Healer is another South Korean drama series that I'd like to make a film review about. It was just this year, during the pandemic quarantine that I found out about this film. I do not regret it as the second South Korean drama series that I really binged watched. By "binged watched", I really tried to watch it within a couple of days if that meant missing some sleep.
My film rating for this series is:
| Aspect | Score |
|---|---|
| Cinematography | 10/10 |
| Visual Effects | 9/10 |
| Storyline | 8/10 |
| Casting | 10/10 |
| Music | 8/10 |
| Plot twists | 8/10 |
I rarely give 10/10 but, this series? It's really superb and you can't just get enough. Treat my 9/10 as 99.9%. The storyline and music is rated 8/10 because of some minor reasons. Music is 8/10 because the action music is sometimes redundant. The other music pieces in the series are very catchy, though. The storyline, the storyline is almost perfect but the ending... a little mystery or a revelation of new conflict for another season, wouldn't hurt despite what has been presented. I wouldn't say if it's good or bad or if a sentimental character died or not but you can look at it in both ways, the ending could be and could not be better.
I guess but it's something that might end the atmosphere story once and for all unless they continue it with another theme but similar aspects. Else, the story might get repetitive, at least for me.
The storyline is quite very complicated and has a lot of plot twists but it has a similar theme as City Hunter, corruption, and stuff. To be honest I'd rather not introduce the story to you and really just leave you for the first episode if it's something of your taste. It's something I'd rather not tell you about so that you will be surprised. Any revelation about the plot in general may you know destroy the way you'd rather "flip the book".
If you loved City Hunter (my topic for my first/previous film review), I believe you might absolutely love this series. If you love plot twists, wait for more.. next film review is about another South Korean series named Vagabond which is probably composed of 80% plot twists, well that's an exaggeration, hahaha.
SPOILER ALERT: MAJOR SENTIMENTS AND REACTIONS
If I were to write my entire sentiment for this series, it might need a book amount of words and topics to do so. But to keep the article short, I'll only highlight seven aspects of the films I'd like to comment on.
Cliche Story Done Right
This series, despite the cliche storyline which is yeah friendship broken, and the main characters are children of the previous batch, isn't new to the film industry I guess despite my naivety to these types of films. But, this, the way it has been presented as something that's unique. If I'm gonna say something bad about the storyline, it's that it's too good to be true that sometimes you wonder if the story would really happen in real life despite its realism. Well, what are the odds, though? If the characters in this series had superpowers, I guess it would not even impact the story's depth. The villains are as equally challenging as the main characters.
Healer's Job
Healer's job is very interesting, it reminds me of the atmosphere of DedSec in the Watch Dogs games. He hacks through stuff, fights bad people, does undercover stuff, etc. He's just this nice type of punk. Ajumma, his boss, which I reserve a separate section in this article, is almost like a mother figure to him.
City Hunter without a Mask
When I first watched this series, my first impression was that he looks like City Hunter without a mask. Maybe because I watched City Hunter first. Maybe if I watched Healer, first, maybe I'd think of City Hunter as Healer with a mask, hahaha. I really wonder why he doesn't wear a mask. Maybe there's a concrete explanation for this. But, you know, a mask would protect your identity a little bit more just as when he was with Chae Young-shin on the rooftop.
The Corruption of Mainstream Media
At the beginning of the series, the mainstream media intentionally neglects the plights of some protesting people. This shows a lot of parallelism with our realities in the modern world. Sometimes, it's even the alternative media who does the job of exposing a lot of undisclosed truths. This series just gets it right!
Corruption in the fashion business is also pointed out in this film. Pointing out issues such as harassment and blackmailing.
Ajumma
Ajumma is Healer's boss and is almost like a mother figure to him. I am amazed by her hacking skills. I doubt many aspects of the hacking specifics in the series such as hacking CCTVs, the bug in the hairpiece, and stuff. Maybe this was intended because putting a lot of details may just be too much but in general, the hacking atmosphere of the series is really interesting.
Elder
The Elder is the image of power and temptation in the series. It was later revealed in the series how the Elder convinced Kim Mun-sik not to testify on his friend's murder and, even more, indirectly accuse his dead friend of foul play in exchange for power. I was kind of amazed how despite the Elder's wisdom he'd not sniff Healer right when he was plotting against him at the end of the series. Suprise!!!
The Ending
The way they planned the mission in the series at least the one in the airport is unbelievable yet clever. It was so cleverly planned that a single mistake might mean failure. This almost happened when Chae Young-shin was interviewing the whistleblower woman. I almost believed that Healer was shot when in fact it was still part of the plan. The series really plays with your perception of what is really happening.
What about you? Have you already watched the series as well? What are your reactions about some parts of the series that I might have missed out?