Had too many loop hole
StorylineThe storyline had me hocked and when I saw the cast was like it's going to be one for the books
Well that did not happen. The moive was to short to begin with it had me guessing why she had to take the revenge for the best friend and why the best friend lived the life she did. Not to to forget the ML had to many missing parts from his character.
Character
The character had no life to them it felt like they where one dimensional
Acting
The acting was really good it did not feel forced and the fight scenes where really good so that was 100/ 10
Music
Hated the otp it did not go with the moive
Rewatch value
I would not recommend anyone who has.never watched a k moive. Would never watch it again .
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This review may contain spoilers
When I saw a female lead with strong fighting skills I had to watch. There's not that many in Korea so when a female who can fight pops up I'm there.I also noticed the two main leads were in Money Heist. So again, had to watch.
I gotta say this movie was a let down. Weak character plots all around had me irritated in the end. There's no back story of the main FL. Her best friend's back story was weak as all get up and the main ML who plays the villain was even worse.
The movie lightly touched up on females being videotaped and blackmailed. They make it seem like the police chief is in on this as well but again, every scenario that was deposited into this movie was lackluster and that's putting it nicely.
All we get is the main FL can fight. The pace was very slow. The bad bad guys got taken out in less than 10 minutes. The ending even less than that.
This is why I tend to stay away from Korean movies. They have no life to them. Stick to the Korean dramas. You'll be more satisfied than this movie.
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It wasn't like I expected sadly
At first when I saw the trailer I was really excited to watch it especially because of the fact that it was a revenge movie and all but I was quite disappointed with the plot as it felt like it was missing something such as depth and the story in itself.I think the movie could of had a better plot overall.
The writers really did it dirty and didn't give it what it deserves .
I feel like the actors of the movie are really good but just the context of 8was written in a langue
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A small rest ahead of the long TBW list.
There is not much to say about this movie. It is a typical revenge story with no plot twists, no sudden events here and there.To sum it up, a ballerina befriends a badass girl (JJS) which is the main character in this movie. Some things happened to the ballerina and JJS needs to avenge her. She will try, did she succeed? Watch the movie, i'm not going to spoil you lol. The bad guy is KJH, i like him so no comment on his wonderful sexy acting lol.
The only phrase that got stuck with me from the whole movie is "My face and My Lamborghini", like the vibes were weird and funny at the same time.
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Fast revenge
The beginning was satisfying. The end was very satisfying. The middle - not so much.It was a great idea: an ex-assassin seeking revenge on behalf of a friend. It was too short to fully explore the story. It felt like the writer wanted to say something and decided to say it really quickly.
The main actor's portrayal of the character was great: the concentration and quiet confidence was there, but it's a shame that there wasn't more depth to the character and story. The villain was beautiful (such a strong stereotype that even if we didn't know it was him, we would guess it was him) and evil enough for you to wish that someone would put him in his place.
What I liked: the fight scenes were great
What I didn't like: some of the fight scenes were too graphic
It's watchable...ish....
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A no mercy with something more.
"No Mercy" style revenge film with the greatLee Si Young. Here the theme is the same, with a somewhat confusing narrative plot. But at a certain point everything is clearly explained to you, a bit of "red light crime", a bit of "rape and revenge", and that's it. Nothing original, but pleasant to follow if you want to spend a couple of hours full of unbridled violence. Usually these films do not shine in artistic details, or excellent interpretations. They focus everything on the bloody scenes and action typical of Hollywood films. The cast knew how to do well what they had to do, performances a little subdued, but in line with the type of film. Both the bad and the good antagonist demonstrated a black and white face to face. Him Kim Ji Hoon who fits in very well in the role of the villain, and her Jeon Jong Seo with that sweet little face, but at the same time ruthless and vindictive. For me it was enjoyable and I would easily watch it again with a few beers and some chips.
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more punching and less talking
This movie can be best described as climactic. The action scenes are exceptionally well-executed, creating a sense of excitement and intensity. The protagonist's fighting style is both stylish and effective, making it satisfying to watch her take on multiple opponents effortlessly. Additionally, the movie delves into important themes such as exploitation and abuse, shedding light on power dynamics and the struggles faced by the oppressed. It also serves as an empowering story for women.The plot circles around badass women killing men for revenge, if that doesn't sound intriguing to you then I don't know what is. I specifically love the ending, she should've burned him to toast that even dogs can't eat him anymore. I know it's for "a friend" but my delusions tell me she's gay and she's getting revenge for her girlfriend. Nonetheless, the chemistry was there. This film didn't focus much on the acting, plot, or dialogue. It was like more punching and less talking lol.
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Masterpiece
This Movie is LIT. I loved it so much. The story is quite simple, but the way how this movie tells us the story is incredible. The Cast is perfect & they portrayed the characters really well. The Action Scenes are my most favourite. Their acting was so good. It made me emotionally attracted. There was so much suspense & thrill.Jeon Jong Seo did an amazing job. This Character was meant for her. She nailed every scene. She was really merciless & ruthless. She took the revenge in the best way possible. This movie is my most favourite one ever. It's a Masterpiece.
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Ballerina; A Messy Pirouette Marked With Blood…
2023 has seen a great lineup of action thrillers, especially with strong heroines and Ballerina certainly tries to follow suit. However while did have some heavy action scenes and subjects, was it really a worthwhile watch?
Lee Chung Hyun directed and wrote the movie. Ok Ju ( Jeon Jong-seo) is a bodyguard who holds her own in fights. However, her life turns upside down when she discovers her friend and ballerina Min-hee (Park Yu-rim)’s fatal aftermath in the wake of being sexually assaulted by mid-level boss Choi Pro (Kim Ji-hoon).
Now seeking her revenge, she is put on a bloody path to enact vengeance on Choi Pro and his cronies by ending him once and for all.
It’s suffice to say Ballerina is very much what it says on the tin; a revenge movie where the heroine gets revenge by tracking down the big bad and leaving a wake of carnage in her way. The film is gory and filled with adrenaline, but that’s about it.
This isn’t necessarily bad. A lot of revenge and action films work on the premise of mindless violence to keep viewers engaged and it was evident to see the film’s influences from John Wick to Kill Bill. However, Ballerina never really gives us full scope that it tries to do with its characters and plot. It always tethers on potential development before tearing it away to focus on a fist fight and action scene.
The problem is that doesn’t really give the narrative or characters a lot of backbone. Even some of the most disturbing revenge Korean films over the past few decades such as Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and Burning are able to balance out their narratives with adrenaline, and tension, but equally compelling storylines and choreography. In Oldboy, we see plot twist development shock us beyond belief, Lady Vengeance is filled with complex characterisation and compelling fight scenes, while Burning explores tension and thematic issues such as capitalism in its core narrative . The problem with Ballerina is that while it doesn’t have to be a complicated movie at heart like some of its predecessors , it struggles with simple basics such as characterisation and development.
Jeon Jong-seo is a good actress but her character Ok Ju is very paper-thin. The audience never have any opportunities to warm up to her. It seems quite ridiculous when we consider the fact that we’ve seen Jong-seo lose a close friend and numerous hardships, yet we never see this develop or understand how this is such a devastating impact for her character. We do see some flashbacks to understand their relationship but this felt a little convoluted than explained or poignant, lacking a lot of potentially sincere emotional development. Sure, she’s a certified pro- fighter and brutal, but that’s pretty much in the space of this movie’s duration, all we get from our heroine’s character.
It was Kim Ji hoon’s role as Choi Pro which did shine through here. His cartoonish heinousness did help during some of the more questionable pacing and writing issues, by at least giving some appeal for the audience to root for the heroine.
The pacing is pretty variable in parts. When the action comes into force, it’s quick and adrenaline rushes. Yet in its patchy narrative and writing moments drawn out for sobs or seeming development, the gaps in writing often make these scenes drag out longer than they should.
Naturally, action choreography and actions scenes are where Ballerina excels. Lee Chung-hyun’s direction is simultaneously ultraviolent yet sleek. Its mesmerising to watch with the pure adrenaline of movements and camera angles really bringing these scenes to life.
Ballerina is a fairly mindless action movie. While probably not one of the best films released this year or winning over fans of revenge action films and cult classics, it is adrenaline infused and brutal. The writing is patchy but it’s well-directed through its camera angles and the fight scenes are well-executed also. Overall probably decent enough to watch one time when bored or killing time and that’s about it.
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This review may contain spoilers
I support women's rights, and more importantly, I support women's wrongs.
This movie was a classic case of style over substance with some pretty gorgeous wide shots but a severe case of underdevelopment in both the plot and characters. There needed to be either more action scenes to make up for the lack of plot or more of a plot to make up for the lack of action because it was pretty forgettable overall and a waste of the otherwise talented cast. That said, it was still immensely satisfying to watch Jeon Jong-Seo kill a bunch of drug smugglers and set a rapist on fire with a blowtorch, so mission accomplished I guess.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Watch for the action
I didn't realize Jeon Jong Seo and Kim Ji Hoon were in this when I added this to my list, but oh my god what a pleasant surprise! To be honest I didn't really have any expectations going in, I'd watched the trailer when it popped up on Netflix and it seemed like my kind of thing to see a woman inflict damage in the way typically reserved for guys. On if that's all you're there for, this delivers perfectly.This is a pretty simple, straightforward plot. We're given the basics and hints of a greater, undeveloped backstory, but for a Netflix production restricted to an hour and a half, that's somewhat expected. It's nothing groundbreaking in terms of storytelling, characters, or tropes, but it was still a very enjoyable mindless watch with pretty kick ass action.
My favorite bits:
- the opening, no notes (but I will remember that cans are great for blocking knives!)
- the guy with the chainsaw... that's on you dude
- stealing his car!? lol
- shooting the CEO before he's done talking, hahaha, this should happen more often to monologuing villains
- the flame thrower, you KNOW it had to make a comeback
tl;dr: a fun, enjoyable watch that likely won't make a lasting impression (do heed the warnings though) except perhaps for some action scenes which were the highlight for me
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Hell hath no fury....
Nov 2023TW: Sexual assault, suicide references
Very fast paced, violent, bloody, with a couple of real "OH!!!" moments.
The background story is provided whilst playing out in the present. The character of the Ballerina in question, Min-hee, is sweet, quirky and never came across as weak, but an incident in her relatively young life proved too much.
I got a strong feeling that the seemingly lonely girl she befriended, Ok-ju, actually loved her. There was just something in the way she looked at her at times.
That friend, an ex bodyguard with no ties and seemingly nothing to lose, takes up a challenge left by her friend and, basically, WW3 breaks out not long after!
At its heart this is purely an action thriller, not deep or realistic. However, the seedier side of life that Min-hee gets tangled up in, over the last few years in S.Korea (and elsewhere), has proven to be all too real, in one form or another. That makes for a very uncomfortable and quite sickening watch at times.
In many ways it's also quite a satisfying watch, especially when the main characters are women who take no 5hit, are tough, capable and exceptionally determined.
My brain didn't even have time to register when things got OTT, because it was too busy being stunned!
Jeon Jong Seo, as the Best Friend, Jang Ok Ju, was superb. God she must be fit, as it was a very physical role. She rarely smiled, wasn't noisy or overly emotional, yet neither was she miserable, depressing or emotionless. Her immediate reaction to loss was very real to me.
Kim Ji Hoon, as Choi Pro, is an actor I've come to love. He is so much more than his looks and unlike many actors, isn't typecast, so when he appears, one doesn't know if he's friend or enemy. He has no qualms taking on really unpalatable characters, or sweeter, fluffy roles.
Whilst adding a little dark humour to proceedings, which I like, at the same time I found the weapons dealers suggested to Ok-ju by her ex-boss, to be a bit daft in terms of what they were offering; was her ex-boss trying to get her to fail?! It didn't sit right, even though it was amusing. Great supporting role for Kim Young-ok, however. I love this senior actress.
There were references to corrupt police and powerful people in this, but they were not seen or, more annoyingly, held accountable, as is too often the case in K-dramas and film. That, as usual, irritated me.
Overall, it felt like a very quick watch and, I felt, quite different in its story and vibe; but it certainly won't be for everyone.
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