Monday, January 4, 2010

Review on Korean Drama: Swallow the Sun (2009)



Title: Swallow the Sun (2009)
Genre: Drama, Action, Romance
Duration: 25 episodes
Cast:
Ji Sung as Kim Jung Woo
Jun Kwang Ryul as Jang Min Ho/Il Hwan
Sung Yu Ri as Lee Soo Hyun
Lee Wan as Jang Tae Hyeok
Yoo Oh-seong as Jaek Seun-ri
Im Jung Eun as Mi Yeon

Synopsis:
Considered to be the most notorious convict, Il Hwan (Jin Goo), escapes prison when the worst of criminals were brought to the Jeju Island to construct the highway. He meets a kind-hearted, naive Mi Yeon(Im Jung Eun) who saves him from death and helps him recuperate after sustaining a gun wound and jumping from a cliff trying to escape the pursuing military officers. 
Il Hwan was used to people's reaction of dread and disgust when they initially meet him but he was surprised that the girl didn't fear him but instead pitied him and wanted to help him despite the danger he poses for her. The attraction was instant but the girl was in denial since she knew her mother would never accept him.  When he asked her to run away with him, she turned him down and decided it would be the last time she'll meet with him.  Unfortunately, her mother thought she was kidnapped and called for help from the same soldiers that were hunting for him. He was brought back to camp and she went home with her mother not knowing she actually got pregnant.  Her mother decided to give the baby away as soon as he was born and told her that he died in childbirth.
The baby is Kim Jung Woo and the story fast-forwards to when he's all grown up to be a man who is engaged in petty crimes with his local gangster buddies, has no idea about his identity, has no ambitions and could not understand why his family would abandon him.
One day, he accidentally saves Jang Min Ho who is the richest man on the island and also the most notorious and the most dreaded.  Nobody seems to know about his past and why he is on the island but every businessman in the island knows the manner on which he conducts his business.  He decides to hire Kim Jung Woo to guard his wayward son, who is more than happy just to party and spend his father's money.  Jang Min Ho was hoping that Jung Woo would somehow influence his son, Jang Tae Hyeok who is on his opinion as useless as his mother.  He hoped that Jung Woo would be able to influence him with the same fighting spirit he saw in the guy's eyes.  Jung Woo agrees to stay with him and was charmed by the way the rich lead their lives. Jung Woo considered the working for Jang Min Ho as an opportunity of a lifetime and was determined to be loyal to him to the extent he tried everything to win the heart of the woman he had loved for a long time for Tae Hyeok and even took the fall for the crime that Jang Woo commits. 
All get involved in a story of passionate pursuit of revenge, love, sacrifice, forgiveness and blind faith in love and friendship.
Review:
Absolutely disappointing after reading so many good reviews, I found myself skipping a lot of the episodes because I just felt that I was about to die of boredom.  The story was ambitious however, the execution was poor specially the casting.  The acting felt wooden specially the female leads.  I felt they were too conscious of the camera and I felt distracted that Soo Hyun always wear either very short skirt or shorty shorts even on occasions I felt she shouldn’t have.  The love story was boring and I felt it was a waste of good money that could have been spent on a good production. The only ones that saved me from skipping it altogether was Jun Kwang Ryul and Ji Sung although Ji Sung also made me yawn a couple of times.

I give this 6 out of 10 stars because the male lead is hot...hehehe

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