We love tenatious and relentless action and "My Name" doesn't disappoint. Every episode was jampacked full of tension, mystery, and amazing fights. While the overall narrative frustratingly had to latch on to industry tropes, the overall beat and swing of "My Name" was just entertaining and relentless from first second to last.
When her father is murdered right in front of her, Ji-woo (Han So-hee) vows to do whatever it takes to find out the identity of the perpetrator and kill this person. But to get there isn't easy. Her father was a member of the Dongcheon - the biggest drug ring in South Korea - and the police are unwilling to help her. Desperate, Ji-woo seeks the help of Choi Mu-jin (Park Hee-soon), the leader of Dongcheon. He accepts her willingness and trains her to become a killer. He also reveals that her father's killer had a cop's gun and she must go undercover as a police officer to find out who this person is.
We've had a few shows that we can easily consider bingeable (or unputdownable) and we could easily classify "My Name" in that category. Director Kim Jin-min had this ability to make each episode end in a a very interesting cliffhanger. It was part writing and part-editting but it's not the kind of ending that frustrates but one that correctly bookmarks the correct episodeand propel its story further to the next episode at the same time. But if you're in doubt if you should give "My Name" a try, you only need to consider two things: it's stupendously great action and the equally great performances from Han So-hee and Park Hee-soon.
First, the action and choreography was on another level especially considering that this is a series and not a big-budgeted movie. This could easily rival any film such as "John Wick" and the production value and quality stays consistently the same in each episode. A huge factor was also its cast and Han So-hee was perfect in her role. Her punches and kicks had the power and follow-through to really look convincingly real. Even knowing that "My Name" was action-focused, the quality of its action was and still is the biggest surprise for us in the whole series.
Second, the acting competed against the already competent action. You have to consider that this isn't an action series only. The characters in "My Name" are nuanced and flawed and Han So-hee in particular was able to deliver a stellar and well-rounded performance as the conflicted Ji-woo. You could really relate and feel her struggle as she tows the line between being a human and being a monster. On the other hand, Park Hee-soon was another surprise. He was able to transform a seemingly evil character into one that we learned to trust and love - much like how Ji-woo was enamored by Choi Mu-jin's power and confidence.
All is not great in "My Name" though and for us, it tried to include unnecessary fluff as part of pleasing expected industry tropes. For example, did Ji-woo really need a love interest? This aspect was haphazardly developed and paced and totally unnecessary in terms of pushing the story forward. The same impact could have been the same if they were only close friends and not lovers. Overall though, "My Name" is another highly-competent K-drama from Netflix and one we recommend especially if you're looking into for some intrigue, entertainment-value and high-quality fights.
Rating: 4 reels
Why you should watch it:
- the action was and still is the buggest surprise and draw for "My Name"
- Han So-hee was a revelation and a bad-ass
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the narrative had to mix in some unnecessary industry tropes
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