This review may contain spoilers
Like a Hollywood production in Soutk Korea
This drama is like a Hollywood production that, due to political correctness and several anti-government theories, was transferred to Korea without any concern for cultural or political realities. The drama is shot with a lot of panache and splendor - too much for my taste. It's nice that the action takes place in different places in the world, but it's a pity that the creators treated really different cultures very neglectfully. The idea for the story and ML - funny. Really, South Korea is not the US and moving Hollywood production to the other hemisphere without any adjustment is not for me. I watched this drama as an experiment, besides, I have a weakness for actors playing the main roles, and this drama made me feel bad. The scene when the Korean SWAT in downtown Seoul on a magically empty street starts shooting Korean citizens in broad daylight was the decisive moment for me, when I couldn't stand the drama's quirks anymore.Was this review helpful to you?
However, there are so many different people involved in the conspiracy that it can be overwhelming. It was sometimes difficult to track how much time had passed. Sometimes events were occurring concurrently, but sometimes we'd be going back in time, flashbacks came into play every once in a while, and then other times days had passed? Towards the end, I especially felt more aware of plot holes, recklessness, and ridiculousness. I would have also liked to see more depth and layers for many characters. Overall though, very entertaining. I hope there's a second season to complete the story. The last episode didn't feel like a final episode at all but more like an American mid-season/winter finale.
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Besides the unsatisfactory ending to "season 1" of Vagabond...
I actually ate up this drama! I like the plot, the actors, and the OST! OST was beautiful and well orchestrated. The actors were well selected and portrayed their characters well. The plot was quick paced, action packed, and interesting. While I wasn't expecting the HUGE plot twist in the end of season 1, it *did* make sense (they play enough flashbacks to justify that it *was* planned).
Something I would like to mention though - I didn't find myself tearing up with the actors. The OST really helped build the scenes, but I don't think that the grief-stricken scenes were filmed in the best fashion. Not to say that they weren't sad, but I honestly don't think they were filmed in a way to extract the most emotion from the audience and get us choked up, which I would have really liked.
I think my impression of season 1 will significantly improve if a season 2 releases that effectively ties up all loose ends. Until then, I will caution viewers against watching this drama simply for the lack of conclusion. I look forward to a season 2!
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I didn't like the series a lot
The story didn't attract my attention. I wanted the drama to end faster so that I could start the next drama (happy I started Kill me Heal me and I loved it with all my heart!!).The acting was awesome, but the plot was confusing. There were a lot of plot twists and tens of characters (I don't liked dramas that have multiple characters. I just seem to confuse all of them together , oohhh and the names are so hard to memorize).
The drama just didn't feel right, maybe because there were a lot of political aspects to this drama and not a lot of things that are interesting at my age (17).
(the ending was so confusing as well, it even made me think I closed the tab in the middle of the drama).
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This review may contain spoilers
Did I just watch a true-to-life movie series?
I. StoryOverall, the story was great. The number of twists and turn, unexpected revelations, the high level political game, and the multiple layers, made this series one of the best crime drama of this decade ('10s). However, it failed closing the story properly.
In the last episode (16th), it was obvious it was rushed. There was no direction. Everything the series built up from episodes 1 to 15 disappeared. It started awesome, then became great, good, and ended poorly.
It is common among creative writers to have an open-ended story but in this case the ending was not an open-ending, no, it was a cliffhanger intended to be a premise for a guaranteed Season 2. If the intention was to have an open-ending, it should have ended with them driving to the airport. Everything else after that scene killed what made it great.
I still give it 8 out of 10 stars for the story regardless of the disaster after the "driving to the airport scene". I also applaud the writers and director for not inserting romantic scenes just because their lead female is well-known for it.
II. Acting
Suzy did well in portraying an intelligence officer. This was a big change from her usual romantic roles and I wasn't expecting she can pull it off. Yet, in the first two episodes, she already shone in her role, that's a sure sign of a talented actress.
The acting of the other actors were superb. I usually see them in dramas about family and relationships, seeing them portray political and intelligence roles was refreshing and in they owned the characters they portrayed in series.
Together, the acting were too believable I kept thinking I was watching a fictionalised true story. The characters were too real, all thanks to their acting and synergy.
III. Production
Did I just watch a 16-episode (16-hour) movie? It was clear they spent money on Vagabond to get it all right. But in the last episode the explosions were very bad. This was the other reason why I said earlier that anything after the "driving to the airport" scene should not have been included.
IV. Overall score
All things considered. I give it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars. The superb acting and quality production were what pulled it up, and for avoiding creating romantic scenes just because they have a great romantic-genre actress as a female lead.
A series I'll watch again in the future but not the scenes I mentioned earlier.
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Kdrama Action Genre when it's peaks !!! Truly Action Cinematic Experience
Vagabond raised my standards in Action Dramas.
The drama is about a stuntman named Cha Dal Gun (played by Lee Seung Gi) who teams up with an NIS (National Intelligence Service) agent named Go Hae Ri (played by Suzy) in order to uncover the truth behind the plane crash that killed his nephew.
Action and Plot Work :-
Drama primarily runs with the investigation of Cha Dal Gun trying to reveal the truth of the plane crash, but in the background the story extends with big twists and turns power scandals of S Korea.
As an action lover, Vagabond is a great action epic drama for me. If you are into fights, gun battles, and car chases, then this is for you. I'm sure Vagabond wouldn’t bore you. Behind Every action scene there is a plot behind it and a convincing storyline for why things happen the way they do. The story looks small but after getting ep by ep the storyline unfolds a big puzzle. The drama has enough suspense and fast-paced action to keep us on the edge of our seats every episode, and that’s largely thanks to the incredible acting talent of Lee Seung Gi, Suzy and other co actors and also this drama offers a solidly entertaining take on the sub-plots ( government, politics, scandals, middle power, NIS).
Vagabond has an intricately crafted plot and decent production quality of Netflix and SBS.
Actors:-
This is my first Lee Seung-gi drama watching his action scenes can't control myself to fan for him.
He was fantastic by delivering so much intense emotion combined with some seriously awesome action. He was just impressive in every way.
Suzy ( Go Hae ri ) one of my favourite actresses after Vagabond, as a rookie NIS agent who is working overseas and fallen love with Cho Dal Gun ( Lee Seung-Gi) to try to help him given phenomenal acting, her raw characterization suited very well. Hopefully, she will return soon to the action genre again.
Primarily this is not a complete clean rom-drama, but the chemistry between Lee Seung-Gi & Bae Suzy carried the whole drama with action and swoon-worthy.
Also it already forms the outlines of a classic love triangle between its two leads and another male character.
Camera work:-
The filming took place in several locations; Portugal, Morocco and South Korea. The cinematography of ‘Vagabond’ was really well done. The action scenes were well shot. I love the fact that they hardly used shaky cams, yep shaky cam work in action chasing dramas is an important aspect, Watched first shaky cam work in kdrama in vagabond, it's really the best camera work.
Finally :-
I would recommend a watch for Vagabond despite its open ending. This Korean Drama is indeed an action flick that delivers excellent story telling ! The plot is brilliantly developed with solid climax and high octane twists and turns. With actors like Lee Seung-Gi and Suzy, it portrays a decently constructed plot, and gripping action scenes, Vagabond offers a reliably entertaining experience to K-drama fans.
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Great action but shaky cameras
Soo here I am once again to write a review about a great production that has amazing cast, a lot of work put in the scenario and the plot and yet again I feel somewhat angry at the end for 2 reasons. Let me back up from the start - the concept with the plane crash and discovery of the twisted truth with the help of a few NIS agents was great. Not knowing who to trust, who not to... it was very thoughtful. The cast did their job perfectly from sad scenes to sexy ones to the action ones. Everyone really. The plot twist in the last few episodes was something that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately what was not enough for me to give the drama 9 or 10 starts was mostly this - you cannot tell you have one of the most expensive productions ( 25 billion Korean won from what I've read) and have shaky cameras on nearly every action scene. I swear it was like the people behind the cameras were not shooting with professional cameras but with their phones with stabilization turned off. It really messed up with me and I couldn't enjoy those well-thought of fight scenes due to the fact it was all moving around like there's ongoing earthquake. The other, smaller though, reason I was disappointed is I am finishing this drama in 2024 and it is clear that they won't have season 2 so the ending really bugs me. If they do another season after all I will probably update my rating with some minor increase but still I cannot let go of whoever thought this camera works was good enough for the amount of money they were given. And I really have to ask the question, does Geon sells himself too? Cause I understand the concept about infiltrating and revenging but to be part of the organization and that deep into cover, he must have had to kill a number of innocent people too, so is he no longer innocent and goodie? I am really confused once again about the endWas this review helpful to you?
Hope there will be a SEASON 2
The male lead delivered an exceptional performance, particularly during the emotional scene where his character shed tears for his nephew. Throughout the series, I held onto hope that perhaps his nephew would be found alive, but unfortunately, nothing transpired. The story progressed smoothly, incorporating elements of light romance. While I would eagerly embrace a second season to further develop the plot, the lack of closure in the finale left me feeling deeply disappointed.Was this review helpful to you?
Exciting and explosive
Wow — this is hands down, the most heart-pounding, stress-inducing drama I've watched. From the very first episode, I was super invested in the backstory and in the backgrounds of the two main leads. This was, in a sense, the perfect underdog story — the "us against the world" vibe runs throughout all the episodes in the best way. Especially in the first half, the pacing of the story was perfect; it was fast-paced and we were finding new developments all the time. In term of plot points, this is a drama that really requires you to suspend disbelief — I've seen a lot of reviews saying that it became hard to believe, but in my opinion that's just the nature of a conspiracy thriller and I found myself still able to immerse myself completely in the story. There are some political and financial aspects that I was a little less interested in, maybe a little confused by, but in the bigger picture it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the series.Even with the insane plot, it was really interesting how this drama still managed to get its laughs and rom-com moments in. The chemistry between the leads is really great, and I love how their personalities meshed together even amidst all the tragedy.
With all that being said, however, I think this drama desperately needs a second season. The ending leaves a lot to be desired, especially since the last few episodes packed a lot of new information that wasn't explained and also changed a lot in the dynamic between our two leads. As much as I loved everything I already watched, it really leaves me craving more — and it feels almost as if I only watched three-fourth of a drama.
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Action-packed
This is by far one of the best action korean dramas I've ever watched.It's intriguing! The story-line - excellent! suspense - brilliant! Soundtracks-lovely! Actors - Outstanding! Action - WOW! Adventure - YASS! YASS!! YASS!!!
The twists and turns had me literally twisting and turning.
The first episode was an emotional rollercoaster for me but I really enjoyed every episode.
If you're looking to be on the edge of your seat, then this is for you!
Shoutout to the cast and crew! Thank you for this beautiful piece. This is definitely 10/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Likes: Lee Seung gi. Seung gi as an action hero. Seung gi’s flashback mullet hair. Production Value. Fast paced editing.Dislikes: There is not one instance where I believed Suzy was a NIS agent. Sorry, but no.
You can tell that they shelled out the big bucks on this kdrama because the production value was high. With lots of fast paced action scenes, this kdrama reminded me of a cross between Jason Bourne and Homeland.
There were some definite glaring flaws (secret government missions…pffffft…yeah, not so secret. Apparently you can reveal classified info to regular citizens as long as you are on the “good side”). And some of the acting (ahem, Suzy) will require some overlooking, but overall the suspense and action made this an enjoyable watch. Seung gi really gave his all to the action scenes and to the emotional scenes as well. I can’t remember any other kdrama that has done action scenes to this degree so it was a nice change.
There wasn’t too much romance in this drama and the chemistry wasn’t the sizzling kind, but Suzy and Seung gi worked well together so it wasn’t too much of a bummer. The ending will make you wonder if there will be a season 2?
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