This review may contain spoilers
Great movie but it lacks in some aspects
For all the fans of South Korea vs North Korea movies, I’m sad to tell you that this is not the movie you are waiting for. Don’t get the wrong idea, the movie is pretty good but you would not see the NK vs SK fight you have seen on the first movie. In fact, this movie has nothing to do with the first one.Here you will see a strange relationship between the leaders of NK, SK & USA which pull apart their differences for their common benefit. This means that the main theme of the movie is not the rivalry between the Koreas (although it takes an important part on the story), but the chase for supremacy on the East Sea (China & Japan get also involved).
The movie itself is good and entertaining, but let me tell you that the first hour and maybe a bit more is somehow boring. The first 30 minutes are only used to set the theme and the complicated relations between the rivals, which for my point of view, is something that can be done on a drama and not on a military / thriller movie. Nevertheless the movie gets really good at the final part which makes it worth to watch.
Actors, everyone played the role well, there is no discussion on that I would only talk about the characters they represent. The US president is used to bring some fun to the movie (old trick, many K-Movies have already used it and mocked the US). I would have preferred to have a more balanced character that let me laugh to some point but then play an important role in the movie.
DPRK “Chairmain”, it was well played, it was not shown as a jerk, but as a pragmatic leader that is able to construct bridges. The only critic is that he was a slim & fit guy (played by Yoo Yeon Seok), so c’mon! Make him at least slightly chubby! The leader was fat on the first, make him somehow similar on the second movie! (This is not against the actor, but agains the writer / director)
Finally the ROK president. Really good interpretation, the only thing is that he always appeared after the other two and I would have loved seeing him as someone that takes the lead from the first minute of the movie (this only happens in the end). Maybe the writer wanted to show something through the character, as a foreigner IDK.
Overall, if you are able to go through the first half without dropping, you will see that the effort is worth it. The movie will not disappoint you. If, again, you came here only looking for a sequel of the first movie, well, this is not for you.
Hope you all enjoy it!
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Surprisingly entertaining
I was surprised that I was so entertained, as I thought the first Steel Rain wasn't so much to boost about. The main reason, if I'm honest, for me actually watching this movie was because Yoo Yoon-Seok stared in it.After being confused and slightly bored for some part in the beginning of the movie, especially considering it's the same lead actor from the first movie but not the same character, I found myself in the end dragged down to be entertained at this slightly chaotic and sometimes pure hilarious political war movie. Although the American president was a clear humoristic part of the movie that I felt was a bit too much at times, I highly enjoyed the camaraderie between the NK and SK leaders. I also highly enjoyed Yoo Yoon-Seoks portrayal of the NK leader and he and the American presidents quarrels really made one of the most entertaining parts of the movie, according to me.
In the end I can really recommend this movie for those who like political and slightly different king of war movies. You will be entertained!
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Do not expect too much
Compared to the first movie this is like a joke, especially at the first half. How could they come up with that stupid characterization? ? YYS was such a great actor, he nailed the character and it's not his mistake they wrote a character like that. It made me think that portraying the NK Leader's character more mysterious like they did in the first movie was brilliant. And I don't even want to talk about the US President's character. ?Some part was funny but still.... it's not worth the screentime. I feel like they were wasting their time. I was like "where's the steel rain?" Because nothing was ever happen in the beginning. Just some confusing political quarrel. I had to google it to get the context. They explained it later tho, like really later.
Things started to get interesting at the second half of the movie. All the interesting stuff happened here. This part is really worth to watch. Things would be more intense if they build the universe straight from this point. And the reverse in the roles from Steel Rain was actually so fresh to see. JWS rocked again, not as much as he did in the previous movie tho.
I'm sorry this is actually not that bad as it sounded. It's just fell from my expectations.
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Fun Casting and Dialogue, Confusing and Empty Storyline
Steel Rain 2 should be separated from the viewer's mind from the first, artistic and touching Steel Rain. Steel Rain 2 is an entity all it's own, a completely different genre.The plot is non-existent. Not that they didn't write a plot, and that events don't take place, but that the plot is so packed-full with events that don't lead into the next- and complicated, but unfortunately useless action, that I can barely call it a story line. I would much rather call this an amalgamation of short action sequences. However, that can easily be fun for a viewer, so it depends on your taste. I would compare the scope of this film to a Hollywood Michael Bay film.
The cast and chemistry was just as great as you might expect, with the sad exception of Angus Macfadyen. It's wonderful to see western characters have roles in the Korean film industry, but unfortunately the chemistry didn't match with the other two leading actors - who have a great sense of how to perform the play-by-play, back and forth dialogue. This might be a problem with cultural and language differences, or a direction issue, but it was a frequent killer of the excellent chemistry between Jung Woo Sung and Yoo Yeon-Seok as awkward political leaders.
As a lover of OST, Soundtracks and film music, I regret to say that the music was misleading and unremarkable.
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