'Squid Game' 3 debuts at No. 1 in PH, 92 other countries, territories; gets mixed reviews

July 1 ------ The third and final season of the hit Korean series “Squid Game” made its debut at No. 1 in 93 countries and territories. “Squid Game” season 3 was released on Netflix on June 27, one of the most anticipated series by fans. According to streaming analytics website FlixPatrol, “Squid Game” season 3 is No. 1 in 93 countries and territories.

These are Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.

“Squid Game” season 3, just like season 1, tells the story of 456 players who enter deadly children’s games to win 45.6 billion won (about $33.5 million).

It stars Lee Jung-jae Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, Kang Ha-neul, Yim Si-wan, Jo Yuri, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Roh Jae-won and Park Gyu-young. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Squid Game” season 3 got a score of 86 percent on the Tomatometer and 66 percent on Popcornmeter.

Reviews are mixed for “Squid Game” season 3. The New York Times wrote, “Some honest nihilism, on the one hand, or some old-fashioned, nuanced melodrama and compassion, on the other, could make it matter. Lacking those, we’re left with a body count.” “But ultimately, even as Squid Game amps up the brutality and forces characters to make even more terrible choices, we have seen versions of this story before. And that familiarity robs the narrative of its impact – particularly when the show so often telegraphs what is coming for viewers well before it finally happens,” according to NPR.

“That endgame is nothing short of gutting. Though we do get the occasional glimpse of hope, it’s overshadowed by horror after horror, each revealing a new dimension of Director Hwang’s diatribe against greed. This doesn’t make Season 3 a rehash of Season 1 but a profound, frequently poignant, and, yes, thrillingly twist-packed deepening of its themes. It is, in particular, an acknowledgment that individual heroes, burdened by conscience and a disproportionately low share of resources, can only do so much in the face of systemic evil,” TIME wrote.

The Hollywood Reporter headlined its review with “Netflix’s Once-Thrilling Smash Limps to an Unsatisfying Finish,” writing, “By the time ‘Squid Game’ finally crawls over the finish line, there’s no sense of the triumph you might get from completing a really good story — only of relief that this entire grueling experience is finally over.”

Source: mb.com.ph