THE SHORT VERDICT:
A gritty, penetrating exploration of the systemic issues plaguing the South Korean military, and a compelling, thought-provoking watch in one, Show boasts tight writing, with a laser-sharp focus on the issues at hand.
It never feels like Show loses its footing or its priorities, even once. The spots of levity are there to provide relief, but they don’t detract from the main narrative. There is hazing, bullying and other violence, and that can be hard to watch, but it never feels gratuitous, in the way it’s showcased.
The performances from our cast are all-around excellent, with our key characters rendering nuanced, raw, dig-deep deliveries that I found pitch perfect and quite haunting even, in some cases.
In particular, I think Jung Hae In is wonderfully, poignantly engaging, as our protagonist, from whose point of view we understand our story.
A small little package that packs a big punch – and you don’t even need a special interest in the military, to be engaged with this one.