Moving REVIEW: Han Hyo Joo, Jo In Sung, And Ryu Seung Ryong’s New Superhero Series Is a Slow ‘Moving’ Snooze

Editor’s Note: This a review of the first seven episodes of Moving

The superhero genre is still a relatively less-trodden path for K-dramas, probably due to the high budget required. The most popular one that this writer can think of is the 2017 hit series ‘Strong Girl Do Bong Soon’ (Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Sik). So, when Disney+ first announced ‘Moving’, a superhero action drama with a ₩50 billion (RM176.6 million) budget and a star-studded cast, it certainly made waves.

The highly anticipated series which is streaming now was adapted from the smash webtoon of the same name by famed Korean author Kangfull and revolves around teenagers with superhuman powers which they inherited from their parents. Unbeknownst to them, their parents are hiding a secret from their past. Life is carefree until a series of mysterious homicides involving people with superpowers occur across Seoul.

A Glittering Cast

The cast for the 20-episode series certainly packs a punch. This marks a rare drama appearance for Ryu Seung Ryong (The Admiral: Roaring Currents), the first Korean to star in four movies with over 10 million viewers each. Additionally, A-lister Jo Insung makes his long-awaited return to the small screen since ‘It’s Okay That’s Love’ in 2014 and is joined by top actress Han Hyo Joo (The Beauty Inside). The three appear as secret agents who were later abandoned after being sacrificed for the country.

Jo In Sung’s real-life best friend Cha Tae Hyun is also part of the cast and together, they are the main MCs for the upcoming variety program Unexpected Business which is going into its third season. Other actors are Ryoo Seung Bum (The Berlin File) and Kim Sung Kyun (Reply 1988) who complete the veteran superstar cast. This insane and mind-boggling line-up for a single drama probably explains the high budget.

Up-and-coming young actors Lee Jung Ha (Run On) who plays Kim Bong Seok, Go Youn Jung (Alchemy of Souls) as Jang Hee Soo, and Kim Do Hoon (The Law Café) who acts as Lee Kang Hoon are high school students with hidden powers.

Setbacks

However, it is interesting to note that the drama faced multiple setbacks even before premiering which sometimes affects the quality of the drama. Initially, Mo Wan Il of ‘The World of the Married’ was set to direct but it was later changed to Park In Je (Kingdom S2). It was also originally announced that the drama would air back in the second half of 2022, but the drama’s premiere date was continuously pushed back.

Watch the trailer here:

(Warning: Spoilers Ahead) A Brief Breakdown of Episode 1-7

Just based on the unassuming main poster of a teenage boy holding on to a school desk and levitating in class, we assumed it would be something like the Nickelodeon series ‘Henry Danger’ but in actuality, there are several grisly and violent fighting scenes, so this isn’t actually a show catered towards kids. Also, we don’t really get why they chose such a simple poster for such a high-budget drama, as it doesn’t really tell anything about the show.

From the get-go, the show appears promising as there are several mystifying scenes: Bong Seok, the main character appears to fall from outer space back onto his bed on earth. His mother also bizarrely tries to place more fitness weights on him as he heads to school, saying he is too thin.

Han Hyo Joo also takes on the unexpected character of his 40-year-old mother, a drastic change for the actress known for portraying beautiful leads. Cha Tae Hyun then appears as a friendly bus driver clad in pink, with a show playing on TV of him in a blue superhero suit seemingly a hint of his storied past but he doesn’t appear much onscreen until episode 6. Ryu Seung Ryong takes on the character of Jang Hee Soo’s (Go Youn Jung) father and a fried chicken outlet owner, which may be a homage to his famous role in Extreme Job.

Ryoo Seung Bum (fun fact, he used to date Gong Hyo Jin), is a tattoo-covered man who looks like an Asian Professor Snape with his greasy locks. He gets off the plane from the US and immediately goes on a killing rampage with a lot of unnecessary blood and gore as he attempts to kill anyone with powers. K-dramas also have the annoying tendency to make their characters speak English (even when they can’t) and although Ryoo is fluent, his English lines seem superfluous.

For K-dramas, I tend to have a four-episode rule and I tend to bail if the show hasn’t captured my attention by then. Although the first episode showed a lot of potential, I struggled to get through the second episode, as it moves at a snail’s pace (pun intended) from here on. I honestly had to really force myself to complete the initial seven episodes. It seemed that all the exciting scenes from the trailer were basically the only engaging scenes from the first seven episodes (some hadn’t even come up by the time I was done with episode 7).

What was mainly focused on was the blossoming romance between the teenage leads. And even this was so dragged out that it almost had me yelling, “Get a move on, already!!!” at the screen. What mostly happens is Kim Bong Seok (Lee Jung Ha) staring besottedly at the subject of his ardour as she practises running around the school gym. I felt that the acting prowess of most of the adult cast is really wasted as they weren’t given the opportunity to do much and basically just stood around looking worried.

Instead of their superhuman abilities being displayed in a cool manner, these were only displayed briefly and mostly, the characters just struggle to keep them hidden from the outside world. There were also some gory scenes thrown in such as someone being sliced up with a penknife that was so gruesome, I had to close my eyes.

Episode 7 is where the show starts to really pick up and finally had me sitting up properly in my seat (my eyes were half closed at this point). But no actual viewer is going to stick around this long unless you’re a diehard fan of Han Hyo Joo and they dressed her down so much for this show that she just appears mostly like an ahjumma–– although she apparently does appear looking all gorgeous with a gun later according to the trailer.

Also, another spoiler: Jo In Sung doesn’t even appear until the end of this episode which was most of the reason we wanted to watch this show in the first place. So, all the images above of Ryu Seung Ryong, Han Hyo Joo, and Jo In Sung were actually from episode 8 and later…*sobs*

The first seven episodes seem to be a prelude of what is to come and that is the problem with having a 20-episode drama. We really feel that it should have been cut down to the standard 16 episodes although we haven’t watched all 20 yet.

Final Verdict For Moving Episode 1 – 7

Our final take on the show is that although we wish we could love it because we’re fans of basically almost everyone onscreen, the show is ironically unmovable and basically unless you have the patience of a saint, just give this one a pass.

The first seven episodes of “Moving” will be released together on August 9, after which two new episodes will be released each week for a total of 20 episodes. Only on Disney+ Hotstar.

Image credit: Disney+ Hotstar