Bad Guys (2014)

If you have decided to watch this drama, be prepared for a fantastic thrilling story of people who are deeply flawed and dangerous, but who promise you an adventure from which, you will not want to come back to the real world.
What do you say to a team, consisting of a detective who has been removed from the office for his personality and morale, a convicted gangster, who once organised the taking of whole Seoul streets, convicted contract killer, whose method is to kill and make it look as an accident, and he is in the prison only because he came and turned himself in... (WHY?) and a serial killer, who is a psychopath and a genius and insists he does not remember killing anybody, though his girlfriend claims he also tried to kill her... (another piece of puzzle you will have to watch the drama to understand) trying to solve complicated cases (like a serial murder case, an organisation that sells people and human organs, gangsters, drug dealers...) and working as a team to make their time in prison shorter, that is the reason you are given in the beginning, but as the story goes on, you start realising that every one of them has another reason for joining the team. Although they are pictured as cruel murderers in the beginning, you realise they are human beings who want 2nd chance, to be better, to be forgiven, to find themselves, to be humane! Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Believe me when I say, that watching it will not give you even the chance to breath calmly! There were moments, where I had to stop the drama, have moment and then continue. This drama will have you imprisoned until you finish it and even longer, as after you finish it, you will have to talk to somebody and tell them how utterly fascinated you are with it.
It is really rare in a drama, where there are no scenes that could be absent and you would not care, scenes that you can just fast forward through and get the story all the same, well, hear my warning, this drama has no such scenes, miss a second, and you will miss an important part of information, that you should have heard!
I don't even think I have the right to talk about the actors, as every single one of them were brilliant in their role, Park HaeJin making me shiver with the twitch of his lips, Ma DongSeok and Jo DongHyeok (my first time seeing him) with their bromance, their heart and brain, Kim SangJoong, with his grief and anger, I don't find another word, except for... PERFECT!
This is a gem, which I will recommend you every one who asks an opinion from now on.

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Bad Guys was an amazing experience. I saw some spectacular acting, a solid plot, unwavering edginess that made the watch all the more thrilling. It's one of the best thrillers I have seen. Why the overall rating of 9 then? Because I can't find myself being thoroughly satiated. Maybe it's got something to do with the weekly episodes that made the ride a haling one, or maybe it was because I wanted there to be more. If this is not the end of the series, I'll gladly take back my 9 and reward it with the 10 it deserves, but if there isn't a 2nd season, I'll definitely be disappointed and unsatisfied.

The plot was just brilliant! I loved the premise and the setting of the story. It's one of those stories that I could watch anytime without hesitation. The synopsis was enough to reel me in. The characters that the writers created were superb. Such depth to each character, such detail that you forget it's just fiction. The story had it's share of twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat. And the show didn't break it's streak until the end, which is commendable.

I simply bow down to the cast of this show. I saw some of the best performances I have come across in the time since I started recognizing good performances :P The actors are a part of the reason I'm silently praying for a next season. Anyone who's seen this show will probably agree with me that the actors did praiseworthy work.

It was an absolutely wonderful show, one of the best I have seen. I just need another season to make it perfect. Don't miss out on this one though.

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It's the first korean drama of this gender that I watched and my expectations were for an original and engaging story, wich this drama did not deliver. Not gonna lie to you: It's a predictable so-so plot, kind of cliche really, and the main cast needed a little more charisma than it had to have carried it better.

It's not horrible, tho, since I watched until the end. Why is that? Probably procrastination - I had a lot of things to do. And I liked Psycho a little bit too much to make sense. Probably was Park Hae-Jin, and his natural charisma.

But let's go to the point. It might interest you that in this drama there are good fight scenes and no romantic stuff whatsoever. You could even put a "dude flick" label on it since it appears to be made for the "big guys" who are mainly men and cry just one-sided tear when the man-pain gets a little too much.

The main character, the source of most of my snickers, is so mainly in fact that he only drinks whiskey, doesn't trim his hair for five years, lives like a dog and/or beast (his words) and speaks only in frankly weird-ass metaphors that are just as deep as a puddle.

If you have already watched enough stuff from this gender you know just the type of character that he is but if you haven't; well, you might enjoy this drama a lot more than I did. In fact, I even recommend it.

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Watched this drama in 2021, and it didn't live up to the mostly-glowing reviews. Probably due to the fact that there had been other stronger dramas in similar genres since "Bad Guys" aired in 2014. Think "Flower of Evil" and "Stranger".

The writing had plot holes, and tried too hard with being clever with metaphors; it got a bit too much towards the last few episodes. The pacing was a bit draggy at times, for an action drama. The overall acting from the cast was rather flat. They were either brooding or angry/shouting. Such a shame that Park Hae Jin wasn't given a meatier role.

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This is a korean drama for men. Or maybe for women that want to watch something manly.
Since I feel that most dramas are made for women, it stands indeed somehow apart from the majority.
That's how I can explain the enthusiastic reviews it gets.
But that doesn't mean that it is really something different, that would be for me something good or interesting. It still relays on a convoluted plot that does only a slight amount of sense, being only a pretext for a collection of cool scenes. Each character could be nice taken alone, but is clear that they are together only because so says the script. Also, as usual, there are liters of tears running down, plenty of emotional flashbacks, countless tragedies befalling the main characters and so on.
That's what i find annoying about this drama: you are constantly left with the impression that what you're seeing was only thought to look good and to lure your emotions in a cheap way, without paying a minimum of attention to the internal coherence of the story.
In the end is still somehow enjoyable, I liked the acting and Jo Dong Hyuk, but is not something above average.

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I loved this in the beginning, the first episode introductions got me hooked. The story developed then probably around episode 8/9 I pieced it together and knew what was going to happen which probably spoilt it for me. There are a lot of misunderstandings stemming from a lack of communication which annoyed me, there were times where I was almost screaming at my screen "just tell them!!" Lol. Loved the characters apart from squad leader, his whole bad guy, low voice, long ass speeches irked me greatly and the female officer was a bit annoying and easily mislead.
What was great about the drama is that it was a great idea and you really felt for the criminals. I really enjoyed it, the action was good and they didn't waste time getting into it. I would love a season 2 just to see the all together again!

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You will love the PLOT TWIST...

A MUST WATCH. Thank your stars later.
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Episode- 1 through 7 was mind blowing. I lived for the thrill in every single episode.
Episode - 8 and 9 were kinda difficult for me to watch...kinda boring in my opinion but contained important details related to the conclusion.
Episode 10 and 11 - My favorite... almost made me cry.
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One can totally show sympathy towards the character of Oh Goo Tak (Kim Sang Joong)
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My personal favorite... Lee Jung Moon (Park Hae Jin) .. One one line for him: "Once a psychopath is not always a psychopath."
He made me cry and fall for him too.
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Jung Tae Soo (Jo Dong Hyuk) such a romantic killer he was. Enjoyed watching his character development too.
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For some reasons I could not connect well with Park Woong Cheol (Ma Dong Seok). I don't know why. Maybe I missed something.
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Maybe some emotional fool (no offence. Sorry) would love her character but... Yoo Mi Young (Kang Ye Won) aka the female officer. But for me she was stupid af (Once again sorry)
But I also think that every action thriller has one such stupid character. Isn't it? (sorry)
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The post twister... uff... in love with that character. One could actually know (catch) that person from very beginning if one would completely submerge him/herself in the drama.
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Thank you, Maaya

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excellent & outta the magic hat

korean drama has certainly reached a high level of artistry. this one drama has got everything - handsome actors, action, tragic past, forbidden love... choreography of fighting scenes is excellent, also each episode is sure to unveil a mystery, everything makes u hold your breath!
i love it, despite the fact that one can see the ropes of the story. this k-drama is so seductive as it is unrealistic, though pretending to be. the director sure knows how to press some of the viewers' buttons.
the filming technique is weird, they seem to magnify the skin's imperfections, while everything else is at normal proportion/ view/ angle? i guess its some kind of experiment but taken too far.
recommended.

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You don't watch this for a logical plot or even realistic fight scenes in some instances. The intelligence of the crimes and crime-solving are a bit below average and the script is littered with cheese. But despite some poor execution, the concept itself draws interest. Who doesn't love the idea of having criminals with very different backgrounds team up to fight other criminals? Are there reasons to watch this? Absolutely- as long as you manage expectations.

Foremost, the team of "mad dogs" is ultimately what keeps the series entertaining enough. Especially when the leads were pretty much a perfect cast for their characters. The overall plot itself also has enough twists and turns to keep the viewer intrigued, even if the details don't always make sense and the decisions are sometimes questionable. There's enough fast-paced action here where there really isn't much room to fast-forward on and it thankfully doesn't have any sappy romance.

Although I've dropped other series that have similar flaws, this one was just fun to watch. After all, the focus wasn't meant to be around forensics or detective work but on the woven relationships of the characters. It's like watching a comic book movie of a super-hero team made up of criminals. If it consisted of more than the 11 episodes, then maybe they could have incorporated more depth. The ending felt rushed but still left me wanting to see more of them in action again.

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Bad Guys (2014) - I watched this like 1 episode per day because it so intense, my heart can’t seem to take it all but I remembered I watched the last 4 episodes in a day. I was so into the drama and I fell in love with every character. I was crying a lot in this drama, which is hilarious since it is an action drama. The actors are not even shedding tears and they just have to deliver their lines but i was crying like crazy over it. I am laughing at myself right now because I may look like an idiot at that time but this drama is just so worth it. I like the plot twist, since I can’t really tell who the culprit is (since I am not that smart in this matter). I like the ending too and hoping to see Season 2 soon.

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God fuck, Korean dramas are so fucking illogical. I started watching this under recommendation of a couple of friends, so even though I have my doubts about how good this drama is, I decided to give it a try. The first two episodes were OK. They were fast-paced enough that I could look past some of the stuff that I had problems with (e.g. the misplacement of idiotic jokes, some pacing inconsistencies etc.) But by the end of the second episode, I knew that I couldn't sit through all 11 episodes - even though they were only 11 episodes - so I skipped ahead to episode 10.

The first half of episode 10 is actually quite good. I enjoyed catching up what I had missed in the 7 episodes I skipped over, but when the second half of the episode rolled around, I just got more and more frustrated at the drama series. Why are Korean dramas so frustratingly illogical and coincidental?!

Korean dramas have a habit of prolonging even the most intense scenes and story plots, ironically making them less intense with characters staring at a point slightly off-camera. Or they'll blur out knives (!) but not guns (!) in a show about murderers. Or they'll have characters just sitting idly in cars while waiting for important phone calls. Or they'll have V.I.P. victims taking instructions from a stranger over the phone, even after he says "I can't... I can't trust any of you!" (but you're trusting a random stranger on the phone, bruh). Or they'll have a character about to shoot a guy's head off, but oh-so-conveniently, they'll have another guy enter the scene just in time to stop him, but even when that's convenient (and I look past that), when the character falls onto the ground during the attack, and the gun is still near his hand, he doesn't grab the gun to retaliate, he just gets up and allows himself to be punched again.

Stop stretching out these scenes! Stop treating audiences like dimwits and that we can't solve things by ourselves. These scriptwriters need to stop laying out the details of a murder plot line-by-line as if the audiences can't figure it out ourselves, and as if we need a constant reminder of what happened the previous episodes.

Also, I bet if Korean dramas could take this entire series and trimmed out all the camera shots of characters staring emptily slightly off camera, I bet each episode could probably be at least 10 minutes shorter. Thus, the entire drama maybe one or two episodes shorter. Instead, they could use these two episodes and fill it with actual character development and actual story development, instead of filling it with prolonged over-dramatic stares.

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