Bad Guys (2014)

If you're a fan of crime dramas, this would be want which you should not miss :) It does not have that typical crime drama storyline where it usually revolves around a team of detectives solving cases after cases without any value in the story, so you'll have to watch till the end to catch what kind of message this drama is trying to put across. I like how the characters in this drama build up that relationship with each other despite being different from each other. I would say they casted the perfect team of actors to play the different characters. In this drama you'll definitely get to see Park Hae Jin portrays a different character from his usual ones :)

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One of the rare Korean crime thrillers that is actually dark, gritty and suspenseful. I love the Crazy Dogs team and I really loved how the story delved into each character's past as part of their redemption. I love how every single character was important and it didn't fall into the trap of having many flat, one-dimensional characters for the sake of it (as some crime dramas do).

The storyline is really thrilling - there are a lot of shades of grey and different perspectives of truth and justice that emerge. I really like the different lessons that the story conveys and I thought that it was really an interesting foray into unmasking the 'bad guys'. It really does challenge your assumptions and somehow makes you feel sympathy for them... In many ways, it reminds us that everyone has both good and evil within.

I love how the actors convey this and I must say that everyone really delivered - Kim Sang Joon was amazing, and Park Hae Jin is so fitting for his emotionless yet troubled character. However, Ma Dong Seok and Jo Dong Hyeok really do shine in this drama especially since I hadn't really seen much of them beforehand. I hope they have more opportunities to shine in the future. They're both amazing at the action scenes which really bring this drama to life. I also have a soft spot for Kang Shin Il - he just has this aura of zen and tranquility.

Honestly, I'm not the type of person who re-watches compulsively but I prefer to watch years later once I can't remember all the details. I think the drama is really well written and executed so definitely re-watchable. The only thing is that is it a crime thriller and once you know all the "answers", a tiny bit of the thrill and mystery is lost. That being said, it's the type of drama that has you hooked on once you start it because there are so many questions that you'd want to know the answers to.

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Warning: This drama is not for the weak. I happened to watch the censored version (unintended) but there was a lot of blood and violence.

Personally, it took me a few episodes to get into this drama. But by the time I was at episode 4, I felt like I had accidentally skipped an episode. But no, I really had already watched 3! So by then, I was already losing track of time. By the time I was finishing episode 7, the cast had me on the edge of my seat.

Negatives?
Not that I can come up with. I couldn’t find any flaws in the plot or in anyone’s acting. The only thing that may be a negative for some people is that it’s a very serious drama without any comedy. So if you are not in the mood for it or not the type, than maybe this drama won't grab your attention. (Though, despite me not being in the mood, it still made me finish it within 2 days.)

Story:
The plot is interesting each episode again. There isn’t ever a slow moment and everything you see builds up another piece of the puzzle to show you the episode as a whole. The main characters are all very diverse in their motivations/actions, which makes for varying situations again and again. The plot keeps on thickening by the minute. Just when a new piece of the puzzle is formed, another one seems missing. There is a lot of action, no shortage of that! Never a dull moment.

Extra mention:
I absolutely LOVE how they filmed this. The contrast between dark and light in most of the shots really give this drama its own feel. It adds to the mood a lot and to me makes everything come across much stronger than it might have otherwise done.

Actors:
The actors are brilliant in their roles and have done a great job portraying their characters. The acting was real time and time again. I believed what I was seeing. The slow developments taking place within the characters were beautifully brought! I was slowly starting to feel for each character individually, learning to understand them and their motives. Some villains even gave me the creeps the way villains should do.

Music:
The music added to the general feel of the episodes. Dark, action, suspense. Not generally songs that stick into your mind, but are a great asset to pull you even more into the screen and story. Especially one with a very heavy sound, it made me feel impending doom whenever I heard it. (To be honest, it made me feel the same way I always feel when I hear the alarms in Silent Hill.) I love the song Break Up by Yoon Hyung Ryul.

Rewatch Value:
If this is your kind of thing; no doubt you will enjoy watching it again. I’m not sure if I’ll do so myself, because it’s not a light watch, but who knows – maybe in the future I might again!
Would I watch a second season? Now that I finished it: Without a doubt. Yes. I definitely would. I'm actually kind of hoping for one now.

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I enjoyed this kdrama, more than i thought I would. I watched this all the way back when it was airing, but I'm just coming around to writing my review. This is the first detective/crime-solving kdrama I've seen, and it did not disappoint. So intense! You will get the answers ur looking for by the end of this drama. The acting was superb, and I loved all the characters (except the stupid female character). Everyone played their roles to the T. Started watching for Park Tae Jin, and I loved his character, but my favorite was Ma Dong Seok.
The story is about this ex-cop/detective who's reinstated by the commissioner or whoever because his son died. The ex-cop/detective (Oh Goo Tak) then gets together 3 criminals (who are actually locked up at this point, like in prison) to help him solve crimes. But what's in it for the criminals? Whoever catches the culprit of each crime gets their sentence reduced. But there's more to the story. Why did Goo Tak choose those 3 criminals? They're all connected in some way, and the drama delves into that. So not only are they trying to solve each individual crime (which is already interesting), but they are trying to solve a bigger picture. I won't say what the bigger picture is, it's much more fun to watch and find out. But the story is very interesting and exciting, and will keep u at the edge of ur seat.
The music is pretty forgettable (at least for someone like me who doesn't really pay attention to the ost unless it really sticks out), but the music did go really well with the drama, so I have no complaints. And, I just looked up the ost to remind myself of the music, it's really good, very downloadable too lol.
Now, would I rewatch this drama? Yeah, I would. I really appreciate the cast's excellent acting, and I love the overall theme. Forgiveness. Ooohh, I'm getting chills just thinking about it.
Not my favorite kdrama, but def one of the better ones I've seen. I'd recommend the drama to just about everyone. I'm trying to get my sister to watch it, but she doesn't listen to my recommendations (her loss). Anyways, if you don't want to watch it for the intricate story, at least watch it for Park Tae Jin's sexy lips!

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Not your average kdrama! 9/10

Just finished this kdrama and I loved it! If you like kdramas with action, kidnapping, murder, police, investigations, gritty, dark, thriller, and crime then I 100% recommend it to you! And it's only 11 eps! There's a season 2 as well and a season 3 movie!? 9/10 from me. However, if you are 18 and under or sensitive to violent scenes then I wouldn't recommend it to you, as there are many explicit violent fighting scenes with knife crimes and guns. Basically, it's not your average kdrama with a male lead doing taekwondo and finishing up the villains in 10secs, there's more to it. Also, there's no romance, maybe some bromance tho (not bl).

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Bad Guys seems to be one of those cult favourites that has a fervent but small fan base. So there was quite a bit of anticipation on my part to watch this drama.

The Koreans love their gritty and violent crime dramas and this show is firmly in that category. There is plenty of dark humour which is befitting of the themes in this show and brought some much needed comic relief to the heavy subject matter.

Kim Sang Joong does a tremendous job. Although Park Hae Jin does appear to be in the spotlight of the story for a good chunk of the show, i do believe Kim Sang Joong’s detective character is the true lead of the show.

The 11 episodes were definitely not enough to delve into all the backgrounds and backstories of the three ‘bad guys’, but there was enough story to pique a viewer’s interest in seeing these characters onscreen again. If the writers were gunning for a sequel for this show they definitely made sure they had plenty of material to write one.

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I started watching this drama last year and after 2-3 episodes I stopped (not sure why). I came back to it and oh boy I’m glad I did! The story it’s so interesting and well written. The cast is amazing and I LOVED how the story came together. The last few episodes were so exiting!

SPOILER (kind of)
The question I was asking myself “is he really the serial killer, or not” and omg I loved how the story came together and answered the question. I seriously had moments when I was like “how did I not see this coming!?”. A must watch if you love mystery and crime.

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Bad Guys Gone Good

Bad Guys was pretty enjoyable, of course it's far fetched and the plot is full of holes, but that's what makes it so good, that and the cast.

Kim Sang Joong plays police detective Oh Goo Tak, full of anger and grief, who enlists long term prisoners to help investigate major crimes with the lure of reduced sentences.

Ma Dong Seok as Park Woong Cheol, a tough gang member, Jo Dong Hyuk as Jung Tae Soo, a former hit man and Park Hae Jin as Lee Jung Moon, a genius serial killer (cliched, I know). They are joined by Kang Ye Won as Police officer Yoo Mi Young, who is wasted as her character brings little to the investigation and it feels as though she is only there as a female place holder.

The four male leads are very good, Ma Dong Seok is extremely likeable, Jo Dong Hyuk is unfairly sexy with his hair razored short to show off his magnificent bone structure and Park Hae Jin is all doe eyes and tragic emo angst.

This drama is beautifully filmed, the picture is incredibly sharp, to the point that every pore and imperfect of our cast's skin is shown. I found myself very aware of the foundation on the actors faces due to the way the show was filmed. The action and fight sequences were fantastic, and there were a lot of them.

I highly recommend Bad Guys.

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Falters in the Last few Episodes

I was super excited about this series. I came for Ma Dong Suk b/c who wouldn't and he was great here, even thogh his character Woong Cheol was annoying. I also loved Jo Dong Hyuk as Tae Soo. He was fantastic and overall, my favorite character.

The Jung Moon character was supposed to be a genius but was constantly being bested by everyone and getting beat up and nearly killed in every epsiode; however, his character is truly sympathetic. Goo Tak, the main character, anti-hero who the audience is supposed to root for was an idiotic mess and so unlikeable. He got on my last nerve.

Unfortunately, this show went from excellent to nonsensical in a matter of the last few episodes; the writing went from pretty entertaining to completely illogical. Starting in epsiode 8, for some inexplicable reason, the characters are, unlike their prior selves, with stupid actions and reactions to information. Made no damn sense.

The last episode was a little better that the last few but I simply stopped caring. Also, wished the fight with Tae Su and Moon Ki had been filmed slower. The choreography was actually pretty good but the action was moving too fast for me to truely enjoy it.

9/1/23

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