There are so many films and TV series on the subject of school violence that I don’t see any point in even giving examples: I’m sure everyone who reads will remember at least a couple of them. And, by and large, the success / failure of these tapes depends on how strong empathy the main characters will be able to evoke in the viewer.
And from that perspective, "Weak Hero" is all very well. All three central characters are diverse and interesting in their own way. The main role is in Pak Chi-hoon, who got the most entertaining hero: a closed nerd who is attacked by classmates, but, unlike the absolute majority of his fellow misfortune, is not afraid to at least try to fight them back. And this alone he stands out among many protagonists of films/series of the same genre, who sometimes want to shout: “Come on, you rag!” You can't call the main character a cloth. Very interesting and well-played character.
Good and Ahn Su-ho performed by Choi Hyun-uk. Always sleepy and hungry loboshake, possessing skills of hand-to-hand combat - it would seem that I describe the antagonist? But no, behind external frivolity and pofigism lies a much deeper personality than you think at first.
And the third is Hon Kyung, who got a character who initially seems just as painfully stereotypical, but reveals a completely different side in the second half of the series.
Since we are talking about the halves: conventionally, the series can be divided into two parts. The first 4 episodes, as I thought, are more dynamic and better directed, but after the equator, there is also something to see. Not all episodes end with a cliffhanger, but even so, it is very difficult to break away from viewing. After all, the main characters are opposed, albeit less curious, but charismatic antagonists.
Not to say that in the series everything is smooth from the point of view of logic, but outright stupidity was not noticed. The motivation of the characters is clear, even if sometimes it seems that the process of changing the character went somehow too quickly and the reason for this was events whose significance is somewhat exaggerated.
But it's all details. "The Weak Hero" is a high-quality series that will definitely brighten up a few evenings both lovers of dramas and just connoisseurs of good shows.
8 out of 10
Bullying is one of the eternal problems of mankind. Some people want to outperform others, and when they see a potentially weak person, they tend to show who is better and who should obey. Mostly now it can be found in the society of children and adolescents. But how to deal with bullying, no one has invented. Aggression and the desire for domination are inherent in the human essence. It’s another way of saying, ‘I’m not like everyone else.’ Even if all people in the world were peaceful beings, there would be 100% human beings, and not one who would start a conflict with others.
From the very beginning, the drama is a great character. (I'm not good with names, so I'll name the characters as I can.)
GG is a quiet, unremarkable intellectual (a nerd, if you will) who devotes his whole life to learning. At school, he studies at home, on the way to school, studies after school, etc. Parents don't care, dad didn't really want a baby, and mom's always at work. Because of his lack of love and upbringing, he grew up so cold and unsociable. But by the end of the drama, he changes and begins to appreciate something other than learning.
There is also the Silach, a local wrestler, who is kind but rather windy and willful. It will not allow senseless or excessive violence.
There is also a rich man, a weak, downtrodden, broken man. Because of his terrible and cruel adoptive father (who ironically works in the field of children’s health care), he cannot control himself, which is why what happened in the drama happened. He just needs to project somewhere all the aggression that others took out on him.
The film description is a bit misleading. GG is certainly not physically weak, since he was able to do (and endure!!!) everything that happened. What I liked was that GG, compared to all the characters, fights differently. Not that he somehow avoids fights and wins. He likes to fight. GG uses the environment and available means to compensate in strength, I have always loved it. Most people only use their own power in fights, but HG uses force outside the human body, which is very clever and effective (sometimes).
The fights themselves are very cool, the music always emphasizes the pace of the battle and its tone, and from each blow you get an impact.
The only two things you can find fault with: logic and message.
1) Nobody cares about the violence in school. I know people don’t care, but not as much! The student broke into the classroom with a fire extinguisher, gave it to students, and the authorities and journalists do not care. The characters have no framework that would restrain their fervor, would punish.
2) There's no solution. This is understandable, because it does not exist in real life. But the message in the end is: put the cattle in their place; strike back; punish those who deserve it; revenge, revenge, revenge, but fear revenge. Talking doesn't help, there's just a fight. But it can't go on like this. Maybe that was the message?
The drama is very cool, causes a storm of emotions and the desire to hit bastards through the screen.
The Weak Hero is an adaptation of the 2022 action webtun created by SEOPASS and RAZEN.
The film was the debut for directors: Yu Su-min and Park Tan-hee, who were involved in this project.
This is a story about how a weak at first glance an excellent student confronts bullies with the help of his intellect.
The main idea of the series: knowledge power.
Despite this drama touches on important topics such as: drugs, repressed anger, domestic violence, crime in general, friendship and of course the main theme is school bullying. Musical accompaniment not only corresponds to the image, but also adds effect.
Excellent and dynamically staged scenes fights and the work of the operator that conveys the state of the main character made the greatest impression on me.
All the characters are well written, but I would focus on three of them: our main character (Pak Chi-Hun) and his friends (Choi Hyun-ok) and (Hon Kyung) the liveliness of these characters is felt thanks to the expressive acting and most of all I liked the character of Hong Kyun. We are shown how he goes through difficulties and how this affects his character. This is the most interesting character here.
I would recommend this drama to those who are interested in the topic of school bullying but at the same time they need to feel the gamut of emotions from staging action scenes and excellent OST.
I watched the drama from the first to the last series in one breath – in one day.
Before I get to the show, I want to thank the cast of the dubbing. Voices in the Russian dubbing perfectly approached each hero, all emotions were very well conveyed. When 90% of the dramas are watched in the voiceover from Softbox, since there is simply no other alternative (for this reason I watch almost everything with subtitles), you already somehow forget that there is a professional multi-voice dubbing. I was incredibly happy to find such a voiceover on the film.
Now the drama. What I liked: directing, acting, musical accompaniment, camera work and the quality of staging and shooting scenes of struggle. Not that I’m an expert on this part, but fights really look very realistic: gangsters fight like bandits, MMAs fight like MMAs, self-taught schoolchildren are driven solely by emotions, psychopaths like psychopaths – using pens, textbooks, beams and fire extinguishers, not fists. And then, you know, there are dramas where quiet boys who have never fought in their lives begin to wave their fists with such a technique, as if for 15 years in professional sports. But the most important thing is that the psychology of the characters is well worked out, and this is in the timekeeping of 8 episodes! No usual stretching of Korean TV series, for this I love projects from TvN and Netflix.
In recent years, Koreans have increasingly raised the issue of school bullying and violence, as well as the overall problem of destroying/distorting a child’s identity in school (due to grades, etc.). I love how the drama shows the reason why children become this way – it all starts with family. We see that each of the three characters who set foot on the path of violence has their own problems in the family. And even if they fight the bad guys for goodness, friendship, world peace and all that, they still do it through violence – because by hurting others, they suppress their own. But each of them has a different pain. That is why Syin, who learned in childhood that he is a child who was not wanted, who was abandoned by his mother and who lives with an indifferent father (it is important for his father only that his son was alive, received excellent grades and entered the university), understands Bomsok and to the last regrets him - from the very first series he feels the loneliness of the second and his desire to somehow get the recognition of others, at least for a moment to feel his importance, to get a little attention and warmth - what Bomsok did not receive from his adoptive father. Sukho cannot understand (accept) Bomsok, and this is understandable - Sukho, like Bomsok, was left without parents early, but he was unlucky to be adopted by a rich official - he had to grow up early, work three jobs to feed himself and his family. Three completely different stories, but three similar worlds that found each other.
For me, it's not just a drama about friendship and betrayal, it's a story about how evil is born. Bomsock goes to the side of the “bad guys” who yesterday were his enemies and humiliated him, once he vents his inner anger and anger, which has accumulated over the years. And now he is ready to beat his friend to death. In Korea, there is a hierarchy in everything you don’t go (the same “Parasites” are about this): here you are at the bottom of the food chain and destroy you, but once you get up and feel yourself in the place of those who once “eat” you, your hunger becomes equally insatiable, and you yourself begin to become the one you once hated.
Syin the whole series is trying to reconcile two friends, to guide them on the right path, constantly trying to smooth corners and solve everything peacefully, until he himself is brought (literally heh) to the handle, until he wakes up what he himself skillfully puts to sleep in himself. But to be honest, Syin is a real psychopath, and this is indicated by a lot in the series. The most appropriate of these three, of course, is Sukho. And Syin is “in a quiet pool”, that is certainly a “weak hero”. At the same time a protagonist and a supporting actor. He seems to be an inconspicuous, secondary face in any conflict, but at the same time he has enough recklessness to go fight alone with two dozen school bullies.
Acting - just clapping standing up. First of all, Park Chihun, who played Syin. If you watch the interview with him and his performances on stage – and he’s an idol for a second – you’ll be as shocked as I am. The way that this kid with the face of a schoolboy and a cute smile turned into a silent sociopath, able to pierce you with a look and a pencil, deserves applause. Almost without facial expressions, he played everything with his eyes. The scene with a fight in the classroom, a broken window is a separate bravo. Choi Hyunok in this series is again in his usual role - such a mixture of a funny-headed and serious, life-sniffing guy who hides all his demons behind jokes and jokes. I really like the way he plays. Hardworking guy, a year consistently out 2-3 projects with him, and all very worthy and successful.
About the script. I won’t spoil it, but the first half seemed a little more dynamic, although the catharsis in the plot is closer to the 6th series. Probably, this is due to the fact that in the last three series, the narrative goes on a mirror principle: first one goes for a friend to stuff his face, then the second mastits for the first, then the first again for the second ... It's a little predictable. I even wanted to sigh with a condescending smile: “Oh, these boys, don’t feed bread, let’s fight.” I was also waiting for a more dramatic ending. Both Bomosok and Sukho. Until the last thought that Bomsock after all that happened will commit suicide or something, but no. Everything will end as it ends, see for yourself.
I highly recommend watching. In my opinion, the drama did not receive proper recognition and attention. Perhaps because the cast is only young actors without world-class stars (after all, this is very important for Korean TV shows). Most likely, after six months or a year, I will review, which is extremely rare with dramas.
10 out of 10
It’s a South Korean show that I quickly got hooked on. Then it was not so sticky, but looked to the end with pleasure.
A crime drama about bullying at school, sometimes with well-staged fights. But the plot, the actors and the dramatic theme are more catchy. Even though the fights are on the subject.
Plot. School nerds don't like alphachi majors. The nerd, though not strong physically, but with a steel character. He makes friends with a classmate master of fights. And then a new student joins them, who is a major, but who was bullied at another school. The conflict with major alphachas is growing. Criminals are getting involved. And then there are all sorts of internal tweaks in which best friends can become deadly enemies, and enemies become allies.
The series is billed as mini, but I hope there will be a sequel. Especially since they write that this is a version of a popular web series, in which the plot is much larger.
And in the series is a good original soundtrack.
History of friendship, mutual assistance and betrayal
The Koreans again managed to transform the banality of the plot into an interesting cycle of events. As always, an ordinary student comes to class. Seeing a weak wolf, the jackals immediately surround him and try to intimidate him, turning him into his six. The boy does not give up, he is ready to defend honor, and resists them using his level of intelligence.
By the middle of the drama, interpersonal relationships between the characters had already formed. Because of the mess they got into, they have to hold onto each other. The characters are very well written. The actors who played them did an amazing job. In the eyes of Yo Shi-in you can see composure, Bom Suk with a look of helplessness and fear, Su Ho is a radiant guy who wants justice and food.
There are a lot of fighting scenes in the series. It’s not as fantastic as Jackie Chan’s movies. Su Ho looks like a good MMA fighter in the drama. Unlike the brutal protagonist, who tries to inflict maximum damage in a fight, Su Ho acts only to suppress.
A weak hero is a fairly simple drama that does not require much brain strain. I looked in one breath and was very pleased.
8 out of 10
The series captures quite quickly, immersing in its plot from the first minutes. The first series is very similar to the Spanish series "Elite". However, this similarity is very short-lived, and the finale of the first episode shows that the series will evolve in a slightly different direction, and much less time is devoted to the modern agenda. More crime, much less adults in the frame, as they are very ghostly in the series, they are almost not, and they, in addition to a couple of important plot moments, do not affect the events between teenagers, rather are some functions - resonators that affect some important decisions of the main characters. The police look weak-willed, can do nothing, catch up with even the most lethargic criminal. Teachers at school seem to be absent, or at the sight of a bullying in the classroom, just run out of the room under the pretext of calling someone and disappear for good. When a student from one school comes to another school with dubious goals, the guards don’t care. Parents of heroes do not interfere in the lives of their children until something bad happens. Well, apparently for the plot it is important, so be omitted these moments.
I will try to go through the story without spoilers. The three main characters are three friends. Three different types: a silent smart man, a brave honest athlete, and a rich son who is beaten by his stepfather.
The first half of the series, with the help of some conflict with bad classmates, helps us to understand who the three main characters are, understand their motivations, characters, and actually become attached to them. And only in the second half, we are shown the main plot - namely the conflict between three friends, showing their different interests, statuses in society, and this builds the conflict. And everything would be fine, but the main problem, which was very carefully stated from the first series, at the end of the series and not fully disclosed, which, personally, I felt a very big disappointment. Oh Bom-Suk (a rich guy with problems with his adoptive father) is the main element of the conflict. He is afraid and hates his stepfather as he constantly beats him, but due to the circumstances, he can not tell his friends. About Bom-Suk obviously wants to get justice through revenge, and when his friends tell him that this can not be done, he quarrels with them and begins to connect with the bad company, spinning the conflict to the maximum. But unfortunately, a decent ending to the conflict was not shown in the series, most likely, it was planned that there would be a second season, and some obvious plot points were postponed for the future, and very in vain. At the end of the series, I felt like I was being cheated. The finale is very gray, indistinct, not really showing the morality of the plot.
In my eyes, the series boldly went to the nine, but as they say "unlucky not fartanulo".
Out of respect for the craftsmanship of the entire crew, I'll give you a 6.5. If you look at the final as little as possible. It seems that now the series should slam the door at the end so that the hinges will fly off and the plaster will fall off. But he carefully covers her, timidly hoping for a continuation. And in vain, with such a weak ending, the continuation cannot be removed. . .
Technically, there is nothing bad to say about the drama. Play actors - at the level, the director also tried to fame, shot beautifully. The only thing in the drama of the negative is the plot, which, although written according to all the laws of drama, leaves much to be desired.
I don't know why I should watch this drama. Why did I watch it? To get emotional? Because I was curious to see how the characters would take revenge on other characters and so on. Why are you watching it? The drama does not leave any positive emotions, does not make you think about anything but the cruelty of the world. Moreover, it offers no other answer to cruelty than cruelty. The main character, who tried to resolve everything peacefully, eventually steps on the rake of violence.
“So what?” you ask, “After all, we are offered an unhappy end, yet making the viewer think that the actions of all the characters were in some sense wrong.”
Yeah, right. But since the drama is about bullying, why can’t writers try to come up with a solution to this problem?
But even this is not the main drawback of this drama.
The main drawback is that at some point you will catch yourself thinking that you really want to hit one character, second, third. You will also want to choose the path of violence. And you, like the main character, may feel that this is the only way out. But that's not true.
The drama is really good and clearly tells what bullying is. It's a good character. But the authors of the drama have only grown to a descriptive level. They have not reached the level of judgment, adoption and search for solutions to the problem of bullying.
Sorry.
It would seem only 8 episodes, another Korean series about schoolchildren, but why does it have such a high rating? 8.5 at the time of viewing. It turned out to be a very smart series, very emotional. For a long time I did not have such a thing that I really sat and worried about the main characters.
The thing is that the characters are perfectly spelled out and the acting game so fit these characters. This is a story about friendship, about a difficult school life, about an imperfect education system, about how problems accumulate, about how everything can be bad if you have no one to rely on but yourself.
Well, it would seem that everything began to get better, but old resentments pull problems. And it's supposed to get better, and no, it just got worse. Hatred breeds more hatred. And who, in the end, proved what to whom? No one else.
There are also great fights and good music.
It is worth watching at least because of the acting
I watched the whole season in one day. The intense development and amazing play of the actors did not give a breath for a minute. Especially Googled how old the actor who played Yong Shi-in, Park Chi-hoon. 23! At 23, playing so deep, so shrill! The guy's eyes alone give out such an avalanche of feelings and emotions that just blows away. And Hong Kyung, who played Oh Bom Sook, was so real in the emotional trauma of his hero that at the same time the soul was torn by human, parental pity and almost disgust. And one of the main trinity of the film - sunny Ahn Seo Ho (Choi Hyun Wook) - as a ray of light in this dark kingdom, the fighter for good and justice every time caused a smile.
In the story - very painful in the dramas of Korea shows the tragedy of bullying. Very brutal and bloody. This story clearly shows what this can lead to. And even if there is light ahead, not every person who has already been broken by the harsh surrounding world will have the strength to walk. Stunning development of heroes, their inner philosophy, morality. I'll probably reconsider. There is no hope for the second season because the first one was too good.
Overall, it's a normal series. A little better than average. But Korean cinema is rapidly changing to the Western audience.
The fragments are something of 'Once Upon a Time at School' (particularly when the hero tearfully beats the glass at the end of the film), also a feud over the girl.
With the girl in general a strange turn, of course, bam!!! and she already has another and lives with him - we blame it on frivolity.
According to how the fights are staged - not bad, but in ' Gangsters from high school' Fights with the use of improvised tools are 5 goals higher than in ' a weak hero' and the final showdown in the pool hall - puts everything in its place.
It is a pity that the once cruel, uncompromising and realistic Korean style becomes slicked under Western criteria and views.
I can recommend watching it, but those who, like me, have watched a sufficient number of Korean films of the 90s, you will not have enough emotions from the series.
7 out of 10
We are satisfied with what we have. Thank you for that too!
The cruelest, and in the final just horrifying, action drama about how rapprochement suddenly turns into hostility, and already not an easy life becomes hell. The friendship of two and the betrayal of the third.
Park Chi-hoon is absolutely ruthless to himself, taking on a martyric mission alien to a real idol, his partner, Choi Hyun-ook, exudes the charm of light power, and together they are the hot heart of this story, consisting of pain and blood, where one of them is ready to cover the other with himself, risking his own head.
Their strong bond – the rare beauty of the bromances of two spiritually related fighters who are clearly unlucky with the third, succumbing to personal complexes that have shifted to the dark side, torturing former friends – is the repulsive role of a moral renegade in which Hong Kyung is as good as he is disgusting, presenting a nightmare of genuine self-destruction.
Without delving into the nature of school violence, the writers focus on the personal relationships and rare nobility of a pair of friends, emphasizing the courage of some and the insignificance of others, enjoying the harmony of souls and the fury of ruthless combat, instead of justifying false hopes, breaking their hearts by the fact that the exit from the circle of hell leads only to a new hell circle.
Very emotional! Great play by young actors. Park Ji-hoon is fantastic. 'The Weak Hero' not weak at all. He's a strong personality. I'm ready to take responsibility for my actions. Adolescent immaturity, insufficiently developed ability to control their own behavior, increased suggestibility, the desire to assert themselves - this is not about him!
Yong Shi-un doesn't give up and goes forward. GG's confidence can be seen in his phrase: "You guys don't learn from your mistakes, do you?"
The plot develops dynamically, exciting, clings to the living. Important problems are raised - the formation of the personality, pressure on the immature psyche, how difficult it is to stop being a victim, misunderstanding of adults. .. It is worth noting the perfectly staged scenes of fights. Hard. It hurts. And of course, Oste! They're amazing.