Vigilante (2023)

A common man's take on Justice

An adrenaline rush, Vigilante stands as one of the better originals Disney+ has put out this year. Not a single second of the K-drama is never really wasted on filler or unnecessary scenes.
Although not exactly an innovative premise, Vigilante is still worth a watch: if not for the expertly choreographed fight scenes and masterful cinematography, then probably to reflect on the judicial system and what it truly stands for. 
The acting was decent and the action was good which was based more on suspense and violence. The story was great. The characters were diverse and interesting l, although the message delivery could have been more impactful.

My Rating : 7/10

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Afraid of Blood? Don't Watch!

I swear, if you are afraid of blood, don't watch the Korean drama "Vigilante". Many sadistic scenes are presented, such as criminals being strangled with chains, a herd of pigs tearing apart the bodies of living humans who are tied up, the necks of people (still alive) being sliced with grinding knives, and many more.

What is the director's reason for presenting it? Because death, blood and violence always attract attention. Remember the story of the massacre at the Colosseum which made Ancient Romans flock to watch?

In the modern age, boxing matches that leave boxers bleeding and bruised are very popular. Meanwhile at the grassroots, people like cockfighting and fighting until one of the fighters is injured or dies.

Not surprisingly, a study found that around 90% of high-grossing films feature scenes of main characters involved in violence.

I watched the Korean drama "Vigilante" because this drama was played by Nam Joo-Hyuk. A tall, handsome actor, whose last appearance I saw was in the Korean drama "Twenty Five Twenty One". It feels like it's been a long time.

And like the previous drama, Nam Joo-Hyuk's acting never disappoints. Moreover, his partner is Lee Joon-Hyuk, an actor who often plays antagonists.

In the Korean drama "Vigilante", Lee Joon-Hyuk as Jo Gang-Ok is a refreshing drama with a dark nuance and "smells" of rancid blood.

In contrast to Kim Ji-Yong (Nam Joo-Hyuk), who is cold and quiet, the character of the rich man, Jo Gang-Ok, appears sloppy and often carries his own karep.

Choi Mi-Ryeo, the journalist, is a balancing character between the two. So that viewers can enjoy the Korean drama "Vigilante" which tells the story of a student facing a big criminal, more comfortably.

The next review can be read here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2024/03/vigilante-takut-darah-jangan-nonton.html

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It was just alright

Honestly, I was expecting more from this. I was kind of bored the whole time and nothing really seemed "surprising" to me. It felt like there was a lack of build-up and drama. Like I didn't feel like I really cared about the characters enough to get emotionally involved. Maybe the reason that I didn't really love it was because I'm not a huge fan of police shows, but either way,, it was boring. The fight scenes seemed flat... I can't explain how. Maybe because I wasn't super emotionally involved. I thought the actors were pretty good though. The plot could have been better, very predictable (they literally told us how it was gonna end). Honestly, I didn't even have a favorite character, which is very important!!!!!!! The music was very good though, better than most action shows. I don't think you would find anything new of value in a rewatch, I would only rewatch if I found any of the characters particularly hot (which I didn't).
In all, I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. I think they needed more backstory and reasons for me to care about them. The timing of the show was actually pretty good, along with the acting, but the writing and plot left something to be desired. I did appreciate how many fight scenes and action there was, despite not particularly loving any of the action scenes. I don't recommend it to anyone except for people who really really love police shows.

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Ótima produção

Quero saber porque as pessoas não estão falando o suficiente de Vigilante?
A série é um murro na cara de tão boa, o enredo é envolvente apesar de conter cenas fortes em algumas partes e a Coreia é boa naquilo que ela fornece, não vivo lá, não sei sobre as notícias mas certeza absoluta que tem muita da corrupção e eles conseguem fazer dramas sobre o assunto muito bem!
Quero falar da dinâmica dos atores em cena, tanto o jiyong, o cara que eu chamei de maluco que ajudou muito o jiyong e se não fosse por ele, acho que muita coisa teria dado errado, o jo heon e a miryeo, esses 4 foram fantásticos.
O meu favorito foram as cenas do jiyong e o do jo heon, a química dele, os olhares, foi incrível essa dinâmica, a confiança que o jo heon tinha no jiyong de fazer a coisa certa e do jiyong de saber que ele ia entender.
E preciso falar sobre ele ser o Hulk da série, o ji tae mudou muito desde que fez money heist Korea, tá um monstro, as cenas deles lutando foram o máximo, Hulk, capitão América e todos os heróis da Marvel junto, tava com uma cara de bandido terrível mas amei, atuação incrível também
Mas falando do meu amor Joo Hyuk, tô orgulhosa demais dele, o talento dele, entregou demais nesse personagem deu pra ver, espero que ele esteja feliz com o ótimo trabalho que fez.
Fiquei triste com a morte do amigo dele, sabia que isso iria acontecer mas ele morreu acreditando que o amigo estava fazendo algo que valia a pena mas é aquele coisa, você pode limpar o mal por baixo mas vai ter sempre alguém de cima...
Enfim, foi um drama ótimo, esse final deu brecha pra mais uma temporada que eu amaria.

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THAT WAS SATISFYING!!

Vigilante was such a thrilling ride!! I enjoyed every bit of it. It's always good to watch dramas that fight against the corrupted system & this provided such a satisfaction. The plot was so good and the action scenes were so satisfying to watch!!

Loved how it started off with Jiyong alone but slowly we built up a gang with our fan, the reporter and finally even the cop joined us and they all protected him because they knew that someone had to fight against the system atleast that way

Nam Joo Hyuk nailed his role as Jiyong & all the actors did a great job!! The ending showed that one man can't changed the system that easily & the corruption won't stop but Jiyong and the gang will also not stop fighting against it so we NEED another season with all 4 of them working together and fighting corruption

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Aspects for S2

ACTING

I've no complains over the acting of the whole crew. They succeeded to pass the feelings correctly and hold the emotionless mask during the action. I was surprised by the acting of Nam Joo Hyuk, cause I just had completed watching him on Weightlifting Lifting Fairy which was a romcom. So the change of a romance to an action drama was in an insanely correct order. The fighting scenes were good. No guns were used, just raw hands or small equipment which made the fight even more intense. The music was so so good. Especially the ending themes.

PLOT

It was interesting to watch a drama based on this big philosophical question that bothers the human society. The feelings are so loud that you can't choose objectively which side to take as a viewer. The scenes were well adapted by the camera. The quality was pretty good. Ofc many things are unrealistic. The whole story telling would've stopped way sooner irl. Its so sad that the innocent are always the victim in any case. Tbh, it got a little tiring while approaching the end. Although, bc of the ep legth, its still manageable and worth watching.


PERSONAL THOUGHTS

I have to admit that even though I don't agree with that kind of life concept, taking the law in our hands, this show was so worth it. The feeling of the constant rage over the unfair laws that rule our countries/world is so real. The dirt that covers our society is invisible when its right in front of us. But taking this decision, committing crimes to deal with a small amount of criminals, will it change something or just promote that taking the law in our hands to solve the unfairness is correct when it's the opposite?

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Nam Joo Hyuk's debut thriller lacks substance and depth

For years, I have always watched Nam Joo Hyuk's shows because I find the plot interesting and Vigilante is no exception. Vigilante revolves around Kim Ji Yong living a dual life — studying as a police officer by the day and punishing remorseless criminals at night.

The story starts with a young Ji Yong who gets shocked by the court's decision to punish his mother's murderer with a short jail sentence. Years pass and the criminal continues attacking innocent people which prompted Ji Yong to take his revenge and ultimately kill him. Ji Yong realizes his mother's case is not an isolated case and that the justice system is being too lenient on criminals. He starts hunting for repeat offenders who easily get away with their crimes and taking the law into his own hands.

Nothing is groundbreaking here but Nam Joo Hyuk ruthlessly killing criminals and embodying Robin Hood was indeed a pleasant watch. His tall and brooding physique yet having a quiet demeanor makes him the perfect mysterious hero.

However, my main issue for this show is how they keep on adding new characters each episode, all of which are underdeveloped.

Cho Heon, the team leader of the regional investigation unit, is an intriguing character. It only took him a short amount of time to catch Ji Yong yet he lets him off the hook. He believes he can convince Ji Yong to be a competent police officer just like him.

My empathy for Cho Heon's motives goes down the drain when both him and Ji Yong didn't have any character growth. Ji Yong's intentions were also unclear to me since he forms alliances with anyone he likes without a rational thought. I also find Joo Hyuk's acting a bit lackluster since he only growls whenever he is confronting Cho Heon or the criminals.

The violent fights and torture were also unnecessary and exaggerated. It feels like the show tries to be a gritty and bloody noir wannabe.

Overall, I enjoyed the first half of the show but not as much as the second half. Everyone is aimlessly trying to bring down the criminals without a concrete plan. The characters also seem to be one-dimensional. I don't find myself watching the second season, if ever there will be one. Vigilante is an entertaining thriller that lets Joo Hyuk show he looks good as a young action hero but the underdeveloped characters and confusing narrative makes this show hard to recommend.

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Prometeu e entregou muito mais!

Drama excelente, história cheia de detalhes e bem escrita. Elenco impecável. Trilha sonora foi perfeita e deixava cada cena mais completa.
O drama mesmo tendo muita ação, entregou um roteiro muito bem distribuido, deixando muito simples a conexão com os personagens e fazendo o expectador se colocar no lugar de cada um deles.
Drama prometeu e entregou muito além.
Aguardo ansiosa segunda temporada.
Nam Joo Hyuk nunca esteve tão bem, Yoo Jae Tae também como sempre incrível.
Drama não tem como ser avaliado com uma nota menor do que 10, se pudesse daria 11.

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Short, Crisp, Spicy: Watch it for Nam Joo Hyuk!

As an ARDENT Nam Joo Hyuk fan, I was a little late to the watch party, but I'm glad I watched this and didn't skip it. Let's get straight into the pros and cons of this series:

Pros:
Short episodes: Each episode was 40-45 mins long, and it had just 8 episodes. Quick and easy watch, loved the length of the series.
Acting: The cast had all good actors, lovely job done by the actors. Of course, I must mention Nam Joo Hyuk and how BUFFED UP he's become for this role. Full ogle fest! Also NJH has improved so much... It was so good to see him emote with his eyes throughout the whole drama. One minute, he's got kind twinkly eyes, and the next minute, he has the coldest, deadset eyes, that just brims with anger and vengeance. Brilliant piece of acting by my boy! Yoo Ji Tae also had a strong presence. Special mention to Woo Hyun Joon who played police officer, Nam Yeon Gil. He had a very limited screen time, but in whatever he had, he made his presence felt.
OST: The OST is actually good here. I am not a big OST person, most often I am annoyed by the loud kdrama OSTs, they feel like a hindrance to the watching experience. But here, it was quite muted and appropriate in maintaining the tone of the drama.
Action: Finally, some good action choreography in a kdrama. Also, these guys didn't shy away from showing gore. It wasn't overdone either, so whatever was done, made sense.

Cons:
Story: I understand that it is adapted from a webtoon by the same name, but that's exactly what became its greatest bane. The script had no movement other than whatever was written in the web series, so you can understand while seeing the drama, that it is just stringing together panels into a plot. That's what makes the plot so flimsy. There was potential for more character growth or more development, but the writers didn't bother expanding more on it. Random people appear out of nowhere with just one-line explanations of who they are, much akin to how characters are introduced in a comic. While I like that they didn't explore 50 different things in the series and stayed true to the main plot point (aka the Vigilante and his own ways of serving justice), I wish there was something more to the plot though... it was a little too straightforward at the end of it all. But there's a s2 coming up, so hopefully, they might play on things up a little more then.

Acting: I didn't like Kim So Jin... didn't like her look, or her acting. Her character was an interesting one, I won't lie. But I didn't like Kim So Jin in it, she screamed a little too much, and it didn't look natural enough to me. Also I didn't understand why Nam Joo Hyuk and Yoo Ji Tae had to shout more than half the time to make their point across. Whenever those two conversed with each other, they shouted at each other, which got pretty annoying pretty quickly.

Overall, it was a pretty quick and easy watch. Quick and spicy, watching the show felt like eating a packet of chips. Its good as long as it lasts, and then it gets over quickly, and you move on to watching the next drama. A solid one time watch.

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