Have these assassins been hired by Stephen Colbert? :P
After watching ep 1 of Fugitive, I gave up on it - it was a boring, disjointed mess and I couldn't have cared if all the characters in it blew up at the same time (I can persevere with a drama if the first ep leaves me indifferent but not if I actively dislike it).
I was reading dramabeans' write-up on halfway point of this drama and decided to check it out again - her and my tastes are pretty much polar opposite but I was curious if my opinion improved at all from the horrifying premiere. Being me, I went for the scene which interested me most in her write-up. If you guess it involves manpain, you are correct.
Mainpain! Bruises! Offering to die in place of OTP! Indeed.
My opinion of Fugitive certainly rose about 1000% after watching this - it looks like, now, I will actually watch the entire drama, even if I will likely wait until it's all over and marathon with liberal fast-forwarding. But if I were to say I am madly in love with this drama after this clip, it would be lying. The vibe reminds me a lot of those somewhat wacky Japanese procedurals - think Tokyo Dogs. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not really something I go rabid for - I need my emotional investment as opposed to light interest, and it's not there.
My opinion on its lack of emotional connection holds - I enjoyed the scene quite a lot (why not, it's as if it was target-written for me) but I don't know - I could stay detached and enjoy the angst as opposed to writhe in vicarious agony the way I did in e.g. Rain's angst scenes in Sang-Do (time for a rewatch!) or A Love to Kill. Granted, I am not familiar with the characters here the way I was in those dramas, but a truly good visceral scene grabs you even if you don't know what is going on (what drew me to Bali, for example, was a scene of Jo In Sung breaking down. I had no idea who he was at the time but I felt that emotional punch in the gut and HAD to watch more. That hyper-reality is missing).
Also, I cannot believe this is done by the Chuno guys - the colors are so washed-out, the cinematography, so pedestrian.
What really strikes me the most, the strongest emotional reaction I get is regret. I am not fond of Lee Na Young (her looks do not appeal to me; she's never been in a drama I could tolerate) but she is no doubt a competent actress. The rest of the cast is competent too. And then there is Rain. There are kdrama stars I love better, but none who've imprinted on me quite so much. Full House was my first kdrama. A Love to Kill was the first kdrama which broke my heart. Sang Do completed breaking what was left. I love Rain. Let me modify this - I love Rain. I don't find him particularly good-looking (even if his body is a dream), but I don't even care because he can portray steely vulnerability (yes, I mean that contradictory term) so perfectly. He is a nuanced, underrated actor who is best at intense. When I think of his performances in A Love to Kill and Sang Do (and the more serious parts in Full House - yes, I know it's fashionable to rag on it, but it was my first and I loved it and I still love it and will defend it to the death or at least a light maiming), I can't help but look at Fugitive and get so angry at the total waste. It's his first drama in 6 years and what did they do? When I remember the plans for that angstorama melodrama by Sang Do/ALTK writer about a mercenary and a foreign correspondent with him and JJH and how it fell through and now we are stuck with this I want to cry and then to hit things. He is doing his best, but there isn't much there to do it with! And who knows when and if he ever comes back to doing a drama again.
So angry.
OK, this is turning into a downer post and it shouldn't be. Fugitive = much better than I initially thought. But still, sadly, not enough.
I was reading dramabeans' write-up on halfway point of this drama and decided to check it out again - her and my tastes are pretty much polar opposite but I was curious if my opinion improved at all from the horrifying premiere. Being me, I went for the scene which interested me most in her write-up. If you guess it involves manpain, you are correct.
Mainpain! Bruises! Offering to die in place of OTP! Indeed.
Click to viewMy opinion of Fugitive certainly rose about 1000% after watching this - it looks like, now, I will actually watch the entire drama, even if I will likely wait until it's all over and marathon with liberal fast-forwarding. But if I were to say I am madly in love with this drama after this clip, it would be lying. The vibe reminds me a lot of those somewhat wacky Japanese procedurals - think Tokyo Dogs. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not really something I go rabid for - I need my emotional investment as opposed to light interest, and it's not there.
My opinion on its lack of emotional connection holds - I enjoyed the scene quite a lot (why not, it's as if it was target-written for me) but I don't know - I could stay detached and enjoy the angst as opposed to writhe in vicarious agony the way I did in e.g. Rain's angst scenes in Sang-Do (time for a rewatch!) or A Love to Kill. Granted, I am not familiar with the characters here the way I was in those dramas, but a truly good visceral scene grabs you even if you don't know what is going on (what drew me to Bali, for example, was a scene of Jo In Sung breaking down. I had no idea who he was at the time but I felt that emotional punch in the gut and HAD to watch more. That hyper-reality is missing).
Also, I cannot believe this is done by the Chuno guys - the colors are so washed-out, the cinematography, so pedestrian.
What really strikes me the most, the strongest emotional reaction I get is regret. I am not fond of Lee Na Young (her looks do not appeal to me; she's never been in a drama I could tolerate) but she is no doubt a competent actress. The rest of the cast is competent too. And then there is Rain. There are kdrama stars I love better, but none who've imprinted on me quite so much. Full House was my first kdrama. A Love to Kill was the first kdrama which broke my heart. Sang Do completed breaking what was left. I love Rain. Let me modify this - I love Rain. I don't find him particularly good-looking (even if his body is a dream), but I don't even care because he can portray steely vulnerability (yes, I mean that contradictory term) so perfectly. He is a nuanced, underrated actor who is best at intense. When I think of his performances in A Love to Kill and Sang Do (and the more serious parts in Full House - yes, I know it's fashionable to rag on it, but it was my first and I loved it and I still love it and will defend it to the death or at least a light maiming), I can't help but look at Fugitive and get so angry at the total waste. It's his first drama in 6 years and what did they do? When I remember the plans for that angstorama melodrama by Sang Do/ALTK writer about a mercenary and a foreign correspondent with him and JJH and how it fell through and now we are stuck with this I want to cry and then to hit things. He is doing his best, but there isn't much there to do it with! And who knows when and if he ever comes back to doing a drama again.
So angry.
OK, this is turning into a downer post and it shouldn't be. Fugitive = much better than I initially thought. But still, sadly, not enough.