This series is fast-paced and the main characters have a bit more depth than I'd initially expected. Money, knives and fists is all you need to know. Just kidding... It’s a tale of revenge and how two small-time nobodies, Kim Geon Woo and Hong Woo Jin end up becoming fast friends and then end up in a whole lot of trouble with loan sharks when Geon Woo's mother ends up signing a loan with real crooks. (Always read the fine print?!) Woo Do Hwan and Lee Sang Yi are quite fit in this, and while there are only a handful of scenes with them boxing, I’d say they’re well done.
I was suspicious of Choi Tae Ho at first (quite used to Heo Joon Ho playing the bad guy) and before I knew it, he’d grown on me. Even tomboyish Kim Hyeon Joo has her charm in this with her acerbic tongue. To round out the team, there are also two excellent knifers – Lee Doo Young (Ryu Soo Young!) and Hwang Yang Jung. I’ve actually never seen Park Sung Woong before and his bad-guy presence is alluring in this – a traitor and cutthroat opportunist at every turn.
It starts off well and I like the story building up until Ep8. It seems that the forced departure of one of its main characters, Kim Hyeon Joo (portrayed by Kim Sae Ron) threw a spanner in the works – as they had to rework the script, and it’s very noticeable with the disjointed final episode. Nonetheless, the bromance remains alive. This series feels more like an eight-plus-hours’ long movie than an 8-ep series. Top-notch cast, well-done action sequences, and appropriately placed humor. There is no forced romance in this (zero need), and instead it is truly about friendship and what it means to be family. (This is by the same director behind the movie, Midnight Runners, a hilarious buddy police cadet movie with Kang Ha Neul and Park Seo Jeon.)
Warning: Don’t watch this if you can’t stand blood and gore as this is fairly violent. A means to an end.
Action-packed bromance works for me. If you can ignore the flaws in the final ep, this is a good watch.
Bonus: Watch Choi Si Won's character get knocked off his high horse.
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