Genie, Make a Wish: Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- Jul 30
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Title: | Genie, Make a Wish (2025) |
Platform: | Netflix |
MDL & IMBD Rating: | |
Genre: | Contemporary Fantasy/ Romance |
Episode Count: | 13 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | MA: Violence (Decapitated heads, murder, blood), Smoking, language (so many F and B words),Religious sensitivities: takes creative liberty w/ figures from Islam (also in Christianity?) From comments, some found it to be disrespectful. For more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32409807/parentalguide/ |
Starring: | |
RBTS Rating: | 3.1/5 Stars (A Contemporary Fantasy that tries too hard to feel like a Marvel show with a sky high budget, on location shoots, and a great cast that struggled with their inconsistent characters trapped in a convoluted plot like a Genie in a bottle. I would like to make a wish that this was better.)  |
Cast From Left to Right: #BaeSuzy, #KimWooBin, #AhnEunJin, #SteveNoh, #KoKyuPil
Synopsis:
Cold, impassive Ga Yeong has spent her life under her grandmother’s care, whose watchful eye and tough-love approach have helped keep Ga Yeong’s psychopathic tendencies in check. When Ga Yeong unexpectedly stumbles upon a magical lamp, she awakens the mysterious spirit Genie from his thousand-year slumber — and yes, he promises the young woman three life-changing wishes. Unleashed into a new millennium, Genie’s mischievous magic shakes up Ga Yeong’s quiet life, andas he navigates the unfamiliar realities of the modern world, the two find themselves in a surprising whirlwind romance. But just when things couldn’t get any less predictable, Ga Yeong learns her wish-granting sidekick is actually Iblis, better known as Satan, who is hell-bent on proving that humans are corruptible. It’s a whole new twist on the genie-in-a-lamp story, and when Ga Yeong’s intractability and tightly controlled routines meet Genie’s trickster energy and clueless charm, it sets the stage for a romance that will be anything but ordinary. @MDL
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
Genie, Make a Wish was one of my most highly anticipated dramas of 2025, and after viewing, became my biggest let down. The screenplay was penned by the masterful Kim Eun Sook who blessed our unworthy eyes with Mr. Sunshine, Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, and The Glory. The drama also saw the return of Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin after both had a two year hiatus from television, with the added bonus of a budget of 1.5 million USD per episode. So it should have been great, but this is why we can't have nice things.
The drama is thematically and tonally all over the place. It really embraced a Marvel-equsue vibe, but couldn’t balance the silly with the more edgy and sad elements, hence they were overshadowed. If felt like the shiny streaming service slop usually served up in many Star Wars and Marvel produced shows these day, not at all like a K-Drama.
Genie, Make a Wish faced backlash almost instantly for allegations of misusing Arabic and Islamic culture and religious figures for entertainment in a way that doesn't uphold the integrity or sanctity of these figures. The crux of the issue is that the Male Lead of the drama is the genie Iblis, the devil who refused to bow to Adam in Islamic texts. I am not informed enough on this material to have an opinion, so I can't provide clarity or meaningful commentary as I'm not an insider to the culture or religion, but K-dramas have really put their foot in their mouths when it comes to Arabic culture lately. Granted, the drama was NOT trying to be serious, but it's important to stay informed and keep in mind the perspective of other cultures, especially when you are taking material from them. The drama was review bombed due to the backlash, but it also just wasn't very good. Another layer to the controversy is that the drama is a blatant advertisement for Dubai, and had too much AI, both of which are points I agree with.
There were fun cameo’s from K-Drama actors, as well as references to popular dramas throughout, but again, it was almost a Marvel Universe hail Mary to get more hype for a show that doesn't have a plot that can keep attention. I feel like you turn to cameo publicity when you've run out of story and interest.
Bae Suzy did a fantastic job as the emotionless psychopath Ki Ga Yeong (FL) because she truly gave us nothing until the end. So good job? But seriously, I kinda liked her performance; she made me shed a tear many times. Kim Woo Bin was pretty meh as the Genie with some unnecessary aura farming moments, but his character was written inconsistently, so that might be the reason the actor seemingly never found his flow. Ahn Eun Jin stays slaying, but her character's (THE GRANDMA!) relationship with Choi Min Ji was weird. What was happening lol.
Genie, Make a Wish boasts an all star cast, great CGI, and on location shoots that should make it eye catching, but its illogical and convoluted plot, and inconsistent characters made it a hollow story with a shiny shell of a train wreck you absolutely can look away from.
Story=2.5 (Convoluted) , Acting= 3.5 (The FL actress nailed her role, which was to have no emotion, so yay? Didn’t really like the ML actor), Production Quality=5, Ending=2.75 (weird, but acceptable), Enjoyability=3 (I binged it), Would I rewatch= No
Trailer:
Director: #AhnGilHo (Happiness, The Glory, Marry My Husband: Japan, Memories of Alhambra)
Screenwriter: #KimEunSook (The Glory, Descendants of the Sun)
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