Telekinese

'PSYCHOKINESIS': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A South Korean superhero movie about a father that discovers he has superpowers, who then tries to use those powers to rescue his daughter. It stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung, Park Jung-min, Kim Min-jae and Jung Yu-mi. The film was written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho (who also performed both duties on the 2016 critically acclaimed 'zombies on a train' flick 'TRAIN TO BUSAN'), and it was released by Netflix through it's streaming site. I really enjoyed it.

The story is about a bank security guard, named Shin Seok-heon (Seung-ryong), who has a troubled relationship with his estranged daughter, Shin Roo-mi (Eun-kyung). He drinks some contaminated water from a mountain spring, and gains super telekinetic powers. He tries to use these powers to help his daughter, who is constantly being harassed by a corrupt construction company. Seok-heon becomes a reluctant superhero in the process.

The film is the first ever South Korean superhero movie, and it's definitely a refreshing change from the American ones (like the new 'AVENGERS'). This film has so much character, and genuine heart and emotion. It's pretty simple in it's action scenes, and villainous threat, which is what's so cool about it as well. The film concentrates on what a good superhero movie should be about, rather than on CGI and other superficial excesses. I really found it to be quite entertaining and effective.

Though it wasn't the masterpiece that some reviewers have said, nor was it a 1 star film, it was still enjoyable, especially if you go into it knowing Korean cinema style. Basically its your typical superhero tale. Average guy has a boring and average life until he comes in contact with a life altering substance that turns him into a superhero. He now uses his power to save his daughter from a shadowy organization. So its typical comic book stuff with a little "Taken" in there. Many will find this film to be too silly, but thats the style of Korean cinema, if anyone has seen "Train to Busan" you will see that a movie can still be amazing even with silly acting and borderline slapstick comedy. Unfortunately some people will be turned off by it if they are not used to it, but for this reviewer, it didn't bother me.

So as I said the acting is silly in some places. But this is common place for the region. Some of the serious acting was alright but I found it to be all very average. The cinematography was also hit and miss, some of it I thought was great but most was just average filming. The super hero scene, I did enjoy, though sometimes it borders on "The 3 Stooges" slapstick action. But I still enjoyed most of it. Not a thought provoking piece of cinema, but its still a fun watch if you've got nothing else to watch.

This is a 2018 Korean movie. Very kids friendly and a few good movie. The thing that stood out was - inspire of a really far fetched theme of science fiction, they put a lot of family and humor. Watch with kids for some out of ordinary flicks.

I think the concept here is quite good; the problem is the uneven execution. I love the idea of an exceedingly ordinary (random) guy getting superpowers. The way he starts realizing something has changed (and then starts experimenting) is very cool. However, the idea that this guy abandoned his family seems contrived, and if we are to accept this, there should be more depth than just animosity from his estranged daughter. It also bothers me that the guy walked out; I thought personal responsibility was a big deal in most eastern cultures.

I've seen a few other oddball South Korean S/F films, and there is a standard theme that family is important, but "family" isn't just people you share genes with (or married). Those themes are present here, but they feel a bit superficial and unconvincing -- it's like some realism is missing (such as press coverage, proper scientific investigation of blatant physics-defying abilities, and military interest). The return-to-quasi-normalcy ending seems loosely modeled on The Wizard of Oz, which works great in a old-time rural fantasy, but less well in a modern urban setting.

Jung Yu-mi is fantastic as a psychotic mob-boss and corporate executive, though her screen-time is very limited.

The special effects are good, but the audio volume varies considerably from one scene to another. The music and sound effects are often much louder than the dialogue.

I give this 5.5 stars for the (fresh-but-flawed) entertainment value, with a half-star bonus for Jung Yu-mi. That's six (6) stars total.

I liked the story how it begins and what missing is meteor came down on earth without anyone notice which is should have been any related story about it but in general great movie I loved it