Review: IRIS

Title: IRIS
Starring: Lee Byung Hun, Kim Tae Hee, Jung Joon Ho
Language: Korean
Genre: Action, thriller, romance
Episodes: 20


I started this series some time ago and I finally finished it recently. I have a lot to say about it and my mind continues to race as I write this review.

Kim Hyun Joon and Jin Sa Woo are best friends in the special forces that share a brother like bond between them. They both meet a beautiful woman on separate ocassions and gush to the other about this mysterious beauty. They later learn that they have been admiring the same woman and that she's part of a secret national organization by the name of the NSS. Her and another agent recruit the two friends for the NSS and learn the ways of the top secret organization. Things slowly turn for the worse after Hyun Joon completes an assassination job and people begin to turn against him from both North and South Korea.

The reason I picked this drama up was because of my curiosities on Big Bang's T.O.P's acting abilities and the intriguing storyline. There was also a lot of buzz surrounding it when it was first released. When I started it, I was watching another drama starring Jung Joon Ho by the name of Last Scandal which is amazing. But as I mentioned earlier, I have a lot to say about this drama. I'll break this down differently into pros and cons.

I enjoyed the various characters and how they faced their own conflicts within the main story. I became attached or favored a couple of the characters. The story was intriguing and kept me wanting more with its cliffhanger endings. The visuals were quite stunning and I could lose myself in the intense action sequences and brain storming moments. Lastly, T.O.P's acting as well as everyone else was pretty decent.

Despite enjoying the story, I was quickly turned off by the frustrating romantic moments. I really wasn't expecting romance to be part of the story, so that threw off my perceptions of the show purely being action/thriller. Every romantic moment made me pull my hair out and/or gag. This factor also ties in with head desk feelings toward a lot of the characters as well as the stupid choices they made. Because of this it made me like a couple favorite characters less. I also had problems with the visuals from the start, namely the camera angles. In nearly every description about the drama I've read, they mention how much each episode costs, but the camera was borderline amateur. They had awkward zoom in moments on characters during intense, emotional scenes and try too hard shaky camera shots that took away from the moment of what was happening. There were also increasing moments of predictability as the drama progressed. Even if my guesses weren't completely spot on with what really happened in the drama, it was pretty close to it. I think a couple of my predictions would've made the show better. Last but not least, they should've executed or cut the awkward kissing scenes with T.O.P. It made me turn away and laugh or cover my eyes from the embarrassment. I can help you, dear. It's okay. lol

Overall, there's a lot they've could've done to make it epic in my eyes, but this was entertaining as is. I had a feeling there's a possibility of a sequel and maybe it's a good thing that Lee Byung Hun can't be in it. Most times his and Kim Tae Hee's characters' relationship annoyed me. I don't think I'll be watching the spin off show, but don't let that stop you from watching it either. IRIS is a good drama, but the surprise addition of romance deterred my high hopes for it. Please leave your thoughts on IRIS in the comments and if you haven't seen it, it's worth the trip.


Rating: 3/5


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Review: Last Scandal

Title: Majimak Seukendeul [The Last Scandal of My Life]
Starring: Choi Jin Shil, Jung Joon Ho, Byun Jung Soo, Jung Woong In
Language: Korean
Genre: Romantic comedy
Episodes: 16



Jang Dong Chul and Hong Sun Hee were classmates and first loves, but one day, Sun Hee doesn't show up for a date. Years later, they cross paths, but Dong Chul is now a famous actor by the name of Song Jae Bin and Sun Hee is a housewife and mother. When they reunite under unfortunate circumstances, they're both surprised by each other's appearance and later their personalities.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen many Korean dramas, but this has easily become one of my favorites. I believe I started this around last year and I finally got around to finishing it last week or so. At first, I immediately compared it to Full House as both dramas deal with a jerky celebrity male lead and a stubborn female lead that has to earn her keep through manual labor. Even with that factor and sharing the same genre, they're both different.



Last Scandal became an addicting series. It was full of twists and turns and, of course, dislikable characters that made the generic formula more intriguing. The casting was a great selection and I enjoyed the chemistry between all the characters. The romantic moments weren't overly cheesy and everyone's personalities stayed consistent to the end.

What I really liked about this drama compared to most is that the characters are easy to relate to. I think that the story could translate to America without changing a thing, but I highly discourage a remake of the show in the U.S.. Sorry, guys~

Even though things become predictable, it's still exciting to see things unfold, bend, and crack. For me, my impression of each character from when they first appeared never changed even when the writers threw curve balls at me. I highly recommend to romantic comedy lovers to check out this rollercoaster of a series.

Rating: 4.5/5