Chaem-pieon

Always been a fan of Don Lee so gave this movie a try. Quite an enjoyable movie, though it brings nothing new to the genre. Loads of comedic moments with touches of emotional ones. Sadly no cameos from any arm wrestlers I know.

Dong-seok is a great actor in Korea, he's very talented and extremely versatile to play any role in any kind of genre movie. His performances so far never disappointed me. This time he played Ma Mark, a nobody bouncer, security guard in US, but later he was fooled by Jin-Ki, played by Kwon Yul (an actor his face looked pathetically reformed by plastic surgeries), who fooled him to return to Korean to compete arm wrestling, but mostly for Jin-Ki's own illegal gambling bets.

Dong-seok did a great job to play that superior arm wrestling guy. His natural performance was absolutely realistically believable, while Kwon Yul was forced to play a clown-like con-artist. Kwon Yul looked pretty cool when he wore dark sun glasses, but once he took it off, his bloated plastic surgery puffy face was so obviously starting to coming apart. His performance in this movie's early half was extremely overacted, sometimes more like a jerk, but luckily, the later half part changed him into a normal person with a heart.

Korean movies, even they actually were serious dramas, used to put many clown-like cartoon characters to turned them into what they thought as Comedy, but most of the time, they just turned into disgusting Farce, and ruined everything. It's a very stupid Korean movie-making habitual irresistible syndrome, unnecessarily made lot of characters look like stupid jerks, ridiculous clowns and pathetic morons. They always thought "Farce" is "Comedy", they just couldn't distinguish the differences.

There're many violent scenes in this movie, but they were neutralized by two cute kids. They both looked pretty normal and likable, I really wish they would not need plastic surgeries like most Koreans when they grow up.

The only people who hate on this are jaded cynics and Americans with tunnel vision who compare it to "Over The Top", as if it were just a cheap knock-off of that. But it clearly isn't. It's more like a hommage that doesn't take itself too seriously. I would describe it as a wholesome, charming, light-hearted comedy with some emotional elements and a bunch of funny characters. If you want some light entertainment, you can definitely give it a watch.

A heart-warming very well acted and directed movie. The music supports and lifts the emotional flows and action of this film just right, the many comical moments are fortunately not over-acted but very well dosed, the dramatic moments are sincerely touching and although Mark has an introvert "come what may" life-style opposed to Jin-Ki's extravert hustling kind of life-style, the fact that both men's lives are not in balance binds them and secures their friendship.

The only nano bit that might have had more attention is when Soo-Jin learns via a telephone call that her very young children left the house and cruised the big city on their own to go to the arm wrestling match to return Mark's medal. Besides her lukewarm reaction to this, the medal was never discussed with her but she doesn't ask about it.

Ma Dong-seok, Kwon Yul, Yeri Han, director and writer Young-wan Kim and all the other cast and crew members did a great job in making this film for us as this film contributes to happiness in your life.

This film stands out as one of the best I've ever seen, blending motivational and inspirational themes with deep social and dramatic elements. Its strength lies not just in its compelling narrative and rich character development, but also in its respectful approach to storytelling. Notably, it maintains a high moral standard by completely avoiding any explicit or unethical scenes, setting a commendable example of how powerful cinema can be when it focuses on uplifting and thought-provoking content. This combination makes it a unique and unforgettable experience that resonates on multiple levels.