LAWLESS LAWYER
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  Lawless Lawyer is a bold, fresh and radical socio-political-legal-action drama masterpiece about the legal struggles of Bong Sang Pil, a vengeful but intelligent young lawyer with gangster connections whose thirst for revenge for his mother’s murder prevents him from seeing the bigger picture of justice. The drama, buoyed by the brilliant portrayal of the protagonist by megastar Lee Joon Gi, tells of Bong Sang Pil who not only fights the corrupt, ambitious and greedy pillars of society of Ki Seong, a fictional city but also brings the entire court of Ki Seong to its knees. The impressive cast lineup also includes Seo Yea Ji, Lee Hye Young and Choi Min Soo. Penned by Yoon Hyun Ho and helmed by Director Kim Jin Min, the drama is too irresistable to pass up.     Lawless Lawyer exhibits all the trademark strengths of Lee Joon Gi’s dramas - Lee’s tour-de-force performance that sticks in one's mind, a deeply meaningful, unique and fast moving tale, deep despair and tremendous courage that resonate with the audience, valuable life lessons or philosophy, electrifying action or martial arts scenes that send thrills down one's spine, gorgeous visuals, amazing acting performance from the rest of the cast, slick imagery (inspired by the sea), creative screenplay, unique cinematography and clever direction. Strong masculine men and equally strong women feature prominently in this drama. Other added draws are the irreverent humour and irresistible wisecracks, the gorgeous, stylish and tasteful clothes worn by the cast, particularly by the two leads, the upbeat OSTs and music. Why is Lawless Lawyer groundbreaking? It is years ahead of every legal drama; one is surprised that a heroic and articulate gangster lawyer related to the criminal world actually fight on the side of justice. And what more, none has imagined that the fiery, reckless, lawless lawyer has such astounding martial arts skills. Lee brings a whole new dimension to the show. A lawless legal-action hero with a wicked sense of humour. The drama is filled with action and wisecracks from the beginning till the end.
Since somebody has to go head to head with the nefarious forces of Ki Seong, Bong takes the preemptive strike to bring the very powerful but evil Chief Judge down by using various radical means. In the end, he exposes the truth about the evil tangled relationships across all sectors of society. Together, the hands of evil have spun a web of deceit that fools the gullible masses. The fog and web-like shadows over Bong Sang Pil’s car in Episode 1 represent the web of deceit.
  Reviews about Lawless Lawyer have been flattering. The critics agree that Bong Sang Pil is one of Lee Joon Gi’s most acclaimed roles. They are convinced that Lee's Lawless Lawyer role is his Once In a Lifetime Role. Lee makes a great leading man and his acting performance is electrifying. Had Bong Sang Pil been just a superb lawyer without deadly martial arts skills, Lawless Lawyer would have perhaps been just an ordinary legal drama.
The tale tells of the arrival of Bong Sang Pil with the aim of untangling the skein of lies and coverups and exposing the seamy side of the judicial and political world of Ki Seong. It centres on his valiant struggles against the machinations of the hypocritical Chief Judge Cha Moon Sook, played brilliantly by Lee Hye Young.
Their relationship has an ominous beginning. Bong’s first words spell doom for the most powerful figure of Ki Seong. “I’m Lawyer Bong Sang Pil. The trial begins now. Judge Cha Moon Sook.” It seems like it is the beginning of her trial which ends with Bong Sang Pil deftly and defiantly unmasking her and tearing down her court with his signature astounding and shocking act in the final episode.
    Bong is assisted by the strong and assertive Ha Jae Yi who is foreshadowed to bring the judge down by disrobing her and hanging up her judicial robes.
   The climactic ending is extremely clever, awesome and unexpected. Bong Sang Pil casts a vast net over Ki Seong’s criminals and takes full ownership of the court (Episode 16). In the shocking Trial Within a Trial, the corrupt pillars of society headed by the Chief Judge are caught off-guard and skewered. It is a momentous day for Bong Sang Pil who boldly points an accusing finger at the malevolent judge. Who would have thought that a mere lawyer could defy and humiliate the Chief Judge and put her on trial in her own court while she is presiding over another trial in the same court. All members of the Circle of Seven are eventually locked up for their crimes, except for Anh Oh Ju, who commits suicide.
        The drama, with its incredible insight, reveals without subtlety the naivety of citizens who are neither wise to the menacing truth about politicians nor the hidden agenda of the powers-that-be in Ki Seong.
The hypocritical Chief Justice, whose greed for power and money is insatiable, is embroiled in murders and murder plots. Hoodwinking the unsuspecting citizens of Ki Seong, she attains a cult status just like what her father had done years before her. But, with the appearance of Bong Sang Pil and Ha Jae Yi, there is much mayhem and discontent in Judge Cha’s court where injustice and prejudice reigns. Before her past catches up with her, the Chief Judge of Ki Seong has been offered promotion to be the Supreme Judge three times.  Featured on the cover of the DAMES magazine, Chief Judge Cha Moon Sook is also interviewed by the Asian edition of the DIME magazine. Is Lawless Lawyer poking fun at the judge? Corrupt leaders are a dime a dozen. People are not what they seem to be and masks fall off when cornered.   As such, Ha Jae Yi, the lawyer-turned-paralegal played amazingly by Seo Yea Ji, pronounces that judges can also be wrong. She has been defending a victim of ten years of domestic violence. Although the accused had killed her violent and abusive husband out of self-defence, the judge metes out 20 years in prison to her. The sexist male judge declares that the poor victim deserves whatever she gets. The hot-tempered Ha Jae Yi seems to be begging to get fired when she hits the arrogant judge. She berates him, “You’re not always right just because you’re a judge!”
  Could Lawless Lawyer also be making pointed jabs at all kinds of judges?
Law is a male dominated field and it isn’t surprising that Ha Jae Yi’s license is suspended and her law firm dismisses her. Although Lawless Lawyer is set in a fictional city, it strikes a chord in one's mind and imagination; it makes one think about the realities of life. Lawless Lawyer shows discrimination, prejudice, lawlessness and corruption in its heyday. In cities such as Seoul and Ki Seong where the criminal underworld exists, it is impossible to achieve fairness and justice. Murderers and criminals go unpunished and criminal bosses do as they please.
               Lawless Lawyer makes explicit comparisons between the two sides of Bong Sang Pil - the cool lawyer who dominates the court trials and the fiery Bong, whose action and martial arts skills thrill the audience. But, the strong and fighting-fit Bong Sang Pil is flawed. Lee Joon Gi, who plays his role with great intensity, brings a vulnerability to his role, especially in the heartbreaking death scenes of his uncle, Choi Dae Woong.
Bong Sang Pil does not think twice about being rash with the corrupt. Revenge begets revenge. He regrets his impulsiveness when his uncle is murdered by Anh Oh Ju but it does not deter Bong from his quest for justice in Ki Seong. Choi Min Soo portrays the criminal boss with great aplomb.
            If you think that the thought-provoking drama is all dark and foreboding, you are wrong. Barely a minute into the story, Lee Joon Gi brings in his magic with his light-as-a-feather humour and makes the audience roll in laughter.
Lee’s supercharged performance in Lawless Lawyer astounds all and grabs the attention and keeps it. He makes a smashing entrance in the drama in his expensive and powerful supercar, the Chevrolet CamaroZL1. Both command attention throughout the drama and they look spectacular together. Lee Joon Gi glows in Lawless Lawyer; he showcases the 3 Bs: Brains. Brawn. Beauty. His brilliant acting performance, together with his sparkling wit, awesome physical feats, action and martial arts scenes, and handsome looks, has won him acclaim and accolades.      
The impactful opening scene of Lawless Lawyer shows Bong’s clever, humorous and startling face-off with a corrupt traffic policeman who, at the lowest level of the judicial system, is supposed to punish those who violate the rules, and not corrupt them.
Lee Joon Gi’s disarming charm, hilarious sense of humour and playful visual style in this scene is organically hilarious. The polished and sophisticated Bong Sang Pil reduces the crooked policeman to shame. The director, who has shrewdly picked this awesome scene as the starting point of the story to show corruption at the lower ranks of society is the result of the rot at the top, deserves credit for his choice.
There are many fine examples of dazzling wit and humour in the drama.
              
  
The drama shows that Bong Sang Pil is no slouch on legal matters. He is also sharp, confident, self assured, determined and heroic. What’s most startling is that he is no stranger to shame and humiliation, for example trying blatantly to wrest a client from Defence Lawyer Koh In Du. His outrageous and brazen behaviour is simply a means to an end - to trap the chief judge and her cronies.
Bong is assisted by Ha Jae Yi, his smart paralegal, who is played amazingly by Seo Yea Ji. They have undeniable chemistry. Lawless Lawyer draws huge audiences; it has defined Lee Joon Gi as the most successful actor, action and martial star of all time. The drama has so many thrilling action and martial arts scenes; it is a drama one won’t forget in a hurry.
One is in awe of Lee who showcases his wealth of martial arts skills and his athleticism: Korean (Taekwondo, Hapkido, Taekkyon), Thai, Brazilian Jui Jitsu (flying triangle choke / guillotine choke, rear choke, triangle leg choke ), Chinese (rod fighting), Parkour, boxing, foot chase et cetera. His amazing adrenaline-filled tornado kicks, leaps, jumps, punches and other action skills while collaring villains are the signatures of the drama.
Some of the most awesome adrenalin-filled scenes which stick in the mind are his stunning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Flying Triangle Choke in Episode 1, spectacular Thai Ong Bak Flying Knee Attack in his fight with gangsters in a nightclub in Episode 2, his unbelievable Puma-Eagle flying leap in Episode 3 and the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Flying Triangle Choke and guillotine choke in Episode 15.
Lee Joon Gi just explodes off the floor, stage or staircase. One could never forget his kinetic energy, sheer personality and magnetism. His exuberant performance has electrified the audiences and made history.
There are other interesting action and martial arts scenes in nearly all the episodes: a confrontation scene between 2 warring triads of the underworld in which amazing Bong Sang Pil shows his car spinning skills, fights in a warehouse, the prison, the hospital, another fight with gangsters in a nightclub, a squealing car chase, a martial arts scene where he teaches Ha Jae Yi some martial arts techniques for self-protection. And so on and so forth. EPISODE 1  EPISODE 1   EPISODE 2    EPISODE 2 The spectacular Thai Ong Bak Flying Knee Attack        One cannot stress enough how incredible and breathtaking Lee Joon Gi is in Episode 3  First, Lee makes an amazing jump from the side of the staircase of a high building.
Then he climbs up a row of cars.
After that, he leaps like a puma and flies like an eagle over a flight of stairs.
In the same episode, he showcases his boxing skills in the harrowing tunnel scene.
EPISODE 3   EPISODE 3  EPISODE 3      EPISODE 3 EPISODE 4   EPISODE 5  EPISODE 7   EPISODE 8  EPISODE 9   EPISODE 10   EPISODE 11   EPISODE 14      EPISODE 15    EPISODE 15     Bong Sang Pil seldom lacks for inspiration. Lawless Lawyer gives the viewers a flattering look at his skills, creativity and knowledge. He takes some unfledged recruits and turns them into his effective assistants. His many ingenious but unethical ways of fighting criminals include the use of a drone, getting himself into prison to get vital information, stealing another lawyer’s client, getting into a car chase, getting evidence from dashboard cameras of vehicles (food trucks) and the CCTVs; getting fingerprints from a corpse, physically fighting criminals, demanding the recusal of judges et cetera.
GETTING A FINGERPRINT FROM A CORPSE   USING A DRONE  STEALING A CLIENT   REQUESTING THE RECUSAL OF THE JUDGE   GETTING HIMSELF THROWN INTO THE PRISON              Perhaps one of the most important aspects of Lawless Lawyer is that it has shed light on the strategies employed by politicians in election campaigns. Bribery is one. But the most illuminating bit of information that is highlighted is Ahn Oh Ju's strategy of hiring one hundred (100) faceless Keyboard Writers in his political campaign.
The Keyboard Writers serve in two ways: as Keyboard Crusaders who write positively about Ahn Oh Ju, and Keyboard Warriors who write negatively about his rivals. The conversation on this strategy between Anh Oh Ju and Seok Dong Gwan, his campaign manager, is a wakeup call to all undiscerning people who easily believe the lies and untruths on the Internet or in the mass media.
         THE SEVEN
KI SEONG WITHIN KI SEONG
It is shocking to learn that the forces of evil are interlinked in the corruption cases in Ki Seong and the evil is so deeply ingrained in the powers-that-be that the whole city is corrupt. 
THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM 1. Cha Moon Sook, The Chief Judge of Ki Seong
THE PROSECUTION 2. Jang Sang Ik, The Chief Prosecutor of Ki Seong
THE BANKING INDUSTRY 3. Sohn Sung Sik, The President of Ki Seong Savings Bank
THE MEDIA 4. Han Tae Kyung, The Chief Editor of Ki Seong Daily
BUSINESS, BUREAUCRACY & LAW 5. Koh In Du, Corporate Lawyer / Corporate Revolving Door (a former district judge)
THE CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD / BUSINESS / POLITICS 6. Anh Oh Ju, A gangster-turned-businessman-turned politician
FRIEND & CONFIDANT 7. Nam Soo Ja, Old friend and Secretary to Cha Moon Sook
CRIME AND RELIGION       CRIMINAL CONNECTIONS   
Why does evil triumph in Ki Seong? Evil triumphs because good men do nothing.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Though the quotation has been wrongly attributed to Edmund Burke, it is a useful quotation.
In Lawless Lawyer, it takes one good man (and his helpers) to defeat evil. The drama also underlines the crucial role of a free press in holding politicians and the leaders of society accountable for their deeds.
LAWLESS LAWYER THE SETTING
The magnificent legal tale is set in the fictional town of Ki Seong, a beautiful city by the sea. The collective stunning scenes of the port, beaches and the ships docked at the port provide an interesting background to the tale.
 The drama is never short of imagery, symbolism and metaphors (particularly about the sea, seafood and animals) and gems of wisdom about life.
 Cast A Wide Net To Catch Criminals All At Once A Large Fishing Net   A Seafood Buffet  
The Crocodile and The Crocodile Bird   There is even a glass figurine or statue of a fish in the secret meeting room of The Seven. A fishy tale indeed.
In the finale, the confrontation between Bong Sang Pil and Anh Oh Ju takes place at the seaport. The magnificent seaport scene is a fitting end for Anh who was born and bred in the place.  CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
The drama showcases cutting-edge technology including technological devices.
FILM PROJECTION USING SENSORS
Bong Sang Pil has a film projection room where sensors are used. He could use his hand to move images.
  HOLOGRAM
Viewers see the image of the built-up of the future Golden City in the three-dimensional hologram.
 HANDPHONES Bong Sang Pil also uses the Samsung Flip and digital flipchart to efficiently share ideas and plans with the Lawless team.     WISDOM AND INSIGHTS
What words or gems of wisdom and insight can be gleaned from Lawless Lawyer?
A JUDGE CAN BE WRONG 'You’re not always right just because you're a judge.'
You need to know the law to break the law. One needs to have legal knowledge to exploit the loopholes in the law   Stay on the straight and narrow.  You never know how things will turn out.     Romans have their laws. Ki Seong also has its own laws. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Ki Seong, live by its laws     Miscarriage of Justice Whose fault? Fraudulent Misconduct by a judge / Judicial misconduct? Incompetent defense lawyer? Lawyer who pretends to be incompetent?          The enemy of my enemy is my friend.  A Cornered Rat Will Bite The Cat    Those Who Have A Lot To Lose Are Cowards.  Revenge Begets Revenge    Most people tell the truth right before they die.     The Adversarial System of Justice We are enemies fighting for the truth.   Just because you don't believe something doesn't mean it is not true.   When you get texts about free offers, don't ever click on any links.      You can't cover up the truth.   The Illusion of Truth Weaving truth into a lie makes the lie believable.    When it comes to bribes, the recipient will be in the bribe giver's debt.    The future is created by the past.   Broken things can't be fixed.    People who don't forgive suffer torment.   ‘You began with revenge, but you're ending it with justice.   CINEMATOGRAPHY
One startling but unique aspect of the show is the use of reflections or superimposition of images to compare two persons who are like-minded.     There are many interesting examples of impressive cinematography.                                       PRISONERS: U-TURN              Piet Mondrain             A hidden knife (shadow)  Hidden weapons (shadows)      The Straight Line of Truth              BONGHA COUPLE  One name sticks out. Bongha, the truncated name of the couple, Bong Sang Pil-Ha Jae Yii, is the name of a village (Bongha Maeul) in the hometown of President Roh Moo-hyun (deceased). OSTS & MUSIC
The music and OSTs, which include I’ll protect you, Memories, Burn it up, are beautiful. It seems strange to say this; the show is so gripping, exciting and entertaining that one fails at first to observe the incredible smart suits and beautiful clothes worn by the actors and actresses of the drama. The gorgeous and charming Lee Joon Gi oozes style; he is the most stylish superstar in the showbusiness industry. It makes him unique and incredibly sexy. Yves Saint Laurent famously said, ‘Fashion fades, style is eternal.’ Like the handsome and delectable superModel Lee Joon Gi who possesses a strong, lithe and athletic body, Seo Yea Ji is drop-dead gorgeous. Although they and the rest of the cast have been garbed in the choicest smart and beautiful clothes, the clothes have not been examined in great detail by writers and reviewers because of the excitement caused by the riveting drama and the awesome performance of the cast. The producers must have spent a fortune on those stylish and fashionable clothes. It is difficult for us to choose a favourite suit worn by Bong Sang Pil or a piece of attire donned by Ha Jae Yi because one is spoiled for choice. 
                                          SHOWBIZ KOREA DECLARES THAT LEE JOON GI IS THE STAR WHO LOOKS THE MOST GORGEOUS (IMPECCABLE AND DASHING) IN A SUIT (2018)
It was unsurprising then that Lee Joon Gi won an international award for his tour-de-force performance in Lawless Lawyer. He was crowned the 2018 Best Male Asian Star at Starhub's Night of the Stars awards show on 22 December 2018 in Singapore.          https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zvideos/entertainment/story20181223-917962 https://www.instagram.com/p/BrsUh50liDn/  https://www.instagram.com/p/Brseu60Bzi2/?utm_source=ig_embed  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwgTvR_3ue8
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwGYIKi7FJs    Unquestionably, Bong Sang Pil is one of Lee Joon Gi's most iconic roles. Lee can certainly turn on the charm when Bong is not so serious. Combined with his wicked brand of humour, natural charm, awesome acting, amazing action and martial arts skills in Lawless Lawyer, Lee Joon Gi has brought legal dramas to a whole new level. With that said, will there be a Season 2 for Lawless Lawyer? Probably not. Lee might want to try something new.   Posted: 18 Sept 2021
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