El Velo (2021)

Relentless journey ...!

Story:
The story itself is pretty good. After going through the misery and tragedy both protagonist and villain chose different path to walk on, and that led this drama to go on. One walks on the path of justice and other creates his own reality after getting betrayed by the nation which strangles him down.
I liked how every episode ends with suspense which holds your mind to keep going on

Acting and cast:-
The Nam Goong Min shows never really disappoint, this goes same with this show too...except his "weird walk" which I can understand after going through a lot of training. And not to forget that, this is a action packed drama, so you get pretty good action scenes but the number of scenes are very few.

Ost:-
I liked the ost played at the end of each episode.

Overall all I got satisfied with this one. Might have next season coming too..! I liked yoo je yi's trust towards her sunbae and how he finally got a reliable comrade! Give it a go if you are looking for action, thrilled mistery drama.

Please let me know about any mistakes!. This is my first review and I didn't really have any idea how to write a proper one even after reading so many of yours.
Thank you!

Leer más

Wasted potentials (as always?)

It's really disappointing to see a drama with a good and enjoyable start just to wither away later on, that includes everything even the cast. As if every single person that was involved in making the drama got tired of the project. Although the earlier parts were enjoyable but I was rolling my eyes every single time Je Yi & Soo Yeon show up on the screen and broke the momentum. They were both easily the worst part of the drama in general. As expected, by the time we got to see the real culprit, it turned out to be a caroonish joker knock off with zero effort put into writing him. To state the obvious, Namkoong was doing an unbelievable amount of heavy lifting to keep this drama afloat. The OST was decent at the right time, while other times it was just some background noise. It's still a decent watch and the slightly shorter runtime was helpful but temper your expectations a bit.

Leer más

MUCH UNDERRATED DRAMA

This was a really fun journey, loved how it keeps you hook till the end the thing that made this drama so good was obviously it's solid plot, the acting of the actors and handwork of the staff but the chemistry between the leads was just out off the charts even without any romance they were able to deliver their bond which was more of a like soulmate type thing( The fact she(yoo je yi) was the only one who trusted and believed in him (han jihyuk) till the end and how he acknowledged it while telling it to her dad melts my heart this is much better then romance and confession idc) they indeed were very well written characters and hats off to the actors for giving their characters that justice...this drama should've been a hit

Leer más

Slow but engaging

A thrilling and mysterious spy series, packed with solid action scenes and excellent acting. Honestly, any drama with Namgoong Min is going to be at least a 7/10. The man is one of the best actors in the Korean entertainment business and his performance in this drama is no different. Female Lead Ji-Eun also delivers a believable and realistic character.

The series starts strong, lots of unknowns and the writer does a great job of unpacking of it through good dialogue, plot and character development. It gets a bit slow in the middle, but picks up again towards the end. The worst part of any Kdrama is when you can tell the writers get lazy and leave things to coincidence for the resolution to occur. This is certainly not the case for 'The Veil'.

Leer más

Une intrigue trop lourde à digérer

Cela me brise le coeur d'avoir à donner une note aussi basse un drama avec un de mes chouchous.
Ravie de le retrouver après "'Awaken" dans un drama d'action, j'ai rapidement déchanté...
Mais après réflexion et à la lecture de certains avis positifs, il m'est apparu que ce n'est après tout qu'une question de perspective et de sensibilité personnel. Un peu comme la vision différente que l'on pourrait avoir d'un tableau de son voisin de droite et de gauche. Cet avis est donc négatif, mais cela n'est que le simple reflet de ce qui me fait ou non vibrer.
Si je devais résumer les poins négatifs de ce drama :
- Un scénario complexe qui introduit de nouveaux protagonistes à presque chaque épisode. J'ai pourtant l'habitude de pléthore de personnage, notamment dans les sageuks politique ou drama comme "Nirvana in Fire", mais ici, j'ai eu la désagréable sensation du "heu...c'est qui? de qui parle-t-on?".
- Les rebondissements sont nombreux et si certains "twist" étaient surprenants, la plupart d'entres eux étaient prévisibles et oserais-je le dire "ennuyeux"? C'est en tout cas mon sentiment. Ennuyeux, car parfois grandiloquent, le suspense semble vouloir tirer le chat par la queue, une intrigue qui se voulait mystérieuse et étonnante et à trop vouloir en faire, cela en est devenu parfois grotesque. Suis-je un peu dure? sûrement...
- L'écriture des personnages.... J'ai rarement vu des protagonistes aussi....fades. Beaucoup ont aimé, cela ne fut pas mon cas. Je n'ai pas ressenti une once de sympathie envers eux. Je n'ai pas réussi à me connecter et à comprendre leurs actions. Aucune émotion ne transparait et cela en fut frustrant. Difficile de savoir leurs pensées, cela fut surement voulu afin de brouiller les pistes, mais j'ai trouvé cela bien plus confus qu'autre chose.
- L'ambiance est noir, sombre. C'est le ton voulu du drama. Je n'y adhère pas. Il n'y a pas une trace d'humour, pas de sentiment tel que je le conçois (pas de romance aussi infime soit-elle, pas de lien familiale, pas de bromance, pas de relation haine/amour entre personnages...). J'ai besoin d'être connecté aux personnages, de ressentir leur peine afin de comprendre. Ici chacun semble n'agir que selon leurs intérêts, je trouve cela personnellement étouffant.
- Le duo Han Ji Yuk/Yoo Je Yi ne possède quasiment pas d'alchimie. C'est une relation purement professionnelle desservie par des intérêts mutuels. Pas d'amitié qui se développe, pas de respect et de loyauté sous toutes ses formes, malgré une certaine forme de droiture entre eux.
- Pourquoi au nom du ciel, Nam Goong Min, mon chouchou adoré, a-t-il du se tailler en Muscleman (même chose pour Jung Moon Sung...) ??
J'ai cherché l'utilité de ce corps nourri aux haltères. En quoi cela sert-il l'histoire? Démontrer sa force? Kenshin ou Ip Man n'en ont pas eu besoin...cela renforce donc ce côté "inutile m'as-tu vu"... J'ai détesté voir mon idole sous cette forme, sa lourde démarche lui donnait un petit air ridicule que je n'aurai jamais pensé un jour voir sur lui....Nam Goong Min revient!!!! En chief Kim! ou en Na Yi Je (saison 2 de "doctor prisoner" qui devrait arriver!). En tout ce que tu veux, mais plus jamais, jamais ça!

Les points positifs :
- La bande son +++
- La première scène du premier épisode.

...Et c'est tout.

En conclusion, ce type de drama n'est absolument pas pour moi, Nam Goong Min ou pas, impossible pour moi d'aimer ce type d'intrigue avec une atmosphère aussi pesante. Je passe mon chemin. Mais je t'aime quand même Nam Goong Min!

Leer más

Nice thriller to discover.

The Veil is a spy investigation series that tells the story of a top National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent, Han Ji Hyuk, who during a mission that ended up with the death of his two colleagues and the revelation of many agents Korean secrets in China, disappeared and was presumed dead. A year later, he reappears without the memory of the past year.
He therefore begins to investigate to discover an internal traitor who wants his downfall, but he confronts a much bigger enemy behind a secret organization. He is joined by Je Yi, who is a young NIS agent with her own motives and becomes Han Ji Hyuk's partner.

The series is very mysterious, honestly we are suspicious of everyone, especially those who wish to "help" our protagonist, without forgetting that he himself because of his mental state makes us doubt his character.
Who is he really ? How far can he go to complete a mission ? What happened a year ago ?

It is really a complex character that plays Namkoong Min successfully. This character is cold, distant and determined, he wants the truth at any cost and has little pity for those who are his enemies, no matter how "close" to him that person was.
He quickly understands that he cannot trust anyone but despite this, he still goes from disappointment to disappointment.
I must say that the mystery thickens with the passage of time instead of the opposite, until the last episode.

I thank the writers of the series who did not want to invest in a ridiculous fast romance, so we were able to focus on the intensity of the series entirely without scenes made to satisfy fangirls in search of romance. And oddly, it makes the FL enjoyable, we can understand her motivations, and appreciate her character.
The series is dark, the tones are dark, the characters are all mysterious and complex, it is difficult to know who stands on which side, they all have multiple layers and even the antagonists are relatable and on the contrary sometimes we asks if our protagonists are that "good" and if they are not the "bad guys".
The action scenes, be it the fights, the car chases, they are all done with realism and excellent choreography.

The theme of the series revolves around the truth, the truth which is always different and altered according to the person, his memories and emotions. But also the series speaks of sacrifice, of those people who hold power and who according to them work for the country when in truth they only want power. The sacrifice of common people in the service of these people in power, ending up being nothing more than pawns and collateral damage, but also of the revenge that comes from suffering.
If there is cause for revenge, how should it be done ? On who ?
It's really a series that addresses these aspects of being human is this search for truth, for a goal to accomplish that could pull the most desperate people out of the arms of death.

I must say that this series managed to produce what it wanted as a result, it is impactful and intense.

Leer más

The dark side of the soul

I've loved so much this drama! Namkoong Min is perfect in this role and his acting is brilliant, and the whole cast gave a good performance. The story is complicated, there are twists and turns, but in the end everything is explained quite clearly.
I must say that there are very violent scenes that have upset me, but being a spy story I think they were necessary, we live in a bad world, and people struggle between the light and darkness of their heart.
Actually, the final episode hasn’t completely satisfied me, many key issues are told too quickly, there are unanswered questions, and the relationship between the two main leads is not clear. I’ve hoped so much for a love story between them! Are they in love with each other?
I look forward to the second season, will it be possibile? I hope so.
A suggestion to the writers and the director: please, give Han Ji Hyuk the courage to love!

Leer más

Watch the first half.

Main character has lost his memories and is being accused of crimes he didn't commit. Seen and done. But i gave it a chance(the cover convinced me).

The first episode sets really high expectations. The violence is brutal and has a lot of gore. What kind of disturbing things were going on there? The MC looks wild and animalistic. What made him like this? I was so intrigued. The plots twists were amazing though, had me grabbing my head.

The action scenes are very satisfying to watch. MC's walk did snatch some attention, it was bulky and... Idk kinda weird. I don't think he needed that much muscle as he had to do a ton of running and chasing.

NKM's acting was good as ever, though i found the dialogue delivery a little stiff and weird. Only his dialogues are overly dramatic and very cringe. I've seen a lot of kdramas but these dialogues still stood out to me, i think there is some writing error.

I love the theme song, it stuck with me and evokes a lot of emotion. I don't remember if there were any other songs and i think that says enough about it.

The only major thing The Veil failed with was the plot. In the first half, there's a ton of suspense and very little truth is revealed. It is made out to be this huge disturbing truth that will rip everyone's throat when revealed. Something so unexpected that it's unimaginable. But the second half totally falls flat and ruins all of that because guess what the sick truth is: Corruption. National politics. Just that. The murder reveals were interesting though, but it was definitely not enough for what they set the viewers up to.
The plot is so overly complicated that we only know who the Actual villain in this series is in the last two episodes. Multiple people are made out to be villains, only to be revealed later that it's someone else. Again. So many names, so many tiny subplots. I've seen complicated, but this one was a hot, incomprehensible mess.

The characters act like they're hiding the recipe for cancer. Something like

"you have no idea what's waiting for you. "

"do not go further, you can't face the truth. "

"Ji Hyuk, I... " *gets shot and dies*

No one had the braincells to talk like a normal person. Throwing riddles left and right. No one would tell him ANYTHING. And tell me why everyone in that agency was lowkey working for sangmuhoe. Everyone is corrupt. And that's literally the whole truth.

And the climax? Long lost father returns as a deadly criminal amd his daughter tries to fix him with the power of love. plays his favourite song. Puts herself in danger to see if he will harm his daughter. And somehow, the most feared man's heart melts. B*TCH HE'S THE MOST NOTORIOUS CRIMINAL EVER, THIS AIN'T A MELODRAMA.

I enjoyed the first half a lot. The rest was disappointing af.

Leer más

Mid Story-line with Great Actors?

Mid story with hella plot holes. I still can't get over CW (idrm the character's name, only the initials) dying in Ji Hyuk's flashback but then being alive in the present storyline. Idek if they addressed it. The back and forth memory loss thing was so draggy. Like yes, I get that's the premise of the drama but gosh. Namgoong Min's acting was as elite as ever. Never failed me before and never will.
The whole Sangmuhoe plotline was kinda shifty as well. There were like 6 different stories that were all intertwined which on a large scale makes sense if done CORRECTLY however that was the writer's downfall. They had all these storylines which made it difficult for them to keep track of and follow. Additionally, I spent the whole time trying to guess wbo the main villian was and when you find it out it was just meh. It wasn't exciting because the villain is exactly who you expected the villain to be. Yes, they tried to do a plot twist with Ji Hyuk being the one who killed his team mates but tbh I saw that coming a mile away.
Anywho, speaking of keeping track, I genuinely cannot name 5 of the characters. This was my first time watching and drama and not being able to list the main cast characters. There was soooo much happening that I was never able to slow down and build a relationship with any of them.
Going more in depth, Jae Yi's story with her dad was actually really touching and could've been a scene stealer if much focus was placed on their relationship. When we figured out who her father actually was and the story behind it all, it would've been really nice to be given flashback (seeing as the drama was literally built on going back in time to recall one's memories). The only really touching scene we get is in episode 12 when they're on the roof top after that bomb scare.
Another thing worth mentioning is Ji Hyuk's childhood. Why did Director Lee have the info regarding his parents death and kept it hidden for so long? He had trauma because of that incident and his trauma could've been relieved if even a tad bit of that information was shared much earlier. While we're on this topic... What was the purpose of his backstory? Like i get that it's to build a solid character and show that his trauma stems from something greater but looking at it his backstory was only shown like 3 times. There was not depth to it. So, that's that as well.
Finally, I just wanted to just say that the drama is a fun watch. Minus all the plotholes ofc. The action in this is one of the best I've seen in kdramas. It's literally on par with k-movie such as dare i say, Man from Nowhere. The hand to hand combat and the stunts that were pulled by NGM was top tier. The make up team did amazingly well, too.
So, if you're looking for action and want it mixed with a lot of CORRUPTION this would be best for you. Plus, you won't even have to look hard because the villians are literally right in front of you. So mid drama with elite acting.
7/10

Leer más

This drama had a compelling start, and one strong aspect it had was its well-executed action scenes. However, I feel that as the story continued to develop, it became convoluted with the introduction of additional characters and the amount of information that needed to be processed. I also noticed that nearly every episode had a misleading ending. For example, Episode 5 (spoilers ahead) ended with footage of Ji-hyuk shooting Soo-yeon, and Episode 6 (spoilers ahead) ended with Je-yi seemingly betraying Ji-hyuk. This pattern felt repetitive, and I think it stripped away the anticipation and suspense for me since I could assume that it was merely a false lead.

Nevertheless, although I feel a little disappointed by the writing's direction and the last episodes, I still think that this drama was a fairly enjoyable watch, especially for Namgoong Min and his acting. Without a doubt, he gave an impressive performance as Han Ji-hyuk.

Leer más