Bad Guys Review (2014)

Drama Rating: ***
Personal Rating: Loved it!

Story:
Team lead Oh Goo Tak is given a chance by the Police Commissioner to form a team composed of convicted criminals to help the police force catch other nefarious criminals.  Will this odd arrangement work out or will it lead to further problems?

*Spoiler warning*

Plot/Script:
Screenwriting: B-

The overall story arch linking all the characters in the series together was reasonably well planned and pieced together. Individual episode plot execution was good but all throughout, I couldn't quite get past the fundamental premise of the drama. The formation of this criminal 'police' team was interesting though highly questionable and I had a hard time with the concept even in a TV universe (given the can of worms such a scenario raises and the consequences which were hardly addressed to any satisfaction in the drama).

Characters:
Kim Sang Joong as Oh Goo Tak: B-
Ma Dong Seok as Park Ung Cheol: C (Only because his character wasn't overly difficult to pull off)
Park Hae Jin as Lee Jeong Moon: B-
Jo Dong Hyuk as Jung Tae Su: B
Kang Ye Won as Yu Mi Young: C-

Cast chemistry: B-

There were a lot of subtleties in playing several of these characters and the cast generally did admirably well. The three convicts were probably the best and most convincing characters in the lot as Oh Goo Tak has a penchant for overacting (though acceptable). Their chemistry with each other wasn't bad and perhaps was what kept the series interesting.  Kang Ye Won underperformed as Inspector Yu Mi Young as she really seemed too naive for her role considering her supposed ambition.

Music:
OST: A-  (Very suitable, though sometimes too simple, instrumental soundtrack)

Verdict:
Of the police dramas I've seen, this one had the most interesting premise of using convicted criminals to form a special investigations unit. While the idea was novel, the explanation and reasoning in the drama to address the issue was inadequate. This undermined the whole series since the plot was loosely dependent on addressing this issue as well. Acting-wise, the criminal trio probably did the best with their roles while the others left something of a gap.