Korean action film from the makers of Shiri.
That should be an indication that the film doesn't make a whole heck of sense while amping it up on the action.
The plot has a transit cop duking it out with a super villain who is after a memory chip with incriminating evidence on it (the evidence is of government misdeeds not his own) To that end the bad guy ends up taking a subway train hostage.
Think Speed, Money Train, the taking of Pelham 123, and die hard rolled into one. Think not American so a couple of American movie-isms don't play out.
Did I like it? Yes and know. Unclear to a fault this is all about the macho battle between good and bad and the action that it breeds. The action is five star classic stuff. The sequences just build and build and build. Actually every sequence has the feel of the final battle between good and evil, and thats the problem the movie ends probably 19 times before it actually ends. My dad and I were watching this together and we wanted to go get something to drink but were going to wait until the approaching end, only to realize that we still had over 45 minutes left.
Its good, hell the action is great, but the actions relentless amping up wears you down. In a weird way you feel as beaten up as our hero.
I'm sure this would play better if the story made any real sense. As a narrative thread, and I do mean thread, its the sort of thing we've seen before. Unfortunately the devil is in the details and most if not all of the details are lacking or missing, so much so that I was frequently wondering why and who and how. Characters aren't developed so much as thrust fully clichéd upon the screen. Only the narrating love interest has any real depth to her and she disappears for sections of the film.Give it points for a couple of decidedly non-American twists-which I won't reveal since they are twists, but ultimately the story is needlessly oblique, which when coupled with the audience pounding action makes the film less than it should be.
For action fans this is a must see, for the rest an okay time killer.
6.5 out of 10, the pieces being better than the messy whole.
That should be an indication that the film doesn't make a whole heck of sense while amping it up on the action.
The plot has a transit cop duking it out with a super villain who is after a memory chip with incriminating evidence on it (the evidence is of government misdeeds not his own) To that end the bad guy ends up taking a subway train hostage.
Think Speed, Money Train, the taking of Pelham 123, and die hard rolled into one. Think not American so a couple of American movie-isms don't play out.
Did I like it? Yes and know. Unclear to a fault this is all about the macho battle between good and bad and the action that it breeds. The action is five star classic stuff. The sequences just build and build and build. Actually every sequence has the feel of the final battle between good and evil, and thats the problem the movie ends probably 19 times before it actually ends. My dad and I were watching this together and we wanted to go get something to drink but were going to wait until the approaching end, only to realize that we still had over 45 minutes left.
Its good, hell the action is great, but the actions relentless amping up wears you down. In a weird way you feel as beaten up as our hero.
I'm sure this would play better if the story made any real sense. As a narrative thread, and I do mean thread, its the sort of thing we've seen before. Unfortunately the devil is in the details and most if not all of the details are lacking or missing, so much so that I was frequently wondering why and who and how. Characters aren't developed so much as thrust fully clichéd upon the screen. Only the narrating love interest has any real depth to her and she disappears for sections of the film.Give it points for a couple of decidedly non-American twists-which I won't reveal since they are twists, but ultimately the story is needlessly oblique, which when coupled with the audience pounding action makes the film less than it should be.
For action fans this is a must see, for the rest an okay time killer.
6.5 out of 10, the pieces being better than the messy whole.