The Netflix platform unveiled this Friday, September 17 “Squid Game”, its brand new Korean original production. Both a social thriller and a bloodthirsty “Battle Royale” game, what did we think of the series?
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
Tempted by a tempting prize in case of victory, hundreds of penniless players agree to compete in children’s games with deadly stakes.
Squid Game, created by Hwang Dong-hyeok (eight episodes) – Available on Netflix
WHO IS IT WITH?
It is Lee Jung-jae who lends his features to Ki-hoon, the main character of Squid Game; Known for his role in the political series Chief of Staff, the latter has also appeared in theaters in numerous films, such as The Housemaid and Memories of War.
The rest of the cast is not left out: we find in particular Park Hae-soo, recently seen in the film The Hunt and soon in the cast of the Korean remake of La Casa de Papel in the role of Berlin. At her side, the experienced Oh Young-Soo (Spring, summer, autumn, winter and spring) or the model HoYeon Jung who makes her debut as an actress here in the role of a North Korean immigrant who fights for its survival.
WELL WORTH A LOOK ?
There is in Squid Game all the elements of a successful series: an original concept, a breathtaking plot, deep and complex characters and a production that matches the ambitions of the program. For a more than satisfactory result, suggesting for this new Korean production a great success on Netflix.
Far from resting on the sole originality of its concept, Squid Game fascinates thanks in particular to a plot driven drastically, a rhythm that is sometimes too sustained but which leaves no dead time. We never get bored and it is even with total pleasure that we let ourselves be carried away by this story which plays on the two tables of mystery and suspense.
The best idea of this series is not to show how participants in a bloodthirsty game will try to escape: it’s even the opposite, since the protagonists manage to interrupt the game from the first episode. ! Only, their respective situations will lead them one after the other to reconsider their choice to give a chance to this series of six events supposed to erase their abyssal debts.
Netflix
A long-term project
Game in every sense of the word, Squid Game is also a series that does not hesitate to shock. Without ever falling into excess of gore, the nine episodes surprise with their cold and unexpected scenes of violence. But if cruelty is obviously part of the game offered by this strange company, it is above all the idea of survival in an implacable society which acts as a common narrative thread in the program.
Showing total mastery in the construction of his story, Squid Game fully meets its challenge of addictive entertainment coupled with social satire. It must be said that the project does not date from yesterday, since its creator Hwang Dong-hyeok (director of the films The Fortress and Miss Granny) began to write it in 2008. At the time, no studio had wanted invest in such a dark and complex story unfortunately …
With only eight episodes on the clock, the series already seems to be a big hit on Netflix. Now see if the expected enthusiasm will be enough to convince the platform to order a second season from its new Korean nugget!
