Genius series! It depressed me but it also made me laugh my ass off! I haven't seen such an amazing character study in such a long time. Lee Sung Jin is one of the best TV minds in the business right now! And the performances broke me! This one is gonna stick with me for a while.
Starring Steven Yuen and Ali Wong, Beef explores what happens when a cycle of violence continues to escalate. I initially thought this was going to be a comedy, and don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of comedic moments, but it slowly morphs into something different and wholly unique. There’s a degree of insanity to it, but it’s made well and fits so perfectly into the binge model. Dark, twisted, and fun.
The premise sounds like it would make for a film length instead of a miniseries one, but it turns out unpacking two existential blackholes at the hearts of two individuals on a collision course can indeed be that long if utilized well. Dark screwy "fun".
Really strong show all the way up to an ending that just killed its momentum. It's pretty funny, has a simple but engaging enough plot, and the acting is fairly good. However, the dynamic between the leads can get a bit dry, and by the end it sort of ran out of ideas in a pathetic way. The episodes are sometimes shot in a very pretentious way, and it's a lot more style compared to substance. Yet I kept watching to the end, since Steven Yuen and Ali Wong played such great antiheros. Glad it was released, yet I hope there isn't a second season since I really hated the ending.
(+) Strong acting from cast, with dynamic range presented
(+) A good looking show, shot well enough and containing some good stages
(+) Funny, with multiple styles of humor showcased
(=) Premise is not too original, and gets old after a while
(-) Awful, pretentious ending
Final Verdict: 8/10 (Great)
This took me a few episodes to get into but by the end whoah I was blown away! Steven Yeun & Ali Wong deserve all the awards they get & the supporting cast was great too. I really couldn't see where it was going & while I hope there is a second season to see where the characters end up I don't know if it will have the same impact as this, it was really something special.
I avoided it for months because I kinda always assume that any Netflix show is uselessy overlong and boring, but then I decided to trust other people and watch it. And it’s amazing! The road rage premise taken to extremes is quite fun until the end but under that there’s an amazingly intense tale about (1) how fucked up we are, (2) life as (children of) immigrants and (3) how much it sucks to live in the USA. Great actors, amazing writing, a crazy but heartfelt ending… I hope they don’t make more seasons. Side note: Lee Sung Jin and Jake Schreier created, wrote and directed (with other people, of course) this show and are now working on Thunderbolts. And I realize that ten years ago I would have thought “Great, they seem perfect!”, five years ago I would have thought “I’d prefer they do their stuff but I’m happy to see good creators work on those movies”, now I think “No, please, someone must save them!” Sigh.
I wasn't sure if i was in the right mood to watch something with this plot but it overcame my expectations..Nice plot twists,great humor,and good characters. 8.0/10 if the ending was better i would rate it more but i believe it could be more emotional.
wow! just wow!
this series make you think about life and relationships with others!
Shout by looperBlockedParent2023-04-13T14:23:50Z
This is the definition of taking things too far. Great show, very well put together characters. The ending will definitely take you by surprise.