Runtime: 123 minutes (at least that's the version I saw; it's on Amazon)
Directed by: Jung Byung-Gil
Starring: Kim Ok-Bin, Shin Ha-Kyun, Sung Joon, Kim Seo-Hyung, Jo Eun-Ji
From: A multitude of Korean companies
A lot of people like this recent import from South Korea; I did not. Find out why below:
I've known of this movie for a few months now. I was disappointed when it did not play anywhere near where I lived. Finally, the film recently entered the world of VOD and I decided to take the plunge. I heard a lot of strong praise so I was hoping this'd be something I would love. Alas...
It started off well. I wish part of it wouldn't have been shot first person (or all of it been overdirected) but you still had a badass woman gun down and slice with blades at least 50 dudes and it was tremendous. Then the plot starts and... aside from not really enjoying the overplotted story in general, it is told in the most confusing non-linear way and honestly I grew frustrated with that nonsense. Hell, besides the story being overdone, so it the direction. The action scenes aren't the only place where the camera moves around too much or they try to make it look like it was shot in one take or other elements that in other films can be fine but here was distracting; the action scenes weren't the only things ruined by too much direction (i.e. using GoPro cameras, which is just one of the problems I had with it). It happened during some dialogue scenes too.
Why couldn't have this been easy and simple like John Wick? That was awesome and did not have all that nonsense as you saw an incredible warrior take out a bunch of scumbags because they were scumbags. That's all you needed there. John Wick 2, I did not like that story either but at least the action beats weren't done in a frustrating way. Atomic Blonde-a natural comparison due to their leads and coming out at almost the same time in the United States-had its issues too but I found that a lot more enjoyable and again, I had no problem with its action beats.
I knew little about the movie going in besides some pretty strong praise so I was blind to the elements I had the most issue with. To say I am disappointed I did not have a rad old time with this like I have with some other Korean klassics is describing my feelings mildly. I understand those that love the movie-what I got was not what I wanted.
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