I just saw the Korean series, IRIS and I have to say, its absolute good stuff.
“Great writing, excellent actors, cutting-edge cinematics and ingenious directing—all wrapped up in an impressive plot. The Korean entertainment industry has made its mark with this one.”
The Rundown
Behind the name: IRIS, named after the flower
Country: South Korea, 2009
Genre: Espionage, Action
Broadcast by: Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), 2009
Directors: Yang Yun-Ho & Lim Kyu-Tae
Cast: Lee Byung-Hun (Kim Hyun-Jun), Kim Tae-Hee (Choi Seung-Hee), Jung Joon-Ho (Jin Sa-woo), Kim So-Yeon (Kim Seon-Hwa), Choi Seung-Hyun/T.O.P (Vick)
Compare to: 24, Mission Impossible, Alias
Hate it or Love it? Love it.
Synopsis in a Sentence: Two friends get chosen as spies for a secret national security agency, and as their lives get mixed up in secrets, betrayals, and international conspiracies, they fall for the same woman.
Synopsis in a Sentence: Two friends get chosen as spies for a secret national security agency, and as their lives get mixed up in secrets, betrayals, and international conspiracies, they fall for the same woman.
With a budget shelling over $17 million (200 billion won), IRIS began as a South Korean TV series, but is now flaunting a movie, a book, and a spin-off to the series (to be titled, Athena: Goddess of War). IRIS attracted over 40% of the South Korean populace, and sparked attention from the Asian and Western entertainment industries, and is possibly exporting the idea of the series to an American TV network. With its creative film techniques and universal plot, IRIS highlights Asian filming at its finest.
On Writing: The Plot
The story makes IRIS legendary.
At first the story may seem too rushed—a plethora of events are established at once, but in hindsight, it was necessary to advance the development of the story. The series flowed seamlessly. There was no reason to doubt the occurrence of certain key events. A common flaw in this genre is to over-write the plot, to an extent where some events become unnecessary, forced and fail to make a connection, but there were connections throughout IRIS. At no point did the story seem overly deliberate or improperly written. No one enjoys a story that drags on, and every scene and event throughout IRIS made sense—the right amount of action for the boys blended with the perfect balance of romance for the girls, all spiced up with drama and half a hint of comedy. Very well written.
(4.5/5)
On Acting: The Cast
What’s to say about the cast of IRIS?
Nice eye candy. There’s a bit to look at, from Jung Joon-Ho [Jin Sa Woo] to Lee Byung-Hun [Kim Hyun-Jun] to Kim Tae-Hee [Choi Seng Hee] to of course, rapper/actor, T.O.P of Big Bang. I’ll confess, T.O.P was what tuned me in to IRIS, and I wasn’t disappointed.
In IRIS, T.O.P played an assassin, and the role fit him perfectly. He delivered his few lines in Korean and English very well, through an important but minimal role highlighted throughout the series. His sparing appearances allowed him bring his best to screen. Perhaps we’ll see him in more series? Hopefully.
The lead roles, played by Lee Byung-Hun [Kim Hyun Jun] and Kim Tae-Hee [Choi Seng-Hee] were artfully mastered. Lee Byung-Hun made the series, but he didn’t do it alone. Supporting actors Kim Seung-Woo [Park Cheol-Young], Kim So-Yeon [Kim Seon-Hwa] and Hyun Jyu-Ni [Director Park] made their characters come to life. Jung Joon-Ho [Sa Woo] and Kim Yeong-Cheol [Baek San] brought real emotion to the screen. Put together—real, empathetic, good, raw, talent.
Yet, it’s important to state that throughout the series it seemed obvious that the producers were aware of actor profiles. If a person looked trustworthy, he was a good character. A shady-looking person turned out a bad person. Of specific notice is the use of black males. Though used sparingly, they seemed to play the bad characters. An occurrence to note. That said, it was a breath of fresh air to encounter internationalism through this series, even minimally. English, Japanese, Hungarian, [sparing] French and of course, Korean were used throughout the series. It was great hearing this mix of language and communication in an Asian series. Shall the Westerners learn?
(4.5/5)
On Wardrobe: The Fashion
Never have dark suites, trench coats, and business-professional clothing looked so good. It made me want to invest in some good business suites. Each character embodied their own style, which corresponded throughout the series and re-instated their character-identities. Asian entertainment is known for its style, and in spite of all the tough action and, murder, IRIS didn’t forget that.
Yet, some wardrobe choices seemed not to make much sense, like, why would an assassin, [T.O.P] be dressed brightly stylish and mod-casual during an assignment? [Yuki’s death scene], and why would an agent [Mi Joung] for a secret intelligence agency constantly be dressed as though she was working at a high-end dance club? I guess IRIS wanted to re-define the wardrobe for action series, and I’m not complaining. .
(4.5/5)
What else? Oh yes, Resolution.
On Resolution: The Conclusion
Western T.V. series seem to have a common pattern of resolution. Typically, there are, a series of key events that Western culture has deemed proper in the resolution of film. Usually, loose knots are tied, roots uncovered, and endings resolved through a systematic outplay of events. Korean cinema does not play by these rules. Korean cinema has its own unique technique for resolution. With that, IRIS was resolved perfectly, if it will produce a sequel. If not, then it’s quite a bummer, because in reality, the first season did not resolve the story at all. IRIS concocted the right amount of suspense, intrigue, interest, and all the other emotions that create perfect film series.
(4.5/5)
The Verdict: A second season highly recommended.
Overall Score = 18/20
Watch IRIS on HD [http://www.hulu.com/iris]
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