IRIS 아이리스 comes in as the eighteenth drama seen, but without a doubt one of my all-time favorites. It was already named one of the most highly anticipated dramas at the time it was airing. After checking the cast, I realized IRIS would become the fourth drama I've watched with Kim Tae Hee in the main cast. I followed up with reading a quick synopsis on the drama and was immediately captivated. Kim Tae Hee was taking a secret agent role in an action, thriller drama. Midway through watching drama, I realized why the main male lead, Lee Byung Hun, looked familiar. I realized he was 'that Asian guy' who played Storm Shadow in the Hollywood film G.I. Joe. It just simply made IRIS even more cool to watch.
Kim Hyunjoon (Lee Byung Hun) and Jin Sawoo (Jung Joon Ho) are Special Forces soldiers under the South Korean army's 707th Special Mission Battalion. Both of these best friends cross paths with Choi Seunghee (Kim Tae Hee). Hyunjoon meets Seunghee at his college, where she embarrasses him during a lecture. However, she soon disappears. Later, Sawoo also meets Seunghee while meeting with an old hometown friend, Park Sanghyun. Both Hyunjoon and Sawoo both fall in love with Seung Hee at first sight. Both tell the other that they met the woman of their dreams, although they do not realize they're both referring to the same woman. In a short while, both Hyunjoon and Sawoo are escorted from their military base to a secret compound during the night. They both find out they were brought into a secret black ops organization known as the National Security Service (NSS). The NSS, lead by Deputy Director Baek San, is in charge of preemptively identifying any foreign threats to the South Korean national security. It is revealed that Seunghee is an NSS analyst and Team Leader, second in command to Sanghyun who is the Chief Director. Hyunjoon and Sawoo quickly get adjusted to being NSS agents. Hyunjoon, Sawoo and Seunghee receive a mission to go to Hungary to find and move a scientist named Hong Seungryong, a defector from North Korea seeking refuge, who is involved with their nuclear arms program. Two North Korean agents, Park Chulyoung (Kim Seung Woo) and Kim Sunhwa (Kim So Yeon) are both after him. There's also a mysterious assassin named Vick (T.O.P) who is also after Hong Seungryong. However, all their lives are changed forever when Hyunjoon is given a solo mission and is ultimately left to die on his own. After barely escaping, Hyunjoon tries to find out who set him up and ordered his death. He begins to discover a greater conspiracy linked to his past and uncovering the mysterious and powerful organization known as IRIS.
I really liked Lee Byung Hun's character the most. Kim Hyunjoon is a friendly character with a gentle and fun personality but an absolute badass when it came to bringing justice to those that hurt the people closest to him. Hyunjoon's character evolves greatly after the NSS betrays him. I have to give credit to Lee Byung Hun for fully capturing Hyunjoon's emotions in every scene. The best example is during the scene where Hyunjoon is fighting Vick. After finally finding Vick, Hyunjoon lets loose his rage and pummels Vick. I seriously got chills down my spine from watching that scene. Granted, I knew it was just acting but at some point I couldn't remember that because of how realistic it looked. I was really impressed with the other action sequences. It turns out that a large number of cast members attended a specialized weapons and combat training to prepare them for their roles. In fact, the actors were responsible for most of their action scenes. Hearing that, made me have even more respect for all the actors. Of course it's also difficult to discuss about IRIS without mentioning the infamous candy kiss between Hyunjoon and Seunghee. While on vacation in Akita, Seunghee was expecting to receive candy from Hyunjoon for White Day (Korean Valentine's Day). However, Hyunjoon did not have any, even joking about how childish she was. When he notices that she looks disappointed, he leaves the restaurant for awhile. Seunghee steps outside and sees Hyunjoon return emptyhanded. That's when Hyunjoon grabs her, pulling her towards him for a kiss and passing candy to her from mouth to mouth. This had to be one of the most unique scenes I've ever seen. It even made me wonder why didn't anyone come up with this idea before.
IRIS's soundtrack is beyond phenomenal whether the song is the familiar instrumental from an action sequence or the ballad tracks. Baek Ji Young's "Do Not Forget 잊지 말아요" is a ballad track during Hyunjoon and Seunghee's scenes. "Hallelujah" is a hip hop track sung by Big Bang's G-Dragon, T.O.P and Taeyang. Also, look for the two instrumental tracks "Mission of Destiny" and "Main Theme". Both of these instrumentals are usually heard during the chase scenes.
The ending to IRIS absolutely baffled me. Many people felt confused and was not sure how to react to the end. The only comfort I got was finding out soon that there would be a sequel and that an explanation to the ending of IRIS would be explained. As with most sequels, hopefully there will not be any issues with having most of the original cast return for the sequel. Although G.I. Joe was not one of my favorite Hollywood movies, I was highly impressed with Lee Byung Hun's acting. As I continued to watch his acting in IRIS, I realized just how much more comfortable Lee Byung Hun was in acting in his native Korean setting. Kim Tae Hee's acting was as fantastic as I had expected. She looks extremely attractive in secret agent attire. Of all the dramas I've seen her in, I think she's had the best chemistry with Lee Byung Hun. Both Kim Tae Hee and Lee Byung Hun took home many awards during the 2009 KBS Drama Awards for IRIS, further solidifying their talent. I expect the sequel IRIS2 to be equally as amazing. There are times that I forgot that IRIS was a Korean drama because it felt like a typical Hollywood action blockbuster. If it isn't obvious enough, I highly recommend that everyone watch IRIS.
