Memories of the Alhambra (2018)
Quick Take: Memories of the Alhambra (2018) starring Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye. 12 seventy-minute episodes.
Synopsis: The charming but arrogant CEO of an investment company races to Granada to try a new virtual-reality game he’s interested in purchasing. Players gain points and new weapons as they “level up” by successfully fighting attackers. However, Yoo Jin-Woo soon realizes that he can’t quit the game when he wants to — he can’t quit at all. Even more disconcerting, some players who die in the game end up really truly dead yet keep reappearing, zombie-like, in the game. One of those is Jin-Woo’s personal and business rival — and Jin-Woo is accused of his murder.
Jin-Woo’s only hope is to keep leveling up until he’s powerful enough to find and rescue the game’s missing creator, Jung Se-Joo, who can hopefully fix the bug in the game.
Also looking for Se-Joo is his older sister, Jung Hee-Joo, As Jin-Woo’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, she is the only one who believes he’s not crazy. Romance ensues.
Review: Hyun Bin’s character in Alhambra is not sympathetic in the early episodes. Jin-Woo is arrogant, selfish and manipulative. As he becomes more and more consumed by the game, however, he faces the real possibility that he won’t survive. He sinks into alcohol, drugs, and despair, eventually rescued in true cinema fashion by the love of a good woman.
Park Shin-hye, who plays Jung Hee-Joo, is a popular pan-Asian actress and singer. See Notes in the entry for Heartstrings (2011). In this drama, her acting is mediocre and chemistry between the two protagonists is lacking. Fortunately, romance isn’t central to the story line.
I was apprehensive about the ending, because I read that the finale was controversial and “disappointing” to many fans in Korea. FWIW, I thought it was perfect.
Memories of Alhambra provides a twisty mystery plot, great special effects, some intense moments, and evil villains both inside the game and out. The central theme would be hubris and its inevitable comeuppance.
Recommended.
Rewatchable - 3, Compelling - 4, Plot/ Story/Writing - 8, Acting/Casting - 7, Production - 10, Bonus - 5. Romance element unconvincing; lead actress miscast; bonus points for CGI special effects.
Notes:
Hyun Bin
is one of the highest-paid and most influential actors in South Korea. He has been active in film and television since 2002. See him also in Secret Garden (2010) and Crash Landing on You (2019).
Park
Shin-hye
has achieved popularity across Asia as a singer and actress. See her also in Heartstrings (2011), The Heirs (2013), Pinocchio (2014), The Doctors (2016), and Sisyphus: The Myth (2020), as well as numerous films.
Lee Jae-wook
made his acting debut in Alhambra, but he had and continues to have a successful career as a fashion model. See him also in Search:WWW (2019), Extraordinary You (2019), Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020), and Alchemy of Souls (2022).