To be honest, this movie wasn’t even on my radar, even though it’s already been out for more than a year.

When I saw the cast list on this, though – Park Sung Woong! Uhm Jung Hwa! Lee Sang Yoon! 🤩 – I knew I wanted to check it out, even though plane hijackings aren’t my usual kind of thing.

And whaddya know, this one turned out to be a pretty fun ride – with the right lens, which I’ll talk about in just a bit.

Psst: Links to watch are at the end of the review!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

One day, Mi Young and her husband Seok Hwan (Uhm Jung Hwa and Park Sung Woong) win a family trip to Hawaii, and are super excited to take their daughter on the trip of their lives.

However, things don’t quite go as planned, when their flight is hijacked by terrorists, who are after a secret agent with the code name Magnolia.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are a couple of things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. Show’s more of a comedy than anything else.

So, don’t expect a serious kind of spy movie, is what I’m trying to say.

2. Show’s sense of humor leans broad.

And, there are also a few spots of toilet humor thrown in, for good measure. It’s all good though, as long as you’re ready to roll with hit.

3. Stretches in logic are par for the course.

In a story world like this, where campy is the predominant tone, it’s best to expect and embrace stretches in logic, rather than question them.

4. Show’s got heart.

Beyond all the silly, Show’s got heart, and I feel like that’s the thing that grounds this story for me.

STUFF I LIKED

1. Our lead pair, Mi Young and Seok Hwan.

Uhm Jung Hwa and Park Sung Woong are pitch perfect as our central couple, and I found myself enjoying them very much, pretty much regardless of what they were doing.

Sure, Park Sung Woong gets a little too shouty in spots, but since it’s mostly in service of him being protective of his wife &/or being jealous over her, I’m willing to close one eye – and one ear! – to the shouty, heh.

2. Jung Soo Bin as Na Ri.

Jung Soo Bin is such a cutie-pie, that I had to give her a mention.

I loved the idea that Na Ri’s a little natural badass, so much so that when we are introduced to her, [MINOR SPOILER] she’s just gotten into trouble for hitting a boy, because he’d been mean to her. [END SPOILER]

Mostly, I just loved her coz she’s so cute. 😍

3. Lee Sang Yoon as Chul Seung

I have a big ol’ soft spot for Lee Sang Yoon, particularly when he’s playing the clean-cut wholesome boy-next-door type, like in Life Is Beautiful and My Daughter Seo Young.

Despite that being my preferred variation of Lee Sang Yoon, I couldn’t turn down a chance to see angsty, broody, glowering Lee Sang Yoon.

And we do get a whole lot of angsty broody Lee Sang Yoon in this show, like so:

4. The twists and turns.

Show’s got a nice number of twists and turns up its sleeves, and I’m happy to report that I was genuinely taken by surprise, most of the time.

But again, I’m pretty much a noob at this type of stories, so maybe take that with a pinch of salt. 😅

5. So many familiar faces!

If you’ve been around Dramaland for a while, it ought to be fun for you, to play spot-that-face, coz there are many familiar faces dotting our story.

One of my favorites is Kim Nam Gil’s cameo – see if you manage to spot him!

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

Based on the trailer, I’d gotten the idea that Mi Young’s got some hidden skills, but it was still a nice little twist, when Show reveals that she is, in fact, Magnolia, the hidden agent that the terrorists are after.

It was pretty great seeing Mi Young get all kickass and take-charge, with her dormant fight skillz on full display.

An even better twist, which I hadn’t been expecting, is that Seok Hwan’s in fact an ex-NIS agent himself, HA.

I definitely hadn’t seen that coming!

That scene, where Mi Young and Seok Hwan are tied up, and get all teary-eyed as they finally talk about the secrets between them, was surprisingly poignant.

Another surprise I hadn’t seen coming, was Chul Seung’s comrades turning on him, which lands him all tied up, next to Mi Young and Seok Hwan, right smack in the middle of their heart-to-heart talk.

Pfft. But of course, right?

I kinda love that this results in yet another heart-to-heart talk, this time between Mi Young and Chul Seung, where they finally clear up the misunderstanding from so long ago, when she’d shot him in the chest, thinking that he was going to betray her.

The final twist, which I totally hadn’t seen coming, was the fact that the older Ahjusshi (Park Ji Il), to whom Seok Hwan had entrusted Na Ri, is actually an agent himself. Gah. That was pretty great, actually.

And the reveal, that the bomb that Ahjusshi had been talking about, had actually been the teddy bear, was also quite a surprise to me.

I have to admit, I kinda loved all these surprises, which Show serves up in pretty quick succession, as we get into the final stretch.

The way Mi Young tosses that teddy bomb out of the plane, and pushes Ahjusshi after it (all suited up with his parachute gear, so it’s not like he’s unprotected), is pretty great.

What a neat way to save everyone from the bomb, since it detonates in mid-air, outside the plane!

Also, what a fun little reveal, that the agent that the NIS kept talking about, being on board the flight, turned out to be Sleepy Dude (Kim Nam Gil), who’d knocked himself out with sleeping pills upon boarding, and who’d therefore managed to sleep through the entire hijacking.

HAHA. I am inordinately amused by this, particularly because they managed to cast Kim Nam Gil for this.

He’s picture perfect as an NIS agent – too bad this NIS agent slept through everything! 😂

I’m glad that Mi Young, Seok Hwan and Na Ri finally do get to enjoy their Hawaiian vacation, in the end – though Show can’t resist serving one last twist: that this was never a prize, and that Seok Hwan had saved up for 10 years, for this.

Aw. Mi Young gets all upset at the expense, but it’s a sweet gesture for sure.

All in all, I’d say that this worked out to be a pretty rollicking good time, and a very decent spend of 1 hour and 40 minutes of my drama hours. 😁

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Pretty good for a spot of silly fun.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

WHERE TO WATCH:

You can check out this show on OnDemandChina, Viki, Tubi and AppleTV.

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