Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo are as Pretty as the Greek Filming Locale for Descendants of the Sun
Descendants of the Sun is off to as good a drama start as any in recent years but whether it’s going to be paradigm shifting remains to be seen. It has prompted mainstream Korean media portals to discuss how pre-producing dramas got a major boost in legitimacy and cost validation, but I think that’s still too early to give it a full green light since DotS was buoyed by top stars, a hit screenwriter, and an unprecedented drama budget of over 10 million US dollars. With that said, there are quite a few pre-produced dramas in the pipeline this year alone to yield a fuller test subject pool.
I’m thoroughly enjoying DotS and find it such an easy drama to watch, the fast-paced story progress paired with standard K-drama emotional interactions delivers the upgraded and more modernized unique appeal of traditional K-dramas. I’m most relieved that leads Song Hye Kyo and Song Joong Ki have good chemistry, it’s not great (yet) but has exceeded my expectation. I think they look better together visually than the chemistry is selling at this point, which works in the drama’s favor because spectacular chemistry off the bat might force the lightning pace of the romance when it should flow with more measured interactions.
This show is definitely fast-paced, love the sceneries and their chemistry is crackling hot!
They are both so pretty. I get amazed by their skin while watching it. SHK doesn’t look like she has too much makeup in a war zone, which is nice to see. Though she still looks perfect because that’s how she is.
it’s still interesting to me that an external influence in form of a Chinese law, managed to turn around the Korean drama industry that fast.
Haha. That’s true. In a way we, and Koreans, need to thank that SAFR or whatever coz it’s the Cause of this big change.
Before you start celebrating the Chinese censorship laws you might want to read this article outlining the newest dictates from SAFR:
“Chinese censors have released new regulations for content that ‘exaggerates the dark side of society’ and now deem homosexuality, extramarital affairs, one night stands and underage relationships as illegal on screen.”
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/04/china-bans-gay-people-television-clampdown-xi-jinping-censorship
Apart from the morally disturbing homophobia exhibited by the Chinese Communist Party, be prepared to say goodbye to any scene in future Kdramas depicting the OTP getting it on before marriage – at least any Kdrama that wants to be sold to the almighty Chinese marked. If you thought Kdramas were already criminally conservative just wait and see.
Yes this wonderful Chinese web drama called Addicted got banned because of this!! It was about gay male teens. Ironically the male leads became instant stars because it got so popular, especially after the ban.
As others have noted, pre-production is great as far as making it better for the actors, work crews and integrity of the story, but it’s a mistake to think they are all going to be a hit because of pre-production. The reality is some stories will fail to find ratings gold due to bad luck or bad writing. The key is the drama still doing well in China which is the basis of doing pre-production in the first place.
I love the Greek scenery in DOTS and the story so far is ok but from the comments I’m reading, most people would have watched the same drama if it had been filmed in Korea because of SJK. He is the #1 reason for the success of this show, and I say this as someone who thinks he is just an okay actor. I’m happy for all who worked hard on the production and it’s nice to know that a drama can still get those great ratings.
i agree the chemistry is still not great which could be a benefit to the push-pull adult romance, whether intentional or not. but i wish SJK could just give some of his intensity to SHK, so that he could tone it down a bit and she can step it up cause at times its jarring. like the kiss scene at the last episode where i guess she was supposed to be playing oblivious but to be wide eye smiling even when he was an inch from his face kind of took away from the moment. sorry to the fans of the scene, i just need to vent my own disappointment. also SJK’s character has a lot more to lose in this relationship but is already all in, while mo yeon is still on her high horse and aloof. i just rewatched ‘Innocent Man’ to get my SJK fix and THAT was great chemistry where moon chae won more than held her own with the smolder and sass. the acting and emotions were much more balanced there.
I consider Song Joong Ki the most talented, not merely an ok actor of his generation. He didn’t impress me much even with his cuteness overload in Sungkyunkwan Scandal. It was Deep Rooted Tree and Nice Guy that caught my attention. In these two latter dramas of which he played a supporting role as the young King in a turmoil political setting and a conflicted character with frustrating love lines with two female leads. Both roles are very complicated characters that entail great caliber to interpret subtle emotions. SJK nailed both roles and made the transitions of emotions naturally convincing while making statements to have impacts on viewers.
We all have different preference for acting styles. For me, overacting is much worse than bland expressions. Imho, many popular hallyu stars, while entertaining to watch and very charismatic on screen, do not exhibit caliber of great acting in all of their projects. I can come up with quite a few these examples right away even I enjoyed watching their dramas. SJK is not in the same league. I see him very disciplined in executing his job as an actor. What he exuded in all his dramas spelled out loud to the audience: I AM AN ACTOR NOT A MERE STAR. Well, a few blog readers may find him just ok or plain. But, I see him following trail of those great veteran actors in K dramaland; you don’t see him as SJK on his journey to be a mature actor; rather, you just forget about SJK but see the person he’s supposed to live out in the drama. I strongly believe the high ratings DotS has been able to garner so far were greatly attributed to this male lead, Song Joong Ki. Here’s a review of DotS that echos what I believe:
http://www.hancinema.net/hancinema-s-drama-review-descendants-of-the-sun-episode-4-92051.html
I like Song Joong Ki and will attempt to watch any drama he’s in. I also like DOTs. But for me personally, he is slightly miscast in this role due to his physical attributes. I just think a special forces guy should be a lot more muscular.
they look great and the visuals a treat! i like DoTS but really a fanatic yet.
Why everytime I see behind of scenes, I feel like both main leads just don’t get along well? they seem stiff, even in the premiere….
Lol
Song Joong Ki could have chemistry with a rock, he’s so magnetic.