Switch: Change the World is about a skilled con artist (Jang Geun Suk) who comes in to impersonate a prosecutor that looks just like him. After an accident lands the prosecutor in a coma, the con artist works with another prosecutor (Han Ye Ri) to bring justice to criminals.
Jang Geun Suk plays dual roles in Switch. First, he is our con artist Sa Do Chan. He’s super smart and studied to become a prosecutor, but circumstances led him to become a scammer instead.
The best thing about this drama was definitely giving Jang Geun Suk the chance to display all of his charm as a smooth talking con artist. He’s got the confidence and mannerisms down to make for a fun and entertaining character.
Then we also get him in the role of Baek Joon Soo, a moral and upright prosecutor. He likes to always follow the rules and comes off a bit cold. Jang Geun Suk did well at playing him opposite of Do Chan as Joon Soo comes off much more reserved. I always enjoy seeing an actor tackle two roles in the same drama, and it was fun to see Jang Geun Suk in action.
Han Ye Ri plays another prosecutor who works with Joon Soo. After Joon Soo is injured, she is the one who seeks out Do Chan to take his place and forges an alliance with the con artist. She is tough yet she also has a vulnerability to her, especially when it comes to Joon Soo.
One of my favorite villain actors, Jung Woong In, plays our bad guy Geum Tae Woong. He runs an art gallery as a front for his drug smuggling business. He’s always doing his thing plotting behind the scenes as he sets his plans in motion and causes problems for our main trio.
So, all of the actors were fantastic, but now onto the drama itself. Switch: Change the World was an overall okay watch, but that about sums it up for me. Of course, we know that I’m not a huge fan of legal crime dramas to start with. But this one did appeal to me because of its crime caper premise along with the look-a-like con artist and prosecutor. And I did like that aspect.
As I mentioned, I greatly enjoyed watching Jang Geun Suk play two roles, and he did well at making the characters different. I liked seeing them at odds as well as having to work together. This was by far my favorite part of the drama.
My main issue with the drama was that it felt quite slow to me. It just wasn’t particularly engaging. There is a back story which is good, but it didn’t have a strong enough presence to really create a strong emotional attachment, especially in the beginning. Most of the episodes felt a bit episodic and weren’t too thrilling.
The main story does come more to the forefront in the second half and the stakes begin to feel much higher at this point. That was definitely an improvement. There are also some nice twists scattered throughout the drama.
I enjoyed all three of our main actors, but everyone else was pretty meh for me. Kind of another case where everything was adequate, but nothing really grabbed me. It always helps a lot to have a really strong group of supporting characters to root for, but it didn’t happen for me with this group.
Switch: Change the World is an easy enough watch though. If you like lighter, crime caper style dramas, this is a good drama to go for. Everything is done just well enough to not create any huge issues. And for those of us who like Jang Geun Suk, this is a great drama to enjoy more of his charms as well as something a little bit different for him.
While there isn’t really any romance, Jang Geun Suk and Han Ye Ri also have some fun chemistry. Despite being a bit average, Switch does have enough going for it to make it a worthwhile watch.
My Rating: 6/10
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