Hotel Del Luna is a show that borrows well-known elements from most genres out there yet manages to fizzle out into nothing.
Now, don't get me wrong the show has its positives. For one, the sets and costumes are beautiful. The CGI is for the most part impressive considering this is a TV-show and not a movie, although I suspect they had quite the budget to work with. Music is another aspect where this series delivers even though some songs were overused the soundtrack alone saved many scenes, especially towards the end when emotional impact was lacking otherwise. As for acting, the only one who had anything at all to work with was IU and she delivered.
Unfortunately, this is where everything gets stinky. The writing is just bad. Yeo Jin Goo's character is reduced early on to solely being the love interest and the show suffers because of that. The few times the script allowed him to show emotion there are glimpses of what could have been of his character. Side-characters are nothing more than comic relief or hollow emotional impact, except for their 20-minute individual story, all hurridly concluded in the final episode mind you. Plot elements are introduced in the final episode in an attempt to make the foreshadowed ending seem more poignant than it is, but ultimately only takes away from the little that had already been established. I could go on and on but it is such a waste since the first few episodes where promising and then it completely stumbles and falls less than halfway in.
The direction was okay. There were loads of reused compositions and camera angles which quickly became tedious and did the stunning sets no favors. This was particularly the case inside the hotel and around the "tunnel"-part.
In my opinion, the show had its best moments when it deviated from the main story and dealt with the "hotel cases". These were often concluded in the same episode and managed to subtly touch upon various topics. But overall this was a huge letdown.
Now, don't get me wrong the show has its positives. For one, the sets and costumes are beautiful. The CGI is for the most part impressive considering this is a TV-show and not a movie, although I suspect they had quite the budget to work with. Music is another aspect where this series delivers even though some songs were overused the soundtrack alone saved many scenes, especially towards the end when emotional impact was lacking otherwise. As for acting, the only one who had anything at all to work with was IU and she delivered.
Unfortunately, this is where everything gets stinky. The writing is just bad. Yeo Jin Goo's character is reduced early on to solely being the love interest and the show suffers because of that. The few times the script allowed him to show emotion there are glimpses of what could have been of his character. Side-characters are nothing more than comic relief or hollow emotional impact, except for their 20-minute individual story, all hurridly concluded in the final episode mind you. Plot elements are introduced in the final episode in an attempt to make the foreshadowed ending seem more poignant than it is, but ultimately only takes away from the little that had already been established. I could go on and on but it is such a waste since the first few episodes where promising and then it completely stumbles and falls less than halfway in.
The direction was okay. There were loads of reused compositions and camera angles which quickly became tedious and did the stunning sets no favors. This was particularly the case inside the hotel and around the "tunnel"-part.
In my opinion, the show had its best moments when it deviated from the main story and dealt with the "hotel cases". These were often concluded in the same episode and managed to subtly touch upon various topics. But overall this was a huge letdown.