Butterfly TV Review: Daniel Dae Kim’s assassin thriller is by-the-numbers but packed with solid performances
Plot: Butterfly follows David Jung, a former US intelligence operative. When the consequences of a decision from his past come back to haunt him, he finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a sociopathic agent assigned to kill him.
Review: One of the highest compliments an adaptation can pay to its source material is to take the concept and make something unique and complementary to the original. In the case of Butterfly, showrunner and co-creator Ken Woodruff loosely brings the 2015 graphic novel created by Arash Amel, written by Marguerite Bennett, and illustrated by Antonio Fuso to life on the small screen, with tonal and cultural changes that make the story feel brand-new.
Taking the story from Oslo, Norway, to Seoul, South Korea, and beyond, Woodruff’s Butterfly trades its Euro-American players for a predominantly Asian cast, led by Daniel Dae Kim, Reina Hardesty, and Piper Perabo. The show’s Asian influences immediately change the vibes and visual flair of the original story, letting the mission unfold in elegant hotels, a beautifully lit massage parlor, and minimalist hideouts instead of snowy mountain ranges, tetanus-ravaged warehouses, and vertigo-inducing rooftops. Still, I wish Butterfly had offered more visual style. One moment, I’d admire the show’s stylish lighting and slick architecture. The next, I’d find myself missing the stand-out environments and wanting more of the aesthetic pop I know the show is capable of. While uneven, Butterfly does take the story to sleek territory from time to time.
Thankfully, the cast is there to draw my attention and hold it at gunpoint. Daniel Dae Kim (and his incredible cheekbones) is a joy to watch. He plays David as a relatively soft-spoken father who is given another chance at reuniting his family after nine years of hiding, strategizing, and being lied to by the people he trusted most. His dark past looms like a shadow, but he tables his sinister side when interacting with his eldest and estranged daughter, Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), and by extension, his wife, played by Kim Tae-hee, and his youngest daughter, Min Hee.
I must confess that I’ve always found Daniel Dae Kim mesmerizing. His bone structure gives him character by default, and Butterfly is an excellent showcase of his acting talents. Instead of relying on the tired trope of a former assassin who no longer kills after developing a moral code, David dispatches aggressors when necessary. This trait makes him unpredictable and lethal, playing well against his father-hoping-to-make-amends disposition.
Reina Hardesty is delightfully deadly as Rebecca, David’s estranged daughter with a knack for assassinating high-profile targets. Initially, Rebecca was a mixed bag. Physically, Rebecca is a spider-like powerhouse of grapples, sweeps, and chokeholds. However, some of her dialogue in the first half of the series feels exposition-heavy, with her stating the obvious or hammering in primary plot points. To be clear, this is a scripting issue. Hardesty’s overall performance is excellent! Rebecca is manipulative and angry, but she’s a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. She sometimes shifts her voice to sound more childlike, cloaking her intentions in faux-naivety, working whoever stands between her and her prize. She’s sociopathic, but I love that for her.
Making life hell for David and Rebecca is Juno, the frayed and dangerous figurehead of Caddis, an agency dealing in protection, power grabs, and death. Piper Perabo is far from the Coyote Ugly bar in Butterfly. For most of the series, Juno is unraveling, caring only about personal gain. She expresses despair about the welfare of her woefully inept son, Oliver (Louis Landau). Still, it’s more about circumstances taking away her control than genuine concern about whether Oliver lives or dies. I wish we’d gotten more displays of power from Juno to give her character more menace. I know she’s dangerous, but a scene of two of her going off the deep end would have gone a long way. Nevertheless, Perabo’s performance is intense, and she’s got solid chemistry with Kim, Hardesty, and Landau.
Speaking of Louis Landau, don’t underestimate Oliver. Give his character time to get paranoid. Oliver comes into the series as a sniveling mommy’s boy but evolves into a hot mess as he suspects his mother of trying to kill him. One scene in particular involving Oliver sold me on his character and Landau’s performance. See if you can spot it when you watch the show.
Another fun performance comes from Kim Ji-hoon as the scenery-chewing assassin Gun. He’s a broody killer with an appreciation for curved blades, who slices and dices through anyone to get to his targets, David and Rebecca. Kim Ji-hoon plays Gun like a lone wolf with nothing to prove. He’ll take orders, but doesn’t need to like them. He’s another character I would have liked more background for, but it’s hardly necessary. He’s intimidating, oddly funny, all business, and straight out of an anime. I will momentarily put my matchmaker hat on and say there’s a world where he and Rebecca could place their differences aside to become an assassin power couple.
In addition to being an uncomplicated and fun watch, Butterfly is clever in ways I did not expect. David and Rebecca work well together in the field, playing their targets like fiddles. They’re often several steps ahead of the competition, manipulating the chessboard to their advantage. I enjoyed watching them string characters along and discovering ways the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
With an episode count of six, Butterfly is a tight assassination action drama that does not outstay its welcome. It’s a little by-the-numbers, but sometimes, that’s precisely what you want or need. The engaging performances more than make up for what the show lacks in creativity, though I wouldn’t be surprised if viewers are left wanting more.
Butterfly is a fast and fun ride with an episode count of six. It gets in and out, leaving little time for filler and meandering plotlines. It stays focused on the mission and is more about character than story. I can already see the moving parts of a second season, though without stronger writing, I’m not sure I need to see it. Then again, I’d likely watch it for Kim, Hardesty, and Perabo’s chemistry alone. When the smoke clears, Butterfly won’t set the world on fire. However, if you’re in the mood for lively action, head games, and high-stakes daddy-daughter time, Butterfly takes flight as worthwhile entertainment.
The post Butterfly TV Review: Daniel Dae Kim’s assassin thriller is by-the-numbers but packed with solid performances appeared first on JoBlo.