Swiri

This is not a romance, nor an action film. Despite the tragic love scenes and the overrated action scenes -- At the heart of this movie is a desperate cry for peace.

I don't know if the subtitles were flawed or the international audience just don't see the cultural implications, but the movie's final scene brought tears to my eyes. When I read the other comments, all I see is "Hollywood wannabe" and "overrated action scenes" pasted everywhere. Sure the movie dosen't have an incredible impact in its action scenes but the underlying themes and the awesome acting and chemistry between the main actors make this film a must-see.

If you enjoyed this movie, Also see: Joint Security Area, Friend, 2009 Lost Memories

When I first saw that movie I didn't know anything about the korean movie industry and I was in for a big surprise! "Wow, they can make big budget action movies in other countries besides the US!" Was one of the first thoughts that came to my mind. The beginning with training the north korean spies was very "fascinating" to watch. I have seldomly seen such gory scenes that left the impression of "hell, they are mean" despite the usual: "cool, that blood spilling is really funny". I admit that I only understand very little korean and I saw that one without subtitles and the whole story was translated to me while watching. Still I thought it was a superb action movie with great actors. I can only recommend it to anyone who would like to see a non comic and also Asian action film for a change. It's really worth it!

Is it possible to make a Bruckheimer movie and not be stupidly loud and ugly?

Maybe. At least there are some parts of this that make it seem so. But they are surrounded by parts that are so automatic and banal it seems that different directors were involved. Or there was a sort of Jekyll and Hyde swapping of personalities.

For example, there is the required Bruckheimer shot of two guys (sometimes it is a guy and a girl) running away from a car (or house) that they know will explode, then they lunge forward, pretending to be pushed by the shock of the fireball behind that fills the screen. Groan. I hope never to see that again. Ever. Each assassination causes our heroes to get blood splashed on their faces. There's a shootout with fishtanks... yeah, you've seen it before. At least there were no helicopter jumps onto speeding trains. There's an odd, odd choice in soundtrack; the severest action scenes have a sedate fifties action track behind them, obviously copied -- perhaps literally -- from that era.

But in between there are some elements that are uniquely styled. There's an opening sequence that is energetic, and essential to introducing us to a kickass female killer. There are some scenes with a "Mr and Mrs Smith" flavor where the mundane domestic love is allowed to breath and seem real. And deep.

Two guys directing, I think. Or one guy, two nations.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Against the background of political tensions between north and south Korea, an elite group of soldiers (the 8th Special Forces) infiltrate the South with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks. Most worrying of all is the reappearance of deadly assassin Hee in South Korea. Special agents Ryu and Lee are assigned to bring down Hee, however when the group get hold of a hi-tech new explosive they hold Seoul to ransom for $10million. Meanwhile Ryu and Lee realise that there is a mole inside their agency that keeps Hee one step ahead of them.

Other reviewers have said that this film is a good addition to the `heroic bloodshed' genre of Hong Kong cinema, with it's gory bloodshed and bullet ballets. However I personally feel that this is to do the film a disservice – the film doesn't just lift that style but rather delivers a solid thriller story line with plenty of well directed action. The plot is a detective story with the added boost of the terrorist attacks. It has a couple of nice twists along the way that work pretty well. The downside is that the plot occasionally makes minor jumps that are hard to follow, for example an action scene is immediately followed by a scene where the same characters are in a different situation, this happens twice and threw me a little. But these are minor problems. The political arguments are not too complex – one reviewed said to go and read up on Korean history before seeing Shiri, this is far from necessary. It is quite simple but doesn't get in the way of the bigger thriller story line.

The action is not of the slow-mo OTT type seen in The Killer or Hard Boiled but is more like the extended gun battles seen in Heat. Yes, they are a bit OTT but they aren't as heavily stylised as in many HK movies. Instead the tension comes from the excellent direction. Using a handheld camera really makes the gun battles feel intense and very close to where you're sitting. The action does have some HK clichés but these are still well delivered.

The cast are all well Han Suk-Kyu (Ryu) does well with the action as well as the romance subplot with Kim Yoon-jin. The rest of the cast are good – even the comedy odd-ball is good value, compared to the occasional Hollywood comedy character that can be grating.

I haven't seen too many Korean films but this was a particularly good thriller with intense action. Overall I enjoyed this film and fully expect America to pick up on the fact that it has action AND a workable story and commission a remake pretty soon. Wouldn't you rather see the original first?

Security agent Ryu stumbles upon a plot by North Korean fanatics (led by terrorist Park and assassin Hee) to disrupt peace and re-unification efforts by North and South politicians using high tech explosives and the hunt is on to stop them. Much gun play follows, as well as much talk about the politics and sociology of possible Korean re-unification. Given North Korea's history of selling weaponry to anyone with hard currency and South Korea's position as an important diplomatic and military ally of the U.S., such discussions are actually of worldwide interest. Since emerging in the mid-90s as a distinct cinematic power, South Korea has become filmdom's leading edge for cult actioners and this movie shows why. It is fast paced, uberviolent, with a polished look, tightly crafted plot line and strong performances by its ensemble cast.