Naechureol siti

I saw a screening of this film recently at the Milan Fair and I'm inclined to say that, while it was rather interesting, I would not suggest it to anyone but hardcore fans of SF. In a way the concept is reminiscent of Bladerunner: The (male) officer of law falling for the (female) cyborg/clone/android that has an 'expiration date', while on the other hand, he is fighting the rebellious cyborgs/clones/androids. There are a number of twists in the plot that add interest, the photography is very good, the acting is fine and the action scenes are typical Asian. All in all, quite interesting but not fulfilling...

so i was watching NATURAL CITY the other night... and right from the beginning it smelled like Blade Runner, Equilibrium & Returner. So far, not so bad and thats what this movie is all about: its "not so bad".

set in a futuristic Korea its the story of a special forces officer falling for an artificial girl whose chip is about to expire. as we watch NATURAL CITY, we witness his attempt to fixing the "expiration matter" while having the worst days of his life at work (mind you, he is eliminating replicants for a living).

i wont go more indepths as the rest of the story is as thin as ice & i don't wanna spoil too much. for most fans of the korean action cinema this flick definitely was a slight letdown- and its getting apparent to everybody watching the flick..... as there is nothing we aint seen before.

on the positive side NATURAL CITY offers decent acting, above average cinematography, some tense sequences (god knows, i prayed for more of them) and subliminal impulses to have a thought or two bout what the director may have wanted us to reflect upon. a good 60 % rate would be appropriate, I'd say.

Although the plot and storyline were a little predictable, I was really impressed by some of the acting, camera-work and better than Hollywood graphics and visuals. The CGI was nicely done and contributed seamlessly to the movie. The acting wasn't bad either. This movie was clearly a labor of love considering the attention to details and overall look. Ignore the obvious plot and story development, just sit back and enjoy this one as a pretty picture, knowing that all good things don't always have to come out of Hollywood.

Did you know that George Lucas was inspired to make "Star Wars" from a Japanese film called "Hidden Fortress"? Bet some of the reviewers here didn't. Why get all bent out of shape when the person who made "Blade Runner" did the same thing. Every film maker is inspired by someone else's work.

OK, the action and visuals are nice. The characters are very mechanical and they don't go deep into them so the movie seemed more focused on action and CGI. There were some slow spots between the action and the characters really didn't pull me in much. Yes, there is plenty of borrowing from Blade Runner but it didn't bother me much. Hollywood borrows plenty as well. I don't get upset about it. Without sampling there would be no Hip-Hop or Star Wars.

If you like action, sci-fi, and CGI and don't need a lot of character development, give it a go.

..... in fact, a lot better than expected. I watched both trailers before the movie to see if it looked any good, and it did. It looked stunning, just a bit empty. On watching it, i found it to be very accomplished, it put most Hollywood films to shame. In saying that, though, there really aren't any US equivalents to this. Yeah, it borrows from plenty of other movies, but none of them would be so daring or have such a sombre tone. This is quite bleak and nasty stuff. Highly recommended, just don't expect a happy ending or any humour. If great, Blade Runner-style visuals are your thing, you'll find plenty to enjoy. Four out of five.