Review of Season One:
IRIS was a massively popular South Korean TV series that took the form of a spy thriller. The film focuses equally on explosive and fast-paced action sequences along with numerous and complex character interactions along the way. I watched the first season of the show, which comprises of twenty episodes centred around Lee Byung-hun's put-upon lead character. The story jumps into the thick of the action from the word go and remains fast paced throughout, although I did think twenty episodes were a few too many. What surprised me was just how low budget the show feels. The requirement to stage regular fight scenes every episode means that the production has a cheap digital look at times, and one two or there bits of music which are repeated over and over again throughout the twenty episodes (pulse-pounding music during the action bits, a cheesy song during the romantic scenes). There is padding and there is melodrama and romance, but generally this is watchable, exciting fare. The director makes the most of his star's matinee idol looks and there are so many twists that you quickly lose count of them amid the mayhem. Think of a Korean version of 24 or SPOOKS and you'll be close, but IRIS is very much a product of its own nation and as such has a voice all its own.
IRIS was a massively popular South Korean TV series that took the form of a spy thriller. The film focuses equally on explosive and fast-paced action sequences along with numerous and complex character interactions along the way. I watched the first season of the show, which comprises of twenty episodes centred around Lee Byung-hun's put-upon lead character. The story jumps into the thick of the action from the word go and remains fast paced throughout, although I did think twenty episodes were a few too many. What surprised me was just how low budget the show feels. The requirement to stage regular fight scenes every episode means that the production has a cheap digital look at times, and one two or there bits of music which are repeated over and over again throughout the twenty episodes (pulse-pounding music during the action bits, a cheesy song during the romantic scenes). There is padding and there is melodrama and romance, but generally this is watchable, exciting fare. The director makes the most of his star's matinee idol looks and there are so many twists that you quickly lose count of them amid the mayhem. Think of a Korean version of 24 or SPOOKS and you'll be close, but IRIS is very much a product of its own nation and as such has a voice all its own.