POPCORNX Review: VINCENZO 빈센조 (Episodes 1-3) *Spoilers Ahead*

The first three episodes of VINCENZO 빈센조 has aired/broacasted/streamed, and these are my impressions and SPOILER-VIDEO CLIPS thus far...! But first, the trailer!



MAIN CAST:
Song Joong-ki is "Vincenzo Cassano" - An Italian lawyer and Mafia consigliere of Korean descent.
Jeon Yeo-been is "Hong Cha-young" - Lawyer and daughter of lawyer "Hong Yoo-chan".
Ok Taec-yeon is "Jang Jun-woo" - An intern in Woosang Law Firm working under lawyer Hong Cha-young as her personal paralegal/assistant.
Kim Yeo-jin as "Choi Myung-hee" - A prosecutor who quits the prosecution to join Woosang Law Firm as its new Senior Partner.
SUPPORTING:
Yoo Jae-myung as "Hong Yoo-chan" - A lawyer who was the CEO of the Jipuragi Law Firm and chairman of the Development Opposition Committee for Geumga Plaza. He is the father of Hong Cha-young. He believes that justice is above all else and would never compromise his principles.

(All above partially-edited character descriptions via Wiki)

"Vincenzo Cassano" is essentially the straight-guy amidst a gathering of caricatures.

The comedy is borderline character slapstick but reigned in by the surroundings, and that perhaps was what had kept my interest long enough to sustain two episodes, and quite frankly waiting for more - NOT for the comedy, but to see how the uber-suave and cool Vincenzo would be breaking down in subsequent episodes (ok fine, that in itself is comedy gold), unknowingly abandoning his said-suaveness out the window once his tolerance reaches past boiling stage(s), or patience.

Truth be told, I cannot decider the character. One can understandably argue "multi-faceted", but I am trying to come to grips of his motivations (not his "actions") which is revealed in episode one, which is also tied/connected to one of the Key Members in Geumga Plaza and his own past (revealed in Ep2), which you'd immediately think: "Ah, that's that Kdrama drama-plot you expected" - and I loved it.



For an Italian mafia member (who commits acts waaaaay beyond "lawyering"), and in attempting to keep his cool, you can recognise he is fiercely loyal and ruthless when it comes to protecting who he loves, and that it would be his journey to regain his humanity and eventually love the various crackhead-residents in Geumga Plaza ... or maybe not? That opening "building demolition"-scene sets the plot for folks to catch up to.



BONUS: BTS of EPISODE ONE!



Song Joong-Ki is wholly baby-faced as a fish-out-of-water in Italy(settings), and trying to look intimidating in Korea (even having been robbed the moment he stepped foot in his motherland), but his good look charms, swagger, and bare-body (of course fans'll have a good-gawk during the bathroom scene) keeps this series interesting and perhaps even "fresh".

Actress Jeon Yeo-Bin as "Hong Cha-Young" is straight-up slapstick here as a legal eagle, and I certainly hope the much-hyped TaecYeon (member of Kpop group "2PM" ) as "Jang Joon-Woo" will eventually grow into a much more substantial role that a slapstick-sidekick (OMFG). Kim Yeo-Jin as "Jang Joon-Woo" is the final character featured in the individual character posters (featured here), and I am looking forward to see how she will fit into the situation(s).

Yoo Jae-Myung's "Hong Yu-Chan" is the only sane(ish) member of the ensemble and the moral compass thus far ... and I had a very bad feeling he has to go down before Vincenzo gets up... and by the end of Episode Three, alas ...



The sequence might be a story-"spoiler", but it is much more than that - it is all about the actions one takes and chooses, that ultimately leads up to situations and consequences, that are interconnected - sometimes by "business", sometimes by "preconceived history", and sometimes by the unrelenting feeling of "guilt". Underneath the jokes, the blood, the craziness, the industrial cover-ups, lies a none-too-subtle "human relationship" element, that one might overlook, while laughingoutloud, IMHO.

This plot synopsis asianwiki.com quite aptly describes what we see thus far;

"At the age of 8, Park Joo-Hyeong went to Italy after he was adopted. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-Ki). He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha-Young (Jeon Yeo-Bin). She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case. Vincenzo Cassano falls in love with her. He also achieves social justice by his own way."

Produced by Studio Dragon for tvN and Netflix, the first episode launched February 20th, and airs on tvN Saturdays and Sundays at 7pm (time slot previously occupied by "Mr. Queen"), and is scheduled to end April 26, 2021. Watchable in Singapore via netflix.com, with dedicated English subtitles.

The series is directed by Kim Hee-Won (she has previously helmed 2019's "The Crowned Clown"), and is written by Park Jae-Bum ("The Fiery Priest", "Quiz from God", "Good Doctor"), who seems sharp with satire, and this series looks up to be much more than bad guys versus even badder guys, IMHO.

VINCENZO plays like a comedy, with a heavy slant and distinct spirit of a "heist caper", mixed in with familial drama, relationships and a ever-wiggle room for "honor amongst thieves". Yes, it is a mixture of genres, and it all works to a non-threatening confrontation that is actually menacing but for the comedy balancing it all out, IMHO. I am in this for the long haul, and look forward to see how everyone hustling their way out of the hole they have dug for themselves, towards the path of redemption.

As of publishing this blog-feature, I have since watched until Episode 6, and am waiting to devour Eps 7 and 8 after this weekend, and have not altered the contents (since writing it prior), and will attempt to review and even attempt to answer the above featured, when I am able to, because there's plenty more to say about VINCENZO...! LOL

BONUS:


(Additional images via hancinema.net)