Em Movimento (2023)

This drama 100% deserves the hype

In a time when we are suffering from a over-saturation of content and less than mediocre stories, particularly related to people with superpowers, South Korea has released MOVING and proved there's still hope for the genre.

Like its tittle the story is in constant move, not only pushing forward but going back to different timelines to give us context o our main characters and how the things happening in present time are a direct consequence to the past. Technically, MOVING is perfect. One of the strongest points is definitely the editing and this can be seen in the way the story jumps from one year to another but you never lose track of what's happening nor leaves you confused. There are gaps to fill but with other episodes that will give you answers. The score complements the actions and emotions of the characters to perfection.

The performances are top notch and it's not surprise considering this drama is stack. If you have been watching korean dramas or films for a while, you will recognize even the most random character or one-episode-cameo it's performed by an award winning actor or actress. These people have a reputation for a reason and they deliver in every scene, with a look, a touch, a smile or a punch that will push you through a wall. For some characters in the drama literally speaking.

Zo In Sung hasn't starred in a drama since Dear My Friends (2016) and I am so glad this is his return to the tv format. In MOVING he delivered a nuance, charming and badass performance that in the hands of another would have fell flat. His character's entire existence it's what pushes most of the story forward: a person used as a weapon to kill but all he ever wanted was to live. The big mystery of the drama it's to find out what was his fate after he got separated from those he loves.

Ryoo Seung Ryong remains one of the most compelling actors of his generation, giving us the incredible story of a good man lost in life until he found his purpose and redemption. His storyline, full of gore and violence, was actually a tender love story about how far a man will go to protect his family. Marvelous.

Han Hyo Joo's character could have easily fallen into the Smurfette principle but no. She's an equal to the men who love her and those that want to kill her, with a very strong motivation to keep herself on the top of the game. This character's loneliness comes through every scene she's in, bottling everything up in order to be strong for her family but you can tell she's waiting for a chance to be free and, most importantly, for her son to be able to live freely.

Ko Yoon Jung, Lee Jeong Ha and Kim Do Hoon are really promising actors, particularly considering they hold their own while performance with so many household names. I think Kim Do Hoon and Kim Sun Kyun probably gave one of the most heartbreaking yet beautiful stories in the drama.

Like I mentioned before every single actor in this drama brought their A+ game face but I would be doing a disservice if I didn't mention Kim Hee Won, Cha Tae Hyun, Ryoo Seung Bum, Park Hee Soon, Yang Dong Geun, Jo Bok Rae, Park Kwang Jae, Kim Joong He and, of course, Kwak Sun Young. She in particular was SPECTACULAR.

None of these characters are one-dimensional, they are not defined by the label society wants to put on them. They are all joined together by the experiences, hardships, love, motivations and ambitions they share. At the end of the day, related or not by blood, they are a family. Even the so-called enemies.

MOVING it's absolutely worthy of the hype that surrounds it through all social media and news outlets putting in the category of one of 2023 best tv shows. I only regret I didn't have the time to watch it sooner so I could have add it to mine.

Leia Mais

The long wait was worth it!

So, I had been waiting for this show since my Jo In Sung obsession developed...sometime in 2021, I think? And Then when it came out, I don't know, it had just been too long, I wasn't invested anymore so I didn't touch it for months until my mom said she had seen a random scene from this show that she thought was cool and she wanted to watch the rest so I just recently binged the whole thing with her and I have to say, it was worth the wait. It's true. My only investment in this show was initially JUST Jo In Sung and no one can blame me for it because he is like a rare orchid that blooms every five years or something. So I've been frustrated and desperate BUT the show is very well-made and the teenage characters are sooooo cute, omg! I thought teen boys could only be mildly threatening or absurdly annoying. Who knew they could be adorable sunshine bunnies?!
Anyway, the little cutesy friendship between the two teen characters made me so endeared and as the plot developed it became more interesting (And also I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for Jo In Sung to show up...ㅠㅠ).
My only issue with this show is too much violence and not enough Jo In Sung. It was disgusting how much violence I had to endure. I got bored with it, too. So instead, I spent a good deal of the fight scenes scrolling through my phone, while being stuck to the screen during the romance parts. It was just too much. Very gross. Sure, the CGI work was amazing and I applaud the crew for that (the production overall was amazing) but gratuitous violence is so tacky.
The acting in this show is amazing. Obviously, with heavyweights in the main roles, no one was expecting anything less but even the younger cast members were great. They brought the characters to life and I was shocked to find out one actor is 26 years old?! I thought he was 15! :o Everyone was so well-casted and they acted their butts off.
I'm not even a superhero story fan. I don't like marvel and don't watch any of their stuff. But I enjoyed this one. Maybe because it was so fundamentally different from a superhero arc. However, the plot felt a little like a prequel, to be honest. So I can imagine a more traditional superhero plot in a potential second season. This felt more like an espionage family drama; if the families in the espionage had superpowers.
So between the endearing character relationships, an interesting and engaging plot, amazing casting, and a very professional production, this show was basically perfect...except for too much violence. And not enough Jo In Sung.
The music was also very good. It was scored like a film, very ambient but never distracting. Just as it should be.
Will I rewatch this? No...except for rewatching Jo In Sung's scenes. :) And I've already done that...a few times!
I recommend it if you can handle violence and if you like espionage plots, romance, and a bit of mystery.

Leia Mais

'Fast, witty and emotional', with VFX analogues to western movies!

Review frequently updated: EP1-7
The first few episodes guide us through the fictional world where the government has been involved in recruiting (might even creating, not revealed yet) superhumans as agents. From what we know the agents are retired and the story is now revolving around their kids. We see how their abilities have affected their lives and how their parents (former agents) are trying to protect them. The family and friends relationships are laid out pretty well initially. We are also introduced to what I can assume will be the main plot line, that the governments of different nations are trying to kill the former agents of South Korea. Why and how is not something we discover yet. From my understanding, the powers seem to be inherited genetically and the kids can have abilities of both parents, like our main lead Kim Bong Seok and the killer, a CIA operative (a native Korean who was sold as a child) has been tasked to take out all the former agents and their kids. The story is interesting and I cannot wait to see where it is taken from here.

Till now the storyline is fascinating and I enjoyed how the first few episodes were used to introduce us to the world and the characters. The series involves a lot of characters and their background stories which could have become messy and tedious if I had not binged watched it.

PS: If you are wondering, the VFx are amazing! Top quality! Very comparable to American shows!

Leia Mais

Another must watch!

I’m going to be completely honest and say that i binged all 20 episodes in a span of 3 days. Which is insane. I’ve never binged a 20 episode kdrama so fast before, it just shows how good it is!

Every episode fills you with anticipation for the next episode. Character building and plot pace both so well done, I literally have no complaints!

All of the actors did so well too, I like every ship and dynamic they added in the show.

I really hope there’s going to be a season 2, I know the actors would do a good job again!

Really good show! You won’t be disappointed watching it!!!

Leia Mais

A VERY BORING DRAMA

this drama has very high potential but it fall apart because of boring flashbacks ....by passing of each episode it is getting more and more boring . they did not even explain well how they got these powers and how ANSP is working at its own without government authorisation ...
i understand that they want to provide back stories of every cast but this drama shows flashbacks in worst way ...each backstory is 2 - 3 episodes long which can be easily done in 30 minutes to 1 ep ...
the human beings with powers are quite natural genre and there is nothing different about it ...

my advice - do not start this because of ratings ...

in short it is my one of the WORST drama of 2023 ...

Leia Mais

Amazing

I only started my Kdrama and Cdrama journey at the same time, when covid started and I had a lot of free time on my hands, so I might not have watched as much of the older "Must watch" shows that most of you have. Still, I have lurked here for more than 3 years and this is the first time I felt compelled to write a review.

This is quite a simple story really, reminiscent in some ways to the old "Heroes" show (at least season 1 when it was great). However, the casting, acting, directing and overall storytelling here was a total masterpiece. It's a more character driven piece rather than story driven, and from the students to the adults, all of them impressed me totally.

Loved them all and hope for a season 2!

Leia Mais

Super powers, but not for kids (18+)

March 2024
This story started really well. I loved the characters, was captivated and felt the balance between the every day and violent action, was good.

However, as the episodes progressed, that changed and the violence intensified more and more.

Episode 11 was my breaking point. I actually had to skip through a fight scene, purely because it was way too relentless. This is something I very rarely ever do, for any reason.

The younger characters and the actors that portrayed them, were fabulous. I felt invested in their wellbeing and especially loved Bong-seok and Hee-soo, the former having the cutest smile and sweetest personality.

The adult characters and actors were not a broad mix. They were either goodies or baddies, even though that was actually dependent on perspective.

The story flits, a lot, between various key events in the past and present, from the lives of each of the characters. Sometimes I found this waring. For the depth of the stories from the past, I actually think the drama would have been better being told chronologically. Each time I got into an event, its time period and its characters, it would switch again.

There are some really vile officials in this and human life appears to hold little value for any of them. There is also High School bullying, which is ignored by other students (through fear I hoped to myself, not apathy) and ineffective teachers who dealt with it appallingly. It made my blood boil and, honestly, I'm sick and tired of seeing it, even if it was part of some plan. Name calling, a bit of pushing and shoving, is one thing, but the level I see in so many K-dramas, that has no recourse, or the wrong party gets blamed, and punished, is too much. It's inappropriate in stories with a modern setting, too.

There is also misogyny; plus one character is actually called 'Idiot', a lot, with even his episode titled that. The character wasn't an idiot. I found that offensive, to be honest and was unhappily surprised by it. A big no-no for me, again, this being a drama in a modern setting (fantasy or not; that's irrelevant).

Now and then the plot also went a little askew, because I don't think the writer knew a way around that, or simply got lost.

There were lovely, light and funny scenes, but as said, not enough of them later on. Prolonged violence and threat, with no let-up, is not my thing, it turns out.

However, I liked the idea of the story. The lack of choice or power, to not follow the orders or bidding of others, shown to be felt by both sides, was a bit different. I loved the cast and the soundtrack too. It had a high budget feel and the SFX were very good.

I thought the ending as a whole was OK; the happenings of S1 were tied up and I enjoyed the pre-credits closing scenes (more follow after the credits, too ).

If they decide to make another series, I'd watch it; but I'll be hoping it won't be as intense and heavy going for lengthy periods, without a break, as this one was at times.

Leia Mais

Incredibly well-acted meaningful story + impressive action scenes = Instant Favourite !

This series is an aggregation of what I love the most: attaching characters, deeply moving storylines intersecting in interesting way over time period and various settings, impressive and riveting action sequences with purposeful cinematographic choices and amazing acting by the whole ensemble cast...

The pace of the story was very good: it is divided in three narrative arcs which have in a way their own flavour and still manage to form a cohesive great piece. I was super invested and watched the complete drama in two days: that shows how good the whole watching experience was to me.

The characters were amazing and portrayed by very skilled actors. There are a lot of faces that I love among the casting which helped even more making this series such a perfect one to me. Han Hyo Joo and Zo In Sung (who is totally dreamy in this role) are two actors that I like a lot and they once again proof how great they are here. The chemistry between them was impeccable. All the main "parents" roles were great and went beyond my expectations over the course of the show. I'm grateful for the drama to made me discover Ryu Seung Ryong and to have featured is such an outstanding way the excellent Kim Sung Kyun who I love so much in each of the drama I saw him in.

Go Youn Jung who I discovered in "Alchemy of Souls" keeps to continuously impressed me and I will be looking for her new shows as well as for Lee Jung Ha who was the revelation of the drama to me. His character is the heart of the show: he was such an adorable cutie pie, full of green flags and the actor played him so candidly that it became immediately my favourite part of the drama.

I really enjoyed the show so much that I can really forgive its sole default (at least to me) which is linked to its last arc and ending being a bit too quick and with some relatively unnecessary flashbacks. I would actually not have minded to have a couple more episodes to develop even better the end...But I still enjoyed it so so much that I am pretty sure I am just being greedy here.

The filmmaking truly deserves a lot of praise. The director managed to be really creative in the numerous actions sequences. I was never bored and he made some seemingly mundane scenes feel very innovative and fresh. The soundtrack was not overly present but was pretty good in setting the mood and pushing me to watch the next episode.

I would recommend this to people looking for an action series with some slice-of-life elements, impressive cast, superheroes vibe and amazing cinematography. It is quite graphic in the violence depicted so you might want to skip it if you are triggered by that. If you enjoyed series such as Heroes (only looking at its very good *season 1*), I would strongly advise to give a chance to "Moving".

Leia Mais