Frank 'Nuar' S.
As Korean movies inherently have a smaller audience than the latest Hollywood blockbusters, it is usually a good idea to take the ratings with a grain of salt. Most often they are made by enthusiasts that won't give you an objective perspective - in fact everything but.In this particular case, I should have heeded my own advise, the story was exceedingly greasy and frankly just not original enough to deserve the rating that it got here.(7.4 as of 06/16) The characters were absolutely bland and one-dimensional, it makes you think you are watching a cartoon.(especially Hyun Bin as Kang) Some may blame this on culture differences, but I vehemently reject the sentiment. This romance is at best on par with the Twilight franchise. I have seen romance in Korean movies that was exceedingly well done, this one just doesn't stand up in quality.(My Sassy Girl if you haven't seen it!) It is a very small group of people that I'd advise to watch this movie. But to even label it as a flick for teenagers might be insulting to this particular kind of specimen. However, if you absolutely want to watch this because you liked the synopsis, I beseech you to check out this alternative: More Than Blue (2009) covers almost the same theme, but won't insult your intelligence in the process.
Abhipriyo Dev
My last South Korean movie was 'My Sassy Girl' and it was pleasure some to watch it. Therefore, I went for 'A Millionaire's First Love'. The film grasps you in the beginning with some mild Asian action around an arrogant rich boy who cares less. He is legal heir to his late grandfather's fortune, who in turn has had kept some unturned dices in his kitty; his will.From here on, the film carries on in a small town near Seoul where it embarks on an emotional journey of the lead characters. There are few funny scenes that go well with the movie. At several stages the characters deal with their past, like in 'My Sassy Girl' but, which is not completely expressed in the words of the characters but revealed through their emotion, which is pretty nice and emotional. One has to understand it to make out the past relation.On the whole, this is a nice South Korean romance flick high on emotions. Go for it if you want a good time pass and emotional drama but only if you are not expecting much and any new. 6 out of 10.
lady_tsunami29
to be honest i watched this movie because Hyun Bin is good looking. Lee Yeon Hee looks like an anime character with that hair in a cute way. i had no high expectations. i just thought, "hmmm, a subbed movie. let's give it a try." i don't understand a word of Korean so English subs all the way! this movie was OK in the beginning, and maybe you knew what was gonna happen but it still made my eyes puffy from crying. i liked how they shot this scene where Hyun Bin remembers his mom bringing in clothes from the rain. and the part where he walks back home at night. it's funny to me. if you're a sucker for romance movies, watch this one :) and have a box of Kleenex.
Xiayu
This movie exists for the sole purpose of following Hyeon Bin's face with a camera. And while it is indeed a thing of no small beauty, it's unfortunately not enough to sustain 116 minutes of film.And what of the plot, such as it is? Young rich brat leads dissolute life, doesn't go to school, drinks too much, gets into fights, throws his weight around, then turns 18 and inherits a fortune from his dead grandfather, but on one condition: graduate from high school or you get nothing.So he goes back to school, and doesn't he look nice in his uniform! The school is somewhere in the countryside, there are only half a dozen kids in a class which resembles a casting director's idea of special ed. Within about a minute, rich brat falls in love with the petrol station attendant-substitute teacher-dying girl, and overnight becomes A Nice Guy. Oh, did I mention that he, and she, are Orphans? And there's an orphanage-saving scheme thrown in for pathos? It's so stupid and underwritten it doesn't really deserve a review. It's a shocking mish-mash of styles. The script is woeful and embarrassing. The acting is at times unbelievably bad. There is no effort made to make the plot or the relationships even slightly realistic.The tragedy of it is, Hyeon Bin can do so much more than just look good. In two different mini-series, Ireland and My name is Kim Samsoon, he proved he is capable of quite a bit. One hopes his movie career doesn't start and finish with this piece of swill. So dreadful it gets 3/10 - 2 for Hyeon Bin's face, and 1 for his hair.
AD
