Are you ready?

RU READY was one of many South Korean efforts that had a big budget and a willingness to make a blockbuster, but the result was less than spectacular. The film is a fantasy, but by movie's end it's anybody's guess if what happened actually happened, or if that's the whole point. All the viewers will know is that they could have cared less.

Cardboard characters are pushed through a series of adventures that forces them to relive their dreams and come to terms with their personal demons. Some are more interesting than others, and the special effects are quite well done. Unfortunately the movie lacks focus, and as a result the screen just seems filled with things happening but nothing for the audience to hold onto.

A better script to accompany the excellent visuals and RU READY would have, if you'll pardon the pun, be ready for prime time.

5 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie or reviews of other foreign films)

R.U. Ready is a good looking film, but totally lacks any internal logic. Like other reviewers have noted, the nonsensical and arbitrary nature of the story leaves the audience cold and indifferent to the characters by journeys end. I get the feeling the producers were going for a meaner, more serious and ultimately more meaningful version of Fantasy Island, but the lack of a coherent drive to the plot, and at least some kind of semi-logical explanation as to what's happening on screen, leaves every character floundering in a life changing adventure that seems to go nowhere. Direction was adequate with several flashes of inspiration. The soundtrack was oddly remenicent of Jurrasic Park. Some SFX were nicely done, others failed. Beware the park bears.

"R. U. Ready" is a Korean adventure film with a big budget. It has some nice visuals but plot wise, it's an inexcusable mess. The characters encounter a series of supernatural situations which are loosely connected to the nightmares of their past. Director Sang-ho Yu conjures some nifty CGI-effects but with no emotional result. I didn't care a bit for the characters since they were even duller than their Hollywood counterparts. They just run from adventure to adventure, each of which makes less sense than the previous. The money-shot-scene with the falling rocks even looks like a car commercial ...

At the end, I was left with nothing. The plot turns out to be every bit as idiotic as I feared throughout the movie. I felt cheated. So much money, so little imagination. So little brain. It's like "The Mummy Returns" dumbed down. Yes, that is possible. Also take away the humor, any sense of adventure, any epic feel ... and you're almost there. My rating

3/10