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Great conspiracies but too convoluted
Pretty interesting premise, the plot is really hefty just as its title suggests, there's a lot of brain power fueling within the conspiracies and it latches onto it until the end without stopping. As breathtaking as it may seem, the details are also too convoluted and it simply lacks the pivotal structure that could drive this movie into something more exciting. There's just too much to follow and it somehow closes with a lowkey ending that leaves a lot of questions unanswered, not a bad concept but a little too philosophical for a crime thriller.Was this review helpful to you?
To shaman or not to shaman
It's technically a generation battle of shamanism between an evil mystical being and the Cheon clan, led by the untalented grandson of the chief shaman for revenge, overall it has great visual effects and cinematography. However the direction of the storyline somehow felt lost, it's using a mix of both practical combat and psychic powers for the fights, which gets muddled on whether the movie is trying to be tactical or mystical, because even the resolution part gets the same treatment. Just like its intro part when they're showing how shamanism is a con with staged props to scam money, but then afterwards the whole movie turns out to be a huge shaman battle, it's quite contradicting at some point.Was this review helpful to you?
Calm and soothing cinematic kdrama
The cinematography is really one of the best ever produced for a kdrama, even a simple scene is shot beautifully with amazing perspectives and delicate touches. The storyline setting is also quite refreshing, the buildup it has is insane right from the start till the end, the pacing could be a little on the slower side but still totally serviceable due to its artistic choices of the drama. The acting performance though is just unbelievable, the chemistry between Kim Young Kwang and Lee Sung Kyung is over the roof, their gaze is magnificent and perfect for the roles. For those who want to get into a calm and soothing cinematic kdrama, this will be the best of this year.Was this review helpful to you?
超曬水準
編劇呢次真係超曬水準， 史前未見嘅震撼性，振奮人心嘅深入演技同台詞設計，精心策劃嘅港產片精神終於返嚟啦！故事嘅層次編排做得乾脆利落，冇漏洞亦都唔會好倉促，係一步一步推進劇情，案件仔細度同人物設計接近完美。尤其是喺最後一場嘅結案陳詞係完全爆破性十足，而且因為香港正喺白色恐怖時代，簡直係對個現實世界抗議發聲，睇到我飆曬眼淚，今次掂過碌蔗！Was this review helpful to you?
Very believable mirror scenes
Great proof of concept that works well enough despite its high complexity of plotline. The director had precise accuracy to execute on scenes that may seem impossible to achieve, yet providing a fresh new thrilling material for Korean action cinema. Its powerful soundtrack greatly heightens the suspense, coupled with incredible acting skills from Yoon Kye Sang that's very technical, making scenes look gripping and cinematic that you'll believe it's really happening in the way it's supposed to be.Was this review helpful to you?
The game has just begun
The expectations came very high for this drama, but honestly speaking, the impact is not as powerful as it was designed to be. A school bully revenge arc storyline isn't something new as we've seen plenty of them in kdrama, but to put it into this kind of lifelong grand scheme, it is still a decently respectable plot, and it was mostly lifted by the great acting performance from the actors. The details it has are quite enormous in scale though some of it may happen like magic science but that's forgivable, it's just that it gets extremely soapy towards the end. Definitely have to wait for part 2 to come as things seem pretty exciting at the moment and the game has just begun.Was this review helpful to you?
Artistic cult horror movie
Good setting but the execution at the beginning could be better as it takes a significant amount of time to gain traction, and a few action scenes here and there really didn't look too fine at all honestly. However once the tension takes off in the second half, the storytelling does have a lot to offer especially in the plot twist department, the concept behind it somehow becomes exceptionally huge. It's just that maybe the poor writing took away some of its quality, or else this could very well be one of the most artistic Korean cult horror movie ever.Was this review helpful to you?
Good backstory but lackluster horror
The overall narrative is pretty good in providing a nice flow of storyline and adequate structure for its backstory, though the visual impact on its horror elements might be a little lackluster and falls short in terms of attention to details. Despite that the logical reasoning at the end is relevant enough to justify the grudge held in the train station, and it even comes with a spy-like mission ending for the final resolution, which is a pleasant surprise and a fresh take for Korean horror films.Was this review helpful to you?
Pretentious skin surrounded by modern pressure
Chun Woohee's performance is really captivating especially in this type of psychological thriller genre. She's able to pull in every little attention to details and carry the whole heavy ambience of the movie, just like her previous work in "Vertigo", but this time even a more formidable upgrade with a blend of spicy mystery and horror in it. The cinematic effect of it is extremely eerie and scary, which works quite effectively in some of the best mental scenes ever in a korean movie, because who knows exactly what we are underneath this pretentious skin surrounded by modern pressure.Was this review helpful to you?
Korean martial arts film is rising
Bleeding edge korean action cinema at its finest level of production quality, the sequel is a whole new level of upgrade especially giving korean martial arts film a great boost, hand to hand combat in here is insanely quick and precise, action choreography is packed with high adrenaline and brutality. The cop chase story has great amount of tension yet it won't be too superficial, paired with stylish actions sequence and sensible dark humor, this one's full of thrilling korean goodness. Hope to see more korean martial arts movie soon on the big screen.Was this review helpful to you?
Multinational direction mixed bag
When a movie seeks for a multinational direction, it doesn't always produces effective results, and this movie has not escaped the fate of being sluggish in it. South Koreans hunting for North Koreans and at the end having a war with Japanese all done inside of China, this mixed bag couldn't get any weirder. However the main problem with this movie is how things are always getting done miraculously and in favor of them without much explanations. It all feels like the writers tried too hard to impress the audience out of their wild imaginations of how an international threat would be, which makes it very hard to believe how it could all happen that way.Was this review helpful to you?
Tremendous storytelling and strong emotions
The storytelling they were able to present in this movie is tremendous, the imagination of the brain cloning concept is almost infinite for a distant future but it's also treated with a very realistic approach on how it would affect the future world. The dystopian cinematography is absolutely stunning and believable, basically the class struggle that comes with the advancement of technology is really well indicated, that's why it is so heartfelt and immersive while watching. Using the personal connection of the characters as the main driver of the plot surrounding this seemingly soulless robotic world, the strong emotions stand out effectively from the rest of the sci-fi movies more than ever before.Was this review helpful to you?
Monsterfest turning into snorefest
Expensive sets and costumes, but it comes with an absolutely cringeworthy plot that fails to propel into something that was intended to be bigger. The main monster has a good backstory to start with, but the visual design of the monster is bland and not to even say it's anywhere near intimidating. For the worst part there's just something that doesn't work in its script, there's no cohesion in its storyline and pacing is very dull. Acting performances is actually great though but they're not enough to save this monsterfest into becoming a snorefest.Was this review helpful to you?
Stylish but unremarkable
It doesn't really capture the essence of Korean independence movement and its fighters, it was more like a plot device to make way for its multiple heroes of abilities, a team that "assembles", similar to some comic storyline that you'll know. The action scenes were acceptable but nothing remarkable, it's a little too kdrama-ish at some point. The storyline itself is a mess for its political tension due to it being intentionally fiction, while the latter episodes were flooded with repetitive gunfights, it just hardly hits the target of an effective plot.Was this review helpful to you?
The root of rot
It's certainly not a very entertaining movie to begin with because of its slowburn pace and quiet sound, but what it does is having the ability to dissect into the deeper root cause of humanity's worst life cycle, where the origin of every human evilness started once we're born. The extremely melancholy and low-key tone is actually quite true to life, it's all about feeling numb to the emptiness, where by getting a little bittersweet moment in our worst condition is already considered as a reward.Was this review helpful to you?
