Cruel City (2013)

“The world is like a mirror. If you curse and spit at it, the world will curse and spit back at you. If you smile, I am sure the world will follow and smile back at you too.” Jung Si-Hyun

Before I start I would like to clarify one thing, I have watched 10 eps of this drama when it first started airing back in 2013 and then stopped (but that was no fault of the drama! I got busy with real life so I had to pause it and now I had to start all over again *which I didn't mind at all*). So you see the problem here after so many years have passed, there is a big chance that I may not feel the same as I would have had I finished it on time, but impressively enough this drama is one of those exceptional ones that keeps its great ‘quality’ preserved against time aka TIMELESS.

Writing a spoiler-free review for this drama is nearly impossible, but here goes.

'Moo Jeong Dosi' aka ‘Heartless City’ is extraordinary, unique, and lethal (yes lethal but I mean that in a good way). If I had to define Moo Jeong Dosi in simple sentences >>

- The story of charismatic men, and memorable characters with unique nicknames.
- Midnight summer dream in the heart of winter; fragile, but not frail, yet raw and omnivore.
- A world where nobody’s clear-cut good or bad. Everybody’s a shade of gray.
- Murky, intoxicating and twisted.
- Beautifully cruel, ruthless and dark but in slow cold motion.

As the cinematography is glimmering in the darkness, the story deals with a breathtaking confrontation between big drug organization and the police. Each of the characters' backstories is a whole different drama on its own! Human 'desire' and 'anguish' were the center theme of this drama in a world where 'white and black' does not exist.

Despite the slight drawbacks in the story and the few potholes, the storyline was intriguing and captivating enough to say that Heartless City rightfully deserves all the praise it has been scoring. I cannot stress enough on how much I enjoyed the coolness and slow motion feels that I’ve got from this drama as I was watching; it helped me savor every minute even though no ep actually dragged but there was that chill sensational feeling to it.

Characters (according to the ones that left the most impression on me):

Baksa Adil aka Professor’s son (Jung Kyung Ho): Before I start I have something that I’d like to say to Kyung Ho-ssi “WTH have you been doing since this drama?! Seriously, what… why…? I demand that we take you back 4 years ago for you to re-think your drama choices again!” :(
Jung Kyung Ho as Baksa Adil is in one word >> PERFECTION. He was simply astonishing, pouring heart and soul into Jung Si-Hyun’s multifaceted and multilayered character. Delivering pain in an aristocratic way. Jung Kyung Ho is truly the LORD of this drama. Who wouldn’t love Baksa Adil? He’s one of those few drama characters that will rightfully remain in your memory. The quietly dangerous air about Baksa Adil is mesmerizing and irresistible! What’s more, is the hidden tenderness in all that cold ruthlessness especially towards his loved ones. Even when he is fighting he managed to remain elegant, charismatic and mesmerizing. JKH’s presence dominated the scenes! No words could ever do his performance any justice. I'll just end it saying>> This is by far the best performance and character I've seen for JKH-ssi (please bring back that glory!).

Safari Samchun (Uncle) aka Moon Deok Bae (Choi Moo Sung): Safari is my heartbreaker (second to Baksa). Everything about Safari, from the nickname to the hair style to the Busan accent to his unconditional love for Jin Sook… it will all reside in your memory. Every bits and pieces of this man is wonderful, you can’t help but love him despite how strongly you disagree with his actions. CMS is an underrated actor. An actor who manages to embody each character he plays as if he’s an entirely different actor each time. His style of acting is rather peculiar in such a deep breathtaking way. His facial expressions, the moment Safari entered the scene I knew immediately that I’m going to fall in love with him. I plead to the K industry to please bless us with more of CMS in the future.

Last but not least, Jin Sook Noona (Kim Yoo Mi): The most intriguing aspect of her character is her relationship with the guys, Si-Hyun, Safari and Hong Ki but most of all her relationship with Si-Hyun. A relation that I still can't define, a relation that’s quite vague yet captivating and touching. I have never seen such complex undefined relation in a drama before and yet it still managed to move my heart. Jin Sook is gorgeous, strong, independent, prideful, sexy, cold and tender at the same time. Kim Yoo Mi has managed to stand her grounds among charismatic beasts of male actors.

Music:
Slow, raw, cool and very fitting.

Overall:
This drama has its own beauty that sets it apart from anything else I’ve seen. The atmosphere, the vibes, the cinematography, the poetic elegance in the fighting scenes, the memorable characters and their unique nicknames… everything just screams “memorable”, so despite my personal complains regarding the plot itself and some of the other actors in the cast, I still loved and enjoyed every second of this intoxicating dark beauty.

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"IF you cuss the world the world will cuss back at you,but if you smile at the world the world will smile back at you." -DOCTOR SON

This was a beautiful written story that captured my heart. I have never watched a drama again and i don't think i will, but i am glad i got to experience this drama with its breathtaking actors especially doctor son who stole my heart.

In this drama you will smile, scream at the top of your lungs, cry again and again, but you wont regret watching it. This was the best ass kicking drama with action i have ever watch. I LOVED THE STORY AND THE WONDERFUL ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. THE ENDING BROKE MY HEART BUT IT TAUGHT ME A BEAUTIFUL lesson:

"IF you cuss the world the world will cuss back at you,but if you smile at the world the world will smile back at you." -DOCTOR SON

I LOVE THIS DRAMA AND I RECOMMEND IT TO ALL!!!

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This had been on my plan to watch list for a year and I final watched it because of the high ratings and rave reviews here on MDL. Let me just say WOW, it did not disappoint. This was a drama shown on a cable channel so it never had a chance at high viewer ratings, however since it wasn't on a main channel it got to push the envelope. Korean censors did push back by censoring the main actors back tattoo and this knives. (Ironically not the guns.)

The story is well written with so many twist and turns that you just never see it coming episode after episode. This is not one of those dramas that drags in the middle and leaves the action to the end. You are left on the edge of your seat every episode. The story is best described as as onion. Layer upon layers. Every actor has a story and everyone matters. It also challenges to like the characters where all the lines are blurred. If you are looking for some cute, clean, romantic comedy, this one would not be for you. This is dark, gritty, and puts the drama in melodrama.

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I don't know how to say this, but THIS DRAMA IS AMAZING.

Story: I gave the story a 9 because the author gave us a open ended ending, but it's okay because I guess it fits. The pacing could have been a little faster, but it was good enough. In every episode, it was intense, unpredictable, and you never know what is going to occur next.. I was ANXIOUS in every episode honestly. Each episode made me wonder why one character did this and that. I had so many mixed emotions inside of me. One thing though, I'm not usually that big on a lot of romance but surprisingly, I wanted a little more romance-- there was like... nearly none (note: nearly, not completely)

Acting/Cast: I FELL IN LOVE WITH ALL OF THE CHARACTERS. They're just THAT AMAZING! Kyung ho's acting was just WOW... I don't think there was anyone who could rock this role like him.. & the rest were really good too!

Music: Fitting.

Rewatch Value: Simply a big fat YES.

Overall: Don't miss out on this drama! It is a must watch for me. However, if you're HUGE on romance, you might feel a bit empty inside. Still a gem though.

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Hmm...it is no doubt that this drama was a masterpiece. Like many of the reviewers below I found: the story captivating, the actors intriguing, the cliff hangers terrifying, the secrets unbearable...all in all the show was amazing.
The cast was superb, I wouldn't be surprised if they grab up all the awards! I guess I needn't say more regarding the actors/actresses. The music was loveable...it wasn't OTT. It was just right. IDK for others, but to me the OSTs reminded me of The Godfather and James Bond...actually when I come to think about it, CC has both gangsters and double agents (hence the crossover between the songs), however it doesn't reflect America (The Godfather), not England (007)...rather it captures South Kr.perfectly!!
However, I do feel that the ending was a let down...it felt too rushed - but hey-ho, this is my personal opinion regarding C.C.
Anyways, before I'm eaten alive by fans...I did love the show!! I did cry and laugh with the characters!! Heck, I loved them! I truly, and honestly look forward to any of their upcoming dramas/movies.

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One point shy from a Masterpiece!! What can I say about this drama other than the fact, Please jtBC, make more of them!! The acting was superb!! Jung Kyung Ho as Baksa did an excellent, excellent job!! Yoon Hyun Min, don't worry, I will NEVER, NEVER forget your name!! A new love for my drama life!! The ending was even as I expected. Son Chang Min as Min, again I will never forget his portrayal. But let's not forget Kim Yoo Mi as Jin Sook and Choi Moo Sung as Safari. I have never seen either of these actors before but it will be LONG, LONG time before I ever forget them again. The cinematography, while dark a lot of time, really fit the story. And I must give BIG props to the costumers for the men and especially for Jin Sook! I don't think there was even ONE outfit she wore that I DIDN'T wish I could find and where. There were a couple of characters who just dropped off of the screen without any explanation but that would be my only complaint. But let's give a hand to our Nine Lives player, Meth Kim!!

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I have mixed feelings about this drama. As much as I want to give really high rating, I feel reluctant. Probably it's because i felt a bit boring and distract near the mid of the story. But, overall, it was a great story with AMAZING cast and music.

For the story, I am a great fan of noir-genre drama/movies. In this case, it has a great story line; it has revenge, undercover, friendship and love. One thing I disliked was that there were too many boring political dialogue almost in every episodes. But, action scenes were EPIC; I LOVED them.

Acting/Cast: JKH is an amazing actor; he portrayed Doctor's Son/Jung Shi hyun character very well - so dark and mysterious. Nam Gyu Ri was gorgeous and I like her but her acting - I didn't find it impressive. Supporting actors were also good, I would say.

Music: I LOVVVVED the music - "Hurt" and also the last one, "Everyday". And also the instrumentals also helped the drama in perfecting its dark theme.

Rewatch value: Not sure I will rewatch it again.


Overall, a great drama, you should watch it if you wanna take a break from typical melodramas.

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first of all lets start with the ost, "love is at war" is pretty awsome. next is doc......wow daebak i just fell in love with him. havent seen him anywhere else but i would like to get to know him better. his personality fit his face and character, he was perfect role for that. the rest of the cast was great too they all did their parts well. the romance was to die for i rewinded several times coz this man dint smile yet he just bedded her with flying colors. my other favorite character was safari. he was just a busan boy with bad rep. i felt for him by the very end and liked him. the show reminded me of city hunter esp at the shootouts and the end scene.
the reason that it dint get a 10 is coz of the story line with the director min. i mean how many freaking undercover cops were there..it just became overrated and lost marks. it was too much. its a great show with alot of cliffhangers so be prepared for the ride.

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Does the plot of this show make sense? Most of the time, no. Did I understand the characters’ motivations? Only about half of the time. Is this show... good? I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. I think these days we have so many other good crime kdramas that I would recommend first before this one.

Then, you ask, why am I giving this a 7, and not like a lower score? The saving grace of the show is its noir style. Goodness, if this show was just played straight it would be an unbelievable and ridiculous crime show where everyone is terrible at their job and characters keep flip flopping back and forth to the point where you give up trying to understand why anyone is doing what they’re doing and you’d rightfully turn the show off and watch something else. But this show’s soundtrack, lighting, coloring, setting and so on are so entrancing to watch and experience that if you just turn your brain off you’ll have an enjoyable time. It’s great to watch a show where it is apparent how much thought and craft was put into the way it looks and feels. The soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in a crime show. The fight scenes are well choreographed and shot well (hey directors, did you know you can shoot a fight scene that is well-lit but still conveys the darkness of the tone?) and are quite memorable. The show is often filmed at night or indoors, so there’s this lack of light and air that adds to the darkness of the tone and the sense of futility.

The main 4 characters (Doctor’s Son, Safari, Soo, and Jin Suk noona) are all such great characters to watch. They’re very unique and I think the noir style of the show is what allows them to have their interesting but complicated relationships. Like everyone else, I love Doctor’s Son and he is an amazing character brought to life by great acting. The costume department gets an A+ for all the great suits they have him wear. Soo Min is great too but less interesting than the other characters. Hyung Min is bad at his job and I hate him. Director Min is the worst and is stupid (he’s portrayed as this puppet master but like... dude he’s terrible at it).

Now that I’ve discussed the strengths of this show, I’ll comment on the problems, which include: everything else about it. The plot gets more and more ridiculous as the show goes along, with constantly shifting allegiances and characters revealing hidden identities to the point that it becomes a bit absurd. I lost track of characters’ agendas because of all these switches. The antagonist keeps changing as people’s hidden identities or allegiances are revealed, so sometimes I was unsure who our “good guys” were going after. The characters continuously make bad decisions that still end up being fine in the long run, like walking into an obvious trap but they escape so it’s fine, or a cop shoots another cop but there ends up being no consequences, etc. The show keeps a lot of characters’ intentions in the dark to the point that it becomes confusing rather than intriguing, so I gave up trying to figure out what people really wanted. Occasionally the editing wasn’t great; for example, I would get confused over how much time had passed between scenes and I think that’s due to the abruptness of some cuts. The end of the show was a bit messy in terms of editing and also just the plot itself. This was actually where the noir style failed a bit to me; noir has a cynical view of the world, but despite the character deaths I thought the show ended on a pretty happy note. It focused more on eliminating a few evil people, rather than the city (you know... the “cruel city”) and its corrupt systems. Also I thought the choice of the characters who died was weighed more heavily on those that would have more emotional impact on the viewer, rather than imparting the sense of loss of innocence and naïveté at the hands of a cruel world.

I’d love it if there were more crime shows that embraced this kind of noir style, so I have a hard time discounting this show because it really does stand out. But I just rewatched it for the first time since 2013 and it unfortunately did not hold up well. I think we’ve been blessed with enough excellent crime shows since then that now I have higher standards (you know... like the plot making sense). I still think very fondly of this show, but I unfortunately think that it’s not as great as I remembered.

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