Black Sun (2021)

Overly long and convoluted

I dropped this series a little bit into the 9th episode, when I found myself simply not caring about any part of it any more - not even the "big reveal"/ending!

This series was recommended to me by another viewer here on MDL and, having never heard of it, I was surprised to find it in my region on Rakuten Viki's freeview list.
I'll skip explaining what it's all about because there are so many other reviews here already, so let's get down to it:

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The first episode was very so-so and, up until the final scene, didn't spark any interest in me. Suddenly though, I was pretty eager to see more.

The 2nd and 3rd episodes had plenty of action and kept my attention throughout, however, the tell-tale signs of bad writing were in there:
- the ultra vague character interactions
- the needless flashbacks as if the writers think we're too stupid to keep up with their high intellect
- the amount of pointless characters who just took up screentime

After a certain villain who seemed like a main threat mysteriously disappeared though, this went to sh*t!
The action really fizzled out, the endless talking droned on and on each episode, characters kept coming and going yet not offering anything to the plot and even the cute female lead just became REALLY grating and annoying (she's also a terrible actress, but whatever)!
The MC kept his charm - or lack thereof - throughout, but, once this one stalled, it never managed to get a jump back to life, tossing in car chases for chuckles and endless amounts of vacuous banter like we're supposed to be enthralled by not giving a crap!

So, yeah, rightfully dropped. Really, really not recommended.


P.S. I'm sure there will be plenty of comments on how I didn't understand this or how the female lead is amazing (probably in something else - she was undeniably hammy and over-acting in this), but there was nothing deep to misunderstand. THIS SERIES WAS PLAIN DULL.

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Most shitty thing you can watch ever

there a loser who can only choke woman and call himself NIS agent, NIS agents must be lesser then man to be only capable of choking woman and asking answers
murderer is asking his saver to explain herself
and his lady partner just so eager to suck his macro penis that after she hear he killed there boss she took that man to her house.
they even try to show it like some kind of love story at end
that is incapable of love, love is for humans not robots
i am unable to think what kind of people rate this shit 9-10
there is man who lost his memory and he is also crazy but NIS give him a gun and tell him to shot any woman he find

This Drama is spitting on real NIS face, calling them Mad killers,

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Light Drama Watchers, Run away !! This ain't for ya.

If I had to describe this drama, based on the first 2 episodes, I would use one word "Gruesome". Starting from the storyline to the action scenes to the criminals' mentality, motivation and the acts perpetrated by them, I would say "Gruesome" is the right word to describe the world that's been portrayed in the show. Now, Like most of my reviews, I will start by saying that this is the initial review, and If I continue to watch this and finish this, I will update my review as the show goes on or when it ends.

Let's start with the obvious, the Cast. Namgoong Min, well, you really don't need any other name in a drama. If in Korean dramas, anyone can single handedly carry an entire show with his acting, It will be NamGoong. So, great choice by the showmakers. As far as the other cast goes, Park Ha San is obviously a good actress, I really loved her in Birthcare Center and Love affairs in the afternoon (Haven't Seen the famous "Two Weeks" yet, hopefully in the future). She plays one of the main roles, but probably not the main female lead. I gotta say though, I had difficulty recognizing her with the black wig.

Now, it seems that the main female lead in this drama, is Kim Ji Eun. She seems to be the romantic interest of the Main Lead, maybe or maybe not, as I am not sure if there is any possible romantic relationship in this drama. I have just seen Kim Ji Eun in Namgoong's famous drama "Doctor Prisoner", where she played a guest role. Now, she is playing the main female lead against Namgoong in this show. Now that's one way to upstart a career. So far she didn't get much screentime, let's see how she acts. As far as the support cast goes, the choice is, I would say, Phenomenal. You will recognize all of them, and all of them can play good, bad and grey/shady characters extremely well.

The Story is pretty interesting, dark, cruel and in some ways pessimistic. You can read the story in the synopsis, nothing much for me to write there. I will admit there were predictable elements in the story in the first 2 episodes. I generally have a low bar for storylines to surprise me from start to finish. I've seen hundreds of Crime, Detective, Mystery shows from all over the world in many languages, it's very difficult for me to really watch a show and Constantly be like "Daebak, I couldn't even think that this was gonna happen, oh my lord!!". However, there was one sequence of the story, which was something I really didn't predict in the beginning, and when I realized where it was going, I was like, "Jesus, WTF". You will understand when you watch the show.

All in all they have maintained the air of mystery in the show, it's actually difficult to understand the motivation of some of the characters. They have given us just a glimpse of the mystery, haven't given away the main dish. The story can go in quite a few directions from there. I hope they make the storyline good, as when it comes to action dramas, it can often go sideways. Historically that's been the case with Korean dramas. But, I have hope for this show. Let's see.

Lastly, This isn't a light show, By any stretch of imagination. The actions scenes are very intense and the death scenes are quite painful to watch. When I first saw this I couldn't believe they aired it on South Korean Television, that almost never happens. Finally !!! One thing I will say, this show doesn't romanticize or water down Death Scenes, like it's a simple walk in the park. It doesn't show death scenes like "Oh, he just died, it was emotional, heartbreaking and I cried". It shows death scenes/murder scenes by horrible criminals and gang-members the way it is, Horrible, Gruesome, Painful to watch. It will make you feel disconcerted and somewhat anxious sometimes. So, I will warn those who likes to watch fluffy emotional crime shows with great colorful cinematography, this may not be for you. If you decide to watch it, then, Brace yourself.

Final Edit: Well, it was a great watch, with a few qualms. I feel like they toned down the violence after the first few episodes, which was really sad, it's a type of drama that warrants violence. However, I think it may have something to do with people's initial reactions to the scenes of the show. The ending was good, not many drama can say that. I heard there's a possibility of a spin off of this drama, don't know but could happen, who knows. Anyway, there were some annoying elements in the storyline, sometimes they made the story very cut and dried, but overall, the main theme of the drama remained consistent, and the name "The Veil" really did justice to the drama.

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I wish I had watched it earlier.

I must say, the writers of this kdrama deserve a round of applause for creating such a compelling storyline. The outstanding performances of the actors were mesmerizing, and I fell in love with all of them. Every character was written beautifully, and I cannot think of anything negative to say about any of them. In my opinion, this drama is a priceless gem in the world of kdramas.
1. FL's character sets a perfect example for strong female leads in dramas of similar genres.
2. I felt a range of emotions while watching it, and I can confidently say that this is the best mystery thriller drama among all mystery thriller Korean dramas.
There I said it!!!!

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