Squid Game

A crossover of the motifs of Battle Royal and Saw themes, brilliantly transformed into an eight-hour collective trip through hell, all in an appealing colorful form with impressive sets and costumes, well-constructed characters and a sociological examination of their behaviour, imaginative games with more than one clever surprise and a sizable portion of blood and brutality. Dong-hyeok Hwang boldly combines all kinds of pop culture and genre trends in a commercial work for the masses and comes out on top. Episode 6 is an emotional knockout that I really didn’t expect here. The only stumble in the likelihood of the characters’ behavior comes in the final episode. It's also capped off with a slapdash would-be surprising point that contradicts certain previous events. (11/18/2021)

Hollywood is done, Korea dulez!! The combination of Netflix and South Korea is the best thing anyone has ever thought of, and it has once again resulted in an awesome spectacle with all the Korean parameters, traits and attributes, and the same big names have come together to make South Korea a powerful mainstream hit that is shaking up the world. A variation on Battle Royale and Hunger Games along the lines of Japan's Alice in Borderland has never been more entertaining, smart and disturbing. Squid Game follows the die-hard Korean template and has all the elements every fan expects: an original twisted theme, perfectly written and acted characters with strong progression and changes, the requisite dose of action, violence and high body-count, built-up suspense, believable twists, ornate visuals, compelling dialogue, well-conceived melodrama toying with the audience's emotions, and it wouldn't be Korean if there wasn't also people trafficking. Only the Koreans can incorporate so many elements and present it confidently with a raised middle finger, and they do it again with clarity and breathlessness. Episode 6 is probably the strongest for me and the reveal of the White Horse put a smile on my face, I didn't expect it in the least. Excellent Job. I loved the cameo by Gong Yoo and Lee Jeong-jae in the lead, but in a very unconventional role. Story 5/5, Action 4/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 9/10. (09/24/2021)

Excellently written... How to quit gambling easily and fast with the help of kids’ games. In addition to having a great screenplay which grabs you and doesn’t let go, despite the slow opening and superfluous epilog, Squid Game can rely on precise directing and perfectly chosen actors. Hae-soo Park clearly rules the screen. Each game points at a different aspect of what it is to be human, and lots of people won’t like what they see. I sincerely don’t know if we need another season. As it is, it’s great, if you forget about that epilog. So leave it be. (10/11/2021)

There was already something like this last year from a related corner of the cinematic world: Alice in Borderland. Identical idea, the same decent drive, which over time starts to descend into cluelessness and predictability and ends with a pathetic punchline about the strength of gelatin. Asian productions love to push the emotion a level higher than appropriate, but likewise the genre fails to keep fingers crossed for many characters, so it's ultimately just a flashy swing of a leaky bat. The police storyline contains a ton of illogicality and the VIP charade was painful to the eyes, ears, and brain. Credit must be given to the extremely strong 6th episode, which features the best of the rules of the game, emotions, and exploration of the various aspects of human behavior, morality, and a bit of ethics. Overall a better average. After this experience, despite the pointlessly open-ended ending, I don't see how Season 2 can be better. (10/06/2021)

If anything makes this series special, it's the games. They are visually, musically, choreographically, and in terms of tension absolutely – I know, it's a stupid word to use given the content – fascinating. But unfortunately, behind that is a shallow story that is sub-par compared to what Koreans are capable of coming up with. The denouement, unfortunately, turned out exactly as I thought it would (I've read a similar book). There was no shock waiting for me at the end either, because I had already figured out the character in the first half (there are too many hints), and when the person under the mask spoke in English, I knew immediately who was hiding underneath. But a nice cameo, and not a pointless one. I feel like the viewer could have used more clarification. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the creators have yet to come up with it and will introduce it to us in the next season, which I’m doubting will be of any quality. So yeah, I think the next Korean wave should have been kicked off by a different series. But on the other hand, I can understand that a viewer not familiar with Korean filmography might enjoy it completely differently. And the games are really, really good. (10/17/2021)