Ddukbang

First thing's first: not everybody will enjoy this film.

That said, if you like seeing fights that are designed to entertain and not shock with graphic violence/brutality, enjoy the bravado of men being men yet bonding at the same time, and don't mind a bit of swearing (okay, so there's an F-word every two or three minutes), then there is a pretty good chance that you'll enjoy this film.

The film starts out with the introduction of Three Fellas (alternative title - and I can't think why "Bar Legend" is the common one) kicking off with three monkeys over as ridiculous a reason as neither wanting to move aside for the others to cross over a bridge, despite there being ample room for them all. Actually, the film does an excellent job of mocking thug mentality, but that's not so obvious to viewers after just action or something dark... who - unfortunately - will be quick to criticise the masterpiece that this film is.

As with Wild Card - another awesome Korean film well worthy of any man's time - there's not a great plot or anything to give away, but it's the characters, the dialogue and the developments which make this such a cracker. Contrary to the aforementioned, Bar Legend is p*ss your pants funny and the fight scenes are constant and always get your heart pumping.

In a nut shell: SEE THIS FILM.

This movie essentially involves three young high school boys who belong to a neighborhood gang called the Water Mill Clan. One day they decide to take on the toughest gang around who go by the name of the Ditch Clan. But before they do they decide to change their name to the No Touch Clan to signify their new position as the toughest gang around. Thanks to the efforts of their best fighter, "Park Jeong-Kwon" (Park Keon-hyeong) they win and establish themselves as the top gang in the area. However, once they graduate high school things change as soon as Jeong-gwon leaves as his two friends "Seong-Hyeon" (Lee Cheon-hee) and "Yoo Kyeong-ro" (M.C. Mong) find it difficult to defend their territory from the reformed Ditch Clan. But it's then that Jeong-gwon comes back and just as he proceeds to take over the neighborhood again some really bad gangsters from his past return--and they have a serious score to settle with him and anybody who gets in their way. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film had a good mixture of action and comedy along with a decent plot to keep things interesting. On the minus side, the script contained more than an average amount of foul language and the end was kind of confusing as well. Even so, it was still somewhat entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Well, I had high expectations for Ddukbang, primarily because another website said that it was a "Great fight movie" and the sole review on IMDb insisted that it was "engaging" and "the fight scenes are excellent", among other things.

All I can say is that Ddukbang lives up to NONE of these glowing comments. In fact, it's quite bad. Let's put it this way. I've seen 130 action films from China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea. Ddukbang is probably in the bottom 10-15 percentile, which means that of the total 130 action films I've seen, this movie is worse than 110 of them.

First of all, the fighting scenes are horribly choreographed. Take 20 dudes, throw them together in a brawl, then have them execute some basic punches and kicks. Congratulations - you now have an "action sequence" for Ddukbang. Needless to say, it's not even the slightest bit entertaining.

Anyone who is deluded enough to claim that the fight scenes in this film are "excellent" should seriously consider watching some of the other fare from East Asia, preferably So Close, Azumi, Tom Yum Goong, Ong Bak, Fist of Legend, Hard Boiled, Tai Chi Master, or The Legend of Drunken Master, to name only a few. If one wishes to see fight scenes that are driven by an intense storyline and character development, one should refer to Kill Zone, Oldboy, Shiri, or A Bittersweet Life, to name only a few. The fight scenes in Ddukbang are neither choreographically precise nor emotional. They are simply boring and formulaic.

Even more abhorrent is that the final fight is never allowed the finish! The filmmakers cut away just as the lead protagonist and antagonist start getting it on. This is just horrible film-making, plain and simple.

The pacing of the film also suffers. There are a few fights at the beginning and one at the end. The middle 70 minutes are sleep-inducing nothingness. I like slow films with character development (see the latter references above), but for goodness sakes - give me something interesting! Ddukbang offers absolutely nothing except a few funny moments. Not good.

The hype surrounding this film reminds me of Geochilmaru, another obscenely overrated Korean action film that is light on choreography as well as drama. However, Geochilmaru is still better than this turd.

If you really want to see a good Korean action film, watch A Bittersweet Life, Shiri, Taegukgi, or No Blood No Tears. Ddukbang is a waste of time that lures you in with inaccurate, hype-driven online reviews.

This movie is excellent , and it deserves a lot of credit. The Fight scenes might not be matrix alike , but again , its a movie about friends , school kids and most of all , loyalty and friendship. The movie is one of my top ten because of the way they introduce the characters to you , the way their lifes are driven and the consequences of those lifes around their neighborhood. All the characters are captivating , specially the main bad guy who still scares me to this day , he was also great in OldBoy!!! If you have an open mind , and friends with you , this movie is a good call , funny , has some action and its quite entertaining. Do not let anyone fool you that this is a bad movie , its a great piece , the actor work well , the camera work well , even the music is cool. Watch this and have a good time , specially with friends around.