Waste of time

the audience applauded

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Too much drama, too much whimpering, too many close-ups, too many tiring zoom-in, too many onion tears, too many sad love songs, lame directing and acting, too long. So disappointing. Some real good actors though but the show is not up the expectations...

This has the same issue as every Korean television shows and movies - terrible writing. Fire your writers, get better writers.Doesn't matter what you do from beginning to middle - if the ending is horrible, the entire movie or television show is horrible.Learn to write good stories Korea.

After a few months even I'm crying after the time wasted to see this stuff. A mixture of (what?): body lotion, scented hair gel, some uranium, french perfumes, goulash, absurd stunts, syrupy kisses, whatever. Strong cut scenes (being imperfect anyway), lustrous actors, the feeling that they come from marketplace at their headquarter, fashion parade at the end of the series , unbelievable acts, a Kim Tae-he looking towards nowhere in many crucial points. What? A nuclear attempt? With the most unbelievable pretext? What a joke! All the series seems a huge, monumental joke; of bad taste. The actor Lee Byung-Hun is blank as always. For me, he never rises to convey an extraordinary state of life. Only the actor Jeong Jun-Ho saved a bit this messed movie. And actress Kim So-Yeon, yep, she really performed OK. I have all my respect for art and the work in movies but we are here, this years 2000 plus and this movie has not a valid message.

SPOILERS AHEAD!"Iris" is Korean TV show that aired back in 2009. It's your basic Korean melodramatic TV series format, only it's infused with a significant amount of action & intrigue.I think the idea behind this series, to put it bluntly, was to get some guys who like action/spy flicks to tune into a genre that is almost exclusively geared to attracting female viewers by nature. Judging by the show's super high nationwide ratings (nearly 40% of all Korean TV viewers were watching this show by the time it wrapped up), I'd say the producers accomplished their goal and then some. Iris was a massive success by KTV standards that soon spawned a spin-off show, a movie, talks of a second season (which only rarely happens in this medium), etc…Viewers loved it immediately (as did I), and it's easy to see why; it's often a riveting television series that is awfully hard to look away from!The closest comparison to this show is probably the American TV series "24"…I think that's a somewhat fair comparison, but it would be a disservice to both "Iris" & "24" to say they are too similar to one another to just lump together…there's plenty of room in the world for both. I actually liken "Iris" to more of feature length film though…albeit, a film that just keeps on going & going. Production values are through the roof; various exotic locales, terrific cinematography, blazing gunfights and action scenes…they spared no expense here (for a TV series), and it definitely shows on screen.What cannot be overlooked is this show is, at its core, a soap opera…It's a high octane soap opera indeed, but a soap opera nonetheless. I've seen a ton of Korean melodrama series over the years…some I adored, some made me groan in faux agony, and everywhere in between…but, I've never seen one quite like this show. It tries to have the best of both worlds, and it succeeds in doing so quite well overall during its run time.Here's your story: Two marines who are friends get recruited by the NSS (which is pretty much the South Korean equivalent of the U.S. CIA/NSA). While there, they meet the primary love interest who is their sub section chief responsible for training them. The 2 friends quickly take to their new jobs as secret agents, and are soon deployed in the field. Things start to go wrong when they are sent on an important mission though, and the 2 friends discover they are mere pawns to be used or sacrificed as needed.The NIS is primarily engaged with dealing with their North Korean counterparts, but, it soon becomes apparent there is a shadow organization at work behind the scenes known as Iris…the goal of Iris is too pretty much pit the 2 Koreas (and other nations) against each other, so they can profit and rise to world power.After the botched mission by the 2 friends/leads, this show basically boils down to a matter of slowly uncovering what everybody's motives are, who's working for whom, who's ultimately good and who's ultimately evil, etc…Along the way, there's your main love interest storyline, the main friendship storyline, people being good and people being evil, characters reconciling with themselves and others over time in regards to what they believe is right and wrong, etc…(all of which are familiar Korean melodramatic hallmarks).What's not to like about this show?...Not a whole lot to be honest! It is very entertaining and highly addictive. Could have been a bit shorter, and, casting TOP was a bit of a misstep in my opinion (sorry ladies); he simply does not make for an imposing bad guy. The rest of the cast is really good in their roles (led by Lee Byung Hun, the primary lead actor, who is just awesome). I would also like to note that I've always loved the fact that there seems to be no clear delineation between "movie star" and "TV actor" in Korean productions…major actors and actresses go back and forth between the 2 mediums seemingly at will, and that makes for some terrific performances when you might be inclined to expect less since "you're just watching a television show".Highly watchable…whether it be for the typical melodrama & intrigue inherent to this KTV genre, or for the electrifying gun battles in the rush hour streets of downtown Seoul, or for the story & performances, or for just about anything and everywhere in between.Bottom Line: 8 out of 10 stars!…Very Well Recommended!