City Hunter

*Based on the manga of the same title (Shiti Hanta) by Tsukasa Hojo

Foreword
Korean TV moves beyond its traditional romcoms and shows it can make a dent in the action drama genre with City Hunter, featuring a thoughtful plot, complex emotions, solid acting, and well-written characters. Viva the Hallyu wave!

Cast
Lee Min Ho as Lee Yoon Sung
Park Min Young as Kim Na Na
Lee Joon Hyuk as Kim Young Joo
Kim Sang Joong as Lee Jin Pyo / Steve Lee
Kim Sang Ho as Bae Shik Joong / Bae Man Deok

Supporting Cast
Yang Jin Sung as Shin Eun Ah
Chun Ho Jin as President Choi Eung Chan
Choi Il Hwa as Kim Jong Shik (Young Joo's father)
Choi Sang Hoon as Seo Yong Hak (Minister of Defence)
Lee Hyo Jung as Lee Kyung Wan (senator)
Choi Jung Woo as Cheon Jae Man
Hwang Sun Hee as Jin Soo Hee (veterinarian, Young Joo's ex-wife)
Goo Ha Ra as Choi Da Hye (President's daughter)
Kim Mi Sook as Lee Kyung Hee (Yoon Sung's mother)

Summary

1983, Burma (now Myanmar). A bomb planted by North Korea explodes, killing several high-ranking South Korean officials and delegates who are visiting the country. To strike back at what is now known as the Rangoon bombing, five South Korean government officials plan an underground mission to enter North Korea and kill its agents. The 21-men operation, organized by bodyguards Lee Jin Pyo and Park Moo Yul, is kept secret from the South Korean president. However, during the operation, the five officials abort the operation, fearing an international crisis (specifically the withdrawal of US nuclear protection) if the mission were discovered.

The operation is successful, but as the troops swim to the submarine which is supposed to take them back to South Korea, snipers from the submarine shoot and kill all the troop members, except Lee Jin Pyo, while they are still in the water. An already injured Moo Yul uses his body to shield Jin Pyo, thus saving his life. As the only survivor of the ambush, Jin Pyo swims back to shore and returns to South Korea, where he finds out that there are a total of five officials responsible for aborting the operation.

Vowing to avenge his fallen comrades, including his best friend Moo Yul, he kidnaps Moo Yul's son Yoon Sung and flees to the mountainous Burmese-Thai border. There, he raises the child as his own and trains the boy intensively in combat. When Yoon Sung turns 20, and after an attack on the village where Jin Pyo saves Yoon Song from injury from a mine, Jin Pyo confesses to Yoon Sung about his plan for revenge.

Seven years later, Yoon-Sung returns to South Korea with a MIT degree to execute his surrogate father's plan for revenge against the five officials responsible for his father's death. He is hired at the Blue House (South Korea's presidential palace) as an IT expert, providing advice to the President. Here is where he meets with bodyguard Kim Na Na. Eventually they fall in love, however their budding relationship is met with significant challenges such as Jin Pyo's threats (who warned Yoon Sung not too fall in love as it could put people around him in danger) and Yoon Sung's dangerous status as the 'city hunter'� conducting whistle-blowing on corrupt government officials in cat-and-mouse game reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can.

I won't spoil the ending for you, as this is one of those series where it's enjoyable sans spoilers, but I will tell you that the final scene looks like it was taken right out of Hollywood's Inception.

Review

They don't make them like this often.

City Hunter could have failed epically with its bet on pretty boy Lee Min Ho (from Boys Over Flowers fame) as its tragic hero. With near-zero acting credibility, the guy rises to the challenge and makes Yoon Sung his own. Yoon Sung is a tough character to portray, as he is a bit of an enigma whose tragic experience gives him every trait from vengeful to compassionate to confident to burdened. And Lee pretty much nails it all - strong moral core, arrogance but respect with Young Joo, the complex relationship with his father figure, and fierce protection of the girl he loves. It helps that he has chemistry with all the core characters of the cast, and even makes the most out of the very few sweet and funny moments in the series (such as his doting of ahjussi). If this is what Lee can do, I can't wait to see what he does next. I mean, I feel like crying whenever I see the guy now. An excellent performance that makes me think I should stop watching idol romance dramas.

As Lee Jin Pyo, Kim Sang Joong possesses multiple layers: passion, hate, revenge, but the best part was his portrayal of the self-loathing and survivor's guilt that Lee is afflicted with. He's got this '�I eat babies for breakfast'� look to him that works for the character and his chemistry with Lee Min Ho anchors the series. The guy is clearly a character actor and his performance in CH is an exceptional one.

The females have a tougher time making their mark given the predominantly male cast, although Park Min Young is hard not to like as the beautiful, strong and determined Na Na. Physically, though, she does not convince at all as a bodyguard. Despite her few scenes, Hwang Sun Hee makes an impression as Young Joo's ex-wife and veteran Kim Mi Sook is excellent as Yoon Sung's mother.

The supporting cast also performs admirably, with Choi Il Hwa turning in a memorable performance as Young Joo's father. Kim Sang Ho (as ahjussi Bae Man Deok) also manages to be funny and a breath of fresh air as the 'everyone's grandpa' character.

The story is intelligent, suspenseful and well-written and character development is handled with an experienced hand. The action choreography is solid, with some fantastic hand-to-hand combat scenes, bloody violence, and rapid car chases. Not for the faint-hearted, but for what it is, the series does well on all fronts.

Through the Grapevine
It's official - Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young are dating. Let's pray they get married and make lots of pretty babies.

To Watch or Not To Watch
It doesn't get much better than this, people.

Rating: 5/5