Money Heist (2022)

Abolutely forgettable

Money Heist has been dominating Netflix's top 10 in my country since the first season. Thousands are introduced to it almost every day, thousands rewatch it and it has been dissected, reviewed, and analyzed over and over. A lot of people get put off by mainstream shows but how do they get to the mainstream in the first place? They offer thrilling plots, impeccable production, and admirable acting with the perfect cast and script. Money Heist: Korea JEA has unfortunately fallen short on several of these.

The Korean film industry comes out with movies and dramas that become hits almost immediately. The choice to remake one of Netflix's top series not even a year after season 4 came out was a bold move. Put a little spin on it (SK and NK unification) and add SKs trademark high production quality, acting, and swoon-worthy cast, I was SURE I would be watching a series like no other. I was disappointed. VERY Disappointed.

"Remakes are sometimes created by taking 'inspiration' from or 'adapting' the original film."

The Korean version is an adaptation. HEAVILY inspired by the original series. The way I see it, they took the story spun a convenient unification to introduce "interesting" characters, brought in their actors, and churned it out. I was flabbergasted, to say the least. I kept on expecting something thrilling to happen but I was sorely let down. I feel BETRAYED.

Acting
I have no qualms with the cast. I have no qualms with the acting. Look at the cast. These are all actors that have made a deep impression on me. Rachel Jun in The Call, Park Hae Soo in Prison Playbook and Squid game, Yoo Ji Tae...I could not be happier with their roles. HOWEVER, hear me out, in the original series I remember the life that the actress brought to the character Tokyo. If Tokyo is like ghost pepper in the OG series, Tokyo is like watered-down tabasco sauce in the remake. I will withhold further judgment since the second part has not come out yet (I know I'm not doing a good job of it so far). I also noticed how the actor who plays Denver (from the remake), used a VERY similar laugh to the OG Denver. Another trait that I'm sure was *Inspired*. I don't care but Denver's laugh should have its own copyrights. You have to own the character that you play. Denver's laugh cannot be remade. Period. I will accept versions of it however by even adopting the same laugh I feel like the remake loses whatever originality it has (Which is almost a joke by the end of part 1).

Finally, can we talk about how STUPID this splitting the series into two parts is? I understand the strategy behind this. Similar to a season finale however the time period between the two parts are shorter. This works in favor of shows that already have a solid fanbase (Stranger things). Shows that have proved from the first few seasons that they are able to produce quality content. But for JEA, it seems unnecessary. I am already disappointed by the content of the show, have no expectations, and am now disappointed that I can't even finish it so I can be done with it once and for all. The show BARELY had any time to gain some traction. Was this really the best decision?

A lot can change in a few episodes. I have gone from hating a show to absolutely loving it and vice versa. I hope this drama will end up in the former category. But for now, I would not recommend watching it. Watch the whole thing after part 2 comes out. Hopefully, it'll have something worth talking about.

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Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area (2022) – I have the same review the part 1 and 2 since I just watch it continuously. I didn't have a reference or comparison with this drama since I have not seen the Spain version which is the original. The drama has a lot of budget, it is expensive looking and the camera feels high end so as a watcher it's really nice to look at. The characters in the drama have different characteristics and also the actors playing them have a really good reputation as good actors and actresses in South Korea so I am in awe since I know most of them. It's an okay drama overall, not the best for me, but I cannot pinpoint on what exactly I am looking for, I don't know it feels like there is lacking in the drama.

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So I've been catching up on my usual shows which means I haven't watched anything Korean within the past few months so I've been out of the loop as far as what's the Korean drama to watch these days.

I came across a trailer for this on Netflix and thought why not. I mainly watched it because it had Lee Won Jong who played as Moscow in it. Whenever I see a drama with him in it I watch it. I don't know why but I do.

Anyway, this was a very very slow drama. There was only maybe like two episodes that had me on the edge of my seat. The other times I could only make it to about one or two episodes at a time. From the constant disobedience by Yeong Min who plays the director to Seon Woo Jin's face I found myself being easily irritated by these two. There was no build up in either character. It was just the same in every last episode. Plus the rushed crush between The Professor and Woo JIn's character felt-what's the word...icky?? It just didn't seem to match. The immediate falling in love just didn't feel right.
And what's a Korean drama without some political propaganda thrown in? I don't think this series needed this type of filler. Going through every character's backstory would've sufficed.

It was an OK watch. I think if it had the whole 12 episodes I probably would've dropped it. But the way episode six ended...if I had known it was going to end the way it did I would've waited till the whole thing came out. And then again if the whole thing was out and the way episode 6 ended I would've watched episode 7 to see if I would keep it going, lol.

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Good remake

I've watched the original show right at the time it was first broadcasted, so to my great surprise I've found myself throughly enjoying this remake.

With a few exceptions (Nairobi, my matriarchy Hispanic queen, I'm looking at you) I'm finding the the korean characters way more likeable here, what helps in rooting for them. Also appreciate some of the unnecessary drama being cut out and the acting being quite solid (some of the portraials in the Spanish version really annoyed the hell out of me).

The First season of La Casa de Papel will always be iconic as it was its impact unforgettable (here in Brazil, even before the success hit the US, it was all every single person talked about) but I'm glad to find the korean version to be really competent and entertaining so far.

I'm really looking foward the next chapter.

Lire davantage

Quality Remake

It's a remake and pretty sooner than expected, but yet welcome.
Acting, story, production, music... Every aspect it's the expected from a Netflix serie remake of another Netflix serie and a kdrama. It is good and satisfying.
Don't feel new or even nostalgic enough... If someone didn't watched the Original Spanish one I think that will work much better, but still work at some point.
Unfortunately didn't correct some of what I considered mistakes on the original and it's faithful maybe a little to much. The high points to me was give background to the characters and link it to the story, and the adaptation to the korean scenario!
With the leaved hints looks like the second part could be more different and interesting so I'm waiting with excitement!!

Lire davantage

Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area - Part 1 " is the korean adaption of the spanish megahit, and, even though it takes a few liberties to adapt to the new enviromnent, it is just the same overall.

The drama feels souless, with everything that is happening being copypasted and unoriginal, and it shows that it doesn't fit right with the korean setting. Also, it is rushed, boring and with no cohesion.

The performances, at least, were enjoyable and saved the drama at times, but they aren't enough to make this drama worth one's time.

So, overall, two out of ten.

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Enjoyable but nothing new

First of all, it does NOT deserve the scathing reviews or low rating it is getting simply because it's a remake which I think was stated in the show's description? So I have no idea why people are mad as if they have been deceived. I LOVE the original show. The first 2 seasons were one of the best TV experiences I ever had. After it ended last year I was quite nostalgic so I feel like if you are someone like me then I don't think you would mind much. But if you are looking for something original and brand new then this is not for you.
Having said that I also understand there are legit issues raised by some people regarding aspects of the show that the korean version could have made better but chose not to.
PLOT: follows the original plot with minor deviations here and there in terms of a certain scene or a character's backstory. The story length was not adequate in my opinion and the cliffhanger was unsatisfying. I know their intention was to drag the story in part 2 but it did not feel like an adequate ending for part 1 either. The 6-episode length has made the story rushed with not enough character developments. Although the professor- syj and denver- misun (og monica) couple had chemistry it did not feel natural. There are some cringey scenes which feels forced and quite uncharacteristic given the context.
ACTING: Actors for Berlin, denver, moscow, misun, youngmin were perfect. SYJ and professor's acting is also impressive but severely disappointed in nairobi and tokyo's casting choices. Tokyo and nairobi's characters needed someone who is impressionable as they are very impressionable themselves in the group. I hardly barely felt that from them.

..,and I guess that's the problem of remaking such impressionable characters and a show that became a global phenomenon. It's impossible not to be compared and not compromise quality due to burden and pressure. Despite that, it did okay but nothing special.

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A quick spoiler free review of the adaptation

Personally I don't like to put much thought on the source material when rating a show, simply because the two can be stand alone works separate of each other. But I found a different perspective for this show, being because it wasn't adapted from another medium, but by another show. I personally was excited for this series, being a fan of both k-dramas and the original show. There's much to look forward to when expecting a new take on the series. But I was mildly disappointed to find there's not much new to this adaptation. This becomes a problem when its compared to the near perfect execution of the original show. Yes it takes place in Korea, but its all the same characters, in the same mint, doing the same thing, and its rushed to make meaningful moments not pay off like they should. A perfect example without spoiling is the Tokyo romance, its an interesting part of the original show and its completely absent in this version, and since its a copy and paste of the original those lost moments are not paid off in unique ways, they're just forgotten.

That being said if this is your first introduction to the Money Heist series, its not a horrible one. I could see it stand alone being a 7-7.5, but I could see people who know what its capable of to rate it as low as a 6, which is why I'll give it a 7 flat on this review page.

I hope this short review was helpful to you. Overall Id recommend the original series if you're interested and picking this one up if you become a fan of the original series and find yourself wanting more.
Have a great rest of your day and let me know if you have any interesting thoughts or opinions on the show

Lire davantage

Elenco.

O bom de não ter assistido o original é: paciência duas vezes e que não fico comparando com o que acontece ou deixa de acontecer.
Eu não me incômodo de ser parecida com a original até porque é um remake mas quero que faça as coisas de uma forma diferente e pra quem já assistiu sabe que doramas nunca são tão longos então acredito que não vão prolongar muito mesmo que seja um remake
Eu AMO a contrução da Coreia unificada é simplesmente genial, todos os detalhes sabe? Incrível. Amo o elenco mas acho que faltou algo pra me prender mais. Eu fiquei mais ligada a história e alguns personagens. faltou algo mais e espero que tenha esse algo na próxima parte.
Eu amo a abertura, queria mais músicas coreanas como são nos doramas em geral. Amo a relação dos personagens, me irritei bastante, ri também com as tabaquices do rio e do Denver, quero ver mais da Nairobi. Amo a toquio/Tokyo e o professor realmente é incrível. Gosto bastante do Berlim também
Young min eu te ODEIO tanto, esse cara testou minha paciência de mil formas diferentes.
Rio e Tóquio o melhor casal sim e nada mais importa.
Denver e a minsu também, pega fogoooo
Tô muito empolgada pro resto, acho que as coisas vão seguir de uma maneira diferente agora!!! Quero ver como vai ser e não quero que ninguém morra.

Lire davantage

Gak terlalu memenuhi ekspektasi ku...

Karna aku udah nonton versi original nya alias La Casa de Papel, jadi aku berharap aja versi remake Korea bakalan beda, tapi ternyata cuma agak beda dan lumayan mirip. Cuma diubah aja beberapa kayak si Professor sama Inspektur itu di versi original kan baru ketemu kalo di versi Korea kan udah ketemu dua bulan ya. Agak bosen sih jujur nontonnya, cuma yaa bagus bagus aja sih aktingnya overall, aku kepincut juga sama karakter Rio, padahal di versi original nya aku sukanya sama Denver😂 Kalau untuk rewatch atau lanjutin nonton ke season 2 harus mikir mikir lagi sih kayaknya..

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