Payback: denaro e potere (2023)

Bellissimo drama, tiene incollati fino alla fine ... geniale e recitato da un cast superlativo!!

Payback non i soliti 16 episodi, ma 12.
Questa “riduzione” ha avuto il merito di mantenere l’attenzione sul drama sempre vigile, senza inutili lungaggini e riempimenti inutili. Eun Yong, un titano del denaro e un ricco capitalista finanziario, ha vissuto una vita da recluso nei pascoli della Mongolia. Eun torna in Corea quando suo nipote Tae-chun e la figlia del suo defunto benefattore, Joon-gyeong, chiedono il suo aiuto. Si prepara alla guerra contro poteri corrotti per proteggere la sua amata famiglia e vendicare la morte di un caro vecchio amico.
Tutti gli attori sono di spessore e hanno dato al drama quel tocco in più.
Lee Sun Kyun, tra i miei attori preferiti, in questo che è il suo ultimo lavoro (purtroppo) emerge sempre per la sua bravura, che traspare e dà valore a tutto il drama. Kang Yoo Seok, si conferma come giovane attore con grandi capacità. Infine Park Hoon, che qui interpreta il lato oscuro della procura, e lo fa tanto bene che lo detesti immediatamente. Ma ne ho citati solo alcuni ... in realtà sono tutti strepitosi!!
Drama consigliato a chi ama il genere con continui colpi di scena e con incastri intelligentissimi. Sceneggiatura TOP!!

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Compelling, complex vendetta, expressive play, impressive spirit & cunning plot development

KDrama Orbit starts into 2023 just as the year 2022 had been – full of productions with their fingers put right into the sore of wounds of society, savouring its imbalance with relish. "Payback: Money and Power", again, is one of those. It offers an exciting, astute, complex and clever story about revenge against those giants, who can hardly ever successfully be confronted by legal means. Money helps… those... who want to have things turn out the way that they prefer… who can afford to have things turn out the way that they prefer... who have a strong vision, too.

The underlying premises are pretty sobering, yet well-known territory in KDrama land:
-The system (democracy and the rule of law) serves the money, not the people, because the people who fill the system with life can be bought.
-Power and money are inseparable.
-Hierarchical class thinking is far from overcome. The value of a person's wealth directly determines their value as a human being.
-Huge fortunes and legality rarely go hand in hand.
-The good news for the wealthy: money can buy you justice (and law).
-The bad news for the ordinary: Life is unfair.
-With legal means (alone) justice is not a given.

"Payback: Money and Power" bluntly takes all of these premises and blends them in a vendetta against Goliath revisited. Therefore, David first becomes a Goliath himself. In this case, David's real name is Eun Yong. He has risen from a penniless, simple young man to become the CEO of a private-equity fund who successfully speculates astronomical sums of money. Together with a team, that for him is family, too, he takes on a financial cartel in which politicians and especially the public prosecutor's office are also involved. Thus, it is not played fairly. On the contrary: it is actually life-threatening.

So, at first glance the plot doesn't seem to promise much that's new. Nevertheless, "Payback: Money and Power" offers a dense, strong story, with expressive play and impressive spirit. The presence of the mimes in front of a rough, gloomy background is haunting. To be honest, I paused for a moment - not sure whether I really want to know and see everything or rather drop. Eventually, I couldn't help it, couldn´t let go of it. I WANTED to know and see. The impression, the KDrama left with each episode, was just too powerful... And I'm thoroughly glad about it. A great story. With a considerably cunning plot development. Despite the underlying bitter seriousness an invigorating (for all the refreshing poetic freedom - e.g. not everyone is as talented, tactically adept, self-confident and yet grounded in a good balance of heart, mind and soul as Eun Yong) and encouragingly optimistic perspective.

Oh, actually, here's another premise I forgot to mention at first...
-But what a relief that the law still exists... and also those few, who stick to it, believe in its value and power, and thus keep fighting for it with wits and passion...

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