A drama remake many fans have been patiently waiting for, Criminals Minds is the newest edition to remakes TvN has produced. But is it as good as the original and with Lee Joon Gi finally playing a modern role, what’s in store for him?
All right, so Criminal Minds is an extremely long-running crime show from America and when news broke out that there would be a Korean adaption with Moon Chae Won and Lee Joon Gi headlining it, many international fans marked its premiere on their calendars. As a fan of the original series (although I gave up by season 7 or 8) I was ecstatic to hear that one of my all-time favourite shows would become a K-drama.
It’s about a special task force team made up of six members that profiles prolific criminals or daunting crimes, ranging from narcotics to serial killers, terrorists and kidnappings. Each member has a reason for being there and undergoes changes with their encounters with each other and the criminals they chase.
But here’s the problem – it tries to emulate the original American series a little too much for my liking from the way it’s setting all the crimes, down to the editing and pace. I’ve grown accustomed and attached to the format and genre of suspense and crime thrillers being produced recently so this sudden ‘stripping’ of what makes a K-drama essentially a ‘Korean drama’ seems to dwindle down to an exact replica of an American show.
For once…I wouldn’t mind more melodrama. I can’t believe I said it.
What I’m trying to say, is that there’s not much depth or even time during each member’s scene for me to be invested enough into the characters – Lee Goon Ji seeming to be the scene stealer in the show, but once he’s out of the picture, it fizzles down to some pretty dry material.
I gave the first episode a shot but felt very confused from the beginning since the scenes were fairly choppy and all over the place whereas the American version seemed to have a lot more fluidity and slower pace in delivering each moment. Hopefully, later episodes establish the story more and get things rolling by the 4th episode.
I honestly didn’t expect to be this pessimistic about this remake since I enjoyed the original source material and loved the casting, but with a producer literally walking away when the show just started and TvN’s high expectations for this, I’m not so sure the future is looking bright.
My only parting thought is, “why didn’t they get the writers and director of The Good Wife remake to handle this?” Now that was a Korean remake that outdid itself. Or better yet, why didn’t OCN produce this?
Release Date: July 26, 2017 tvN
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Lady Jaye
I loved the original Criminal Minds (although I also stopped watching at abt season 7/8).I'm sorry to hear that this isn't living up to expectations. I was planning on watching when I get some free time
Debra.J
I'm sad about it too! I'm hoping the show might get better and they'll be more positive feedback, but it was a struggle to get through the first episode so I've backed off from watching this. TvN could have made it an epic remake but sadly it didn't live up to the high expectations viewers, including myself, had.