Agent Kim Reactivated

Synopsis:

Mild mannered Agent Kim is a far cry from what you'd expect from one of the most terrifying double agents in all of South Korea. North Korea wants him dead for double crossing them by just defecting, but helping the south on missions. South Korean agencies see him as a liability. His daughter, Kim Min Ji, sees him as a quiet and nonextrodinary father. He's someone she loves. He’s someone she fights with, even though he doesn't often fight back. He's always dependable. He's daddy (not like that get your mind out of the gutter hahaha). Things go awry when school bully's plot to hurt Min Ji. She is then kidnapped which will prompt Agent Kim and Co. to crawl out their self imposed retirement to hunt down who took and hurt his daughter.

Review:

Hello dear reader! I hope you are well on this summer day. It's a tad toasty where I am, but it could definitely be worse so I won't complain too much. I have so much to say fot this review. So, let's jump right into it.

If you are new to my reviews, dear reader, I rate my dramas on mainly two categories: storytelling, and direction. Under Storytelling, I take into account not just the acting, but the writing, and music as well. It is usually presented as a percentage. Under the category direction, I consider both editing and direction, editing counts for 2 points while direction counts for 3. It'll be out 5. I call them my sticky notes because that tends to be what I write my thoughts on when I'm watching. For Agent Kim Reactivated, I have the story telling at a 82%. Under direction I gave this a 2.5/5.

Let me first go over what I did like so that I don't make you feel as if I just flat out hate this series. The comedy is top teir for me. I love the two ahjossi sidekicks. They

are just the light of the party and much needed breath of fresh air to a heavy action drama. I think Park Jin Cheol and Seong Han Soo were the perfect actors to portray Agent Kim's goofy yet kick a** friends. They have great comedic timing. It often makes me wonder just how much was improvised vs scripted. The three have great chemistry to So Ji Sub, he portrays our lead Agent Kim.

There are certain points the drama that have absolute genius. I am a long time lover of spy, action films and dramas. I thought perhaps that I'd seen it all, but there are moments of cleverness that remind me why I love this genre so much. *SPOILER: If you don't like spoilers at all please skip to the next paragraph* I think for me, one of the most cleaver points that I've seen was when Agent Kim finally arrives at the compound. The sentaor (or whatever government official he is) screams at the croud to stop fighting and for his agents to drop the weapons pointed at Agent Kim's friends and Min Ji. I assumed that Agent Kim was behind him with a gun. Yet, the senator (or whatever he is) moves from the corner with no Agent Kim in sight. Yet, he's as stiff as a board and acting ike someone has him by the throat. . . Which someone does indeed have him by the throat. I was SO flabberghasted as the camera panned back to reveal Agent Kim! Homeboy was on the daggon roof (or the space between the roof and the garage floor) and had the dude by the neck with what looks to be piano wire, playing him like a puppeteer. I don't think I've ever seen that in any film or series. It was so ingenious! Honestly, an amazing little touch to let the audience know this is why Agent Kim was considered to be one of the best spies in not just one, but two countries. UGH, it was perfect!

I don't need to make a case for our dear So Ji Sub, but let me gush a little, dear reader. The man has been one of my favorite actors in Hallyu since I started watching K-

Drama years ago. Don't ask how long dear reader, this lady is a bit sensative about years, it's been a while. I've seen many a Korean actor/ actress try the stoic acting, but few have been able to master it. So Ji Sub, has definitely mastered it. He's stoic, but he's still reactive. He still moves his face like a human being. He's not a stinking computer, or a doggon statue. When he gets his butt whooped at the very beginning, you could see on his face that he was just so done with the shenanigans, but resigned to doing nothing about it. He uses his face and eyes to say what his mouth does not, because this man has some Mr. Darcy level cimmuncaiton skills.

I know that the direction is a bit of a surprise and definitely lower than my usual for that category. Honestly, dear reader, I've just not been impresed with this director. As I stated before the series has some masterful moments, but a good chunk of it is. . . frustrating. I know much of my frustration is not just with the director, but the writing as well (that'll go down into the next couple of paragraphs). However, there are some shots that were completely unnecessary.

The close up shots of the old man chewing at the beginning of the series was unnecessary. The worst part is it lingered there. I did not need to see the old man chomping on some visibly juicy steak and making so much freaking noise while doing it. There was no point to the shot. It didn't move the plot along. The whole point of the scene was to show that bad boy (not in the good way) had influence in high places. . . that could have been done WITHOUT the closeup shots. This wasn't the only useless scene that I found unnecessary, but one of many. There are shots that just don't move the story along, but fill time more than anything.

I would have liked to see things related to the plot, like what the heck does Agent Kim do to workout? The man is hella ripped and still pretty agile for a mild mannered,

banker/ retired agent. It would have pushed Agent Kim's story, and let us know that you can take the man out of the spy game, but you can't take the spy out of a man. A man such as him can't really be stopped. It would also make his sudden reactivation a little more believable.

Also, the backshot and turn around reveal. . . Find a new way to introduce bad guys/ characters. It's overdone, and three times in one drama screams cliché and directorial debut. It doesn't land after the first one. . . Not that the first one landed either, because he focused on the wrong things. . . But whatever.

Why edit the series or shoot it in a way that you have not just one bad guy, but a group of three, and all three are coming for our Agent Kim at once? I don't know if that was a decision on the director's side or the writer's side, but it was a bad decision. I know this is based off a webtoon, I've not read it but I'm sure not all three jumped out of the woodwork at once. If it did, reading it is not the same as seeing it on film. Fighting dramas with as much heavy fighting scenes as this leads to viewer fatigue, at least this viewer's fatigue. It's a lot.

I think it would have made much more sense had they mapped out the three groups after our Agent Kim and Co better. Begin the show with the bullying and kidnapping,

then have our Agent Kim save her (And take her to a fricken doctor after that brunt force trauma, and some liquids). You could even keep much of the scenes already shot, including our dear Min Ji outsmarting and whacking the kidnapper ahjossi in the freezer. With child safe and now receiving medical attention, the path of destruction he left prompts the two other groups to crawl out of their "shadows" and move to kill our favorite spy and Co. Once those guys are finally down, then we can close with the evil blond brat and her dad getting their comeuppance. With this plot spacing the whole series could have been longer.

My last critique is going to lean heavily on the writing. Can we get some thugs/ villains that aren't witless wonders? I even wrote on my sticky notes why must all thugs be brainless audacious idiots? It just. . . it wouldn't change the story none to make them just a tad smarter and with a shred of self preservation, especially when faced with a extremely talented and terrifying Agent Kim in front of you asking why you have his daughter's phone. I mean, dude legit just saw our spy render every one of his guys unconscious by himslef and he still decides to do what he does? Bring back Gong Myung or Oh Jung Se, please.

This brings me to one of the most frustrating characters that I've had the misfortune to see. The not-so-secret, secret agent man. Tell me why a man who looks like he

jumped out of freaking Go-go Gadget, is as witless as an imbicle, and has zero to no

skills (that i've witnessed, the man can't even use his brains much less his fists) is the leader of a super secret spy organization? When he told Min Ji that "we live in the shadows." I all but barked out with laughter. Brother man, you are a far cry from living in the shadows. You stick out, and stick your nose in business that has nothing to do with you. You act without thinking. You ride around with a whole entourage. That does not constitute as someone who lives in the shadows. You know who does live in the shadows, Agent Kim.

Why make the North Korea scenes so. . . unbelievable? If North Korea had that much access to South Korea's cameras they'd lose their shit. I have other much more nitpicky disputes like, why have Min Ji call Seong Han Soo samcheon then switch to less familiar ahjossi? She knows who he is. She's supposed to be familiar with him.

This is where I leave this review. I'm sorry dear reader, I know that was a lot. I just needed to get much of this off my chest. My problem isn't with the acting, even if no-so-secret, secret agent man isn't the greatest actor. My problem is with the writing and the direction. I will finish this series. Let me know what you think about the series so far! Goodbye, until next time dear reader.