SHINee Serves A Beautiful "View" For Latest MV

GUYS I know I'm late with this one, like embarrassingly late, but better late then never, right? To make it even more stressful I have about 10 other reviews to write because the summer comebacks are seriously taking over right now.

It's been over a month since SHINee released "View", and I knew when I watched it right away that it was a special comeback they were bringing this time around. Although I found their overall promotions to be a bit too short (shame on you SM) I still enjoyed every performance they put on.

I've written previously about my undying love for this song in particular, and I have to say that the song contributes to the overall impression of the video quite a lot too. This honestly isn't a song I would have expected any K-pop act to release pretty much ever, but I'm glad that it was SHINee who received the honor of bringing it to life. My ears will remain forever grateful. About the video though, there is a bit of a conflict going on within me as I watch it because it's wonderful but also kind of dangerous.



First of all, let me praise the people responsible for sending Shinee not only out of the SM-box but out of the god damn country. This video was shot in the heat of Thailand, and instantly the quality of the video rises twice as high. I wouldn't have mind them shooting in Korea either, because any place that isn't a video set is good, but choosing Thailand as the destination was definitely a spot-on choice. Otherwise I can imagine the video taking place in sunny California, mainly because of the way the song sounds, but maybe their budget wasn't that big.

I'm firstly going to discuss the problematic aspect of the video, because it's quite bothering. The video starts of with the boys leaving one of their events and are heading towards their car, only to discover they're actually being kidnapped by a bunch of girls who have somehow hijacked the van. The girls actually kidnap them and drive somewhere far off, which to me sounds like a terrible idea for a plot.

If it would have been them just going on a regular road-trip with their girlfriends without anything involving masks or anesthesia it would have been great, but you can't really neglect the way they choose to start off the video. The main issue is naturally that crazy fans might get ideas about how they should try and do the same thing, and while it sounds lunatic it's not improbable because SM stans are always the craziest. It's a tiny detail yes, because the rest of the video isn't very problematic at all, but still.

Apart from that I can't really find any flaws with this MV. If you take a look at the lyrics you can kind of get an idea of what they're going for, but the lyrics are indeed quite ambiguous. It might be about love, sex, exploring the world's beauty or any other kind of unearthly experience. The focus lies very much on impressions, senses and feelings, and no matter how you interpret it there is something for everyone in the video. After having been taken to the middle of nowhere, the boys and their kidnappers (who also happen to very physically attractive) try to find their way to civilization. At first they seem confused, but later realize the gift they've been given: freedom.

They've been taken away from their life of stardom and get to play around on the streets, party as if no one's watching and get intimate with the some of the girls. It's always a treat for the fans to see their favorites have fun and enjoy themselves, and that is exactly what the video provides. The members get to roam around freely, enjoy their surroundings, themselves and life in it's most joyous form.

Watching it truly feels like an surreal experience, and that's not only because they've physically been let out of the box. Not much about any of it screams K-pop, apart from the dancing scenes perhaps, but it's more a video about five young men living and experiencing life as they should at that age had they not been superstars. It's relieving and liberating, but as with everything it also must come to an end, hence the siren noises at the end of the video where you can assume the police are showing up to arrest the kidnappers.

From an artistic viewpoint this MV also has many positive aspects, because like with the song it has pretty much none of the typical sequences you find in standard K-pop videos. Sure there are some dancing here and there, but even that is not as flashy and in-your-face as you'd normally see. I actually don't think there's a single close-up of them lip-syncing throughout the entire video. An attention-grabbing performance isn't the main attraction of this comeback either like it was with "Everybody", but more so the entire concept. It screams out summer, parties, love, but most of all maturity, and that is exactly what the video includes as well. I honestly couldn't have thought of a better MV to match the song.

It's a real treat for both fans and critics alike. Aesthetically it's beautiful to watch, and I love the way it feels like an Instagram or Tumblr photograph come to life, both with the coloring and way the frame has been cut off to appear longer and thinner. It feels very modern and in time with today's pop-culture in the west, and I know I said it before but the how western this comeback is has really thrown me off quite a bit. I'm surprised but also over the moon that it's Shinee who got to go on this journey, both musically and with their video-making.

To finish this long review off; I'm really, really happy about the outcome of this comeback. The album "Odd" is great, this title track is literally one of the greatest summer tracks period, and the music video is everything I could have hoped for. I'ts not perfect, but it's pretty darn close. My only complaint, and yes there is one, is the styling. Some of the clothes they've been wearing throughout the promotion cycle have been pretty good, but the majority has been kind of embarrassingly bad, almost to the point of laughter. Shinee always looks good, I know, but their stylists have kind of done them wrong with this comeback. True, it's a tiny fault whilst looking at the comeback as a whole, but I thought I'd at least mention my dislike for their outfits. Apart from the styling mishap, there's not much to complain about but I'm biased too so whatever these boys put out I'm bound to be on board.

Song: 5/5
Video: 4,25/5