Operación oculta

Korean Entertainment Industry is a reality. It evolved over the years and now it may count on a wide choice of good Actors, Authors, Musicians, Producers and Technicians. The results are professional TV and Movie productions, with an overall good artistic level.

The present title is a War Movie that recalls of old American productions of the same genre. Just as in the 50s and the 60s, when World War II was too fresh a memory and war stories were rhetorical and unrealistic, this movie is biased by a mono dimensional description of the UN/US counter offensive in the Korean War (which easily may be too fresh a memory for people from ROK…).

This is a pity of course, because almost nothing is left of the real events (which by the way are much more interesting than the fictional ones) and the movie is not instructive at all. Unfortunately men are the same everywhere and Communists are not the only ones who cannot resist the charm of propaganda

In 1950, the North Korean army has invaded and defeated South Korea. The UN coalition, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur (Liam Neeson), plots a bold plan called "Operation Chromite" to invade the South Korean peninsula, disembarking the troops through the Incheon port. However there are mines in the water and he needs to know the location of the defense first. MacArthur sends an eight- man military unit from the Korean Liaison Office in a secret operation called X- Ray under the command of South Korean Navy Lieutenant Jang Hak-soo (Jung-jae Lee) to find the location of the North Korean defenses. They disguise as a North Korean inspection unit to infiltrate the enemy headquarter. However, North Korean Senior Colonel Lim Gye-jin (Beom- su Lee) suspects of Hak-soo and does not provide the mine location to him. What will the spies do?

"In-cheon sang-ryuk jak-jeon", a.k.a. "Operation Chromite", is a magnificent South Korean war film based on a true story. The dramatic story is full of action and supported by excellent screenplay, direction and performances. The conclusion is melodramatic like in many other South Korean movies, but perfect to the great story of heroism and patriotism. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not available

Part spy thriller, and part action film this is a weird mix film. The spy aspect is done well, with good tension, and the framing scenes about the preparation around Macarthur are well done, but also largely irrelevant to the main story. But then things go wrong, the film becomes an over the top action film, with bullets flying everywhere. If it had been one or the other it would have been better, but the two aspects make for strange changes in pace which don't really gell well.

Good story portraying the cruelty of this war and Liam Neeson plays his role well but the rest is absolutely ruined by ignorant American dubbing.

The dubbing completely removes the immersion as the director / voice actors show complete ignorance to any Asian culture and the complete inability to pick up on subtleties (A characteristic of American dubbing that is well known to anyone who watches Asian cinema or anime). The result is the terrible voice actors cannot correctly portray any atmosphere.

If you can handle that, or can find the original, subtitled, then the film is worth a watch.

As of late, it seems every country with a nationalistic concerns, has been turning out war films with what I'd call, "patriotic" overtones.

Operation Chromite offers up a South Korean/US take on the Korea war. There's a good back story, complimented by decent acting, directing and lots of well paced, polished action.

That said, I'd describe this film as also a bit simplistic in its approach. The North are, for the most part, the "bad guys" in a very black and white way and the Southern solders, the "good guys".

If you can accept these limitations, this war film remains a mostly enjoyable watch. Seven out of ten from me.