Reviews

Disaster of a movie

It's like a shittier version of Underworld: Evolution, and Underworld: Evolution is already incredibly shitty so I'm not sure what that makes this.

How anyone can manage to make even Jun Ji-hyun bland is beyond me, like at this point it takes special skills to achieve this as I thought it to be impossible.

And then you somehow notice that this is a Hong Kong American French Chinese Japanese co-production starring a Korean actress playing a Japanese girl speaking English directed by a French guy and jesus what even happened to this movie
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Stunts - 57/100 | The CGI blood is bordering on parody quality here and frankly they should have embraced it. Go full Sin City on that movie!

Narrative - 34/100 | That Alice actress must have lost a bet or something. The bet: say the most outrageous things possible with a serious face. No one could have acted this role and made it work. No one. Congrats Chris Chow, your writing talents (or more accurately: lack thereof) shall not go unnoticed. Genius-ly bad script.

Fight Choreography - 46/100 | I like the exaggerated style they were going for with the action and understand what they were trying to achieve, but it's an utter failure of execution regardless with the nauseating editing and crappy shot continuity.

Enjoyment - 40/100 | Look, it's got Jun Ji-hyun in a lead role playing a 400 (500?) years old vampire dressed like a schoolgirl slicing monsters left and right with a katana, with horrendous CGI blood splattering everywhere. Just for that alone 4/10 is the floor here.

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I last watched this a decade ago and I remembered it being more violent than it is. A lot of the violence happened off-screen (like Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). Or maybe I’m just more used to it now.
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Stunts - 78/100

Narrative - 86/100 | Incredibly well-rounded script, intricate characters, and fully-realized villain that unfortunately don’t do much for me on a personal level... BUT this film is so well-crafted and delightfully twisted that it’s a great watch no matter what. Park Chan-Wook is a wizard behind the camera.

Fight Choreography - 88/100 | What is there left to say about the hallway scene? Hundreds of YouTube comments reading something along the lines of "best fight scene ever" having thousands of upvotes summarize it quite well, albeit being a bit short on the descriptive parts. The scene is so stylish with the groovy music, our main character here never abandoning, cleaving through ranks and ranks of featureless thugs, fighting for his life. And falling.... And standing up again! It's all filmed in one beautiful take, and results in one rough and truly unforgettable fight scene.

But mark my words, this fight scene is not even in the top 5 reasons why you should watch this movie.

Enjoyment - 76/100

Overall 8/10

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What a blast!

I love how this movie takes itself seriously and presents a well-flowing narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat constantly, and not because of contrived reasons but because of dynamic and varied characters with their own goals... AKA a well written movie.

The plot and main beats are quite predictable but that doesn't detract from the movie at all. The zombies' traits are clear, and played to both their strengths and weaknesses.

Huge praise should be given to the stunt crew who made it all believable by throwing themselves like the batshit crazy people they are on every object in that movie. They're scary and completely insane and I loved it!

The contrived setting adds to the movie immensely.

Incredible work and a worthy addition to the zombie genre. It has emotional gravitas too which is also quite the rare sight in this genre.

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Fade to Black version

I recognize this movie’s faults but it left such a strong impression on me that I had to rewatch it the next day before writing this review. I highly recommend watching it a second time if you’re feeling lukewarm after a first watch.

Hits the right notes for me with the dark humor, deliberate pace, mesmerizing, chilling yet oddly engaging lead performance, personal stakes, and splendid editing through multiple time periods. A second viewing brings to light a lot of hidden details in the early parts of the movie that only matter later, details which you can easily miss the first time around.

I’m seeing these revenge films all out of order but I don’t think it really matters. It’s mostly a fabricated trilogy anyway.

I really like intelligent but damaged characters with a plan, an infallible one perhaps, who are dead set on a mission backed by well defined motivations. I also like how this movie doesn’t glorify violence, and also doesn’t carry a big reveal or anything of the sort.

I think from a technical and stylistic standpoint this is quite similar to Oldboy, but this one worked much better on a personal level for me. The two movies are interestingly similar in a way: in Oldboy, we follow the protagonist against the backdrop of a villain with a vicious plan years in the making. In this movie, it’s flipped around on its head — we follow the protagonist with a vicious plan years in the making. I much prefer this iteration.

Regardless, I need to rewatch Oldboy before I make a final stand on this. I can easily see this movie going up another notch on rewatch a few years down the line.

The way I see it is… this movie is quite simply a striking work of art.

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We are all powerless in the face of senseless evil acts

I’m… oh man this thing is harsh.

Not gonna lie, this movie wasn’t really having me in the first half. It was interesting but I wasn’t too into it.

But, like clockwork, as soon as a Park Chan-wook movie (or any movie, really) begins focusing on Song Kang-oh, it’s like magic happens.

This one is quite sadistic. I’d say so far that it’s this director’s most repulsive movie overall, even felt more genuinely gratuitous than Oldboy to me. As usual the script is well-rounded, the pacing deliberate so we can get really into the characters’ messy heads, and the violence often sudden and brutal. I like the twist with the title, a really nice touch.

But what was lacking to me in this movie compared to his other work was the feeling of going on a journey with the characters. I felt detached a bit, like I was missing a piece of the puzzle. I get that the blind man is dense but why is he so? I didn’t get a good sense of that. While Park Chan-wook’s style was much more pronounced in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, this felt less distinguished to me. Slightly.

Sounds from my review so far like this movie is not so good but I thought it was great, and I respect it in a weird way, especially from the half-point and onwards. It’s brilliant and unique in a way and Song Kang-oh’s acting was exceptional. The dramatic irony in this movie is off the charts. It stays with you.

I'm thoroughly impressed with this director.

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Masterpiece

What is it with Park Chan-wook that makes him so talented?

The guy clearly understands how to write and frame broken characters in a sympathetic way. It’s a delicate balance to be honest. If my appreciation of his movies are any indication, I should be thirsting for movies with broken characters as leads but... I’m not. In fact, I prefer flawed but ultimately good characters in general, not genuinely broken ones. But he just forces it on you, continuously, then makes it work so well it’s baffling to me. And heart-breaking.

He did it with Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Oldboy, and he did it again with what I consider his masterpiece, Thirst, a sort of Psychological/Horror/Romantic thriller. A movie about damn vampires of all things! I usually don’t like vampires, or vampire movies. Well, except this one. To say it’s merely a vampire movie would be doing it quite the disservice though. Also, The Handmaiden remains his most erotic movie overall but this is definitely the runner-up on that front.

It’s a movie about abuse, physical and psychological. Return to the primal. And about religion, and faith, and giving back. But strangely enough, there is a melancholic and coming of age aspect to it too—vampire stories often are coming of age stories in one way or another as it can be compared to another form of puberty. And lastly, and most importantly, it’s a movie about power, which drives most of the central relationships.

Song Kang-ho… not much left to say about him. Most people who are remotely familiar with Korean cinema know he’s a legend, and so I have to sing his praises again here. He makes the movie work on a number of levels because of his nuanced performance, what an amazing actor.

But the revelation here absolutely has to be Kim Ok-bin who promptly runs away with the movie. Outright theft in plain sight!

I can already imagine casting agents watching this movie back then going like holy fuck, the range on this one. Stoic, vulnerable, badass, romantic, resolute, in despair, faking all of the above... name it. I was already familiar with her because of The Villainess, and while that was great, this is on another level. The sheer intensity in her gaze at times reminded me of Brigitte Lin, who’s had a much, much more prolific career.

It’s somewhat quite deliberately paced, which may or may not be your cup of tea overall. Watching the beginning after the ending, it does feel odd. This movie is truly a journey of some sort.

And I love it.

Onward to Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. I don’t think one can watch them more outrageously out of order than I did, but whaddaya know...

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Another pretty good Park Chan-wook movie. No surprises here.

Started off a bit rough, the English parts were painful a bit, but by the time the ending came on, I had almost entirely forgotten about the bland early parts.

This is one unique story of friendship. It can be found in the unlikeliest of places indeed. You can always count on Park Chan-wook to deliver the heart-wrenching moments when it truly counts. He knows where his movie's goods are, and he goes all-in on them.

Song Kang-ho delivers, as do all the actors involved (at least, as long as they're speaking korean). I like how even though this is a mystery movie, it isn't the focus so much. The focus is on the dynamic akin to a "lovers on opposite camps" but with friendship instead, and it's effective. It's a nuanced piece done with respect for the characters and their relationships.

It also feels less like a Park Chan-wook movie than his other, highly-stylized work he would later direct. I must say I prefer the latter.

I would put it above Stoker so far, and under the rest. It did take a while to get going.

If a movie like this sits at the bottom of his filmography for me... damn, that's some consistency

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She's convinced she's a cyborg and runs on batteries, not food. What will it take to make her eat?

So basically, what if Park Chan-wook decided to try his hands on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest... but without the incredible story developing throughout the runtime?

Not really my groove, this movie is just too weird and idiosyncratic, but I must admit that the ending was really sweet. It's mostly just a series of oddball events shining light on the setting and colorful characters until the inevitable happens.

I need to gush over Park Chan-wook's directing abilities, yet again. Amazing framing and cinematography as usual. Odd of him to make a romantic comedy, but don't take it to mean that this is a usual romcom, as it couldn't be further from the truth. He heavily injects his own style into it, a style I usually love but here only found serviceable.

By virtue of the quality of his filmography this is, as such, my least favorite film of his, but it's not a bad movie. It was decent. Well at least Stoker isn't at the bottom anymore.

I'll be eagerly waiting for his next movie!

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Came for the action, stayed for the story

I don't know why a lot of people praise the action in this movie, I must commend them for their dedication and it sure must have been quite the effort to stage it and film it, but it's shot in a horrendous and chaotic way. We lack proper perspective or setup for most of it. It's hard to follow when it's first person as well. I think action works at its best when it's a series of "push - release" moments that, in combination with great framing and editing, create a kinetic flow to it.

The motorcycle chase scene in particular stands out as the worst. It's just a mess of shaky cam, awful under-cranking which seems like they actually cut some frames out, and weird editing.

I mean, a lot of the action shots are continuous but they still manage to make it look less slick and coherent than many movies with five times as many cuts. I guess I should blame the camera work.

In fact, this movie is living proof that shaky cam is a lot worse than having many cuts in an action scene. Hong Kong director Corey Yuen is at the opposite end of the spectrum, his action movies have lots of cuts but due to the steady camera work (and precise editing through the cuts), the action stays coherent throughout.

The worst combination is, of course, both of these extreme issues joined together (see: most of Hollywood productions)

HOWEVER, I loved this movie. Came in for the action, stayed for everything else.

The narrative used a lot of wonderful "push-pull" dynamics. If only the action did as well...
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Stunts - 70/100 | Not sure exactly how they filmed some of those stunts which is a plus I guess? This movie is an example of something impressive done behind the camera resulting in... something relatively good on screen but not anything more than that because it's hard to actually see it.

Narrative - 81/100 | I was almost dreading the action-filled finale because the story really drew me in. A great balance of action and drama, shock and tenderness, romance and animosity. It's melodramatic at times but I didn't mind.

Fight Choreography - 67/100 | What I said in the stunts category also applies here. What the action scenes lack in cohesiveness though, they compensate for in terms of violence.

Enjoyment - 84/100 | Kim Ok-bin is the MVP of this movie. Or rather, I thought both actresses playing her character were the MVPs of this movie. But then... apparently she played both versions of herself. How on Earth did they manage to make her look so different before and after plastic surgery?

Or is it what Patrick Stewart refers to when he says "Acting." in a deadpan tone?

If you liked either of LA FEMME NIKITA or THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, be sure not to miss this one.

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Aims for the stars, doesn't reach them, but a valiant effort nonetheless

Always count on the Koreans to make the most batshit crazy movies these days.

When laying out their space opera story, I suppose the question they asked themselves wasn't whether they could do what they envisioned, but instead, how they were gonna do it. Whether they had too much on their plate doesn't seem to have been brought up on the table at all. And somehow, I'd say it worked for me.

My theory is that they threw everything at the wall and hoped something would stick. The human parts did, at least. As did the set design/production design, which were great. Obviously this movie was inspired by American sci-fi movies. Nearly ripping off them, in fact, but since they added this unmistakable Korean touch as soon as the ship crew were brought into the narrative, we'll let it fly. Off the top of my head, I recognized elements of:

WALL-E
Elysium
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and just Star Wars in general.
Firefly/Serenity
Guardians of the Galaxy

And add in The Wandering Earth into the pile, although that's not American.

You get all the crazy, shoddy special effects and endless display of ambition typical of Chinese mainland movies, only without the propaganda. What surprised me the most was that the special effects weren't so bad actually. A few cheap shots here and there sure, but there were many gorgeous effect shots throughout this movie, which was surprising considering its low budget. They managed to accomplish a lot with the resources they had. Also it's worth mentioning but I loved the film's multi-lingual aspect. I heard over 5 different languages spoken extensively in this movie, but it's fine because the characters have universal translators so they understand each other. It's purely there for flavor and worldbuilding, and because they could so they did, which I liked.

The wishful thinking behind the movie's ending was unintentionally hilarious though. Oh sweet summer child…

Speaking of child, the "Cute Kid With Superpowers" MacGuffin is starting to become a bit of a tired cliché.

As for the characters, look... wherever Kim Tae-ri goes, I follow. Firefly-style, drunk and down on her luck captain who's hella badass? Quite the change of pace from her role in The Handmaiden that's for sure. She doesn't look the part, AND gives a speech that essentially inspires the whole planet to fight against corporate overlords (who are headed by Richard Armitage?!) and, however cheesy that was, there's no way in hell she wouldn't win me over. Like nick atkinson on letterboxd said, she makes looking cool so effortless.

You know what, in today's climate, a more realistic take on the ending would have been to show the UTS citizens cheering at the mention of the villain's idea of blowing up this shithole of a planet. "Better them than me! The poor can go hang in the dirt for all I care…" Doesn't sound so far-fetched when you think about it. This movie's sense of morality is a bit too on-the-nose for it to be realistic or believable.

Lastly, the robot who wanted to become a woman was also a highlight for me.

Verdict: Fun and ambitious, albeit uneven. Lots of ideas meshed together. Tonally inconsistent and a tad too long. Aims for the stars, doesn't reach them, but a valiant effort nonetheless.

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All this for a bowl of noodles!

But man, what a bowl it was, so worth it.

Really glad I watched this because the editing in this movie is simply splendid, especially the first two-thirds. Well, except for the foot chase.

I love how so many oddities made their way into this movie. From odd objects the main character managed to fabricate, to intricate and idiosyncratic life habits the girl had, it was great and creative. Like the toy robot in the elevator, amazing! All those sequences of the girl going outside with the biker helmet were sublime, so well made. Great directing.

The ending, although good, was the weakest part of the movie for me. I guess I was so blown away by the rest that I was expecting a bit more.

I have never seen CAST AWAY and now I just found the perfect excuse.

At least this time the American movie came first... Usually it's the other way around.

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The Jun Ji-hyun show

I'm hard to please on the love story front so that was great. So refreshing to get away from American movie tropes especially in the later parts of the story.

>>>> Wanna die?

Jun Ji-hyun is so dorky I love it. Her superstardom begins here and would seemingly continue until the end of times. Sure she's mostly a trash person but she's somehow still endearing because her humanity shows through. Also most guys would just bail out with this kind of behavior but he doesn't because he likes her, and that's relatable.

Great ending, great movie, great story, maybe not ethically the best of morals here but it shows something very real.

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[Director's Cut]

So many twists and turns, it's like the filmmakers watched MEMENTO and dialed it up to 11. I hear that maybe I shouldn't have watched that version first from some, but what's done is done.

How dare anyone try to murder Kim Seol-hyun though? That I can't forgive!
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Stunts - 80/100 | Surprisingly good stunts here, and quite a large number of them too.

Narrative - 70/100 | Terrific performance by lead actor Sol Kyung-gu, impressive from start to finish. Really that's one hell of a show he gave in this movie, by far the best part about it, in fact. The rest of the movie was a bit too convoluted for my tastes, especially the ending which introduces a few problems. Unreliable narrators can be a great tool but sometimes they're kind of annoying.

Fight Choreography - 70/100 | Not much typical choreography going on but the final fight is lengthy and brutal, somehow. Good action directing and stunt work, although this is far from an action movie so don't expect Hong Kong choreography here, it's just fighting for survival.

Enjoyment - 68/100 | There's grim and there's this. This movie is like an endless pit of despair. Goes a tad too long.

But South Korean thrillers are always a good choice because they frankly know how it's done.

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