The Innocent Man (2012)

Disappointed. First half was better and it got worst

Don't know where to start. But damn. I was very excited and very interested when I watched this while airing.
The female lead was badass in the start which kept me hooked.
Then after some episode she became a puppy and stupid and literally the woman in the "play full" kiss.
What a shame .
Loved the cast, loved the acting but story which could have been lot better ruined in the middle .
I had a huge regret after finishing this drama for wasting my energy tears and time.
The title has nothing to do with the story.
He was good man and became bad because of a woman with whom he looked like he is in love with her till the last episode.
The female lead who was bold and fierce in the start became scardy cat and lost track of mind or became mental. And followed the male lead like he is the one . While he was using her all along.
You can never see the love from the male lead to female lead.
It's just a revenge plot where the guy is confused whom he is in love with.

Lire davantage

If you want to be depressed and confused, watch this

CHARACTERS
Seo Eun Ki was quite interesting at first, because she was so different from the usual kdrama FLs, I loved and hated her at the same time - she was strong and clever, but so arrogant, spoiled, had a bad personality and went through episodes of pure agression. Sadly, in the second half, she became rather dull, too swooned by Kang Ma Roo and started to resemble a lobotomy patient.
Kang Ma Roo, to me, is a very depressed character, who can be sweet, if he wants to be. His intentions are a mystery to me. He acts like he cares for the people close to him, but also deliberately hurts them. The love he shows, does he pretend it? That's also what makes this drama so interesting - you are always so unsure. But in the second half, it didn't make sense to me how he could suddenly love Eun Ki, other than pitying her. They were hardly ever sincere. Can there be a love without trust? If manipulation was a love, then there would be many romantic scenes.
Speaking of manipulation, Han Jae hee is a manipulating witch. She only "likes" people when she can use them. She is a character, who is evil, because she wants to be rich, but it's understandable, since she grew up in poverty. She is so self-absorbed. Still, we also get to see her sensitive side and sometimes I even felt bad for her.
Kang Cho Ko was sometimes annoying, but overall she's ok.
Park Jae Gil is like a bright star in all this melodrama. He is the only one who didn't feel toxic to me.
The lawyer felt like a friend to Eun Ki and you cannot convince me, that he loved her (definitely a plot thing).
Eun Ki's father was controlling and mean man. Nevertheless, Eun Ki was so sad when he left, as if he was a loving and supportive parent. Again, I felt like it was done like that solely for the plot.
Overall, the characters were too passive. They were constantly switching between optimistic and pessimistic moods. I needed them to open up more, the neverending lies and them being so ignorant messed up my brain. In the second half, I feel like everyone went insane, being driven just by the desire to meet the ends they want. What I hated the most was how the characters feelings nonsensicaly changed just for the plot.

THE PLOT
It had so much more potential. It has strong premise but its like a tree with shallow roots. The story is so flat: ____. The revenge aspect was very weak, KMR didn't even have any clear plan, he was just waiting for opportunities.
In the first few episodes the story was thought out, but with increasing episodes it started to feel like the writers didn't know how to continue.
There's really a lot of nonsense. In a light hearted drama, it wouldn't bother me as much, but in these serious ones it really does.
There are many aranged scenes for plot to move somewhere. Maybe I forgot what happened, but where did Eun Ki's sickness disappear? Ma Roo's sister's sickness also somehow dissapeared. Riding motorcycle is Eun Ki's hobby, but it appeared only once, and how does Kang Ma Roo know how to ride one?
They bring something in the story and never use it again or suddenly add something, that there was no hint of before. They don't delve too deep into things that were hinted on (death of Eun Ki's mother, more about Eun Ki's ex, Kang Ma Roo's reconciliation with the doctor teacher).
The amnesia part... was unexpectable, but such a stupid, tiring cliche. It felt like something to just fill the time. They could have just made it standart 16 episodes drama.
The final ending was very quick, without any prior development, this "happily ever after" was not at all what I expected considering the overall mood of the drama.

SOOO SLOOOW
This drama has major problem with it's pace. There were many flashbacks, long shots of people walking, standing, thinking or staring... Even the recap+intro was sometimes like 5 minutes long.
Kang Ma Roo is always staring with stony blank face (not that it didn't make me feel anything, but there were just so many of these stares).
Finishing the last 4 episodes was a hell and I would have dropped it, but i have a sense of completion. There was nothing I could look forward to, only the end. I found out several characters speak really slowly, in the later episodes I even watched it at 1.5x speed and some lines sounded like a regular speed of speech.

MUSIC
The OST was average, the music became quite depressive overtime. Also, some english songs in korean dramas feel a bit wierd. However, I liked the opening, it was simple but gripping.

MY FEELINGS
I have to say that it this drama is VERY overrated. I might be a minority, but I think it's not worth the time. I genuinely cannot understand, how people can give it a 10. They are either beeing too kind, masochistic or like everybody in the drama, they must be too in love with ML, to see the nonsense.
I had high hopes for this drama, especially because of the ratings. The story it could be was merely a nice dream. I was wainting for the point when it would get so amazing, but that never happened.
This drama did not even make me cry, although it messed up my brain, made me question myself and got me depressed. But I have to give it props, for being one of few dramas to make me so angry.

Lire davantage

I don't like this drama...I'm head over heels with it...I was soo busy with my finals that i missed the launch,so i had to watch all the aired episodes in one day even less...
I liked the fact that there's no notion of white and black for the goodness....the lines are blurry and grey....There's no definite right or wrong....
Secondly, the acting is so accurate, every single emotion is right where it should be. Nothing is wasted, every single detail is there for a reason.
And all the characters feel real.You can relate to everyone of them.Even the bad Han Jae Hee. You can feel that the persons have this full range of emotions. They can feel different things.

So overall and before i get too emotional to finish this review, i think that this drama is the one. The one korean drama that i've been waiting for...

Lire davantage

This drama deserves 1 star in all aspects, in all categories given.

This is the only way to catch your attentions from all of those comments given from others. The truth is, this is the best Korean drama I've ever watched. The characters, the plot (this was quite expected actually, but the arrangement was beautifully made), the acting. Everything is almost perfect in this drama. The way how Joong-Ki convey his emotions, it almost got us pity to Kang Maru, the character he played himself in the drama.

Here's one of the comments on Youtube about this drama that managed to get my attention;

"I've watched all the popular dramas, EVERYTHING, but this honestly is my fav. THE CHARACTER, I CAN'T. I JUST CAN'T. I love Kang Ma Roo, the way he's so complex but simple, so weak but strong, wanted to die so much but loved his Sister, so evil but kind, so desperate but never show it. The way he loved everyone but himself. The way he's trying really hard. He's an angel, but a devil too. The way he's so done with the world, the way he just follows the flow and lies of the world even though he knew the truths. I wish the Lonely Kang Ma Roo will be happy." - Little Meow Meow.

I realized most of the negative comments were about the ending, about how they expect something more impactful for the closing of the plots. Well, to be honest, I haven't watched this drama until the last episode yet hahahah. This might sound stupid, but the way how this drama was played will leave you unprepared for the following storyline, which is why this had hindered me since the beginning. And I have watched this drama repeatedly, since 2012! Can you guys imagine?

Oh by the way, at the time I was writing this review, this was my I-can't-remember-how-many-times I've watched this drama. Rewatch value? You decide. 1 star drama? Lets just call it A1 masterpiece.

Lire davantage

Me encanto hasta q llegue al final...

Puede que sea un drama plagado de clichés porque literal solo les falto el gemelo malvado pero aun con todo eso el drama me encanto, la actuación de todos los personajes me pareció de correcta a excelente y la primer mitad del drama logra engancharte muchísimo. Pasada esa primer mitad hay algunas cosas que no me gustan para nada como la perdida de fuerza del personaje de moon chae won, creo q acá hay un claro desacierto porque por esta decisión el drama se alargo mas de la cuenta cuando tranquilamente podría haber tenido 16 capítulos y ser mucho mejor de lo que fue.
Quiero destacar un personaje que solo conocía por cameos y que me gusto mucho su desempeño y este es lee kwang soo, se nota que es un tipo que se le facilita la parte humorística pero en este drama su personaje como soporte me agrado bastante.
Dejando las flores de lado voy a hablar del final que en lo personal me pareció pésimo, como desenlace creo q se pudo haber dado mucho antes y darnos mas amor real de la pareja principal porque la química entre song joong ki y moon chae won desbordaba y hubiera sido muy bonito poder ver mas de ellos dejando de lado la venganza o segundas intenciones pero los guionistas prefieren meter una elipsis de 7 AÑOS en la que una niña de dudosa procedencia nos va a resumir en 2 minutos que fue lo que paso.... sin dudas me molesto muchísimo. Además 7 años? para recuperarse, recibirse y volver? gente, hubo 2 homicidios y estuvieron menos tiempo en la cárcel que song joong ki recuperándose de todo lo que paso en el capitulo final........
En fin, me pareció un buen drama, tuvo algunos tropiezos y un final que no fue de mi agrado pero igualmente lo recomiendo sin dudas

Lire davantage

The Innocent Man is one of those dramas that I believe is a necessity for any person who loves k-dramas.

Whilst I do hold this opinion, it is a very typical drama about getting vengeance on people who do you wrong, as well as of course the amnesia (most fans of the series may hate me for saying this). The use of amnesia specifically became annoying for me towards the end of the series especially. The ending gave me quite some confusion on how I felt that I couldn't particularly put my finger on whether I liked it or not.

On the other hand, there were many positives about this drama. Of course, Song Joong Ki is forever the ultimate bae (the reason why I watched this) and I believe he played the role of Ma ru well, even the character himself - showing how much people can go for doing something for someone they have an adoration for, and how much prison and isolation can change a person. However, definitely what stood out best to me was the soundtrack. By far, I believe Nice Guy/The Innocent Man has one of the best and most underrated OSTs in all of k-dramas.

Nonetheless, this drama kept me watching until the very end, even if it became a chore, and I cannot help but recommend it since it does find its way to having a soft spot in everyone's hearts after they've watched it. :) x

Lire davantage

Engaging drama ended in a frenzy

SPOILERS ARE THERE.

Recently,after watching SKJ in vincenzo ,DOTS and MCW in FOE , got interested in their previous works. So came to watch this drama. Will write down a few points , completely my personal opinion. Absolutely no issues if someone agrees or disagrees with it.
CAST- SJK as ML was good and the most engaging part of the show. His character looked well written and darker than other dramas. MCW's character Eon Gi looked somewhat vulnerable in parts. The character depth of Jae Hui was lost somewhere around the mid part of the drama . Other cast looked decent also. SJK is the most engaging part of this drama and his performance can keep you hooked.
STORY- Started off well , ended in a horrific manner with keeping many loose ends. It seemed that the ending was written in a rushed way. The Group of Companies just vanished into thin air with a stab injury leading to memory loss LOL. Around episodes 7-8 this revenge thing was cleared and then memory losses came into picture. But yes it was engaging till the penultimate episode.
MUSIC- OSTs were good along with background score.
ENJOYMENT - YES , definitely enjoyed it watching , there were very less boring scenes or episodes. Its the last episode or ending that messed up my viewing experience. Not only the ending was rushed, but also it seemed meaningless to have such ending in a revenge drama.
OVERALL - Decent one time watch . Will not watch it again.

Lire davantage

Story with emotion complex. While Watching this drama you will face different emotions as a viewer.

This drama have several types of genres added not specifically one genre is focused and each genre was equally added to every scene for the proper scenes. Honestly for me at the beginning the drama was a bit boring but after continue watching the curiosity of the story starts to grow higher, the situations of the story are unpredictable and starts craving to binge watch the drama.
This drama is not only based on entertainment it also gives us life time lesson such as:
1. not to be greedy
2. importance of love
3. how strong should the love between the two people
4. Importance of trust on a relationship
Although if you tried to quit the drama in a certain episode your mind wont let you because in end of each episode there will be a questions pops up in to your head which make watch it continuously.
This story shows how the male main lead overcomes the huge barriers which he faced on his life at his 20s. No matter how good he is the people around won't let him be in peace and drag him down to hell. Every scenes are shot wisely there are no empty gaps between the drama in my opinion. This drama may not be that romantic but the story is based on true love and trust on each other.

Lire davantage

Nice guy who so in love with her, he surrenders himself for a murder that she committed and goes to jail for a few years. When he comes out, she's married to a conglomerate big-wig, living the life of luxury and doesn't want a bar of him. That's kinda your basic premise for how this one kicks off.

Picked this one up because having just watched Descendants of the Sun I wanted to see more of Song Joong Ki's work and it's also one of a small number of dramas with Moon Chae Won who I thoroughly enjoyed in Good Doctor.

Leading lady is played by Park Shi Yeon and I found her character to be an almost non-stop sense of annoyance if I'm honest - which is probably what was intended so I'm not saying that's an issue :) The smirky sneer expression on her face almost the entire time just wound me up.

So, this is a revenge story essentially. Starts small, gets bigger. The premise is interesting enough, I can believe that he's so in love with her that he's prepared to put her life ahead of his, love can have a strange affect on us all, though doing so at the expense of abandoning his sick sister who urgently needed taking to the hospital felt immediately like it was a step too far.

My main issue with this one is that the characters just seemed wobbly in their commitment - the leading lady is trying to be vindictive one minute and considering the possibility of giving it up all up for the leading guy in the name of love, and then back to vindictive, and - I couldn't keep up with whether the she was honestly flapping around (which didn't seem in-character for someone so apparently driven) or if it was setting up betrayals - which is sometimes how they worked out. I suspect a bit of both, which just makes it more confusing.

The same was true of the leading man - it was difficult to work out sometimes what HIS intentions were though it wasn't as bad as the lady.

Moon Chae Won's character and performance I am quite conflicted by because I really like her presence on screen but this script just had her flat most of the time. Other reviewers have noted that she starts out looking like a real strong lady in the story but the air is let out of her character and she ends up just flowing along like the rest. A real shame, Chae-Won is a great talent that, in my view, wasn't fully allowed to shine in this story at all.

Memory loss makes for some good tense elements to the story as you wait for the inevitable moment that memory returns and what's real and what's not come to the fore- but until then I did find that the positive happy moments between the leading man and Moon Chae Won's character were very nice to see.

Last couple of scenes are the "years later" conclusion and - well, it was ok. It was a nice "book-end" to finish with.

Second couple - the sister and friend - however - were gloriously brilliant, scenes with either or both of them in were fantastic and one of the highlights for me. I especially liked their conclusion :)

My conclusion? I'm glad I watched it because it did have some great moments however I have zero intention to watch it again

Would I recommend it? If you like the revenge stories then perhaps - they're not my favourite genre (I like them soft and fluffy darn it) - but even then i'd say there are probably better things on your "plan to watch" list. Don't discount it, but don't rush either :)

Lire davantage