Leverage (2019)

The reason I found this K-Drama is because I was searching for the US version of Leverage and came found this remake. The original Leverage is one of my favorite TV shows of all time so I had to see what the Korean version would be like. My review may be biased because of my high hopes for this show. For the rest of the review I will be referring to the new Korean remake of Leverage as KLeverage and the original US version as just Leverage.

First things first, the KLeverage shares the simplest plot elements with Leverage. Both shows feature a insurance investigator whose son dies. Both have a cast of five with roles of Mastermind, Grifter, Thief, Hacker, and Fighter. Both are based on a Robin Hood concept where the team tries to help the underdog in a fight against a corporation. That's where the similarities end. KLeverage's episodes are connected by the victims who are all related to the people that led to the main character's son's death. Leverage's episodes are isolated plots where each episode features a new victim whom the team helps. This is understandable because of the format of Korean vs Western TV shows. In 16 episodes, KLeverage cannot follow the same format that Leverage did. However, the story of KLeverage is uninspired with cookie cutter villains all willing to kill whoever bothers them.

KLeverage features an interesting group of characters who work well together. Without time to provide fully introduce each character's backstory, KLeverage is still able to show some growth. The actors also did a wonderful job as portraying each member of the team as likable in their own unique way. This is what I believe KLeverage did the best and what would keep me watching for a season 2.

In hindsight, KLeverage is exactly what it sets out to be. It is a Korean remake of an American show which means it is going to be similar to other Korean dramas. I should not have been surprised that it did not follow the same format as its 77 episode predecessor. As a casual watcher of Asian (and mostly love dramas at that), KLeverage did nothing to impress me. For someone who is more used to the Korean drama tropes, KLeverage may be an interesting crime show that can be finished in a short 16 episodes. I however, will stick to re-watching the original Leverage.

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I started watching this drama by chance one day when I was bored and I'm so glad I did! The plot was interesting, and I loved the cast and the characters. I didn't know it was based on a U.S. show, so I can't comment on how accurate it is compared to the original.

I wasn't sure if whether I'd like this drama or not because I'm not the biggest fan of Lee Dong Gun's characters - I find that he's always typecast as these a-hole, morally ambiguous characters that you just really can't or have a really hard time sympathizing with because they get so extreme - but he was amazing in this drama! I loved his character, Tae Joon, a lot - he's charismatic and smart and funny. There's a tragic story with his son's death, but he doesn't wallow into it too deeply or have a sudden drastic change in personality. His character is well fleshed out and has depth, which propels the story forward; his son's death is his motivation, but the entire series doesn't solely focus on that explicit event.

I can't explain how much I enjoyed watching the con artist crew work together. Each of them had this certain image when they got recruited by Tae Joon, but as time goes on and they get to know each other better, you can see how first impressions might not be the most accurate (especially with Roy! I loved his character, he was so funny).

The only thing I didn't quite like is why Joon Hyung never had a good reason for what he did to Tae Joon; but then again, I guess the reality is sometimes people do bad things just for the sake of doing them. He got what he deserved in the end, but it was left with a lot of loose ends. Same with the Black Book incident. I'm really hoping this means that they're planning for a second season! I can't wait to see these guys pull more cons together :))

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