Squid Game (2021)

Great but slightly over-hyped

Squid Game is like the BTS of K-Dramas - very good, definitely up there in the top league but not really justified to be so much more hyped than others.

Sometimes we can't really explain why a piece of pop culture gets such attention from the masses - probably a mix of good timing and sheer luck. Because objectively, there isn't really any novelty about Squid Game. Don't get me wrong, it's a good drama. But the plot isn't all that shocking and surprising, if you've seen works like "The Hunger Games" and "Alice in Borderland". The cinematography is good but doesn't stand out like it does in other popular dramas, such as "Goblin", "Crash-landing on you" and "Kingdom". The OST is forgettable - the only songs I remember are classical music pieces and not original compositions. The acting is great, but again, not any more outstanding than in other dramas.
But let's look into it in some more detail.

Plot
The story is exciting, no doubt. It is fast-paced for the most part and when it slows down, we are given background stories that help us understand and sympathize with the characters. The pacing is generally done well. I have seen many people talk about how shocking this show was, but maybe I have seen too many violent movies and series, but nothing about Squid Game really shocked me - except maybe the sex scene, which was more risque than in your usual K-Drama.

Acting
The cast did an amazing job bringing these characters to life. To be fair, Jung Ho Yeon did not have to show that much range, since her character usually wore the same closed-off expression. But I'm sure she will further impress us in future roles. My favorite discovery from Squid Game was Anupam Tripathi. His Ali was simply adorable and pretty much everyone's favorite character. I also really enjoyed Kim Joo Ryeong's performance. She really knows how to do crazy.

Writing
I really liked the villains. There are the obvious villains but there are also one or two that will take you a bit longer to spot.

What I liked least about the drama though, were the "VIP"s. First of all, I know we all like to fall back on stereotypes. And God knows there is plenty of Western media with Asian characters being stereotypical caricatures. But did they really have to paint the only white characters as brainless, sex-crazed geezers? (Not to mention they even pulled out the predatory gay trope.) Don't even get me started on how abysmally bad these American actors were. This being a Netflix production, did they really not have the means to fly in some decent actors who won't over-enunciate every single word?
The revelation of who these VIPs are was also quite underwhelming. I got excited when they were first mentioned. Who could it be? Politicians? Celebrities? Maybe even someone one of the characters would know? Surprise, it's just a bunch of depraved foreigners.
And then there's the issue that their extensive screentime seriously messed with the pace of the plot. During the last two episodes these foreign VIPs were constantly explaining and commenting on what was happening in the game, which took the thrill out of the otherwise high-paced plot and also raised all kinds of "show don't tell" red flags for me. The fact that they were such bad actors made the experience even more jarring.

In conclusion, it was a really good drama up until the last two episodes, where the VIPs kinda ruined it for me.

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"Do you still have trust in people?"

People and their values. Even better: people and their greed.
Squid game was a very anticipated Netflix series. The trailer is phenomenal, the cast eye-catching. I mean, we have Gong Yoo and Lee Byung Hun as guests. Where do I sign up?

The game-style show reminds me of Liar Game. Except that with more money, more contestants, and more brutal deaths.
Even though this game is everything except righteous, we cannot forget that every individual was given a choice. Several times. People wanted it. The main character included. So to blame the creator of the game for your own decision to participate is true hypocrisy. That is one of the reasons why I hate Seong Ki Hoon. He is an awful person and an even worse father. I´m not saying that we´re supposed to like him. But it sure felt that the writer wanted us to.

"You don´t trust people because they´re trustworthy. It´s because you have nothing else to lean on." Yes. I hate Ki Hoon, but he knew what he was saying. People are selfish and greedy. If you want a concrete example, just look at the sexist Garden of Eden men. Someone supposedly faithful to his religion who prays and prays but only when it suits him. He also uses religion to justify his sexism and allow him to have a better chance to win the prize money. And at last, what outraged me the most. While praying, he thanks the people who died and allowed him to win as if they made that option. Well, I can guarantee him that didn´t die for him.

Three good people played the game: Sae Byeok, Ali and Ji Young. The rest, pure scum. Like most of us. Me, writing this and you, reading it. I don´t intend to offend anyone, but unless you´re 100% sure that you´re as selfless, innocent, kind-hearted, and naive as they are, don´t pretend to feel hurt.

Overall, I enjoyed this series quite a lot. There were some obvious gaps that I would love to see filled. These gaps of information make me believe there will be a second season. If so, I look forward to it.

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Amazing show,not just for its story but also it’s popularity…

I didn’t know what to expect when I first started to watch this show,I had ideas in my head of how it could be a Korean version of Alice in borderland(which I love of course-peep the name of my profile) so I was really looking forward to it and some ways it is similar to Alice in borderland but also very different.

Story-
I loved the concept of the show the whole show has a underlying theme on just how far your would go to save yourself and gain wealth,for the players that participate it test there characters and who they are as people,my favorite episode has to be gganbu, reminds a lot of the episode in Alice in borderland where arisu and his friends have to play the big bad wolf game against eachother,it brought out a lot of frustration and almost tears at one point.

Characters- let me just say hoyeon jong (kang sae byeok) was by far and away the best character for me,first moment I noticed her in the train station when she gets bumped into even know you can’t see her face fully,I was more intruiged by her having seen half of her face for the rest of episode,to say that this show was first time she was properly acting is unbelievable,she killed it,and she’s honestly one of the best looking Korean actresses I’ve ever seen, Ali and ji yeong get a special mention too I really enjoyed them in the show because they were to honest decent people.

Negatives-not many things popped out for me but I obviously wanted sae byeok to win so I was pissed off when they decided to blow up all that glass and injure her for no good reason really and then 218 kills her.

Overall/ wether you think this is overhyped nonsense or the best thing to come on Netflix in years this show is now on track to being Netflix’s most popular show EVER,that’s crazy because this show is a kdrama,this show will therefore open the door for so many big shows for korean actresses and actors, I will create so much exposure to the world that korean shows are in fact every bit as good if not better than the likes of stranger things and money heist, Vincenzo and itaewon class just to name the big ones,

My point is this show will be a game changer for the korean industry, I absolutely loved it.

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Roteiro nada original e sem surpresas

Uma série coreana chegando no topo do Netflix é uma raridade, então muitos estão assistindo Squid Game mais por curiosidade do que pelo interesse em si. Como eu acho que cada um precisa tirar suas próprias conclusões vou listar alguns pontos que podem ajudá-lo a decidir se essa série é para você ou não.

Produção/ fotografia: logo de início dá para perceber que o alto investimento financeiro da série valeu a pena em termos de produção, os cenários, o figurino e a fotografia são impecáveis, na minha opinião o ponto alto da série.

Storyline: não é nada original, já vimos essa receita de um monte de gente presa em um lugar, onde são obrigados a competir em jogos mortais, não é mesmo? A trama é previsível, não tem plot twists e para aqueles que gostam, e estão acostumados a assistir séries de suspense, dá para desvendar quase tudo na metade da série e assistir só para confirmar.

Personagens: a série não tem nenhum personagem cativante o suficiente para fazer com que o espectador sofra e se compadeça de seus problemas (e sua morte). A construção de personagens é importante para manter o interesse, para despertar sentimentos, para torcer por ele ou contra ele.

Trilha sonora: nos primeiros episódios é interessante como eles colocam alguns clássicos, porém não há uma trilha sonora que embale a série e ajude a construir aquela sensação de antecipação, tipo um hino como em psicose.

Minha opinião: essa é uma série para puro entretenimento, com um ritmo mais americano, onde você assiste para passar o tempo, mas ela não agrega nada e não desperta fortes emoções. Eu gosto muito de séries de ação e suspense, então essa parte deixou bastante a desejar, confesso que quase dormi nos 2 primeiros episódios e esperava que meu coração acelerasse mais nos jogos, mas a previsibilidade me deixou quase que sem expressão. Como eu sou uma dorameira me senti na obrigação de assistir, mas acredito que nesse ano fomos abençoados com thrillers maravilhosos que merecem muito mais reconhecimento do que Squid Game (assistam Taxi Driver, Beyond Evil e Mouse). Agora se você gosta desse tipo de temática e só está buscando uma série para passar o tempo, pode ser que adore esse drama. Cada pessoa tem uma preferência.

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Interessante, intrigante mas só no começo.

História:
O início conta bem a situação do nosso protagonista, que está num mar de dívidas, é sustentado pela mãe e não não consegue ser um bom pai para a própria filha (ele tenta seu máximo, mas ele vê que a falta de dinheiro é o problema), até que um dia, um ser estranho na estação de metrô, o chama pra jogar um jogo, lhe oferecendo dinheiro caso ele o vença. Ele consegue depois de algumas tentativas (e alguns tapas kkk) e se anima com a ideia de ganhar dinheiro jogando. Ele recebeu logo após o jogo, um cartão de visita daquele homem misterioso e, animado, decide entrar em contato. E bem, é aí que começa a bagaceira...

Elenco:
Muitos dos atores eu não conhecia, mas todos foram excepcionais, sem exceção! Amei cada um do começo ao fim, entregaram um ótimo trabalho!

Meu ponto de vista:
A história é sim muito boa, mas infelizmente o contexto e os motivos para as coisas "terminarem" daquele jeito, é simplesmente forçada, sem graça e desumana (aliás, é desumano do começo ao fim), até.
O que realmente me interessou nessa obra como um todo, foram realmente todas as mensagens e questionamentos que ela quer passar, como a velha expressão "caixão não tem gaveta", que você pode ter tudo na vida e nada ao mesmo tempo, que o ser humano é capaz de se tornar muito ganancioso e maldoso quando sua vida é posta em jogo, ainda mais se o prêmio for de um valor bem alto, e que não importa o quanto a gente lute pra conseguir subir na vida, o sistema é bosta demais pra deixar isso acontecer. Entre outros pensamentos que tive enquanto eu assistia Squid Game, essas são as que mais prevaleceram na minha mente.

Enfim, não importa a crítica que eu faça sobre Squid Game, eu devo admitir que vai ser uma obra memorável e até estou ansiosa pela segunda temporada (sim, este tem final aberto), mas claro, não posso negar que eu esperava algo mais incrível vindo de um início tão forte e promissor como foi o de Squid Game, foi realmente um pouco decepcionante...

Obrigada por ler!

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The finish is not up to the mark!!

The start was so exciting and the story was going good. Each game way shown very well and was waiting to know what would the next game be. Till 8th episode everything was going well but in the last episode many things are still mystery What happens to Hwang Joon Ho (the police officer) and what happens to his brother Hwang In Ho (Front man)? And what was the reason he became a front man? Who was continuing to conduct the games? These questions remains un answered even though the drama ended. This ending is not what I was excepting. The expectations were high from episode 1 but the last episode was not satisfactory.....

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Overhyped

Look, I really liked visuals, bright and recognizable costumes, colourful design, cute ost, but the story is nothing special. Whining about capitalism first episodes was too excessive, but i held on and the middle part was quite interesting despite it being too dragged out, but the ending just killed it off completely.
I am that kind of person who never skips any part of movie and I like different arthouse movies with camera being settled down for indefinitive period of time, but this show really challenged me. Especially the ending, god, I just literally skipped it. Such a disappointment.
It was ok to watch it once, but if you saw "13 tzameti", "The platform", "Cube" or "Battle royale" then Squid game won't surprise you at all, you would just easily guess the next moves and mysterious characters and after completing the show you would feel like just wasting 485 minutes of your life.

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Esperava mais do desfecho

Vi pelo Gong Yoo e Lee Byung Hun, quando vi que estavam no elenco decidi dar uma chance a serie. Bom, os jogos foram em si interessantes, uma mistura de blatte royale com kaiji (que lembra os jogos mortais do ocidente), mas deixou pontas soltas (que mesmo uma segunda temporada não responderia, como e a família do Paquistanês? Simplesmente foi esquecida, mas a família dos 'amigos' coreanos, o prota foi lá ajudar) e teve um final previsível, o que decepcionou. colocaram uma mulher para ser vadia (e tem um final idiota e sem sentido para o papel de mulher 'forte' que se propoem), outra que não tinha 'motivo de viver' e simplesmente aparece para morrer, e a norte coreana (fria, desconfiada e que só quer o visto e casa na coreia do sul, como se fosse o único objetivo em vida sair da coreia do norte), tanto ela como o paquistanes, só estão lá para cumprir cota de 'politicamente correto'. O 'amigo' se desvirtua ao começar a matar no jogo e por isso perde o sentido para ele ganhar, e só no final ele se 'redime' para fazer o 'amigo' ganhar. E obvio que temos mais um protagonista que basicamente não faz nada a história inteira, e acaba ganhando 'sem matar' e 'inocente' (o que não é a realidade, só a hipocrisia dele) e nem vou falar do final-final e a decisão dele u.u
*PQ o líder estava nessa função? outra ponta solta u.u

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I wish I could give more stars to this series, but it’s a huge no. 6,5 is more than enough to this silly what-they-called-game!

Why?

Here’s my opinion:

From the second episode I tried to guess every detail about what could happen in every episode, and all (like every one of them) of the guessing are correct. :(
Oh man, that’s not funny. I was thinking “should I continue watch this series?” and yet, here I am writing this review.

Another biggest problem that occurred to this series was the acting of some characters that really annoyed me every time they talked.

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Look for the deeper message

- A beautiful allegory on the effects of capitalism. It was so exhilarating that it literally kept me up at night! Some portions seem quite predictable, but i feel that it was on purpose. It is fiction, but a metaphor for real life experiences. Anticipating what may happen next is its beauty because that means it is relatable in some aspects. Given that it ended on a cliffhanger, I am really looking forward to another season.

- The production is absolutely insane. The details, the colors, the music choices, etc. are all spectacular. I applaud the team behind all of the sets!

- The actors did a really great job immersing themselves in their characters. I was really opinionated on all the characters, which is a sign of great acting!

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