Punch Review (2015)

Drama Rating: *****
Personal Rating: All time favourite!!

Story:
Prosecutor Park Jung Hwan spent the last several years of his career helping Prosecutor General Lee Tae Joon get to his current position and was poised to rise even higher in the ranks when he unexpectedly gets the news that he has less than 6 months to live due to a brain tumor. What choices will he make in the short time he has left?

*Spoiler warning*

Plot/Script:
Screenwriting: A

I'm a bit antsy when a thriller comes along as they usually come in two varieties.  One type starts off with a promising storyline but starts unravelling toward the end (either under the weight of the plot complexity a la City Hunter or Black & White or through a disappointing ending a la Sign).  The other type manages to unwind the plot complexities in a realistic but thrilling manner and leaves you quite satisfied (with Ghost and Three Days both falling in this category).  Punch, being part of the latter group, blows both of those dramas out of the park with a roller-coaster ride of a drama that keeps you completely hooked until the end.

Characters:
Kim Rae Won as Park Jung Hwan: B+ (strong performance but didn't truly feel like he was atoning for his past)
Kim Ah Joong as Shin Ha Kyung: B+
Jo Jae Hyun as Lee Tae Joon: A
Choi Myung Gil as Yoon Ji Sook: A
Park Hyuk Kwan as Jo Kang Jae: A+

Park Jung Hwan & Shin Ha Kyung chemistry: B+
Park Jung Hwan & Lee Tae Joon chemistry: A+
Overall cast chemistry: A

One of the strongest casts I've seen in a long time paired with a bombshell of a script.  Park Jung Hwan's indefatigable character teamed with Shin Ha Kyung's persistence made for a good pairing. However, Joe Jae Hyun and Choi Myung Gil's convincingly powerful characters made for some menacing opponents, keeping the tone fairly dark throughout much of the series. Cast interactions were superb on the whole though.

Music:
OST: A-

The music is intense throughout the entire series keeping the excitement and thrill alive and kicking from start to finish.

Verdict:
Solid acting by the entire cast even if the story was more intensely plot-driven than character-driven. Choi Myung Gil best portrayed the evolution of her character while Jo Jae Hyun kept us all delightfully entertained with his colorful conversation. Sequences between Kim Rae Won and Jo Jae Hyun were particularly memorable as their characters dealt with their changing circumstances throughout the drama .