Shark: The Beginning (2021)

I don’t want to run away anymore

A movie that tells a story about a teenage boy who ends up in prison, meets a boxer champion and grow as a person.

This movie is actually based on a Webtoon which I’m a fan of, which is why I felt that the movie fell short in comparison to it.

One reason was how they edited the story setup. Without much spoilers, I felt that the character of cha woo sol in the movie is slightly different than the Webtoon in terms of how he got himself into jail. But if you didn’t read the Webtoon, you would be fine! Though, there are other changes which I like, which is giving my man wi ha joon more screentime, loved his backstory!! Overall, apart from mc setup, the rest of the plot stayed true to the Webtoon. And all the actors did an awesome job portraying their characters and most of them look like the characters in the Webtoon. It really felt like the characters came to life which is ????!

However, I felt that the scenes in the movie were way too short, and I couldn’t feel myself immerse in it. Like once I got in, it was time to move on to the next cut/ scene, takes me out of the story. Maybe because it’s a movie, they packed a lot of scenes so to make it less boring. But I would appreciate if the scenes were longer so I can invest my emotions to the characters.

The actions scenes were great! I liked how it was shot, the sound effects made me wince in pain (with the characters) and I loved the background music while they fight. Though it can be more gruesome given the tone of the movie and plot. And there are a few actions scenes that were cut awkwardly and didn’t really connect leaving me confused. But overall a decent movie with good action scenes!!

This movie illustrates the first arc in the Webtoon, I wondered how they would end it in the movie. And I’m satisfied they ended it in this way!

Although the movie fell short in comparison to the Webtoon, the movie delivers a tightly woven story with good acting, action scenes, a little humor and heartwarming in a place like prison. Probably won’t rewatch it in the future, but if they ever have a 2nd movie, I would be the first to watch ?! Thank you for reading until the end, hope you enjoy the movie!!

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To sum it all up...

- About a boy who is bullied (in prison and out) and frequently get into fights, tends to get beaten up(quite a lot) but never fails to give up, to then win against his much stronger opponent. lol .
- first 3/4 of the film was just Cha woo sol training and fighting other inmates. When i finally found myself fully engrossed in the film, the story was nearly over.
- wasn't much depth to the side characters, so i couldn't connect or empathise with them.
- felt that the bully joining the gang was unnecessary?? don't know what it added to the story.
- ending was rushed and was quite unsatisfactory- made you question what on earth he learnt during his time in prison lol
- Wi ha Joon is charming as ever.

It may seem that i'm very critical of the film, but i can honestly say that i enjoyed it regardless. There isn't much substance to the plot, but it was a compelling watch- with an amazing cast, and great action scenes to keep you entertained throughout.

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Great action movie but lacking plot

I was actually hyped to watch this action movie starring Wi Ha Joon. After reading the synopsis, I was expecting great action scenes and a great character development.

Even though the actions scenes were good, some parts of the movie was still lacking. I was watching this movie together with my friends and one of my friend said "the action part was great, but I felt like there was no end goal in the movie. He got in prison, learned how to fight and beat up a guy, thats it". So yeah, my friend also felt like there was some lacking parts.

If I'm going to be specific about what was lacking, I can start with the beginning of the movie. We see two parts, one part for each main character. The first one is about Do Hyun and it shows what led to him getting in prison, what I wanted to see more of here was the longing and sadness he felt for his family members, you don't really see him thinking about them throughout the movie. About the part with Woo Sol, it just shows them having a fight and Seok Chan provoking him into stabbing him with a pen. All of that felt unrealistic.

Halfway through the movie, we see Seok Chan joining a gang because of his harsh and brutal fightingstyle. However, it didn't really make sense for him to join this gang, it didn't add anything to the story, it's not like we see the gang members attack Woo Sol.

At the end of the movie, we see Woo Sol free and he is visiting Do Hyun in prison. Again leaving us with a sense of wanting more to the story. E.g Do Hyun could have been set free from prison and we could see them back in their normal lives, but yeah, we didn't get to see any of that.

In comparison to the lacking parts, it was great to see the inmates going from stonecold enemies to friends with a little bromance. All it had to take, was them accepting each other.

I think I would recommend this movie to someone who doesn't really care about the plot and just wants to see some action scenes.

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A origin perseverance film with alot of HEART

I went in with this movie because of Wi Ha Joon, he is one of my favorite actors and I have a huge crush on him. I had expectations that his movie will be a gritty story about prison and school violence based on the posters and I didn't read any spoilers as well but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this movie was more heartwarming and inspiring. The whole message of the movie is quite simple, "Do not give up, fight harder day by day." and they clearly sent that message across. The plot was nothing new nor fresh but it was enjoyable. The main character, Cha Woo Sol played magnificently by Kim Min Seok was a believable sympathetic character and his character growth was great. Wi Ha Joon as Jung Do Hyun, was a great mentor he didn't appear as much as I hope would've been but he was the main heart of this film especially to the main protagonist. The antagonist Seok Chan was played greatly by Jung Won Chang, even though his whole character arc was just ok, I needed more layers to his character. The other side characters, Sang Yeop (The mature captain) and Ahn Hyun Min were likable but I needed more of them though. The action sequences were well choreographed and the pacing was fast and exciting. I felt like this was an origin film, and based on the comments I red down below there is an upcoming TV series sequel to this, if it ever happens this movie is a great introductory to the characters and story so that the TV series could expand more. Also, the ending cracked me up.

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Such a raw and amazingly done movie

I'm going to keep this short. When i first heard the story of this movie, I was already hooked. Cha Woo Sol's backstory was so raw and well acted, It felt like this wan't just a movie. I also liked everyone's acting because I could feel every emotion the characters were feeling. The hatred i felt for Bae Seok Chan was too much to describe. I am really impressed on how well he did to portray this character. Jung Do Hyun was seen as his cold, rude person that most people feared. Only later on did he ease up to Cha Woo Sol. This shows that he was always a good person. Anyways, if you are wondering if you should watch it or not, you definitely should. But be careful because there are quite some seems that may trigger some people.

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I love the message of this movie..

I watched this because of Min Seok but I love how I fell inlove with the other two too because of this movie. This movie is about how knowing martial art is important and where it can be helpful but it's not directly telling you that everything needs to be solve through brutality and trouble instead, it teaches you that it is important to know martial arts because you can use it when you're in an inevitable situation but if you can avoid using violence to solve something, it is better to proceed in that way. I think it is a realistic situation, like how we, humans, can be carried away with different situation and on how we face its consequences (Just like how Woo Sol chose to be imprisoned).

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never give up

wow, wow wow wow this movie was phenomenal I rarely ever watch adaption before I read the webtoon ever but I am so glad I did or I would have been missing out on of the best action revenge stories I've seen so far. The acting was great, the choreography was stellar and the fake blood and wounds are just top notch this did not feel like a 2 hour movie at all it was so fast paced and had just the right amount of action it all blew by I can not wait for 2023 when the second part comes along. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone into action series. This movie tops Dokgo for me in terms of live action, and that's saying a lot when dokgo is my favorite bully revenge theme series both in Live action and webtoon format. highly recommend

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Sharks never stop moving or so I heard

An inspiring movie about never giving up, not even in the darkest moments.

Story
It's simple even if it sounds cliche.
The story is fast, something is happening every moment and it's like that from the beginning to the end, you could say there is no time to breathe.
Unfair things happen, you feel sad for the characters but since they never give up, you cheer for them and feel happy when they succeed.
Woo Sol reminds me of anime characters who always get up after getting beaten to pulp. It makes you think how many lives does this dude have.
The story is simple, he goes to prison, people want to beat him up, he trains, fights, wins, fights again, wins again, fights again, wins and that's how it goes to the end of the movie.
It's pretty straightforward.
I liked the story and characters but I always felt something is missing and I don't know what that is.
Maybe the movie should have been longer, maybe the characters should have been explored more. I don't know.
The villain was awful and I hated him, he played the victim when it was benefiting for him even though he destroyed other people's lives. He had no remorse.
I don't know if he ever regretted his actions.
He literally got stabbed in the eye. If that didn't open his eyes, I don't what will.
Do Hyun was a cool character, a mentor and a friend Woo Sol needed. He didn't appear much but his influence was big.
If there is a second movie, I will definitely watch it because I want to know what happens with the characters.

The quote that sums up the whole movie.
"You know sharks?
They don't have swim bladders so if they stop swimming, they sink and die. That's why they keep moving. You are the same."

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