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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Joel Snape

Physical: Asia review – some of these super-strong contestants look like barrels wrapped in muscles and hair

‘Chiselled physical specimens’ … some of the contestants in Netflix’s Physical: Asia.
‘Chiselled physical specimens’ … some of the contestants in Netflix’s Physical: Asia. Photograph: Casa de Foto/Netflix

If there was one problem with Physical 100, the Korean gameshow featuring top-flight athletes rolling boulders, hauling mine carts and unspooling giant ropes in a bid to find the ultimate physique, it might have been a lack of swagger.

For some people, the starstruck, aw-shucks bonhomie between the contestants was part of the show’s appeal: a breath of sweat-tinged fresh air amid the faux sincerity and psychic barbs of other reality shows. For others, raised on The Real Housewives and boxing weigh-ins, it just wasn’t dramatic enough.

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