Squid Game (2021)

Quick Take: Squid Game (2021)  Starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon, and Wi Ha-joon. 9 episodes, 60 minutes each.

Review:   Squid Game became a global phenomenon in October 2021.  It earned Netflix 40 times its investment and international recognition for its stars.   There are countless reviews and analyses online; just google them.   I haven’t tried to rate it. Squid Game is not for everyone; it’s very intense, very powerful.   I found it hard going.  There will be a Season 2, which presumably will tie up some of the loose ends.  I’ll watch it, but maybe in 10-minute increments again.

Recommended.

Notes:

Lee

Jung-jae

is one of the most successful South Korean actors, as well as a businessman who own a chain of restaurants in Seoul. He has been acting since 1994 and won many awards, including a Primetime Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics Choice Television Award, and six Baeksang Art Awards, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Gotham Award. Squid Game brought him international recognition. See him also in Il Mare (2000), in which he has the lead role played by Keanu Reeves in the 2006 remake titled The Lake House.

Park Hae-soo

made his debut in musical theater. His first lead role was in the popular television series Prison Playbook (2017) and he received a Best New Actor award for his character. See him also in Money Heist: Korea (2022).

Jung Ho-yeon

began her career as a model in 2010. Her first acting role was in Squid Game, which brought her worldwide attention and critical acclaim. For her performance on the show, Jung won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. She is only the second actress of Asian descent to receive an individual SAG Award nomination.

Wi Ha-joon

has been acting steadily since 2012. Squid Game brought him international fame, and he was named one of GQ Korea’s 2022 Men of the Year. See him also in Something in the Rain (2018), Romance is a Bonus Book (2019), 18 Again (2020), Bad and Crazy (2021), and Little Women (2022).