For me this is a half/half recommend. Being from 2010 dose not bother me like some of the older shows. Its just that the plot is so-so with parts that you know are going to happen and bits that never do. I watched this for the 2020 Challenge and it popped up on my Netflix. Other than that I never heard of this drama before.
Positive reasons to watch:
-First- Choi Kang Ta is just eye candy. He has steamy eye and lost his shirt a bunch. So if thats your thing then you need to watch this show. Plenty of other characters use their sexy 'bits" to deceive people. Could be the most I have seen in a show as it happens over and over again.
- The spy gear is really funny. This is more of a James Bond- has a whole team with cool stuff to use and can't be defected. Choi Kang Ta is not an " underground drug kingpin" and of you watch it thinking "oh this will be more mob-ish". He is a high lvl killer, businessman, has a bunch of money- billions and billions. At no point is anything about him and drugs said. He will use the best guy for a job but he is not a criminal that way. Explosive CDs- enough said.
-The plot moves on track without a lot of filler, everything in there is for a reason. The acting is good.
- You will end up sympathizing with then villain more as the show progresses.
-The fights are good. It feels like a drama with in a drama by how the action is shot; very shaky and quick camera movement. For me it felt like by moving the camera, they were improving the fights- and I wish we could just view it. Choi Kang Ta is great at pulling of the fights against everyone. The people he fights are great- this is from a comic book, which explains why there are so many bodyguards there for him to crush. My fav- Cobra man- leather pants wearing, no shirt wearing, spikes and chains wielding a whip/ snake thing. You can't beat that look and I need him to be in there more.
Negative reasons:
- His hair is weird when they style it as a up and down look- just down and pony are fine!
-Don't watch if you like horses - The turning point in how I viewed a character.
-I don't like the over use of people that happens. They are not "evil" nor dose Kang Ta have a reason for them over and over again deceived them like that. Its hard to see full up and down body shots/zoom in just to express "oh they are sexy and trying to use their body to get something".
-Everyone is waving guns and pointing them in each others face but they never just pull the trigger, like an useless prop. The girl cop gun is the worst! No cop would use that gun- impractical.
- If your looking for a Romance- Just run away, not worth your time. It might as well be a side plot. "His beliefs are shaken when he falls in love with a reporter named Jin Bo Bae" I disagree- His beliefs are shaken by betrayal, death and his family. Han Chae Young dose a great job of acting like BoBae but I don't believe she has personal growth. Her role is strong at the start but at the end for me she's just a supporting role for Kang Ta's emotions. Jang Mi is a much more of a strong role as she is a completely different person at the end. Even Vivian has more growth than the female lead.
-The end- your just glad that you made it, but you don't care if anyone is dead or alive or together or happy lol