I’m getting so pumped for Iron Man (Blade Man) which premieres tomorrow on KBS. Once in a blue moon does a drama come along this over-the-top in concept. It requires hand-rubbing glee to welcome its arrival rather than indifferent waiting. I still think it looks like a hot mess in the making from the previews and stills but occasionally even a hot mess can be so fully formed in its wackiness that it ends up entertaining. Lee Dong Wook continues his hard working streak and will likely earn his paycheck for this drama (and more) by playing a rage-filled chaebol heir who sprouts physical knives from his back and arms as a manifestation of his emotional trauma. Shin Se Kyung displays more life in the IM previews than she did in all of When a Man Loves, this time she plays the embodiment of all that is sweet and kind in a girl who struggles to makes do but doesn’t shy away from helping others. She will be the catalyst to heal Lee Dong Wook’s emotional pain and hopefully end his supernatural knife powers.

In the preview she appears to take in a little boy who is connected to Lee Dong Wook in some way, and also ends up working for him. I hope the set up episode(s) does a convincing job of laying out the narrative tableau so that the over-the-top elements are believable within the confines of this story. Veteran actors Kim Gab Soo as the bad daddy and Lee Mi Sook as the housekeeper add some acting gravitas to the proceedings since Lee Dong Wook is already over-acting like someone lit a fire behind him whereas Shin Se Kyung breaks from her typical expressionless facial repertoire to toss in animated expressions that are supposed to be aegyo cute but instead come across as laughably posed. It’s nice to see the supernatural knives in the drama won’t be CGI but is instead part of a suit that Lee Dong Wook wears underneath his character’s regular clothes as seen from the BTS stills above where he is filming the building climbing scene. Less CGI means less silly looking graphics and more time to just soak in whatever the drama tosses our way in terms of character conflict and angst. Bring it on, Iron Man! Continue reading →