerous and harmful game. Lies can become truths and truths can become lies.


Characters analysis

Jung Shi Hyun / son of the doctor
Jung Shi Hyun was the son of a prostitute addicted to the drug. He never knew his father, but because of his intelligence, he was nicknamed "the doctor's son" because he was said to have probably inherited his father's cunning. Since childhood, he worked as a drug "messenger". Her mother died of an overdose. After that, he was taken to an orphanage and met Kyung Mi, who became a little sister to him. However, Shi Hyun did not spend much time in the orphanage and soon ran away to return to his life. Always accompanied by a prostitute named Lee Jin Sook, who was a friend of his mother, and the drug dealer Safari, who was the "boyfriend" of this prostitute, Shi Hyun grew up with these two as mother and father figures. Shi Hyun always protected Kyung Mi and was not irritated when she decided to become a police officer. In one of his deliveries, Shi Hyun was caught by the police. To his surprise, police officer Min Hong Ki became a proposition: Shi Hyun should become a secret agent with the aim of reporting transactions and capturing the major drug dealers. And from there, Shi becomes an undercover cop., Because of his status as a secret agent, everyone continued to think that Shi Hyun was a drug dealer, since he could not reveal his true identity. Until one day, in one of his drug deals, where the police are involved, Shi Hyun was eventually accused of murdering Kyung Mi, and he could never have committed such a crime, since to her she was like a sister. From there, he starts to be hunted by the police and the whole story revolves around him proving that he is innocent.


Yoo Soon Mi :She grew up in the same orphanage as Kyung Mi and Shi Hyun. She never got to know Shi Hyun because she was still a baby at that time, except that he had run away from the orphanage. Despite growing up as a rebellious girl who only bothered everyone, deep down she just wanted a little attention outside that she had a huge heart and a lot of good humor. Soo Min and Kyung Mi lived as sisters. However, Soo Min was secretly in love with her boyfriend. Soo Min was devastated by the death of her sister and promised to take revenge. So she accepted the proposal to become a secret agent with the intention of capturing the alleged killer of. However, what she could not imagine was that the man she was behind and believed to be the murderer, was actually Shi Hyun, the person she fell in love with, having met him with another identity. Another thing is that I fell in love with this actress, she is super beautiful with a doll, but I must confess that her character was one of the least developed in the drama, she even became a bit childish and boring.

Lee Jin Sook:Drug dealer and ex-prostitute. Owner of a network of "entertainment" clubs. But make no mistake, just because she is a former prostitute does not mean that she is a bad person. In fact, she is one of the strongest and most admirable characters in this drama. She and Soo Min became friends in prison. Jin Sook takes care of our protagonist as if he is a son. For him, she was a great friend and even a "mother". For her, Shi Hyun was more than a friend or child, because over the years, as he grew up, he fell in love with him (I don't blame her, after all, who wouldn't fall in love?). What I loved most about her was when soo min went to work for the entertainment club, she tried in some way to change the course of her life, seriously this woman is a symbol of female entrepreneurship.

Kim Hyun Soo Kim Hyun: Soo come from a wealthy family that ended up going the wrong way. Perhaps his "hunger" for adventure and his willingness to always be face to face with death were the main reasons why he became a criminal. Always so unforgiving and temperamental, Soo is that type of character that you can never hate, even if he is so immature !.

Safari / Moon Duk Bae: In the first few episodes, I hated him with all my strength! However, in the final episodes, there I was, moved by its history. Moon Duk Bae, known by the nickname "Safari", is a heavy drug dealer. aggressive, who committed murder without blinking his eyes, throughout history goes from being a father figure of Shi Hyun to his tormentor, who wants to kill him at any cost. Following the orders of the great chief "Busan", Safari goes in search of the head of the doctor's son. However, Safari is not what it appears to be.

Romance

One thing I loved about their relationship was the trust they had in each other. Soo Min trusted Shi Hyun too much. She didn't even know his name and she still trusted him! And another thing that I also loved were the bed scenes where I could feel their connection, since outside I didn't feel very much about the drama being 8 and not a 10. Imagine the situation: falling in love with a person without knowing who he is, and don't even know his name, but still trust him more than anyone else. That's what happened to me with Soo Min. Suddenly, a strange man saved her from an assault and, from then on, she became interested in him. When she saw him again, she simply gave him his phone number, and the day after they met again, they had a drink and spent a hot night together.

Final

In the first episode, you become addicted. I found out what could happen in the end. But the worst thing is that, when I approached the last episodes, I was dying of distress. Even though I knew the possibilities, I was extremely devastated when these things happened. I cried so much in the last episode that I was surprised myself. SPOILER-When Soo died in the last episode, it was the moment I cried the most. END OF SPOILER. Their friendship was one of the best brothers I have ever seen and I knew that Shi Hyun's biggest pain would be if he lost his best friend. In the final confrontation between Shi Hyun and Min Hong Ki, it was quite obvious that one or both would end up dead. However, despite being an end that I expected, it hurt my soul!

Well, guys, I think that's it. This review was made too big, huh? Hahaha When the review is excellent it is because I really liked the drama!

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My favorite k-drama. I said it.

The plot caught me so bad.
But this show wouldn't be so good without this amazing cast.
I had a love at first sight for Doctor's son. The actor was made for this character. He was so mysterious, so dark and charismatic. Even kneeling, he kept his dignity.
The main actress wasn't bad and was pretty.
But GOD, the second leads were ALL outstanding. I feel like they completely played with my heart during the whole show. I hated them. Loved them. Wished them to die. Wished them to live. They tortured me.

There was not enough romance and felt so frustrated. But well, if there was more romance, the show wouldn't be so dramatic and dark. So it is forgiven.

The ending got me as well. I hated it but, at the same time, liked it. There was, honestly, no other ending possible.

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"Those streets, let's swallow them all."

While the synopsis offers much romance, Cruel City is anything but a damsel-in-distress tale. Trapped in a world where the streets are filled with hidden brothels and drug dealers, the forsaken ones are taught light from knowing darkness. Their despairs and pains become motivation for such selfless righteousness and sacrifices to rectify the twisted world that have discarded them.

Cruel City forces its audience to redefine the line between good and evil, only for us to be left bewildered at the realisation that there was in fact none to begin with. How could goodness ever be measured? Is it morally sound to exploit an innocence in the act of saving the lives of many others?

STORY:
Rarely does an action drama exceed audience expectation for its plot as it often mainly focuses on action scenes, but hands down to the scriptwriters this time. Each MC has a different mask to hide their terrifyingly calculative and Machiavellian nature. There is also a sense of despair which often associated with the noir genre, forever reaching for that flicker of light at the end of the tunnel but never quite there. The romance is bittersweet with a slight heart-wrench. And those cliff-hangers really played with my heart.

CAST:
To say I'm watching this not only for Kyung Ho would be half-lying. His portrayal of the Doctor's Son is lithe and lethal as a black panther in the night. Kyung Ho is able to capture the loneliness and recklessness of being an undercover. Both the female lead and male 2nd lead didn't come out as strong for me, I feel like they lack the intensity and unique characterisation but still fit in with the story nevertheless.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Right from the start, interesting dichromatic color schemes are used to enhance the dark and sinister scenes, giving various meanings to "darkness". Meetings between Shi Hyun, Soo and Lee Madam are often portrayed in black and blue to show the characters' cold and cunning natures. When Shi Hyun is with Soo Min, it is black and yellow to show how she's bringing light to his world.

MUSIC:
I would highly recommend Hurt by Kim Yong Jin. Even though the drama only has one memorable OST, it is able to incorporate that into crucial moments to get me really sympathise with Shi Hyun.

OVERALL:
Cruel City really sparks my interest in noir genre. So here is my beginning into another genre of K-dramas, what about you?

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

“If you don’t kill, you die.”

“The world is like a mirror. If you spit and curse at it, the world will spit and curse back at you. If you laugh, I’m sure the world will follow and laugh with you.”

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Prelude to Worst of Evil

I have so much to say about this drama I'm about to explode. But im afraid if my review is too long, you won't read it.

So I'll just sum up the facts first.
- definitely watch this drama
- the plot, however convoluted it was, did not detract from the overall experience of the show.
- excellent range of characters with development and none with skippable scenes

Now for all my opinions. Kdramas from 10-15 years ago, for some reason always give me early 90s American drama vibes. From the choppy cinematography, to the sometimes night time soap opera dramatics.

HC was a classic example of this filming style. The action scenes were fun but almost to the point of funny because you can easily see the choreography and sometimes hear the sound dept add in the "smack" sounds.

The most dramatic scenes, I could see the actors giving their all, but sometimes that was the problem. The "acting" part was a little too obvious. (super cringe crying face from Docs Son)

These are not complaints tho. This is just the type of style youre getting. The actors mostly gave excellent performances. The character of Ji Hyung Min was sooo well acted imo. Safari and Hyun Soo were villains you definitely rooted for.

The amount of betrayal in the show is staggering, so it's hard to believe the overall message I took from it in the end was about loyalty, friendship, and love. You will cry unless you're, ahem, Heartless.

If you have watched the more recent drama "The Worst of Evil", id say HC walked so WoE could run. If you haven't seen either, watch HC first. It's a classic old timey feel without a lot cheesy kdrama-isms (fisheye kisses, office Karaoke, cherry blossoms)

Then watch WoE. I don't want to debate as to which is better. WoE just proved that HC could have been done even better in 16 episodes. I do think it had one too many twists.

And my final thoughts-
This was a gorgeous cast, my goodness. Lee Jae Yoon in those plain white tees had me salivating. Yoon Hyun Min has never looked better and he is beautiful in EVERYTHING.
Jung Kyoung-Ho, glistening and brooding, could only rank 3rd against this tough competition but he was still deathly charming

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I am feeling drowsy right now.. u know why??
BECAUSE I MARATHON THIS SHOW FOR 3 DAYS!!!!
I think this is the most intense k-drama that i have ever seen that keep me on the edge of my seat.
The cliff-hanger is killing me, i need to stop watching in the middle of the episode in order to rest, if not i would continue watching it..

This is such an under-rated drama compare to other over-hyped dramas, but the quality is better than some other dramas. The story is so dark and very twisted, you don't even know who is the bad guy and the good guy anymore, the line becomes blur in reality in drug cartel's world. It comes to the point that if we have the same interest and purpose we become allies, even though we are actually enemies.. and so on.. something like that. But somehow i don't understand and cannot follow up with the story and i am left with some questions.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Sometimes I will get lost in thoughts and I cannot catch up with so many Information that jammed into my brain. I need to repeat scenes to understand the story better. It's unexpected but i give a 8.5 for the story because some of information becomes repetitive with so many undercover agents revealed. Don't understand why the director assigned so many undercover agents, and they chased each other while doing the drug business? It becomes odd and confusing. The twist is also too much i think, so it makes me confused, but the intensity is real.

I pity shi hyun, really pity his life, but he is such a strong character... and i instantly admire his character in cruel city.. It's hard to not sympathized with him and his gang.

I need to warn you that this is not a romance drama, there is no romance at all, maybe only 1% romance of all 20 episodes..

Actor especially jung kyung-ho is very brilliant, his acting is flawless like i really can truly feel how he feels.. His pain, his struggle hmmm.. the rest of the cast are also wonderful.. I like all female characters in this show, they are strong. They are not cry-baby female who needs people to defend them. I put 8 for re-watch coz i think i need to watch it again in order to understand it better. Hmm coz after i finished watching this drama, i feel blank and i kind of forget about this drama although when i watched it i cannot stop... It seems that this drama failed to left a mark in my heart hahaha.

Music is dark, intense and can build up tense and suspense.

The ending is good, as expected, but after credit?? What does it mean? I don't understand it at all. That is the only issue i have, the ending.. i mean why after credit i see doc's son standing and calling someone...hmmph... It's only 2 seconds and there is no explanation, i hate it, it could be a 10 haha. I really hope that if he died then he died clearly.. if he lives, there is a scene where he is really alive...

Anyway, recommended drama to watch if u like thriller, dark drama...

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`~Contiene spoilers `~

El Dorama es majestuoso, en el mismo encontrarás acción, drama, romance y VENGANZA, te quedarás sorprendida con tanta acción, con escenas tan buenas, las cuales no estamos acostumbradas a ver en un Drama.

Las actuaciones, fueron fuuuuu, me he quedado sin palabras, pero empecemos uno por uno.

Jung Kyung Ho, Ajhussi, Gangs Ajhussi, Jung Shi Hyun, Shi Hyun, Shi Hyun Oppa, ver a este hombre interpretar tan excepcional papel, me ha dejado con la boca abierta, porque Shi Hyun es un hombre sin expresión, no tiene la necesidad de sonreírte porque igual te enamorarás de él, pero Jung Kyung Ho, es mi hermoso tontito, el cual yo vi en Smile, You ¿En realidad es el mismo? Oh por Dios, Sí, es el mismo, y eso es lo que más me encantó, en Smile You era el oppa miedoso, el oppa enamorado, sonriente, ingenuo, pero aquí en Hearless City, es Nuestro Gangs Ajhussi, el hombre que mata a diestra y siniestra pero que a la vez defiende a las personas que ama, el hombre que está metido en problemas hasta los muñones, pero igual te hace amarlo, majestual Jung Kyung Ho que GRAN INTERPRETACIÓN.

Nam Gyu Ri, es una chica hermosa, la cual conocí en 49 days, me encantó su interpretación, pero aquí se salto la barda, su interpretación es única, porque la vemos como la hermanita “Te llevo la contraria en todo”, pero después se vuelve esa mujer que es capaz de vender droga con tal de encontrar al Doctor, su interpretación fue buena, pero no sobresale a nuestro Ajhussi.

Jin Sook, esta ahjumma, me ha encantado, su ambición es tan grande, su amor fue tan grande… que crió a un niño que no era suyo, se vendía para darle de comer a ese niño, que ahora no ve más con un niño, sino como un hombre, hombre al cual ama, no como madre, sino como mujer.

Safari, comprendí cada pensamiento, cada sentimiento, él amaba a Jin Sook, amaba a Paksa, era su hijo, ese hijo que nunca tuvo, pero al cual le dio todo su amor, Safari, realmente lo consideraba de su sangre y por eso lo abandonó para que no siguiera sus caminos, este personaje me pareció tan humano, me encantó, lo amé, me fascinaba como hablaba este hombre. En serio que lo amé.

Y por último tenemos a Nuestro Soo, ese hermanito travieso, que daba todo por Paksa, era para amarlo, su actuación me encantó, porque todo lo hacía por su hermano del alma, TODO. Bueno hasta aquí me quedó con la evaluación de los personajes porque los otros no me parecen relativamente tan importantes.

Obviamente sí ya llegaste a este punto es porque también estás llorando como yo, en realidad yo me esperaba este final, lo esperaba era más que obvio que alguien tenía que morir, pero en ¿Realidad Paksa murió? Para mí sí, obviamente se murió, sí todos estaban llorando.

Al igual que Soo… ¿Por qué mataron a Soo? Era tan lindo, créanme que lloré…

Bueno el final fue… un poco acelerado, fue un poco ¿En serio? Siempre los malos ganan, en serio Paksa tenía que morir… pero ya resucitando a Paksa, esta fue mi parte favorita del Dorama, cuando la ahjumma felicita a nuestro Paksa por haber cumplido sus sueños y haberse convertido en “alguien”, en un policía, lloré también con esta escena porque nuestro Paksa, rompió en llanto como un bebé.

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