A Killer Paradox Review: Netflix K-Drama Little by Little, Between Twists and Continuous Revelations
Cast: Choi Woo-shik, Son Suk-ku, Lee Hee-jun
Created By: Lee Chang-hee, Kim Da-min
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
A Killer Paradox by Lee Chang-hee is the new Netflix thriller series now streaming on Netflix, written by Kim Da-min and based on Kkomabi’s webtoon A Killer Paradox. Starting to watch this latest Korean TV series that has landed on Netflix, you might wonder if you are faced with Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece and winner of the Oscar for best film at the 2020 Academy Awards. This is because A Killer Also Paradox opens with actor Choi Woo-Shik as a bored, hopeless young man chatting with his sister within the four walls of their humble family home. However, even if the similarities with the work of the South Korean director do not end here, the show – an adaptation of the acclaimed webtoon Naver by Kkomabi – immediately takes a different turn: we see, in fact, our protagonist, first in a panic for having accidentally murdered a man, then slowly becomes convinced that he is, in fact, some sort of vigilante destined to clean up society.
As we will see in our review of A Killer Paradox, the show directed by Lee Chang-hee begins as a thriller but, slowly, between twists and continuous revelations, it takes on another form, halfway between a grotesque story of avengers and a tale with a supernatural aura, while trying to stimulate a complex moral dilemma in the viewer: when is it right to kill?
A Killer Paradox Review: The Story Plot
Lee Tang (Choi Woo-shik) is an indolent college student with no prospects, deeply bored by a life that never seems to have anything interesting in store for him. In order not to burden the already miserable family economy, he lives alone in a squalid apartment which he maintains through a part-time job at a convenience store in the city. And it is precisely here, one evening, that his very monotonous existence takes an unexpected turn: after having left the night shift he runs into a customer he met a few hours earlier in the shop who, drunk, starts putting his hands on him. Mindful of the many years of harassment suffered by high school bullies, Tang reacts instinctively, taking a hammer from his bag that he had borrowed from the convenience store to hang a painting in his house.
The man falls to the ground, dead, and the boy, returning to his apartment, waits for justice to fall inexorably upon him. This, however, does not happen only, due to a series of fortunate circumstances, there is no evidence against him but it even emerges that the man he murdered was in reality a multiple murderer under a false identity. The matter would seem to be over until an inconvenient witness comes to light, dragging Tang into a spiral of brutal murders. With two constants: her shameless misfortune in never being placed at the crime scene and the fact that all those whose lives she took were, without her knowledge, dangerous criminals. Tang thus begins to think of himself as a sort of avenger with special abilities but Detective Jang Nan-gam, who does not believe in do-it-yourself justice, is intent on finding out who is behind all these sudden deaths.
A Killer Paradox Review and Analysis
A Killer Paradox is a series that offers tasty visual entertainment for the first four episodes. With a vaguely vintage directorial style between zooms, slap pans, and visionary inserts, the thriller has an almost Andersonian scent. Even the editing plays with the language, brazen and bold, of unlikely narrative plans that combine to the delight of the audience. And the editing remains a constant quality throughout the series. Choi Min-sik reveals himself to be completely at ease in this role where he combines his innocence with a much more aggressive, but emotionally wavering side. The character of Son Suk-ku, here suspicious and addicted to chewing gum, seems to be the only one not to be convinced and continues to break new ground, always hot on the heels of an unaware Lee Tang, who still thinks he is the worst enemy of himself. The story undergoes an interesting evolution, the roles almost reverse, but clearly not without an epic and grotesque alternative.
However, in the second half, violence is injected in massive doses and the story of the clumsy man told with irreverent language takes a completely different turn: with this twist in the screenplay, the light-heartedness of the beginning is lost a little. A Killer Paradox becomes a crueler thriller, which seals the end of the awkward and light-hearted delirium of the first portion. And to affirm the fallibility of the human being, the last episode turns out to be a film in itself. With an ending of inevitable banality, to kick off any possible second season. For that hunger for justice to be satisfied, the unfortunate person who stumbled upon a “divine” plan becomes the idol of revenge, the lucky executioner who also compromises with feelings of guilt, because it seems that he isn’t so guilty after all.
Nothing new under the sun of the Land of Calm Morning: this is a great classic among the themes of Korean cinematography, where creative games on the thin line that separates justice and guilt have given us epic works of art. Yet, the transposition of Kkomabi’s webtoon arrives late on another product that traces the same story of a Dark Knight of questionable correctness. As was the case with Disney’s Vigilante, Netflix has also created its shadow fighter, even if Choi Woo-sik’s ironic-grotesque solution is much clumsier than the handsome policeman played by Nam Joo-hyuk. It’s hard not to compare the two productions, released a few months apart, which evolve in the same direction. The two vigilantes (the one who works within the confines of the system, and the one who moves outside) join forces to fight a third enemy that is only defined in the second half of the series. And, for this reason, it is difficult not to see the limits of the Netflix series, which began with a courageous and out-of-the-line directorial proposal, trivialized by the need to fill the last episodes with acrid stuffing.
“Do you console yourself because you killed a murderer?” this is what the bloody corpse of Tang’s first victim asks in one of the boy’s many waking nightmares and, ultimately, it is somewhat of the leading question of the show. As we have already mentioned, through the investigative investigations of detective Jang Nan-gam and the numerous flashbacks with which the series is dotted, we discover that the people killed (at first unintentionally and then increasingly on purpose) by our protagonist were all hiding a criminal past. This inevitably leads to the impossibility of feeling even pity for the victims – who, in reality, were executioners – and sympathizing in some way with the actions of the protagonist, who gradually takes on the contours of a sort of vigilante.
What kind of avenger are we talking about, though? Or rather, what are the motivations that push him to action? As we proceed with the narrative, Tang’s true nature emerges, which takes him from being that shy and helpless student of the very first episodes to the cold calculator with delusions of almost omnipotence. So does killing represent a way to obtain justice, offering a sort of service to humanity, or is it simply an excuse to give vent to one’s innermost violent instincts? The border is blurred. The beauty of A Killer Paradox, as well as in the succession of twists that lead to a constant growth of tension, also and above all lies in its rendering of the images. Our protagonist appears tormented by the ghosts of his victims, a manifestation of his sense of guilt and the voice of those thoughts that he tries in every way to silence to justify his actions. In Tang’s hallucinations and waking nightmares transposed onto the screen, we see all its derivation from the original webtoon, a trick capable of giving extreme dynamism to the narrative and giving life to a real visual feast, albeit often brutal.
A Killer Paradox Review: The Last Words
A Killer Paradox begins as a thriller but, little by little, between twists and continuous revelations, it takes on another form, halfway between a grotesque story of avengers and a story with a supernatural aura, while trying to stimulate in the viewer a complex moral dilemma: when is it right to kill?
A Killer Paradox Review: Netflix K-Drama Little by Little, Between Twists and Continuous Revelations - Filmyhype
Director: Lee Chang-hee, Kim Da-min
Date Created: 2024-02-10 17:16
4
Pros
- Unique premise: The show's blend of dark comedy, mystery, and thriller keeps viewers engaged with its unpredictable twists and turns.
- Compelling characters: The lead characters, particularly the protagonist and the detective, are well-developed and portray their emotions convincingly.
- Intense and exciting: The series features action-packed scenes and suspenseful moments that keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
- Visually appealing: The cinematography, especially the long one-take shots, adds to the show's aesthetic appeal.
Cons
- Uneven pacing: Some viewers criticize the middle episodes for dragging and lacking in momentum.
- Predictable elements: While praised for its twists, some find certain plot points predictable.
- Ethical ambiguity: The protagonist's actions raise complex questions about justice, vengeance, and the nature of good and evil, which might not be comfortable for everyone.
