Mad Dog – Full Review
Welcome to Mad Dog – Full Review. A team of private insurance investigators takes on a major corporation to expose their crimes. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
Mad Dog
♥ Aired: October 11, 2017 – November 30, 2017
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Viki
♥Genre: Crime Action Drama
♥Starring: Yoo Ji Tae and Woo Do Hwan
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The Story
Welcome to my Mad Dog – Full Review. After his wife and son are killed in a plane crash, an insurance investigator forms his own private investigation company called Mad Dog. When the brother of the pilot who was responsible for the crash tries to take over his business, he vows to get his revenge. But as they try to find the truth of what really happened that day, it seems like there is much more to the story than anyone has been told.
The Leads
Yoo Ji Tae as Choi Kang Woo (Mad Dog)
Choi Kang Woo was an insurance investigator for Taeyang Insurance who was also a happy husband, and proud father until a plane crash killed his family. Leaving the company, he struck out on his own to build a private investigation business. Now he is the leader of a team of social misfits with a talent for disguise and detective work. Following a group of cases, the group begins to uncover the truth about the tragic crash and those who are really responsible.
Choi Kang Woo is a man who lives surrounded by the pain of his loss. Even after two years, his apartment is filled with the belongings of his wife and son. His love for his team seems to be the one thing that gives him the strength to hang on. He is loving, loyal, and protective of the other members of Mad Dog. Yoo Ji Tae was great in this role, as a man living in a shadow, who has to fight hard for each moment of joy. Kang Woo is quietly tragic and stubbornly stoic. And in his darker moments, it’s his need for revenge that fuels him.
Woo Do Hwan as Kim Min Joon ( Jan Gebauer / Doctor Kim)
Kim Min Joon is the brother of the pilot who was responsible for the crash that killed Kang Woo’s family. He worms his way into the Mad Dog team so that he can use them to clear his brother’s name. Bringing in related cases, he slowly convinces Kang Woo and his team that his brother did not commit suicide by purposely crashing the plane that day. Together, they just might be able to find out who was really responsible and see them punished for their actions.
Kim Min Joon is cold and calculating as a conman who has spent his whole life with only himself to rely on. He has a dry sense of humor and a quick wit. In the beginning, all he really cares about is using the team for his own purposes. But as the drama goes on, his character grows and develops into someone who can be a team player and really cares about the people he is working with. Woo Do Hwan is the standout performer of this drama. He portrays the changes in Min Joon’s personality in a natural way that never seems forced or beyond the scope of reality. It is impossible not to be won over by this charming character.
Supporting Characters
Ryu Hwa Young as Jang Ha Ri (Player Jang)
Jang Ha Ri is a former competitive gymnast who is more like a younger sister to Kang Woo than a teammate. Her skills in jumping and climbing come in handy during undercover investigations. She is also the only woman, so her beauty and charm are also used to win over or distract their targets. She and Min Joon are attracted to each other.
Jo Jae Yoon as Park Soon Jung (Cheetah)
Park Soon Jung is an ex-convict with a criminal record. His years as a thug make him well-connected and tough. While he has a rough exterior, his dream is to become a pediatric nurse. During his time pursuing nursing, he met and fell in love with Nurse Oh, who helps them when they need medical information.
Kim Hye Sung as On Noo Ri (Pentium)
On Noo Ri is the team hacker and IT specialist. From a wealthy family, he suffered years of abuse from his father before running away to join the Mad Dog team. Noo Ri is allergic to the sun and never leaves the office unless it is absolutely necessary.
Things I Liked
♥ Group Chemistry
Character development and chemistry are the best part of this drama. There are so many great relationships between the team members. The bromance of Kang Woo and Min Joon is so sweet. The romance between Min Joon and Ha Ri is full of sparks. The team as a whole is like one big family, who even live together in the office. Watching this crew grow and develop makes this drama special and it really makes you root for them.
♥ Plot Web
All of the individual cases that Mad Dog investigated were interesting and I loved the way they all seemed totally unrelated in the beginning. And then slowly, the connections start to form and we find out that the whole thing is one big web that tells the whole story. “Mad Dog” takes it’s time to develop the plot piece by piece, rather than showing us everything from the start.
♥ Worthy Adversaries
The villains in “Mad Dog” are not your typical one-dimensional bad guys. They are smart and subtle, and every time you think Mad Dog has their number, they manage to turn it around and get away. This epic battle of wits kept the plot entertaining and unpredictable. Though greed was their most obvious motive, there was much more going on with their characters. Even as villains, there was interesting character development.
Things I Didn’t Like
Romance
I’ve said this before, but I don’t need romance in every drama I watch. I understand that sometimes it doesn’t fit into the plot. Maybe it is just that the chemistry between Min Joon and Ha Ri was so good that it left me wanting more. So, why introduce such a cute couple without letting them have at least one romantic scene at the end? Just one nice scene between the two of them would have been enough for me, but I was disappointed that they left us hanging.
Dialog Heavy
There are times when this drama gets very dialog heavy, which means that it can get confusing if you aren’t paying close attention. This happens less often as the plot starts to pick up, but the complex storylines do require your full attention to understand everything that is going on.
Team Backstories
The writers gave us just enough backstories about the supporting characters to make us care about them. I would have liked to know more about each of their pasts. And I feel like they could have traded out some of the dialog-heavy insurance explanations for more background on the team members. There was plenty that went unsaid, and I think more scenes of them before they joined Mad Dog would have made the drama even more enjoyable.
The Ending
“Mad Dog” gives us a decently satisfactory ending. The bad guys have all been put in prison, including Noo Ri’s father, Prosecutor On. All of Chairman Cha’s efforts to make sure his daughter would remain untouched and in control of the company were wasted, although Hong Joo only received a 5 year sentence for her part in the crime. Unfortunately the bad guys weren’t the only ones serving time. Kang Woo is arrested for wire-tapping and serves one year in prison. 10 months later, Kang Woo is released and picked up by his mentor Professor Byeon. The professor gives Kang Woo an ear piece so he can catch up with his friends, who are in the middle of an investigation. Nurse Oh has become a part-time member of “Mad Dog” and she and Soon Jung are a couple. Ha Ri and Min Joon also seem to be getting along as a couple. And Min Joon has accepted Kang Woo as his “hyung” and is a full time member of the team. It looks like this team will be together for many years to come.
Should I Watch
“Mad Dog” is an exciting action drama, with a complex plot. The best part of this drama is the chemistry between the Mad Dog team members. There is a bit of romance, although not much, so if you are looking for kiss scenes and grand confessions, this is not the drama. The pace can get bogged down at times in insurance crime theories and explanations, especially in the first half of the drama. But their undercover investigations are entertaining and there are plenty of plot twists to hold your interest. If you like crime action, this one is definitely worth a watch. I give Mad Dog an 8 out of 10 ramen.
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