Heartless City (also known as Cruel City) tells the story of a woman named Soo Min (Nam Gyu Ri) who goes undercover to bring down a notorious drug ring leader who goes by the name of Doctor’s Son (Jung Kyung Ho). Aided by the detective who arranged her undercover mission, Ji Hyung Min (Lee Jae Yoon), she finds herself in a world where secrets abound and the lines between right and wrong begin to blur.
Heartless City is a crime thriller noir filled with moody cinematography which creates the feel that you are in the dark underworld of organized crime. It’s a world that is populated by many villains and ever-changing mob leaders.
While we do have the really bad guys, we also have those bad guys that live in a world of gray. They do bad things, but they have a heart and develop genuine friendships. There are those who reluctantly ended up in their situations and see no other way to live. It’s a complicated world to be sure.
We definitely get a riveting performance from our leading man, Jung Kyung Ho. His character, Shi Hyun, is certainly complex and much of what happens to the other characters stems from him. He is the driving force behind many of the actions the others pursue. Shi Hyun has a lot to deal with and finds himself confused as to who to trust and what he should do.
Soo Min starts out as an innocent, happy go lucky girl who finds herself thrust into the dark world of crime on a mission of revenge. She always maintains that pleasant, girl next door sort of personality, but she too soon realizes that nothing is as it seems on the surface.
Detective Ji Hyung Min (Lee Jae Yoon) is a man with mission. Bring down Doctor’s Son. His drive leads him to be quite cold and disconnected from others emotionally. It makes things difficult when Soo Min needs his support. But things complicate for him as he learns he may have enemies closer than he originally thought.
Lee Jin Sook (Kim Yoo Mi) is close with Shi Hyun which is why Soo Min initially gets close to her. Things become complicated when she begins to develop a real sisterly relationship with her. Jin Sook is a strong woman who has had to harden herself because of the life she has lived. Trust is of the utmost importance to her.
Min Hong Ki (Son Chang Min) is the Chief of Police and an instrumental force behind a lot of the happenings in the drama. He’s a tough, no-nonsense kind of guy who really just ends up with his hands in too many different pots.
There was some intense and wonderful chemistry between Shi Hyun and Soo Min. Their scenes were always tense and electrically charged. I just wish there were more of them! Yes, I understand this isn’t a romantic drama, but I felt we only got a small taste of the possibilities of their relationship. I would have loved to have seen more of them together.
Heartless City actually started off quite strong. I have to say that my favorite part of it was the first five episodes. And it’s not that the drama has any real problems after that, there’s just one particular twist that I felt made it lose a little steam for me.
But on that note, the drama has plenty of twists and a great pace that helps things move along quickly. The combination of the large cast and quick pacing did make it difficult to connect with many of the characters though. It’s also a drama you need to pay attention to so that you don’t miss the details. Details are important.
So despite a few shortcomings, I found Heartless City to be a nice watch. Crime thrillers aren’t usually my favorite genre, so I would say those who do like these types of shows will probably love Heartless City. With slick production, moody cinematography, layered characters, and plenty of action, Heartless City exceled at delivering when it needed to.
My Rating: 7/10
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Ohh Heartless City is probably my favourite drama of all time! I adored it, it was the reason I felt I needed to create a blog where I cound write about my k-dramas!
I liked everything about it from the pace, the cinematography to the storyline and its twists. But what I loved the most was the characters. It has some of my absolute favourite ones, Shi Hyun and Lee Jin Sook and Safari. And their portrayal was amazing. Such talented actors!
I just love it.. ❤
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You know you love a drama if it inspires you to create a blog! Yep, the pacing, cinematography, and storyline were all excellent. I did have trouble connecting with most of the characters in this drama, I think because of the large cast and crime thrillers aren’t my preferred genre. But I did connect with Shi Hyun’s character, and I loved everything about him. Jung Kyung Ho was phenomenal! He was really able to deliver the emotional punches throughout. He made the drama for me for sure 🙂
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He definitely did! And it was all in the little things- the way he moved his hands, his eyes!
He was amazing and now that I’m watching One More Happy Ending I can also see that he is a very diversed actor too!
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He really is. Have you seen him in Time Between Dog and Wolf? It’s a bit older and he’s the second lead, but he was really great. It’s very thrilling with some nice twists. It’s the first drama I saw him in and was really intrigued. If he wasn’t opposite my favorite Lee Joon Gi, I would have totally been rooting for him 🙂
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I haven’t but I know the drama. Is it a revenge drama od some sort? I first saw him in Cruel City and I was sold. Usually I don;t picj my dramas based on who the actors are but what the story is about but when I head he is gonna be in One MOre Happy Ending I said I’m definitely watching that! Hahah 🙂 He is so natural in his acting and this time around I believe he is who he plays to be!
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Yeah, it’s like a revenge action drama. If you like stuff like Heartless City, Two Weeks, or maybe Bridal Mask, you might like Time Between Dog and Wolf. It definitely twists and turns and gets the characters in some complex situations. I really loved it.
I haven’t started One More Happy Ending yet, but I’m loving what I’m seeing of him in the clips of the drama. I plan to check out Falling for Innocence pretty soon too because I’ve heard he’s pretty great in that 🙂
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Just the other day I was reading about Falling for Innocence and I was thinking it sounds interesting I should check it out! I’ll probably do soon! 🙂
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