The Game: Towards Zero (2020)

It seems good, but it isn't...

As you might have read in the plot summary, it seems to be an interesting story. But, it is not even close to that, ans I actually don't even know what I have watched. I've seen this drama months ago, and I cal still remember clearly how bad it is.

But let's start with the good stuff:
Im Joo Hwan character (the villain): his acting was on point. He showed everything the character was feeling, and I really cried at the end when he imagines his life going the right way.
The soundtrack: the show has some good music, and all the scenes get better because of it.

Now, the bad:
Everything else! The inicial idea of the story is nice. However, the execution was bad, so very bad. The story goes nowhere ans it is so repetitive. The same thing happens again and again. The leads are dumb and the villain plays with them all the time. The first episodes are good, but then it drags until the end.
I've never liked Ok Taec Yeon that much, and now I can't see him without just hating looking at his face. Poor guy... he's a great person (or it seems), but I can't stand his acting and expressions. The female lead is equally bad, although I've seen her in The Package and she was okay there.
The romantic scenes in Towards Zero are emotionless. I can see how the male lead fell in love with the FL, but not the other way around. The ML doesn't have a personality besides having the power of seeing how people will die. I can't fell the love between them, and maybe that's why, for the first time ever, I could't watch most of the romantic senes. It felt so out of place and forced.
Other aspects are just okay or not even worth mentioning.

In the end, I was just glad I finished this and didn't drop it, don't ask me how. It was good seeing Im Joo Hwan and getting emotional with the soundtrack, and I quite liked the final minutes of the show. It wasn't all bad, but rewatch value is zero.

Leer más

Been a while since I watched any dramas with Tacyeon after Bring in on, Ghost so I'm glad to find out about this drama. And the premise of the drama turned out to be supernatural again with an interesting twist.

To be honest, when I read the synopsis, my thoughts went back to a similarly themed drama Black that also featured an MC who could see Death... or more like the presence of a Reaper. So I was intrigued by this premise, as Taepyung had an ability to see the last moment of someone's death. And I had hoped that the story would wrap up better than how Black ends up being. I wasn't disappointed.

I loved how the main premise of the series focused at first on Kim Taepyung, on how due to his ability he had made quite a name within the elite circle and later on ended up meeting Detective Seo Joonyeong whom he falls in love with, due to his inability to see her death. And then, we're introduced to the secondary character Goo Dokyung who ended up having a rather complicated relationship with both Taepyung and Joonyeong.

That said, I loved the fact that in the series the one who first falls in love was Taepyung, whose ability prevented him from allowing himself to become attached to anyone due to a death prediction that he once saw, in which his feelings gradually was returned due to him and Joonyeong constantly being together and helping out each other to prevent the deaths that he saw from happening. Aside from that, the relationship between Taepyung and Dokyung intrigued me in a way that Dokyung was portrayed as a sympathetic villain who, despite desiring to defy fate and not continue killing people, ended up continuing to commit crimes to the distress of our leads.

The cases in the dramas were quite compelling and the conclusion was satisfying. While there are some parts in the writing that may be a bit weak, overall it didn't deter me from wanting to continue watching the series till the end. And I love the fact that each character was written in such a way that one cannot help rooting for them hoping that their gruesome fates could be changed for the better. I also loved the fact that the series allowed for characters to learn from the mistakes in the past and strive to make things better.

The Game: Towards the Zero was definitely a series that I'm glad to be able to watch from beginning to end.

Leer más

hold your breath

This drama has very good actors and the plot is thrilling until the end. There's murder, grief, anger, sadness and a little bit of romance that never breaks the thrill of the story. The female lead is a strong but sweet woman who works in the police and the character is well developed. Also the romance between the main couple doesn't take the stage so you can fully enjoy the chase and follow the investigation to catch the murderer. There's only one thing that in my opinion is not well developed and that's the trust that grows between the male lead and the other main characters. Nevertheless you have a gorgeous Ok Taekyeon who you don't know if he's evil or good. Totally recommended.

Leer más

First and foremost as I say in all my reviews, I avoid romance Kdramas because of how sappy and cheesy they are. It sucks because if a drama is good that have romance in it I would be missing out.

IF I had known this had romance in it I would've avoided it at all cost. This is why I gave it a low overall rating plus it had some takeaways that always irk my nerves.

Remember I will be telling some parts of this series so you may want to stop reading this if anyone comes across my review of this drama.

I liked the main male lead but I most definitely loved the guys on the police force a lot better. I love how they stuck together no matter what happened. I also liked the female lead up to a certain point. She started off tough as nails but ended up becoming an idiot throughout the rest of the series.

This drama depicted on one being able to see someone's death and it's fate if one tries to change it. Too bad this sounded as good as it looked.

Here's where I will actually talk about one episode in particular. In involved the main character trying to change the villains death on order to save lives from whom the villain will kill. He purchases a bomb from the black market, set it to his car, traps the villain and then blow up the car. You would think this would be saved towards the end of the series but it happens in the middle so obviously you can't kill the antagonist and protagonist. It would end the series. But the developers made it to where both of these guys...SURVIVE a car explosion! Not only that, fire erupts through the car causing it to entirely flip once and then land in a lake and sink. All the main character received was a scratch to the face and was in a coma for about a few days while the villain suffers burns to the side of his face and the back of his hand. Both are within their sound mind and is able to carry on what they were doing before the explosion....Eye roll times 10!I know it's not real but COME ON!!!
Another instance was when the MFL was unconscious from being locked up for several hours. She comes out of her coma with perfect looks, memory, oh, they had to throw in a tid bit of physical therapy but she recovers fast and goes back to work.

To add to the eye roll things went sour when the two main leads decided to fall for each other. The thing a person would do for love....really screws every thing up if it's not done right.
They fell for each other, sure, but it was so superficial. And as always the last episode which is suppose to be the wrap up dragged on.

The plot itself would've worked if these few things plus more weren't thrown in to save face. Now it's time to find something else to fill the void this series nearly left me in.

Leer más

Podia ser melhor

Felizmente ou infelismente o que se destacou neste drama foi o vilão, sim estranhamente o vilão roubou a cena e desepenhou muito bem seu papel, afinal eu assisti a isso tudo até o final por causa dele, pois o resto deixou grandemente a desejar.

O casal de protagonistas eram tediantes não me convenceram, eu não vi quimica alguma entre eles , seria mais convicente se fossem apenas amigos, pois o ramance aqui não funcionou. Foi decepcionante ver os protagonistas sempre fazendo escolhas erradas e o vilão sempre um paço a frente, impossivel simpatizar por protagonistas stupidos, eles só agiam no calor da emoção não paravam para pensar e analizar os fatos nem um momento.

Foram episódios demais na minha opnião, a história ficou massante , arrastada e enrolada era tudo mais do mesmo episódio após episódio , absolutamente nada mudava. O fato de ter revelado o assassino muito cedo atrapalhou muito a história , você não cria mais expectativas apenas se deixa levar esperando anciosamente pelo final. Confesso que só me sentia interessada quando o vilão aparecia e por várias vezes tocia por ele, pois ele era unico que despertava algum interesse em mim, não me entendam mal entendo que ele fez várias escolhas erradas e não justifica os assassinatos que cometeu porem seu personagem eram bem complexo e isso me interessou.

Em fim não me arrependo de ter assistido porém não sei se recomendaria fortemente que você assistisse, veja apenas se não tiver mais nada interessante em sua lista.

Leer más

Multilayered villain and no easy cop out

The premise was very interesting, though I might be biased as I loved low/urban fantasy like these.

Romance on its own was clearly meh. It's very easy to understand why the ML got taken in, but the opposite isn't really true, so it feels like it moves very (too?) quickly for the suspension of disbelief, even taking into account the adrenaline probably pumping through their veins considering their cases and the actor admittedly being rich and physically attractive. The good thing though is that they have decent chemistry, it's not overdone to the point it becomes cringe (e.g. no "destined one true love" vibes, just a "normal" one, if fast moving), ML even admits that he has no idea whether or not they'll be together to the end or separate further down the road, he's just happy and eager to have the chance to find out. But more importantly, the romance isn't really that critical as the plot could have easily been the same if they had just remained close friends. If you're going into this for the romance, then you probably won't like it, but personally I'm getting tired of seeing romantic plotlines taking over series that had the potential to be really interesting (e.g. Memories of Alhambra or Hotel del Luna) so I was quite happy about this one. In my opinion, though it could be unconvincing in isolation, it worked very well when balanced with the other elements, only being a subdued component of the overall series rather than the main focus.

The lowkey fantasy element was nicely woven in; and I think it fitted really well into how the characters behaved and grew into. Rather than exploring his powers per say, the writers decided to focus on how such an ability would impact them. The ML's mindset, the way other characters react to the news, and debate on how to use it, or even if it's real or not, as well as how it ended up warping the main villain; overall, I felt it was very well done

I found the thriller aspect quite compelling. I admit that I was quite taken aback by the pacing however. It's not that it was bad, but I felt it was a bit non-standard. The villain is identified quickly, but gathering the evidence turns out much more difficult than expected. It wasn't a full series rush with constant cliffhangers like 365 Repeat the year for example, nor was it a constant roller coaster like he is Psychometric. It was moving forward, but with some lulls at time. I don't really know how to explain it; it was ok but it did throw me off a bit.

The villain is the one who carry the show in my opinion. The conflict, both within and without he portrayed was really interesting. He was both a victim and then a perpetrator, and the people around forcing that distinction got him. It was really interesting in that this gave him several layers. And what I really liked about this series is that the writers didn't take the easy way out, they didn't try to downplay one element or the other, but instead the conclusion is that he is BOTH a victim and a killer. His pitiable circumstances do not excuse his murders in any way, but conversely (and the final insistence on that was surprising) neither should his wrongdoings make his struggles disappear or become any less important. He killed, and he needs to be punished and repent from that, but he was also genuinely wronged, and he earned the apologies from the police, state and people who unfairly made his life hell growing up. His actions were understandable, but never justified. He was a criminal who took lives, but still human.

This can be very tricky for writers, which is why villains in series are often black or white, or die at the end. But he didn't get killed either, nor did he have one sad sappy scene before sacrificing his life or anything. No, he stayed fucking alive to pay for his crimes, and genuinely embarked on a thorny path to redemption for the reminder of his life. The writers managed to do it rather gracefully overall, and the series ended that plotline in a very satisfying way.

Now the main problem I've had with this series is that near the end, subverting the death visions came a bit too easily for my taste. It wasn't necessarily easy, but I still think the series would have benefitted from another unavoidable death after Mi-Jin, to really hammer it in that changing the visions is really, really difficult.

But overall, still a good series I enjoyed

Leer más

Im Ju Hwan

I remember nothing about this thriller except Im Ju Hwan. I remember only how he stole the show, and how his character was the only fully developed one in the whole drama. What an amazing actor! He also stole "Oh My Ghostess" and "The Bride of Habaek" in much the same fashion, with his multi-faceted characters, even though all thise characters were antagonists!!

He is a character actor inside a gorgeous man's body. Why on earth hasn't he been the ML in most of the dramas he has been in so far??! Maybe it's his choice to continue not to be cast as the handsome ML, but I hope to still see him as the ML in the future.

Leer más

Trama interessante, la realizzazione poteva essere meglio

Premetto, dopo aver visto Vincenzo ed aver apprezzato la recitazione di Ok Taec Yeon, volevo vedere qualche cos'altro di suo, quindi ho cercato sulla sua filmografia e mi sono imbattuta in questo drama che sulla carta sembrava avere una trama interessante.

Storia

in complessione mi è piaciuta, ho trovato nella prima parte uno sviluppo narrativo migliore rispetto alla seconda parte, dove i passaggi di tempo sono più frequenti e ci sono alcune cadute di stile sulla trama che potevano essere modificate, un po' più di ritmo non avrebbe guastato.
Mi sono piaciute alcune tematiche trattate e ho apprezzato molto il comparto tecnico e la fotografia, ma se da un lato questo mi ha fatto dare di punti in più, dall'altro ho storto un po' il naso riguardo a qualche location scelta, mi riferisco soprattutto alla casa di Tae Pyeong che nella realtà doveva essere una sorta di galleria d'arte o similare, ottima per le riprese e i giochi di luce, ma per gli intramezzi "casalinghi" non è stata per niente funzionale, una casa enorme e tutto ruota attorno alla camera da letto o al massimo al soggiorno.

Cast
Il trio protagonista è stato interessante, avrei dato un po' più di spessore e sfaccettature alla protagonista Seo Joon Young che non mi ha convinto del tutto, non so se sia stata solo una problematica di scrittura del personaggio oppure è stata l'attrice ad avermi trasmesso poco, ho trovato anche poca chimica tra lei e Taec Yeon.
Obbiettivamente il personaggio di Goo Do Kyung è quello scritto meglio, ma nello sviluppo delle narrazione ho trovato sin troppo ridondante la sua unica motivazione sui vari crimini commessi.
Mi sarebbe piaciuto sapere se la visione della morte di Tae Pyong fosse cambiata o meno alla fine.

Colonna sonora varia, ma nessuna delle musiche mi ha colpito più delle altre.

Solitamente non faccio rewatch di drama o serie e quando li faccio rivedo solo i miei episodi preferiti, ecco perchè il mio voto è basso.

Leer más

The Game: Towards Zero is Great

The story is quite amazing where the main character can see the death of people by seeing the picture or face itself. Not only seeing other people's death, but He can also see his death too. As the story goes on, He can change the people death and this is where the story becomes more interesting because it's like a multiverse XD

There are a lot of plot twists in this K-drama so don't be surprised if the reality s not like what you expected :)

*I found that when the car explodes, there are no people on the car. (I think this is a fatal mistake that they are not cutting/editing it but at least they are using a real car so no green screen :) )

Recommended to those who love detective vibes!

Leer más

There was an attempt

The first half is what the drama should've been and the second half is what the drama shouldn't have become. The start was decent enough with a compelling concept and characters, however, everything began to crumble down after the first half. The pace significantly slowed down, an overwhelming amount of repetition and flashbacks was shoved in, the mystery was over at that point, the cat and mouse chase became boring and there was a general decrease in the collective IQ of the masses. Nonetheless, the story itself was weak and didn't explore any interesting ideas. The whole thing was infested with plot holes even after excluding all the supernatural elements. The inclusion of romance was a hit or miss at times. I'm disappointed that Park Won Sang didn't have a bigger role in the drama.

Leer más

The Game: Towards Zero é um dorama sul-coreano transmitido nos primeiros meses de 2020 pela emissora MBC. Contém 32 episódios com 30 minutos de duração cada e está disponível com legenda oficial no Kocowa. Dirigido pelo experiente Jang Joon Ho, que carimbou seu nome em um dos meus dramas favoritos de vingança: Hotel King. E roteirizado pela estreante Lee Ji Hyo.

Quando criança, Kim Tae Pyung descobriu ter a habilidade de ver a morte de alguém quando olhava no fundo dos olhos de alguém. Após a morte dos pais é adotado por um homem cego que tinha a mesma habilidade que ele e se ajudam mutuamente. Já adulto, nada o impede de tirar vantagem dessa habilidade, passando assim, a ganhar dinheiro com os curiosos.

É assim que Tae Pyung conhece uma senhora que quer saber se o filho mafioso morrerá cedo ou não. E devido à essa premonição, a vida dele passa a estar em perigo causando sérias consequências, como a perseguição que o coloca no radar da detetive Joon Young, a única mulher que ele não consegue ver a hora da morte.

Um serial killer está á solta vitimando adolescentes do sexo feminino, as prendendo em um caixão ainda vivas e com um telefone desconhecido para que possam pedir socorro. Quase uma bomba-relógio até que fiquem sem ar e morra. Foi em casos fatais que Joon Young viu o pai trabalhar a maior parte da infância, um policial correto e justo que morre em serviço. O mesmo caso que matou o pai da jovem está retornando para abrir velhas feridas.

Quando Tae Pyung se interessa pelo motivo de não conseguir ver a morte da detetive Joon Young é o momento do telespectador ser atingido por outro plot tão bom quanto. Para alguns, talvez, a caracterização de "nos conhecemos na infância" esteja batida - eu não fiquei imune à esse pensamento. Porém, com uma narrativa que mescla presente e passado somos conduzidos por uma espiral de acontecimentos marcantes.

Uma morte terá o efeito dominó na vida de muitas pessoas, inclusive no motivo de Tae Pyung não conseguir ver a hora e nem o motivo da morte da Joon Young, que também está diretamente ligada a linha do tempo de Goo Do Kyung. Esse elenco principal até certo ponto não são personagens complexos, mas ao serem inseridos num contexto de tragédia, crime e investigação ganham uma nova ótica. Dolorosa e intensa.

Se eu pudesse usar uma frase para definir a estrutura desse dorama seria: jogar a merda no ventilador e respingar em todo mundo. Ninguém saí imune ao que acontece. Nem a imprensa, que em momentos críticos na vida de um ser humano, independente do crime cometido, não tenha sensibilidade ao transmitir notícias, lidar com as famílias envolvidas ou curiosidade em buscar a verdade.

Citação: "Antes de sair em busca de vingança: cave duas covas" - Confúcio

A descaracterização do mistério em relação a quem é o assassino foi memorável, já que em poucos episódios já sabemos sua identidade. E em momento nenhum isso tirou meu interesse ou fez a trama ser menos intrigante; muito pelo contrário, tanto a identidade como saber os próximos passos tornou o mistério melhor. Goo Do Kyung é um personagem complexo e cheios de nuances para reflexão, além de incutir no telespectador atitudes como compaixão e empatia. Adoro ver o ator Im Joo Hwan como vilão!

Apesar do romance ser o que move Tae Pyung a querer proteger a protagonista, sempre acho a dosagem proporcional ao tema da trama. É muito raro ver o Taec Yeon aceitar um papel que não tenha romance. Ele está sempre envolto em mundo fantástico com alguma pitada de romance. E funciona muito bem com ele, como em Who Are You, Bright It On, Ghost e Save Me (os dois últimos disponíveis na Netflix).

Citação: "Ele nunca violou a lei antes. Mas ele está agora, ficando obcecado pela sua segurança e sendo superprotetor porque você morrerá por causa dele"

Sem um histórico de bons efeitos especiais, a emissora MBC ficou deixando a desejar em várias cenas o que faria esse dorama ter outro nível se tivesse tido um pouco mais de investimento. Mas como já disse, o plot vale a pena! Já a trilha sonora foi muito bem planejada e adicionada em momentos certeiros, deixando visual e tensão combinados.

Mesmo sendo facilmente comprada pelo gênero fantástico em dramas coreanos, em apenas dois episódios o plot de The Game: Towards Zero já tinha me convencido por causa do seu enredo bem construído e difícil de largar.

Leer más

Taepyung tem uma personalidade diferente do que pensei para este estilo de dorama. A Joon Young me deu esperança de ter uma detetive realmente esperta, esperei que continuasse ao longo do dorama, em grande parte foi sim, mas alguns erros de sua conduta me incomodaram, pareciam coisas feitas por iniciantes. Confesso que senti o romance corrido, sei que era importante para o enredo, mas por mim uma amizade funcionaria melhor e mais natural, mas pode ter sido o fato que não ligue tanto para romance.

Aconteceu o que acho raro, tive empatia pelo assassino, mesmo sem concordar com suas atitudes. No começo fiquei preocupada pela revelação rápida da identidade do assassino, mas aqui foi essencial para se colocar em sua pele, uma coisa que também fez diferença foi mostrar que não havia prazer em todos os atos hediondos, por vezes me fez pensar que ele também é uma vítima, mesmo que seus atos sejam injustificados. Uma frase do episódio 24 me chamou atenção “Foi assassinato. Nós dois somos assassinos, mas um de nós fica cercado por pessoas, recebendo seus cuidados e apoio. A vida é terrivelmente injusta.”

Tirando alguns erros lógicos pequenos, eu gostei muito, por vezes me veio à mente a teoria da borboleta e a lei de Murphy, o final foi diferente do que esperei, mas foi feliz. De novo quero parabenizar a atuação Im Joo Hwan espero ele ganhe papéis como principal e claro Taecyeon também foi muito bem.

Leer más