Welcome 2 Life is this rom-com detective fusion K-pop Drama which was honestly just amazing in so many ways.
I just made an IMDB account and am writing this review solely because I think it deserves alot more credit for how excellent it is, I normally do not write reviews.
This was my first ever K-pop series and I am honestly stunned by how well made it is, It entails the story of the Protagonist "Lee Jae-Sang" played by Rain as (initially) a corrupt lawyer who enters a parallel dimension after an accident where he finds himself living a completely different life married with a kid.
Eventually this causes major character transformation which leads to his redemption arc.
The film brings into question of whether one should if given the opportunity of start their life over, and if people truly change.
Plot was generally really good and meticulously constructed with some really heavy emotional scenes and some brilliant plot twists. It took me on this emotional roller coaster and I loved it.
However it did seldom have a few predictable scenarios, did feel lightly repetitive in some instances and in terms of pacing was generally nice but slightly dragged out a bit towards the end.
Also, while the ending after the final resolution of conflict was alright I think it could have used a bit more time to be more satisfying.
Notably, the plot didn't focus to much on working behind the sci-fi parallel universe element but rather on it's ramifications which I would say was indeed the way to go.
All in all, the plot was still phenomenal and I think it is really nice and respectable that unlike most Hollywood TV shows this drama just has 1 season that is well crafted rather than a splattering of weakly made seasons.
Actors Lim Ji-Yeon,Kwak Si-Yang, Rain, Shin Jae-Ha, Park Won-Sang and the rest of the team honestly just killed it in the acting game, their performance was remarkable and I just could not get enough of their acting.
Rain and Lim Ji-Yeon had such a dynamic chemistry with their relationship and the antagonists of this show were just so bone chillingly cold and malicious which really spiced the show up and intensified the climaxes of conflict.
The OST was also beautiful and really complemented the emotional scenes fabulously. Camera work and angles was satisfactory and the editing was good but I wasn't entirely a fan of the few minutes they spent on recap in the beginning of each episode because it was repetitive for my binging sessions. Action scenes were pretty good too however just a disclaimer that the show does have some infrequent gore-ish scenes so it's probably not suitable for young children.
In closing, Welcome 2 life is nothing short of amazing due to it's meticulous plot, amazing cast and splendid OST albeit also with some few story-line and pacing issues.
I would absolutely recommend everyone to see this, especially if you haven't given K-Pop a shot yet. Just see the first 4 episodes and you will see how amazing it is.
