Sunsu-ui sidae

Watching this movie is like watching a play, not a amazing Shakespeare type of play but a decent one. That involves greed, jealousy, betrayal, vengeance and lust. To be honest I would have been bored watching this in theaters, but if I saw it while flipping through the channels it would have been a alright watch. The story isn't very coherent and it doesn't flow very well when it comes to the context of the plot. It's basically like watching one of those historical Korean dramas except with nudity and a lot of blood. It's just not a very stand out movie and can be easily forgotten. This would have been a television movie if it was made in the U.S. The acting was mediocre at best with performances that works for the most part but nothing groundbreaking. Even Jang Hyuk who is a actor I actually like just chuckled all the way through it (when you see this film you will know what I mean). The love and lust aspect of this movie is the main thing going on in the story but the political parts of this film just felt like it was thrown in there and made the whole thing drag on. Despite it playing a somewhat pivotal part near the end, but it's just really boring to sit through. Because there is almost nothing interesting about that banter and it's just doesn't come off as something important when it comes to the story. Overall, this is a alright TV watch but that is about it.

5/10

Must watch ! It is actually pretty good the productions the actors are my favorites! Everything looks realistic like damn!!! Hahaha! I love it. This is back in 2015 y'all. So expect the old story especially with romance scenes. The only thing I don't like about this is the ending. I'm crying no I'm not crying. Well Netflix brought me here so must watch if you're bored and looking for movies to watch before bed. Now I am going to bed I enjoyed the movie very much.

Apart from the grand looking production this unpleasant movie is full of unlikeable characters. The taking of the throne by a bypassed son could have been interesting but what they chose to show wasn't interesting. Throwing in some rape and unattractive love scenes didn't help. Didn't feel for the lead characters.

Like many a "Joseon Empire" historical action movie, this 2015 South Korean film is solidly anchored in sword violence. (To put it bluntly, there's lots of blood and gore.) But the addition of rape scenes made it significantly more disturbing than your average TV K-drama "sageuk", which (as of 2023) are always pristinely sanitized in romantic and/or sexual situations. This movie opens with an arty inter-splicing of a bloody battle and rather raw lovemaking, which may seem gratuitous to some, but provides a deft summary of the 2 faces of lust that fueled the rise of a 500 year dynasty. The directing and acting is top notch, especially from the two lead actors, noble hero Shin Ha-Kyun and psycho-villain Jang Hyuk (who rose to prominence in the iconic sageuk "The Slave Hunters"). Both of these action stars can actually act, and superb at packing a universe of emotion into a "100 yard stare". This film is basically a love story and could have been improved with better couple chemistry and a more memorable OST. The k-drama TV series "My Country: The New Age", also set in this era and with Jang Hyuk reprising his role as Bang Won, is cheesier/ less sophisticated than EoL, but it's much more entertaining and more visually enticing. In summary, Empire of Lust is a film worth 2 hours of your time, but its depictions of extreme avarice and cruelty are not easy watching.

I honestly watched this film because of Jang Hyuk. He played a supporting roll in this dark film, but it was still worth the watch for me. This vengeance film was both dark and hyper- sexual. Despite that, there was a sad love story intertwined with a war story that some viewers might find interesting.