Hey again. Going forward, I think my reviews will be a little more about the asthetics of the subject and less about the story to cut down on the length. That said, here's a new one coming at you.
So whilst browsing through Netflix on my new Blu Ray player, I spotted this film. I had seen it the other day when I was shopping for Blu Ray movies. The title hooked me from the start, as it clearly seemed to be related to the Greatest Western of All time. Don't argue with me! Anyway, I looked at the case and realized that this film was a South Korean movie, which was another mark in it's favor. I decided to give it a look, mostly to see how the streaming would look on the new player, and very quickly realized that I was in for a heck of a good Action flick.
The film revolves around three key characters, and like other aspects of the movie, there is no doubt that these characters were at least inspired by Sergio Leone's classic, complete with shifting alliances. The stoic bounty hunter Park Do-Won, the obsessive gang leader Park Chang-yi, and the odd petty criminal Yong Tae-Goo. After Tae-Goo obtains a mysterious map during a train robbery, he discovers that it leads to something terribly valuable. It is the pursuit of this McGuffin that drives the plot from here. Tae-Goo is almost immediately attacked by Chang-yi and his gang, who appear to be after the map. The thief escapes only to be caught by Do-Won. The scenario eventually evolves into a race for the prize between the three main characters, two rival gangs, and the Japanese army itself. If you have seen enough westerns, it may be easy to call the shots as far as the story, but that doesn't do much to stop this from being an entertaining and action packed western-style bullet fest.
While the actors are all very skilled at playing their roles in the plot-driving quiet scenes, the gunfights are what make this film legendary. They are varied, creatively filmed and fast paced. I often found myself marveling at the level of activity.
Set in the Manchurian Desert in the early 20th century, when Imperial Japan was busy conquering much of China and Korea, this film takes place at a very historically interesting time. It is a time of contradictions. While the automobiles, Machine Guns, and Artillery are common for the military, the common people are frequently seen riding horses and wielding melee weapons along with their Rifles and six shooters. This makes for some varied and ofter one sided combat scenes, particularly the penultimate scene, which involves all the interested parties in a full tilt mounted gunfight with horsemen, military trucks, machine guns, artillery fire, jumping from vehicle to vehicle and too many awesome shots to take in on the first viewing. It just has to be seen.
Watch The Trailer!
As I've stated, I'm a big fan of Asian cinema in general, and South Korean filmmakers have been turning out some inspired films in recent years (Oldboy for example). This movie takes it's lessons from Westerns, but the film is undeniably a unique animal. I was inspired to give this film a look in part by my love of Sukiyaki Western Django, and I have to say that this movie has probably dethroned it as my favorite Western-Inspired Asian action film. It's just staggeringly good.
I give it 9 Opium Den Girls out of 10. Did I mention the Opium Den? That was hilarious!
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