My Name – Netflix Review

MY NAME on Netflix is a new crime-thriller series from South Korea. The main protagonist alone is worth watching it for. Also, it has amazing action scenes and, as always, many interesting characters. Read our full My Name series review here!

MY NAME is a new Netflix series from South Korea. After the insanely successful Squid Game, we are getting a new South Korean series that offers something very different. The plot plays out in the organized crime area, so the genres are thriller, crime, drama, mystery, and action.

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Our review of the Netflix series Squid Games which as also from South Korea >

You could watch this Netflix series just for the action scenes, which feature amazing (and very bloody) fights. They are brilliant. Also, the female protagonist is intriguing and intense in all the right ways. Forget a brooding man, give me an innocent-looking girl, who will slit your throat. That is interesting!

Continue reading our My Name series review below and find season 1 on Netflix now.

Han So-hee is a brilliant action star

As mentioned before, the main character is a young woman, who truly kicks ass. Actually, she’s just a 17-year-old girl in episode 1, so you know My Name will also feature a time jump.

However, even at 17 years old, she’s confronting the bad guys – whether it’s the school bully or an organized crime boss. The very sad and brutal backdrop is the fact that she has nothing to lose. As always with South Korean stories, this one is very character-driven and that means we need to understand what drives the characters as well.

The young woman is portrayed by Han So-hee, who I was not familiar with prior to watching her in My Name. However, I am as amazed by her qualities as an action star as I am by her ability to play both 17-years old and a police detective. She can just switch on maturity and age five years in just a few minutes.

While I didn’t know Han So-hee from anything, you can get ready to see some familiar faces from other South Korean productions. Including the Netflix series Kingdom (2019-) and the crime-thriller V.I.P. (2017).

Watch My Name on Netflix now!

Kim Jin-min is the director of My Name with Kim Ba-da as the writer. Previously, Kim Jin-min also directed the Netflix series Extracurricular. Another very interesting series that features young people who are desperate and try to make the best of their lives. You can find our review of Extracurricular right here >

However, the most obvious comparison for My Name is actually a movie from South Korea that came out a few years ago. It’s called The Villainess (read our review here) and it’s about a kickass young woman who seeks revenge. Just like in this new Netflix series, there’s a mystery that must be solved before revenge can happen.

This series has eight 45-minute episodes, which seems appropriate for a good thriller series. Episode 1 sets the stage and while episode 2 is a bit slower, it also introduces many new characters, so it’s understandable. In other words, it’s classic South Korean character-driven storytelling, so just give it time to evolve.

Season 1 of My Name is out on Netflix from October 15, 2021.

Details

Director: Kim Jin-Min
Writer: Kim Ba-da
Stars: Han So-hee, Park Hee-soon, Ahn Bo-hyun, Kim Sang-ho, Lee Hak-ju