The Killer's Shopping Mall (2024)

Mind Blowing Thriller

A Shop for Killers is fantastic. I watched it and regretted why I hadn't watched it before. The action in this manga is truly epic and mind boggling. I hope they make a second season because I just can't wait to see what will happen next, This show is extremely thrilling and will make you want more. It kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole day. In some Korean dramas, even getting a gun is a pain in the ass. But in this drama, a pistol is the most basic weapon, while we have mercenaries with machine guns, attacking drones, and whatnot.
The negatives of this show are probably some far-fetched plot holes and pacing. Because I think some people don't watch it in one go and might forget the details with flashbacks going on and off simultaneously. But otherwise, the drama is French's kiss, with great actors and superb direction. I'm in love with characters like Minhye, Bale, and Pasin.

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A not so bad plot and a not so bad acting

A series adapted from a novel which I didn’t read so I my review will only focuses on the series.

We get a very interesting first 2 episodes with an original concept as well as in the directing and artistic approach, with an intriguing cast, intriguing because it is far from the roles we usually see them in, and if you don’t know it’s from a novel, it is also a very unique plot.

To me I am satisfied with 95% of the storyline and the acting. I especially love the scenery, this darkness around each scene and the dialogues with a lot of depth. The sign language conversation is extremely enjoyable. Vilains have some depth too even if you think the main vilain is psycho.

It is a very short series for which we can expect another season and worth watching especially since it is short.

Now I will talk about a few things that, personally didn’t work and thus, the reason why it is not a 10/10.

First of all the development of Jeong Ji An is not completed. Was it saved for another season ? We have a child version and short development of her as a kid. You must have spotted how strong JJA as a child is very brave and very intelligent. We could think her childhood affected this version of her but they showed us when Jeong Jin Man was raising her. We still see confidence, braveness, curiosity and excitement actually… The young adult version of her is quite far from the picture we got from her in the past. The young adult teenage version of her is very frail, not confident, weak also (in her way to think and physically act)… So it feels we are missing something.

Another plot problem to me is how quick some situations get resolved. I mean, these people are very smart, not easily fooled, they think… How this whole situation gets resolved is not convincing. When JJM dies it is not convincing how easy people think he died. Is it because the novel said so ? Should we blame the writer ?

Another problem is the acting. Don’t get me wrong I am satisfied with everyone and if sometimes Kim Hye Jun is questionable I think it is more a characterization problem. But Park Ji Bin could have done way better especially when he dies…

Lastly why not a 10/10. Well even if it was very entertaining and nice I think it is hardly rewatchable and they are right, the re watchable value is part of the rating. You might think because it is short it is not rewatchable but DP is rewatchable (season 1), on american series Black mirror is rewatchable. Might be very different kind of stuff but to me the rewatchable value here is lower than some other stuffs.

PS : I talked about the cons but I also mentioned the pros and of course I enjoyed it. I think LDW is pretty amazing even tho it is not his best performance.

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Dramatic, Gorey, Enthralling

From start to finish, the presentation and story-telling of the show were gripping and exciting! Both the leads - the uncle and the niece play a fantastic part in this entire series - both together and separately! It definitely makes it a MUST WATCH.

If you enjoy action, thrillers, suspense - this show has all of that. You might have to put up with a bit of gruesome gorey killing sprees along with it so "Listen Well" - watch at your own risk depending on what you are able to handle. It did get a bit much for me. Though they try to spare you a bit with the camera panning to the killer rather than the victim. The story is actually not very complicated which is a plus point. There is a bit of back and forth with episodes 5 and 6 giving important background information but never for a moment did this show lose it's pace or get boring so don't let that make you hesitant.

The show is unrealistically realistic. It doesn't make superheroes out of nobodies. People are what you expect them to be and rely on their wits and other skills. Of course there are still unrealistic aspects to the show but the series completely draws you into the world despite that.

Just FYI, the story isn't complete and although there is no confirmation as of now but there probably should be a season 2. That is the only thing I wish wasn't the case. I would have liked an extra 2 episodes and the series to be concluded. Not sure what new season 2 could hold as expectations will now be through the roof.

The OST fits the series perfectly. The actors did a good job and I'm especially happy that Lee Dong Wook took up this project. He's just the icing and cherry on top of the cake!

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DAMN!

When clicking onto this show, I thought it'd just be something similar to money heist where they're a bunch of criminals working together to complete missions. But turns out, it meant the online website where killers shop which is unique. I'm actually very happy to have completed this drama. It kept me on my tippy toes each time I thought Jian was going to die. I felt so bad for the uncle too, he was a good man with the wrong job and he tried to make things right but that led to him being chased down by many. First time in my life, I actually predicted the boy that "killed" the uncle in the first episode. He got me so mad but it was very expected. Jian is such a smart girl and even at a young age, she managed to take a hint of things and escape from them. Every episode, I kept telling myself, "Y'know, the uncle should appear magically just so I can be satisfied." And then he actually did. From the looks of it, there's going to be a season two, and I look forward to it!

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What a great show. The high quality and brutal intensity of the action scenes, the production design, the colorful and compelling supporting characters and flashily demented villains were reminiscent of John Wick in the best way. They did a great job building tension and suspense in each episode, I was on the edge of my seat no matter what timeline I was in, equally captivated by the flashbacks and the present day scenes.

The centerpiece of the show, the devoted yet unconventional uncle/niece relationship, was beautifully done. In addition to all the high octane spectacle this show had a lot of emotional weight to it. I simp so hard for Lee Dong Wook his own mother would tell me to take it down a notch so I really enjoyed watching him play a character that was so simultaneously reserved yet charismatic and he did a great job being deadpan yet still expressive and dryly funny. The acting was excellent across the board.

I do wish the show had shown us what Uncle Jin Man was up to while Ji An was battling for her life. I can intuit how/why he faked his death and that he was fighting Bale (who was MIA from the protracted showdown at the house) but I would have actually liked to see some of it. Since it felt like they recycled some previously seen footage in episode 7 I think they could have used that time to wrap that subplot up more definitively.

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Unique Story-telling That Fell Off

Will start off by praising the Writer's creativity and bravery in attempting a drama that is mostly focused on one setting (The raid of JJM's home). This isn't commonly done in KDramas as it's not easy crafting enough content to keep viewers engrossed without getting bored. Flashbacks were mostly appropriately spaced out in between the spectacular action scenes to provide some change of pace. Personally, I enjoyed the backstory and dynamics of JJE & Pashin - it was more relatable to me then the inexplicably strained(?) relationship btw JJE & JJM. As aforementioned, the action scenes are definitely the highlights of this drama despite some of the obvious plotholes/troupes that were haphazardly patched over (such as the miltary exercise cover, bad guys going 1-by-1 to die etc.).

Not surprisingly, the Writing is also the Con that let down this drama. In my opinion, too many side characters were introduced without a proper/believable backstory or use such as the Shadow Organization's Director, a random deaf "Brother", and the taxi driver... Many of the subplots were also not well-covered such as JJM's fake death, escape path that led back into the house (?), Bale's incredulous survival and decision to get revenge after many years etc.

The main gripe I had was how obvious it was that JJM wasn't really dead. I mean he is listed as the ML but only appeared spottedly in the first 5 eps in flashbacks... I found myself constantly awaiting his "heroic return" and thus felt episodes drag as it whiffed into the 2nd half. In general, the plot did not deviate from common expecations - no real plot twists (I'm not counting JJM's "revival").

Overall, I still think it is a very watchable drama - just based on the action scenes alone. Casting & Acting was also superb esp for JJE - she always looks so vulnerable. Just temper expecations and watch with an open mind (:

Final random thought: The repeated usage of "Listen Up, JJE" was seriously cringe for me. Felt they overplayed it way too much...

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