Good Boy

Synopsis:

Yoon Dong Ju, played by Park Bo Gum, is a good boy but unlucky and misunderstood. He spent his life training as a boxer securing him a gold medal at the olympics. However after a large scandal strips him of his honor and even the validity of the gold medal, he's left with little. He then beomes a police officer and is offered a chance of a lifetime from another former olymipian who had plans to build an Avengers like task force team full of former olympians. Together they uncover an extremely troubling problem that invloves many people in high positions.

Review:

Hello dear reader! Oh my word, I am enjoying this drama so much and I have much to gush about so, let us get into it.

If you are new to my reviews 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 Good Boy, I have the story telling at a 89%. Under direction I gave this a 3/5.

So, if you have yet to see the drama, dear reader, fear not I will disclose my information without giving spoilers. Well, I'll do my best anyway haha. I think I need to start with the storytelling and explain why the series has a somewhat lower rating despite my enjoyment.

To begin with, the cast is doing great. I have no qualms with the cast for the most part, but some of the storytelling is a bit. . . much. From the beginning we already get the sense that Dong Ju is an unfortunate soul. In the first scene he's already sacraficing and the audience gets the sense that his sacrafice is somewhat bittersweet. My problem isn't with the whole "poor unfortunate soul" theme that we have here. My problem is, this man is supposed to be the hero of our story and as the series moves along he can't quite seem to catch a break. It is as if the longer the series goes on the more he suffers. I mean, come on, he can't even overcome what was previously thrown at him, and you still throw even more on his plate? All the misfortune and misunderstandings get hard to watch. Is it such a crime to let my guy Dong Ju catch a break? If he just keeps flopping from problem to problem, the bigger problems just lose their impact. It's almost like the writer wanted to conduct an experiment about how many times a guy can lose before people stop wanting to watch.

I wish I could have a nice conversation with the director. He makes some choices with the makeup and movement of some scenes that sometimes puzzle me. There is a lot of fighting. There are many cuts, bruises, some broken bones, etc. that are present from scene to scene. The makeup department must have been busy.

However, with the main characters wounds from scene to scene seem to just disappear. The injuries the main characters obtain are not minor. These are injuries that would take months to heal, yet for some reason it almost seems like he's back to 100% in a few days, minus the broken bones. . . Mmmmm- Look, I am no doctor, but I don't think it works that way. Then again if you have your hero continue to fight with every inch of his body bruised and hurt then that also seems weird to watch. . . Then perhaps have less fight scene? Or perhaps don't make every fight like a whole avengers segment. A hero doesn't necessarily need to be pushed to the utmost limit in order to make a win feel successful. Also, how many times can you wack a guy in the ribs with a metal bar without breaking said ribs?

I could say more, but let's get to the good parts of this review. I want to start with the man that is literally just stealing my fangirl heart, Oh Jung Se. I have been a fan of this man since I first saw him in It's Okay to not be Okay. He delievered a phenominal performance in that series and he just keeps proving his genious with every character I see him take.

He's done a range of different characters, but this role was something I didn't expect from him. Oh my word, he is literally delivering the villain of that I have been

begging Kdrama actors to give me. Ugh! He is utterly brilliant. He's quiet, thoughtful, intelligent, and calm. I've not once seen a calm villain, and I have been needing one! Not every bad guy is over the top and borderline psycho. Sometimes bad guys are swave, and calm. . . They are put together. Think Lex Luthor from Smallville, who in my opinion is the best Lex Luthor. He's still bad and villainous without that stupid cliché laugh, the constant need to scream his head off, etc. Sometimes it's those relaxed and quiet villains that are the most terrifying.

Park Bo Gum and Oh Jung Se are excellent when it comes down to the minute details. Like I've said in so many reviews, the actor does not necessarily need to speak in order to say something. The micro movements that the camera picks up from these two, I don't see many actors do that. I've seen a few, but not many. If you don't quite understand what I mean dear reader look at episode eight when Min Ju Yeong (Oh Jung Se) is in the bathroom and his supervisor is being annoying. You can see in his eyes something is brewing and then he clenches his jaw. The movement is super quick, but it delivers the message without needing a line: stop messing with me, or you will get hurt.

Now I can't leave this review without at least a good paragraph on my guy Park Bo Gum. Like I said, this man can say so much with just his eyes. He's a great actor, but he's done such a great job in a role I would never have casted him for myself. Before watching Good Boy, I remember wondering why Park Seo Joon didn't play the role instead of Bo Gum. I still see the role suiting Seo Joon, but Bo Gum is doing great and proving me wrong for underestimating him. When this man cries- oof I feel it! My heart literally hurts when he makes those looks, or you hear those gasping hard breaths that only happen when you're ugly crying.

The other main actors and actresses are doing alright, nothing much that stands out with them (much like the music). They are enjoybale enough to watch. Sin Jae Hong, played by Tae Won Seok, has a few adorable moments. He's just a cutie in such a big body. Every time I see him I am reminded of the OG Hulk, Lou Ferigno. He's go the same build as Lou.

If you are looking for a series with a strong romance, this is not for you. There are definite moments of romance, but not much and if I'm being honest I feel nothing when I see them. Most of that is due to the fact that I tend to feel more emotion coming from Park Bo Gum. Apparently that is just part of Jin Han Na's character, played by Kim So Hyun. In my opinion it's just an excuse. Kim So Hyun is. . . okay. She isn't the best actress, but she has her moments. Sadly, most of the dramas I've seen her in, I feel the same. . . She's just, meh.

Anyway, I am excited to see what happens next. Hopefully our heroes can catch a break and Dong Ju will take a few less wacks (unlikely). Let me know what you thought of this series. It is available to watch on Amazon Prime. If you know of anywhere else to watch it, pleasr do so down below. Goodbye, and until next time dear reader!