Illang: La Brigade des loups

Oh, Kim Jee-Woon, what have you done? Why? Jee-Woon's films 'I saw the Devil' and 'The Good the Bad the Weird' are among my favorite Korean films (and favorite films in general). I was very excited for this film, but what a let-down!

My first issue with the film was the running time, and how the film simply dragged at times. If they were to cut the film by at least 20 minutes, it would have been faster paced. Well, maybe a bit. The film moves at such a slow pace at times that it actually becomes boring. To add to my dismay, the characters (and actors portraying them) had very little enthusiasm. Gang Dong-won stars as Im Joong-kyung, who is the film's protagonist, but he is the most passive protagonist I've seen in a while. He was simply dull and boring.

The film also can't decide whether it wants to be a romance drama or an action thriller, and falls flat on both genres. It offered very little suspense when it should have and the action scenes felt theatrical. The sound effects were also bad and the score was bland and slow, and certainly did not enhance the action scenes.

Nothing about the film was convincing, from the plot to the characters to the dialogue. It did nothing for my senses, except maybe feeling...I felt the fast-forward button...

By the time the film resorted to full throttle action, I was beyond bored and it didn't really matter anymore. (Although the actions scenes are impressive). There's far better action thrillers around than this...Next!

It seems the movie didn't work well in Korea, and I remember watching the Jin roh animé as a kid and didn't like it that much. However I really enjoyed this movie, yeah the romance part might a bit long but also has some purpose in building the final climax. I liked the quality of the movie action scene, simple and without CG. A really good action movie with an intriguing setup. I felt entertained.

Entertaining and quite intelligent combat and action sequences throughout the movie; however, remarkably dumb reasons provided by the plot to explain the purpose of this combat. I thought all of the fighting and firefights of the movie were incredibly unique and interesting as far as movies go, the setting was also something that I enjoyed. But, it really feels as if the actions of any character become pointless, especially during the third act of the movie.

Alright, well why would Korean take on remaking "Jin Roh: Wolf Brigade"? That just eluded me.

Regardless, I found this movie on Netflix while perusing through their Asian section. Having seen the animated movie back during my late teenage years, of course I had to give a live action movie a view, without a doubt.

So how was it? Well in all honesty, I can say that it wasn't all that impressive. Sure, the visual effects and the armors were great, and there were a couple of good gun fights. But the storyline was just so mediocre that it was hard to get immersed into the movie, into the universe and into embracing the Korean remake.

The acting in the movie was fairly good, taking into consideration the horribly weak script they had to work with.

Sure, the movie was adequate for what it turned out to be, and it was entertaining for sure. I had just expected somewhat more from a live action movie based on the classic "Jin Roh: Wolf Brigade" anime. But for viewers not familiar with the 1999 anime, then I am sure this is a mighty fine and dandy movie. But for us already well familiar with the 1999 anime, not so much...

Out of all world cinema I have to say Korea may well be the one I've always had the best relationship with. They from experience are consistent in their filmmaking efforts and for the most part this is no different.

A Netflix live action adaptation of a Japanese anime series of movies, I went in unfamiliar with the source material. I now look forward to giving the three movies my time as this was interesting stuff.

With a complex plot that's frighteningly realistic, true to life and believable it looks like a AAA Hollywood movie. It is quite frankly a feast for the eyes, the incredibly structured action sequences, cinematic visuals and cinematography. A feast for the mind however? Less so.

I'm not saying this is a brainless action flick because it's really not, in many ways it might be considered too smart for its own good and the plot is hard to do justice in little over two hours.

I would however recommend this to those into their action/martial arts films over anyone really wanting something to get their teeth into. It looks fantastic, the cast deliver but I feel they undershot a tad.

The Good:

Strong soundtrack

Some decent writing

Looks fantastic

Very well choreographed action

The Bad:

Scale isn't done justice