Background:
As far as I can remember, from the time when the Korean Wave started in the early 00s, I have never finished watching a Korean TV Drama. I have only watched the following titles: Hotelier, Attic Cat, Love Story in Harvard and What Happened in Bali and only liked the first two but never finish any of them. This is because I tend to find the script and production values to be similar to Hong Kong/Taiwan standard but poor compared to their cinematic counterparts, which is shocking considering how popular they are. It seems that most Korean dramas tend to rely on their stars and overly melodramatic and unrealistic soap opera plotlines to attract their core audience, of which I just simply don’t belong in.
Therefore, it is with great interest and curiosity when I learnt the existence of the drama IRIS, because of Lee Byung-Hyun participation in it. By 2009, Lee Byung-Hyun has become a top film actor internationally, fresh off starring in the Hollywood blockbuster GI Joe. It therefore begs the question why he would choose to return to Korean television after all that success. Is it money? Is the material good? If it happens to be both, could this finally be a Korean drama that’s worth watching for me?
Plot:
Kim Hyun-Jun (played by Lee Byung-Hyun) and Jin Sa-Woo (Jung Joon-Ho) are best friends and two of the finest soldiers serving in the South Korean military. They are then scouted and recruited to join NSS – the South Korean version of CIA – by the beautiful agent Choi Seung-Hee (Kim Tae Hee). At first, everything seems to go smoothly for them as they foil an assassination attempt at the new South Korean president by the North Koreans and Hyun-Jun manages to date Seung-Hee (much to the dismay of Sa-Woo). However, after a botched operation in Hungary, Hyunjun is suddenly betrayed by NSS and wanted by both the South and North Koreans. Forced to go on the run and separated from the woman he loves, Hyun-Jun vows revenge and along the way, he discovers the existence of a secret organization called IRIS.
IRIS has existed since the end of the Korean war and has members deep inside both the North and South Korean government. They have been involved in a vast conspiracy manipulating the current affairs of the 2 countries for decades – one of which involve the mysterious death of Hyunjun’s parents – to ensure that the Koreans will never be reunited and the organization will forever profit from the never-ending conflict. With the new South Korean’s president’s heart set on a serious Korean reunification, IRIS has planned a big terrorist attack to prevent that from happening. Hyunjun has no choice but to form an uneasy alliance with 2 former enemies and North Korean agents (Kim So Yeon and Kim Seung Woo) to stop IRIS once and for all, even if it pits him against the woman he loves and his former best friend.
Review:
IRIS is indeed the most ambitious Korean TV Drama ever made at the time: costing 20 million US Dollar, shot in multiple countries across 2 continents, with a famous lead actor fresh off a Hollywood blockbuster and last but not least, it attempts to do a serious spy action thriller - a genre perhaps never done before on Korean TV. I am happy to report that the end product is a high quality TV drama well worth watching, if you can get past some initial issues related to it being a Korean TV drama.
The biggest problems with IRIS are that it has to follow certain K-Drama conventions and that it sometimes feels like a product that has to show its money’s worth to the investors. This is particularly obvious in the first 5 episodes or so – where the production values, writing quality is as bad as other typical Korean dramas. In the beginning, Hyun-Jun is still a young military kid who goes to college and flirts with pretty girl Seung-Hee who’s secretly evaluating him as a possible agent material. These meet cute early scenes can test your patience and makes you wonder if this is just going to be another cheesy Korean drama. It is also embarassing to see Lee Byung Hyun go from being uber-cool in GI Joe to see him attempt being a college kid in a Korean TV drama.
The series, in the beginning, also tend to switch tone suddenly from serious to cheesy/corny romance in a second. This is particularly true during the scenes where Hyun-Jun and Seung-Hee starts dating and they go to Akita, Japan for vacation while their best buddy Sa-Woo is on a mission in Hungary. A 5 minute action scene in Hungary can be followed by a 15-20 minutes scene where Hyun-Jun and Seung-Hee enjoying themselves with the beautiful snow scenery and both of them romancing and acting cute around each other. Obviously these scenes are obligatory for the good people in Akita, Japan who have generously allowed filming in exchange of heavy promotion as well as the K-Drama fans who expect this kind of romance. But these are also scenes that will make producers of 24 and Alias cringe and faint. Lastly, like another K-drama, it will never let you forget that there’s a love story going on by replaying the same 3-4 love ballads in almost every episode, and oh, when T.O.P makes an appearance, a Big Bang rap song is never far away.
But if you can get past all these problems (which only happen in the beginning anyway), what you’ll find is a compelling, believable and entertaining spy thriller. It may not be comforting to Korean people, but one of the best things that come out of the Korean conflict is a rich source for good drama just like the cold war for the American culture. The writers of IRIS may have liberally borrowed from 24, Bourne films and Tom Clancy and even Korean movies like Shiri, but they have also integrated them with the current Korean conflict well and smartly enough, particularly with the idea of a Korean version of Illuminati-like secret organization, that results in a fascinating spy thriller tale that can stand on its own.
The writers are also smart enough to use the conventions of a spy thriller genre to put a fresh spin on the dead tired star crossed lovers cliché in Korean soap operas. Whereas a typical K-Drama will usually have the two lovers separated due to family issues, mistaken identities and god forbid another fatal disease, IRIS cleverly uses a convention of the spy genre – a failed operation and mistaken deaths – to separate Hyunjun and Seunghee for more than half the episodes. It’s not terribly original, but I though the way it’s handled is quite refreshing and actually manages to make us root for their reunion.
There is also an undercurrent of nihilism and futility beneath the drama as a result of following the spy thriller genre conventions, similar to 24. Characters die left and right and get replaced endlessly as the conflict never ends as both sides refuse to give up no matter what. Characters that start out loyal to their countries end up questioning if their loyalty is worth it and for whom is their loyalty truly for. Even fitting for a Korean drama, lovers get separated and more than one love is unrequited. These dark themes make the drama stand above the rest of the others that are only interested in exploring “true love” again and again.
Cast and Characters:
Lee Byung-Hyun as Kim Hyun-Jun
Despite being the lead actor and the main star attraction, Lee Byung-Hyun only does the minimum to make the audience care about his character. This is not a knock against him, but the character Kim Hyun-Jun is just your standard brooding hero seeking revenge against those who wronged him and Byung-Hyun mostly plays him in a subdued, angsty, sad mode. Fortunately, the character is surrounded by interesting characters that make his character arc interesting. At least his film experience makes him look good in action scenes and whenever the occasion requires him to pander to K-Drama fans, he can also flash a wide charming smile in an instant and cry convincingly on cue. But this is not a role that he will be remembered for in his career.
Kim Young-Chul as NSS Vice-Director Baek San
Not a well known name, but Kim Young-Chul takes the honor of being the best actor in the series with his excellent performance as the villain. Baek San is the leader of NSS who recruited Hyun-Jun into NSS and betrayed him, revealing himself to be a high-ranking member of IRIS. He is cold, manipulative, cunning like a snake around the President and his strong loyalty to IRIS makes him a dangerous and fascinating villain to watch.
Kim So-Yeon as Kim Seon-Hwa
This is perhaps the most interesting, complicated and best realized character in the whole series. Kim Seon-Hwa started as a tough North Korean adversary to Hyun-Jun but circumstances forced her to abandon her country and work together with Hyun-Jun. Along the way, she reveals hidden kindness beneath her tough exterior and develops unrequited feelings for Hyun-Jun. She makes most of the difficult decisions throughout the drama and her complex relationship with Hyun-Jun is perhaps the best thing that drives the series emotionally. Actress Kim So-Yeon, previously famous for being in All About Eve, aces this role both emotionally and physically – unlike the lead actress, she actually looks good with guns and fights. It’s also credits to the writers that the relationship is treated with utmost respect and never goes over the top. If there’s any complain about her is that her role gets unceremoniously reduced to being Hyun-Jun’s driver and action buddy as the series draws to a close.
Kim Seung-Woo as Park Chul-Young
I fondly remember him as “Manager Han Tae-Jun” in Hotelier. However, like Lee Byung-Hyun, his character suffers from being too standard– he’s just another general who is loyal to his country and is willing to do anything for it and there’s not much the actor can do beyond that.
Jung Joon-Ho as Jin Sa-Woo
As a best friend turned rival to Hyunjun, this is the most predictable character in the whole series, despite going through a lot of character development in it. This is because the actor (and perhaps the writer too) play him as too much of a pathetic Mr Nice Guy and if you have watched enough dramas, there is no doubt where he’ll end up. It’s a pity because the character is a little interesting and the actor does work hard portraying him.
Kim Tae-Hee as Choi Seung-Hee
Where to start? Firstly, there’s the fact that from the beginning the audience is supposed to buy her immediately as this beautiful, intelligence and tough female secret agent. Then a few episodes later, she falls totally head over heels for Hyunjun, her subordinate, just because Hyunjun flashes his Lee Byung-Hyun mega smile and forced her to kiss him. Too bad Kim Tae-Hee is only pull off the part of being beautiful. There’s also the added embarrassment that she never looks convincing at all with guns and there are many scenes that require her to do that that just fall apart. Worst part is her acting. I once read a review of a Korean martial arts fantasy starring her called The Restless on lovehkfilm.com. The reviewer has this to say about her acting: “The lovely Kim Tae-Hee … appears to possess only one facial expresion: a deer-in-the-headlights look meant to channel horror, surprise, disgust, fear, wonder, and probably happiness, hunger, and arousal too.” I am sad to report that 5 years on, this still has not changed in the series. At least in the series she is only required to mope after Hyun-Jun mostly which isn’t hard to do.
T.O.P as Vick
And then there’s T.O.P from Big Bang, a stunt casting decision by the producers to court the young K-Pop crowd. To his credit, T.O.P does have that inhuman quality in his look and he is very effective at looking cold, emotionless and sadistic whenever he kills someone. But then again, he is T.O.P from Big Bang and there’s always a Big Bang rap song that follows him around.
Verdict:
IRIS has everything for everyone: there’s an amazing cast lead by a big Korean star for the Korean pop culture fans, there’s a good spy thriller story for people looking for something serious, there’s the usual trappings of K-Drama romance for existing fans, there’s TOP for those younger K-Pop fans and there’s even snowy Akita, Japan for those looking for nice touristy place to gaze at. I guess what I’m trying to say is watching this most ambitious Korean drama ever made is perhaps also the best way to introduce people who has never watched or hates Korean drama to watch them without turning off the existing K-drama fans. Despite some flaws this is a perfectly fine series for everyone, but one wonders there’s a better spy thriller in here had the producers even go more daring than it already is now. – 3.5/5
Pictures credit go to http://www.hancinema.net
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