EXO has only ever once really impressed me with a release, but I definitely enjoy how they routinely make catchy tracks in Chinese, it's easily the best thing about them. This MV's been getting a lot of flack from the international community for the mismatched sporting gear, the artsy-weird aesthetics gone wild, and the fact that nothing at all in the MV feels even remotely relevant... At least when SM's box comes into play there's no expectation for anything to happen outside of that box. This seemed like it was trying for symbolism or a story and just never quite got there... It's visually appealing, but it's definitely not very good in the wider scheme of things.
         The track itself is lovely, nothing ground breaking, but it's catchy and genuinely great to listen to. The Chinese version is my favorite and it's generally just a good song that's not great, but was never expected to be. I like the follow-up less than I like Call Me Baby because even with the main promo's weird choreo, the track was just a bit more interesting and at least I could tell what was supposed to be happening in the video. There's not actually a single moment in watching this video that I have any ability to confidently explain what's going on or even to guess how the image matters in relation to any other image. And considering the fact that I have a COLLEGE DEGREE in Media Analysis... that's unsettling... and kind of annoying, to be honest.

           Don't get me wrong, they've got skill and I've got a few members I particularly enjoy, but SM has rarely used any of Exo's talent well and their releases are usually just plain blah. I've been waiting to review this MV in case another one came out to make it tie into the whole #pathcode thing of awesome teasers that seem to have turned out to be nothing more that promises of false hope... I might go though the #pathcode videos and explain their individual awesomeness, and why their lack of tie-in to the MV is just so disappointing, but that seems like a lot of effort considering the fact that I'd be discussing a disappointment rather than praising something I'm actually excited about... In related news, I'm regretting the fact that I waited so long to make this review because I had a beautifully summational quip about how this release is both lovely and epically disappointing at once, and now I can't recall it.
           The track itself is catchy, and quite delightful over all. It's pretty well balanced and spatialized, and it moves well as the melody progresses. There's enough variance in the lyrics to keep it interesting and yet enough consistency to make it easy to sing along to; it really is a fairly well crafted pop piece. There's no deeper meaning or underlying current of power to keep it resonating after it ends. Other than the catchiness there's nothing in it to demand attention. If I wasn't paying attention and it came on shuffle, it wouldn't be enough to register distinctly, whereas others (even others made by Exo) make you look up for a moment at pay attention.
            The styling is great, beautifully keyed in to both the settings and to the personalities presented by each member. 13 people is a lot to keep track of and despite the fans' ease with it, carefully delineating outfits are a welcome aid to casual observers. The choreography is less suited to... well anything. The movements are awkward and stilted, not because Exo is, but because the movements are too sharp to take shape and because they move outside the lyrics and too on-point to the rhythms (seriously, pausing for a beat so that a crotch-grab is an isolated on-beat occurrence seems just in bad taste). Sometimes movements that are unrelated to the rhythms or words works, but here it just feels awkward: just random whacking and hand-waving for the sake of being impressive rather than relevant. The gratuitous crotch-grabbing is just annoying, and the gratuitous hip-bump/crotch-rolls are worthy of an eye-roll. There are aspects of the choero that I do enjoy, when the members of the group are utilized as effects (I'm mostly thinking of the bit around 2:40 as the bridge rolls). Over all though, it's just there, impressive but not in a way that makes it instantly recognizable...
            Still, the over all MV is pretty good. Catchy song, gorgeous guys, neat camera tricks; it's just not enough.

First of all, I'm super confused with the fact that out of everything that could be said to rag on this track and its MV, the thing I've seen most often is that it doesn't fit the genre of 'Urban Dance' ...  Nothing in Kpop conforms to any version of American genre delineations, so it's a criticism that I utterly have no understanding of. If anyone could care to explain, I'd love to hear it. The one valid point in the critique: the attitude, or lack thereof. It's not that Exo doesn't have the grit to pull off the aggressive vibe they seem to be going for in this, It's that a choice has been made for them not to maintain it for some reason. Parts of the choreography just break the image so completely that I have trouble taking the rest seriously. The part at 2:46 is especially jarring, cheek-poking aegyo just has NO place in this video and it irks me in no small measure that it was included. And the strange imagery in the beginning and end... it's more of the useless and unrelated (vaguely-Gothic) artsy stuff that SM included on SHINee's Everybody, just toned down slightly. It serves no purpose and contributes nothing to the song, other than member glamour shots (meaning that it could have done much better were it interspersed in the MV rather than segregated and pushed aside). My first thought was of the Maze Runner (which is getting a movie this Fall) and nothing in the MV as it stands can possibly amount to the depth of storytelling that thought made me hope for. The utter lack of story here is another matter entirely. Nothing happens in the MV, it's just so beyond generic that it hurts to see SM promoting it. Even dance MVs can have choreography that tells a story and SM has done it before, with Exo even: Growl & Wolf were both pretty awesome by choreography alone... This was just a string of strange movements thrown together for the sake of showing just how bizarre things can be, and to make people ogle at the physical prowess of the boys.  

Sure, all of it appeals to a certain sect of the fanbase, but it ensures that the appeal of this release is extraordinarily narrow. The appeal of Kpop is rather limited anyway, the visuals are rather overwhelming (the interesting fashion ideals, the choreography that is just so different than anything in the West, etc), so adding anything even more outside of Western understanding means that it'll be an impossible sell. I would never use Overdose's MV to introduce a friend to Kpop as a vein of musical exploration. It's just too... niche. There's also something really odd going on with all the sporadic zooming, and that one stab at camera-play at 2:13, it would be cool if there was any consistency to it. The idea of playing with the camera as a physical object came up in Growl, though to a different effect, and it could have been very cool here but they only do it that one time (and then set it right very shortly afterwards). It's just another element thrown in for the sake of having cool stuff thrown in rather than making the cool bits actually integral to the video as a whole. Also the degree to which the light-flashing overwhelmed everything else in the video was tragic. It was far worse than in Growl, where the background was at least bland enough to make keeping track of things a viable possibility. With all the crazy textures and colors of the various backdrops here, it was nearly impossible to actually focus on a single member or on the actual coordinational appeal of the movements in the choreography. It was all very distracting and not in a good way. Supposedly there's a drama version on the way and for Exo's sake I hope it's a much better MV than SM's been used to giving them.

             After a long wait, though no longer than any wait that we could possibly expect coming from SM, the drama version (episode) of Growl & its companion tracks was finally released! All in all, I like Ep 2 better than Ep 1, if only because I know the characters slightly better, which partially excuses most of the lack in character development that is pretty much the trend of this dramatic story-thing. I have been left no less confused than I was at the end of Ep 1, but I'm much more satisfied with it because frustration is a thing you can sometimes get over when the story's got enough potential. Seriously, the fanfiction that this whole thing is generating is phenomenal. Also, I'm pleased with it because even though the ending was not at all an ending, it hints that Exo will be returning with yet another comeback this year, presumably with several new songs as all of the ones on XOXO have now been utilized. SM might be milking their one big cash-cow pretty hard these days, but hey, at least Exo is keeping us all interested.                   Again, this MV needed to be about 5 minutes longer than what we ended up with, and honestly I'm hoping SM has a horde of footage that is going to be attached to each of these episodes at the end of next year (or whenever they get around to the finale piece) and they'll release an hour and a half movie-ish drama thing that combines the properly made versions of each episode into a single massive thing that they can sell on DVD. I would totally spend real money on that DVD, a lot of real money.
            In terms of confusion in the second one, a lot of my concerns are actually carry-overs from the first one. I still don't quite understand the whole point: like who are the bad guys? And why exactly are they the bad guys (I mean aside from the fact that wanting to beat up on any member of Exo is a crime against humanity)? Kris gives Luhan this special mission thing, and that mission thing is . . . ? And why are they the only to with the glowy hand thingies? Don't all of the Exo members have super-powers? Does Luhan turn human at the end of this one? Is that supposed to be a good thing or what? And why is Kris pissed when he comes back at the end (and where on earth did he go to begin with)? When Luhan escorts the girlie out and is more or less assaulted by her friend . . . she just goes home? And our mysterious bad guy appears again . . . Why doesn't anyone walk this chick home? Seriously, there's currently ten perfectly healthy, theoretically masculine & protective guys revolving around this one girl and NONE OF THEM WALK HER HOME IN THE DARK WHEN THERE ARE CREEPY THUG-GUYS ROAMING ABOUT? Even the bad guys are carrying flashlights for heaven's sake, someone should have realized that letting a teenage girl walk home alone in the dark in the middle of a city was probably a poor life decision... Why do the bad guys have Luhan's cell number? (This one can be excused supposing that the chicka had his phone number, but there's really very little to make that idea logical. They've known each other for maybe a month, and he hospitalized one of her older friends, getting his number in my phone would totally be on the top of my list of things to do this week, were I her.)  Why exactly does Luhan lose control when he goes into super-power mode? He's telekinetic. He moves objects with his mind. In no definition I have ever heard of is telekinesis connected to rage-monster. An how on earth does Kris have any idea what's going on? His power is flight. He can FLY. The whole magical wave-hand-over-bed-and-know-mission-aborted is not a part of flying. (Granted his hand-sign is a a dragon and dragons are supposed to have super sagely wisdom, so I suppose that could be a part of it, but still . . . It would be nice to have that explained.
And then perhaps the most important question of all: When is Ep 3 going to surface?
            Good points about Ep 2 include the fact that Luhan is adorable, Kai is macho-man protective & and has a nicely dramatic moment with Luhan, Kris has more than 3 seconds on camera, and well, part two came out after all so we can be pretty sure that we'll eventually get part three... Also, the part where our leadin lady follows him home is fabulous, it conveys concern and fear in equal parts and it shows the building trust between them well. And how it transitions into the next scene is another great moment, easily the best part of the video, cinematically speaking.
           Over all, like Ep 1, Ep 2 falls flat on a a story with some epic potential. However, Growl's dance version (at least the 1st one) is fabulous, where as Wolf's dance version is . . . sub par. Unfortunately, as they are separate MVs the dance versions have no impact on the grade here, so this is another from Exo that fails to score high.

Well, that was utterly predictable. SM has released the dance version first, and the drama version hangs in the ether waiting to throw this round of promotions sideways just like the Wolf drama version did.

Anyway, my bad feelings for SM Ent aside, I actually really like this MV. The boys don't look half as ridiculous as they did for Wolf, the setting is much more organic and therefore more appropriate for an MV released in the midst of an epic 'real-ish world' storyline, and the choreography is absolutely kickin'. It all bounces perfectly within the context of Growl's melody, exploiting the smoothe sections for sensuous moves and utilizing the sharper sections for quick aggressive movements. I especially adore the little skipping bits that move the boys and the camera around the warehouse, it's a nice throw to Wolf and it's a beautiful use of the song's bouncy beat. I love how the boys play with the camera and the 'scene' transitions are flawless. It feels very one-take-only in the best way.

Musically speaking, Growl is far superior to Wolf. Despite the fact that on it's own, that is not much of an accomplishment, Growl is actually a very good song. The harmonic development is fabulous and the raps work well to delineate the sections while utilizing a singular uniting bass-line (if you recall, one of my biggest problems with Wolf was that it tried to cram six different songs into one. There was just too much going on and nothing to tie all the different bits together. Growl does not have that problem). The track manages to squeeze a few different genres in, but it still doesn't leave a listener feeling lost. There's a great use of delay, and reverb, and echo, and the synth-piano contrast is very well capitalized on to set up the various sections. Also, it's not a carbon copy of anything TVXQ or SHINee has done, it's not exactly a revamp of anything EXO's done before! It's a miracle! Admittedly it does have a very similar vibe to EXO's previous release, but at very least it's original enough so that I can't imediately identify the track(s?) it's based on.

Also, this is the first promotion from EXO that I've seen in which the Korean Vers is treated with almost exactly the same level of care and attention as the Chinese version. Usually one or the other is dramatically better, and I usually gripe about it endlessly. This time, however, SM has actually done well. The Chinese version is still a bit better, but it's really a fractional difference. Only time will tell if that pertains to the other songs on the repackaged album (I'm hoping that the Korean version have all been magically remastered), but so far, this is the best release EXO has ever put out.

        Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't too keen on watching this, which is why I actually forgot about it entirely until it came up on my tumblr this morning because of the Growl teasers. Wolf is an okay song and the dance version of the MV has some cool choreography, but it really wasn't anything worth the hype it won.
        The drama version is actually quite fabulous, first and foremost because Heart Attack and Don't Go are both much better songs than Wolf. Of course, any drama version is better than a dance version, by default. The drama version really should have been released first, two weeks or so before the comeback as a full album preview (with part two being released one full week before the comeback to make the anguish of not knowing hit a peak, but not be absurd), and the dance version should have been used to maintain the thrill, previewing the choreography on like the Monday before the Music Show performances. SM should have known that. Besides, SM dropped the drama version out of nowhere, there was next to no warning for it and poof there it is, all the hype that came was post-release which is honestly tragic, because videos are supposed to promote appeal not garner attention because of other promotions.
        Anyway, this MV should be like three minutes longer than it is, the plot progression needed to slow down and the characters develop a bit more, give the fluff scenes a fuller feel. Right now they feel rushed and like they're just there to establish a love line. If there were a few more scenes in school, a little more initial distrust, some shots around the town, out shopping, showing them having more and more fun, and then a private smile or two, walk her to the bus and then pause have both reflect on each other . . . give the story just a bit more STORY . . . it could actually be really good. And the first scene, there should be more to that as well, background on why he's getting this assignment, why that girl is key for some reason, the magic blue-glowiness . . . it that a pack thing? IS there even a pack? or what? if there was just a little bit more . . . it would be epic. Also, Wolf actually works really well with the fight scene. On its own, it's not a good song, but it makes for great dramatic BGM. They didn't use it well, the songs pauses were not exploited and the dramatic swirls of melody were entirely ignored, which is practically criminal, but still, it's a better use of the song than in the previous music video.
        The drama version has SO much potential to be incredible. But they really didn't do it right, especially towards the end: The trigger that makes her get off the bus confuses me, I mean there is a sightline shot of her seeing the bad guys, but she waits so long after seeing them, there's no way she couldn't have caught up to them before they made it to the warehouse. They should have shown her antsy as she was, but watching them walk away from her, THEN have her get up and off the bus to run after them, but only once they've disappeared from sight. And why everyone abandons him bothers me, there's not a long enough pause between "yay I beat the baddies" and "opps I accidentally hurt a good guy". And how on earth did she not get involved with the fighting? Come on, a terrified girl standing at the door, making everyone pause as the bridge comes up? That would have been perfect, and it would have made the perfect catalyst for his little psychotic-super-fighter-kill-everyone-fit in a way that makes more sense than "oh know my friends". If he was protecting her, than anyone near her would have been a threat, including his friends. Since he wasn't protecting her, and was protecting his friends, seeing them as enemies makes next to no sense, even in the haziness of battle. And that they just left... instead of turning on him, roughing him up at least a little . . . but no, a disgusted look and a bump of a shoulder is all they throw at him. Not even a single punch of hurt or outrage? I don't buy it for a second. Sure one wants too, grabs his jacket and all, and the others hold him back, but someone should have been able to get at least one good swing in. And that she has to approach him, instead of say confront him from being pinned underneath him as he 'protects' her . . . and we don't even see her see him go all bad-ass, whats to say she really did see him, where's the drama in having her just go up to him and talk?  We should have had a shot of her watching, horrified from the sidelines at the very least! And also that she has no back up is ridiculous, not one of the other guys stayed behind? Come on, they HAD to have seen her go inside, and not one thought, "this could be a bad thing, maybe I should stick around", seriously? I just really don't buy it.
        And where is part two? With teasers for Growl floating around . . . is it going to be Growl's MV? From the teasers, it looks like the same set up as Wolf: mediocre dance MV first, then a drama version. If that's the case, SM has truly fallen, but still I'm hopeful.
        On it's own this MV is incomplete and therefore cannot earn anything over a 9, and as I have so much I would like to change about what the MV does have . . . as much as I think it's a great video and I do truly like it, it is not, technically speaking, very good.

For Exo, I think it's a well made track, they've been seriously gypped on the musical qualities of their releases, but I definitely agree that the song's construction is a complete mess. There's no real shape to the song. The transitions between sections are pretty well done and the chorus and bridge are nice on their own but they really don't fit into the song. The bridge especially, I think it's honestly quite wonderful. And their vocals are strong and smoothe in all the best ways.

The styling's pretty cool I like the eyes and most of the hair styles, but the clothing is pretty much a standard raid of the SM over-size scraps closet. All that baggy clothing . . . it's all very familiar, I'm pretty sure it's made a few other SM MVs and none of it was made very memorable. In Wolf, it looks pretty good, but it's just there, none of it has any real oomph to it.

I LOVE the choreo, it's powerful and complex. It plays off the concept and it makes good use of all the members, but meh, it's still not very high on my list of releases for summer 2013. And for heavens sake the MV is them dancing around in a room. They really could have pushed the concept further, added some story, maybe taken the leap into the real world... Anything to make it more interesting.

Over all, it's blah and SM is really showing that they're stressed at the seams. SM is a dying company and if they don't shape up soon the Big 4 is going to go back to 3 and SM will be nothing but a memory.