I'll start this by confessing that I was addicted to Prison Break... That being said, this is an entertaining revenge thriller, with a great cast, and I think it stands on it's own in spite of the comparisons. I do think I am probably not as hyped about this as other viewers, but I understand the appeal.

First, Ji Sung is awesome, and perfectly cast as determined and righteous Prosecutor Park. If you are a fan of his, this is an automatic must see, because watching him go through all these revenge stages is the perfect showcase for his talent. His rival is Uhm Ki Joon who is also perfectly cast, and so extremely different from his Doctor character in "Scent of a Woman", that I was extra impressed. That's all I will say about his acting, because part of the fun for me was watching it all unfold knowing nothing. I think together they make this epic rivalry work extremely well.

So I don't think it's a spoiler at all to say that obviously Ji Sung ends up in prison, and equally impressive are his cell mates. Each character was interesting, entertaining, and made me really care about them, and their own stories. The bromance levels are pretty epic. The support they had for each other made me laugh and brought me to tears. I have no complaints about the cast at all, the wives, the kid, the mom in law, the brother in law... everyone is great, but the prisoners in the story were the definite highlight for me.

The story is hard to comment on without giving away more than I want to, but this is a straight up revenge based crime thriller. There are comedy elements because of the characters and situations, but the story is all crime based... murder, betrayal, retaliation, conspiracies, emotional torture, sociopaths, and obligatory amnesia... so if you are looking for something lighthearted or romantic this is definitely NOT the drama you want.

My story score is a little lower than others, not because the story is bad, but it isn't necessarily original. Like most revenge thrillers, most of the story is based on waiting to see if the villain(s) will get their due. This story is pretty standard in that respect, and some parts of the plot take a while to be revealed, so I was not as excited by the story as others who are less used to these types of shows. I was hoping for some unique and unexpected elements to be revealed, maybe some romance, or anything to make the story a little less standard.  It doesn't quite drag, but there's something very basic about the plot that kept me from loving the show more.  

Would I watch this again? Maybe. Certainly the cast is entertaining, and the story is meticulous enough to maybe catch something I missed in a second viewing. However, without extreme excitement during the first viewing, I don't know how likely that would be.

The music is basically dominated by "You're just to good to be true" basically becoming one of the character's theme song, which was a nice touch. The rest of it was pretty standard, but works.

Overall, If you are interested in a straight crime drama, this is extremely well done, and highly recommended. The cliffhanger aspect makes binge watching awesome! The end is satisfying, and doesn't feel rushed, dragged out, or contrived. Ji Sung is an easy actor to root for, so fans of his will no doubt enjoy him in this role. So, while it's not my favorite in the universal prison escape drama pantheon, or even among my favorite dramas, I would agree that it's a must watch for this genre.