Vincenzo
(2021)
Grade:
C-
20 Episodes, 80 minutes each
Viewing Platform: Netflix
Vincenzo Cassano, a former South Korean
native, is a member of the Italian Mafia. His mother put him into
foster care as a child, and a nice Italian couple adopted him – but
it wasn't enough to protect him from the darker side of life.
Vincenzo's education instead included the most creative ways to
manipulate, murder, and even massacre one's enemies, all while sparing any "innocents" and staying one step ahead of the law. But one
day Vincenzo's duties as a “concigliere” take him back to his
homeland, in order to recover billions of dollars worth of gold
hidden under a building set for redevelopment. What happens when this
puts the hotheaded, ethically questionable lawyer Hong Cha-young in
his path? Will she shy away from Vincenzo's morally murky methods, or will she embrace his help once her father is brutally murdered by the powerful Babel
Group conglomerate? And will the team stand a chance against Babel Group's
psychopathic chairman as he finally steps out from the shadows?
*Extremely violent, dark, and gory
throughout. The ending for the two biggest villains is particularly
disturbing (one involves fire, one involves a slow drill). There is
also only about 1% of romance in the entire production. The show does
have its moments where it is reminiscent of fun heist movies such as
“Ocean's 11,” with different players coming across as traitors or
double agents – but it grows tiresome since there are so many
episodes. Very good production quality, soundtrack, etc., but
violence and vengeance are not my cup of tea. I also don't care for
the modern trope of morally gray characters; it makes it a lot harder
to root for the good guys when they really aren't much better than
the bad guys. I definitely won't watch this again and I don't
recommend it for the traditional Kdrama fans like myself.*
