An everlasting spirit of breathtaking and fantastic adventure !
It's rare for the second film in a trilogy to be better than the first, but this is definitely the case here ! It's been a long time since we've had such a good Chinese movie.This second part was incredible : super action scenes, the acting was good, very creative directing, a great cast with a lovely chemistry. It was epic, highly entertaining, filled with splendor, glory and epic tragedy.
The direction is really nice and also very convincing. You can tell that the team behind this film was highly motivated and put a lot of effort, love, and rigor into depicting the story as best as possible. A boundless energy emanate from this movie. It really feels like a breathtaking tragic adventure !!
The aesthetics, sets, costumes, and landscapes are reminiscent of many classic fims from Hong Kong & China, which I really appreciated.
The writing succeeds in combining extremely serious and triggering subject matter but also very specific to tragedies (such as perfidy, the themes of justice and revenge, legacy, legitimacy, what is right, good or bad, love, desire, the occult, friendship, the group, self-esteem, jealousy, the question of beauty, strength, the extremes that can provoke power or the monopoly of power, courage, spirituality, the idea of duty etc.) with a lot of humor, and a truly wonderful and adventurous childlike spirit (in a good way).
Some acting perfs could've been far better, I wish we got more depth through the dialogues.
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the first half is yawn fest
I never read the novel so idk about the story. My favorite character are Dokkaebi, Junhyeok, Jihye, Heewon. For the movie, I find Dokja contradicting himself many time; on train he seems to care to save people but then all his thoughts is about "if I want to survive I must make sure the hero don't die". So is he selfish or is he trying to save everyone? In green zone, his 1st thought is to save himself bcos Jihye said so like what...and Jihye, her role is literally being like added just to add a member. The part she killed the human-monster and shattered the green spot are cool but the scenes are def filmed separately despite they're supposed to be together. she appears out of nowhere and suddenly mentioning "master". The master never mention her what even is this? And how did she get the gun and speed? They show how Sangah, Heewon, Hyuseung, Gilyeong got their skills/weapon, but Jihye just appears as is. Then after she shot 1 bullet to fire dragon when everyone else did something too But on 2nd round when everyone fought the dragon she's not seen even for a sec? So is her role not important there? Then in end scene she's there ready for next scenario. It's really an odd character like should I care about her bcs the director don't show much of her but seems like she's importantI kinda not rooting for Dokja at all and hope that blue dokkaebi will eat his ass. Sangah Heewon Hyuseung Gilyeong can survive by themselves. And I think he should be shorter and skinnier if they want to make him look weak and easy bully target bcos he's so well built,no way he's a loser irl even as office boy like be fr. But after they killed the fire dragon, I still want to know what will happen next since Dokja knows stuff others don't so we still need him just bcos of that. They barely show Junhyeok backstory too like it's too simple to narrate a supposed hero when some other's scene being unnecessary
Everyone acting skills are just about the same. The game and coin concept are cool BUT the vfx is really bad. I only stayed til the end bcos I know Jisoo going to show up soon. Idk how many times I yawned during the train and that dinosaur stomach scenes, he took like forever. I'll only rewatch to see Jihye and Dokkaebi he's kinda evil-cute
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Even If It’s Propaganda — It Doesn’t Change The Fact That It Happened
If you’re watching Dead to Rights (南京照相馆) expecting a safe, dramatized war story, you’re in for a brutal wake-up call.Based on real events during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, the film follows a postman, A Chang, who pretends to be a photo developer for the Japanese military to survive. Inside this false identity, he secretly turns the photo studio into a temporary refuge for Chinese civilians and soldiers. But in the face of unforgivable violence and horror, A Chang risks everything. Smuggling people to safety and preserving photographic evidence of the atrocities.
The story and visuals are brutally honest. This film does not shy away from the horror. It doesn’t soften the truth to make it easier to watch. Instead, it forces you to sit in the reality of one of the darkest chapters in modern history and to understand it for what it was: genocide, terror, survival, and silent resistance.
The performances in Dead to Rights are just as unforgettable. Every actor delivers with such rawness and restraint that it’s easy to forget you’re watching a movie. There’s no overacting here, just honest, human reactions to inhuman cruelty. I have never jump-scared in a movie before… but the tension in this film had me on edge the entire time. It’s not a horror movie, but the fear feels so real that your body reacts anyway. This isn’t just a film you watch but it’s one you feel in your bones.
But beyond the emotional weight, Dead to Rights is also visually stunning in the most haunting way. The cinematography is rich, atmospheric, and deeply intentional. Every frame felt like a carefully composed photograph, echoing the film’s themes of memory and documentation. The visuals don’t just show violence. They capture emotion, stillness, grief.
Some are calling this film CCP propaganda but honestly, that kind of reaction says more about the discomfort of facing truth than the film itself. You don’t have to take the movie’s word for it. A simple Google search will show you the reality. There are real photographs from the time: babies impaled on swords, civilians shot point-blank in the streets, bodies piled like garbage. These aren't exaggerated for film but they're documented, and they’re horrifying.
Because of Japan’s censorship and silence around this part of its history, many in Japan still grow up unaware of what truly happened in Nanjing. That silence is not just painful, it's dangerous. It allows wounds to stay open and accountability to fade. Dead to Rights may be confronting, but it’s confronting truth. And often, the real thing was worse. Far worse ... than anything a film could show.
There’s also been criticism about young children watching this film and coming away with anti-Japanese sentiment. And while it’s a complex issue, I think we need to ask: why are we blaming the Chinese government for children’s reactions… but not the parents who took them to see a film this raw, this heavy? This is not a movie for kids and that’s clear. But the responsibility lies with the adults who chose to bring them, not the filmmakers who told the truth.
And even if this was CCP propaganda... it wouldn’t change the fact that it happened. The events of the Nanjing Massacre are real, recorded, and undeniable. No amount of political framing erases the truth of what survivors endured. What matters now is that we remember, that we educate, and that we don’t look away.
In the end, Dead to Rights doesn’t just tell a story. It preserves memory. It confronts silence. It says, “Look. Don’t look away. Someone lived this. Someone died here. You can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”
And for that, I believe this film is not only necessary but it’s a masterpiece of remembrance.
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such a great film
this really was a great watch the actors all played their parts so well, i enjoyed the plot of it all and i cried so much oml. just wanna say i dont think u understand how MUCH that yon suk guy? pissed me off omfg i wanted to punch him through the screen. i feel like it was also nice to see the devolpment of gong yoo’s character as well, the little girl his daughter played her part amazingly as well!!! the sets were amazing just everything i really recommend watching it if you haven’t, even if you dont like zombies or stuff liek this i feel like its a must watch!!Was this review helpful to you?
Graphic war film with a focus on photography
Dead to Rights is a traditional war film. War movies are not my usual cup of tea, but as a photographer myself, I was interested in the photographic element of the story.Honestly, there’s a lot I could say about this film but won’t, because that critique is more of war films as a genre rather than anything special about Dead to Rights. The only thing I will note here before talking about the photography element of the storyline, is that I believe accusations of propaganda against this film are a bit redundant. All war films are propaganda. It doesn’t matter whether you’re watching Dead to Rights or Gallipoli, you can’t expect the genre to have no political motive.*
The initial drawcard for me was how Dead to Rights depicted the use of photography in war and atrocities. A lot of films I’ve watched that feature photographer characters normally position them as a truth-teller. One example that comes to mind given its narrative similarities is The Photographer of Mauthausen (Spanish, 2018) which tells the story of real-life Spanish concentration camp prisoner, Francois Boix, who took photographs at the camp, the negatives of which he hid until liberation and were ultimately used to prosecute the Nazis.
Dead to Rights was a little different because, while it had a photography-as-truth protagonist, it also used the Japanese military photographer as a foil. Although not delicately handled, I at least appreciated that the film attempted to go beyond the usual narrative of photography-as-truth. Even the Chinese characters seemed less interested in journalistic style documentation**, and more so in using the photographs as an act of resistance.
But all in all, I think the film did ultimately fall back on the simplistic photography-as-truth trope. It was made clear that scenes in the film were derived from the photographic archive of the Nanjing massacre. This also meant that that the film ended up trapped, I suspect willingly, in a paradox that Susan Sontag describes of war photography:
“The photograph gives mixed signals. Stop this, it urges. But it also exclaims, What a spectacle!”
—
*Of course, propaganda films aren’t just limited to war films, although this genre is one of the more blatant forms.
**I should mention that, citing Sontag again, war photography as critical documentation – rather than as morale-boosting PR – didn’t really come into the fore until the Vietnam War.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watch this for my Alphabet challenge. This film is about reconnecting with family members who have long been out of touch and how to blend two cultures together through a single dish.Once again, MDL’s summary is absolutely on point. So, I’ll not bore you with another summary, just read the summary provided by MDL.
What I like:
+ Interesting to see the family dynamic of Masato. How he managed to search and reconnect with his maternal family.
+ It’s so funny to see how easily the grandson is able to soften his strong-willed grandmother’s heart.
+ It's interesting to see Japanese people dare to walk through an exhibit that shows their brutality during World War II. And to see Masato actually show remorse—there’s something profoundly honest and reassuring about that moment.
What I don’t too like:
On the joke side, I just wish they had shown us more of the dish. Haha…
Overall this is a journey of Masato to find and reconnect with his maternal family.
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masterpiece.
this movie is like a hiden gem tbh.. storyline is interesting, there isn't even one boring moment in the whole movie, only the ending might be not understandable for some people. even tho overall for me is 10/10. love the actors, love the vibe of the ,,dark reality'' which is shown on screen. something amazing.Was this review helpful to you?
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Stripped everything that made ORV good
They turned Dokja into a nervous loser. I could have accepted various other changes but ruining Dokja's character from an unabashedly confident, strong, incredibly smart on-the-go thinker, and strong-willed character who LOVED Three Ways To Survive The Apocalypse (TWSA) into a weak-minded, loser-ish, selfish man who hates TWSA? And on top of that they used his trauma to turn him into becoming a murdeous bully. Why? They also got rid of his main trauma. My heart actually broke with the way he was portrayed in the movie. I admired Dokja in the webtoon and that's why so many things made 0 sense in the movie.SPOILERS/COMPARISONS
Dokja's reality is now the novel that he alone read which is what gave him his confidence and even arrogance in several instances. He never lowered himself to anyone. Not the Dokkaebis, not the constellations (which are barely given importance in the movie whereas they are crucial in the webtoon), not even when he faced the protagonist Yoo Joonghyuk, whom he admired in the novel. In the webtoon, he challenges Joonghyuk to throw him off the bridge. He also NEVER calls himself the prophet but let's Joonghyuk think whatever. And because they got rid of the fourth wall skill, he couldn't block off Junghyeok's lie detection in the movie. The fourth wall is an incredibly useful protective skill for Dokja and I don't understand why they decided to get rid of it. In the movie, he is practically shaking while talking to Junghyeok. Their back and forth in the webtoon is so good. The movie ruined it.
In the novel/webtoon, Dokja levels up his skills extremely quickly because of how in-depth his knowledge is of the book which impresses constellations and their curiosity gets them to sponsor him a lot of coins which just does not come across in the movie and is not given importance. His actions also shock the constellations and that is why BiHyeong agrees that Dokja is impressing them and decides to strike a deal. But in the movie, Dokja has not been impressive in any way. In the train, he is so timid he allowed his boss to take control of the ant box. In the novel, he is the one in charge of the situation and gets everyone scrambling for the insects. He leads the group in every scenario which gets them to trust and respect his leadership. Like telling them to leave the train as soon as possible and run across the bridge. This is why he gets so many constellations who want to sponsor him. And he knows that tying himself to a sponsor early on isn't wise which is why he rejects the selection. In the movie it is Lee Hyeon Seong who tries to escape the train and not Dokja guiding them. They don't explain why he rejects picking a sponsor and barely goes through the list. Can fans of the movie really say they were impressed by Dokja at that point?
Dokja having the fourth wall also helps him to offset the memories of his past haunting him. He also understands the importance of having companions because he read the novel. Because movie Dokja hates the novel, he has no foresight into the importance of his companions either. He even becomes selfish at crucial moments wanting to abandon them and survive alone and his survival comes across as more luck and not active use of his knowledge. The original Dokja also works hard to help them grow their skill set and become more powerful. Movie Dokja is like - oh btw you can use coins to power up.
Honestly I could complain about his rescue of Hui Won (leaving her to breath poison gas), not being able to expose the mayor (who is now a monster for some reason) of killing people for coins and how coins "spill" out rather than directly being transferred to the killer, the kid (Gilyeong) being so much younger than in the webtoon and Bihyung shooting lasers from his eyes. But it's not as important. But little things build a character and they took everything away from Dokja that made him Dokja. Also getting rid of Heewon's backstory of being SAed? This is what explains her anger and her seeking justice. Sang Ah became an average healer instead of a brilliant woman turned assassin.
On top of that they even tried to make Junghyeok a horrible person in the movie when he asks Dokja to ditch the kid while they are surrounded by monsters. Nothing of that sort happens in the webtoon. If anything Joonghyuk tries to get the kid to team up with him. They made him into such a lackluster character. The guy who is supposed to be a looker by the way.
Gong Pildo was also a big character but I can let it go because they didn't have enough time to set up every character.
Also the use of guns in this movie is ridiculous especially for Junghyeok. Even Lee JiHye should not have been using guns. But then they removed any connection to constellations.
The final fight, as everyone said, did not exist in the webtoon. The closest is the lesser dragon disaster which was way above their level that the Dokkaebi acknowledges but in the movie the Dokkaebi is like, yeah let's make this harder. But the situations were entirely different. It was really funny when Junghyeok lay charred to death because if he dies, he actually moves to a parallel timeline and Dokja has 1 less hero in his. But in the movie, everyone dies. Half of those characters were not supposed to be there in this fight. This is the problem when the movies decides to spend all it's budget on a star-studded cast. The director changed the plot so much in order to give everyone importance in a limited time. So now the main character is a shell of himself with no redeeming qualities or useful skills besides strength and even that he seemed tired at many points of the movie.
All that remains in the movie is a lot of different action sequences to wow audiences that have never read the source material and are missing much enjoyment from the original plot and true character of Dokja. Because you could have gotten action from any action movie and disaster scenes from any disaster movie.
I don't normally hand out 1 stars but the director chose to forego the whole OMNISCIENT READER part! They could have made a movie using elements of ORV and called it something else. That would have been better than reducing this incredibly detailed and complex story with great character arcs to action and CGI.
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Not what I expected
Going into it, I was expecting something similar to Guardians of Dafeng in the sense of humour, pacing, and action. I was met with something different. This is a film that can sit by itself, though it would be hard to follow along if you didn't know the lore of Guardians of Dafeng.This is a quiet movie about struggle. The ending made the difference of how I viewed it - from a 7 star rating to an 8.5.
There were a few things that I was a bit confused about, namely when it was set. And if I remember Guardians of Dafeng correctly, this film might have created plot holes regarding where characters were and when.
If there ever is a series sequel to Guardians of Dafeng, I will be even more excited to watch it just because of a certain character in this I will be looking forward to seeing.
GREAT acting.
GREAT cast!!!
No Dylan Wang cameo, so don't be disappointed.
A beautiful story. 8.5 stars just because of the ending. I bust into tears.
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Stylish and chilling
Surprisingly outstanding, it's one of the most mindblowing Korean horror movies ever, the storytelling structure is really solid and the logical reasoning just makes so much sense with plot twists that are unexpectedly brilliant. The cinematography is stylish and gritty, horror elements are actually extremely chilling down into your skin, definitely not for the faint-hearted as the level of horror here is quite high, but this is the exact gold standard for what a horror movie should be like.Was this review helpful to you?
Who gave them the permission to make a movie this good?
I don't usually write reviews this positive but I genuinely think that this movie is perfect. It has great pacing, the comedy is impeccable, it is beautifully shot and the acting is just off the charts. And the writers of the movies absolutely deserve some kind of award! It balances the sadness of this situation with the comedy of it perfectly. This is definetly worth not only a watch but also a rewatch. And for me personally it is definitely on my "Best movies of all time"-list.Was this review helpful to you?
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A truly impressive and satisftying sequel | Great family dynamics | Topless Nadech is on FIRE!
"You fucked with the wrong family, you goddamn ghost." - YakThey will really do everything to make the ML/Nadech shirtless won't they? and this time with a bandage which makes him more hotter and oozing! Gotta give it to whoever proposed this as it works big time. Hahaha! He's one of the main selling point of this movie, I swear!!
Anyways, moving to the story itself. I wanna say that I am extremely satisfied with this sequel as it gave us more lore about Phuang (Dark Spirit) that's been haunting them and because we got more action from Yak and the whole family. I am actually quite glad that they finally utilized the potential of the other family members instead of treating them as an offering waiting for their demise.
In regards to the scare factor...they did great in giving us some creepy and thrilling scenes that can make most people frightened. I also want to personally thank the director and the writer for reducing those sequences where they try to forcefully make the scenes extra scary by adding some ridiculous skits which spoiled the prequel and made it less scary.
Additionally, the story is compact and highly comprehensible...so I am not sure where are some people getting their idea/opinion about this story being 4 stories in 1. They must have not watched the 1st part...so if you are planning to watch this, please make sure to watch the prequel first in order to avoid confusion and in order to fully understand the story and overall emotion of the characters.
Lastly, the family dynamics is still one of the best factor about this show. I love how the father truly stands as the pillar of the family by guarding them every night even when he tries to shrug the idea off to ease his family's worries and of course, Yak for continuously hunting the Dark spirit to make sure that it can never hurt his family again.
Story - 10, This sequel gave me the lore that I was looking for which was left untold on the prequel. It was also broadened and explained even better. The scenes are nicely put up as well which makes it easier to watch.
Acting/Cast - 10, One of the best thing about this show is their set of actors/actresses. Nadech did great as the main actor, as well as Denise (Yad) and Nina (Yee) as supporting roles. I was happy to see both Mean and Frank here, but their roles are meh. lol
Music - 10, I like all the sound effects and as I mentioned on my review on the prequel, the whispering sound effect was executed very well.
Rewatch Value - 10, one of those movie I can and will surely consider watching again if time permits me to do so.
Overall - 10, I am highly satisfied about this movie. I have nothing bad to say and I don't have anything I was displeased about it as well. I really appreciate that they didn't butcher this one. Overall an impressive continuation of the prelude.
IF you find my review helpful please let me know.
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Visually Beautiful With Enchanting Music
The story is not very special and some of the characters are not fully fleshed out which make the characters a bit unrelatable but overall the movie is quite enjoyable. Mainly due to the bright visuals and the goosebumps-inducing music. There are some funny moments like introducing the Saja Boys (Ahn Hyo Seop) to Love, Maybe (Business Proposal OST).From Soda Pop to Golden to Your Idol, the songs are fun to listen to on repeat. The movie isn't boring for a minute and holds your attention quite well. But it is geared towards those who enjoy KPop, Kdramas and Korean language and culture. There are words in Korean that don't seem to have been translated so you won't be able to understand those little things.
If you look into the cultural references, a lot of details went into the art and animation of KPop Demon Hunters which is quite cool! The details on the animation is especially impressive.
Overall, I would say the plot is the weakest aspect of the movie but the overall fun feel and being a family entertainer certainly makes it worth watching at least once and is possibly a movie that you can even watch on repeat if you enjoy this kind of music.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was entertaining but don't watch if you have read webtoon you will not like this.
I'm coming into this film purely from knowing nothing of its source material, I have not read the manhwa so that's why I'm saying I enjoyed the ride. The plot is familiar one , we've all watched similar stories. Humans in our deeply flawed state used as amusement for a higher power in this case a superior alien race. Pitting humans against each other in a game of survival, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. It was wise of them to make sure it wasn't too gory therefore allowing children to watch this. Entertainment wise, I was entertained without going much deeper then that, its a 'in the moment' kind of thrill fairly forgettable beyond that. To really excel you have to make us 'give a shit' basically about the characters, but this film is too busy setting up this new world and the rules within it that it kinda fails miserably in that department. As entertainment, its awesome despite some cheaper CGI it is chock full of Korean celebs but I'm not sure its enough to save it, especially as its geared towards a sequel if not a series. Fans of the webtoon might have some very strong opinions about that, probably not the wisest choice to completely piss off your ready audience (beyond fans of the plethora of actors) you had that were dying to see their beloved book come to life. We'll see I guess if it makes enough money to warrant another film.Was this review helpful to you?
Too Choppy
Firstly, I would like to point out is that although this movie and the chinese series Scarlet Heart have characters in common, these 2 are different as night and day and there are no linkage between the movie and the series. Although both the movie and the series involved time travel from present time to the past, the stories of both of them are as different as night and day. There is no indication that the story of the movie is the same as the series either.I have not seen any of the actors for this series. I would say there is alot of "choppy" areas and unclear sections and alot of loop holes. The Female Lead has a nice quirky temperament. Both Male Leads are not that bad, acting wise. 4th Prince is cold and calculative - as expected. I quite like the temperament of the 14th Prince and how considerate he is with the Female Lead. I can't really explain the story much as I find it jumping from one thing to another without any linkage to anything. I actually watched the movie because of the similarities of the characters, unfortunately was disappointed.
The music, however, was quite nicely paired.
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