The Last Godfather

I saw it in Busan a few days ago and my two friends and I all agree that it is probably the worst film we have ever seen. I am British and my two friends are both American so its certainly not a case of us having a homogeneous sense of humour yet we all felt that 'The Last Godfather' was so bad that we actually left the cinema about an hour and ten minutes in.

The film was absolutely terrible in every possible way and it saddened me to see a Hollywood legend like Harvey Keitel stoop so low. Slapstick can certainly be entertaining, Rowan Atkinson and Charlie Chaplin are two good examples of actors that make me laugh heartily but this was just puerile drivel. I am honestly finding it hard to give a sober and balanced perspective on this film when I'm enraged at just how flat, predictable and pathetic it was.

So what do you do for an encore after Hollywood makes some rather caustic remarks causing some everlasting damage to a director's debut as with Shim Hyung Rae's convoluted D-War affair ? Harken back to the character that made the same man the king of Korean comedy of course ! And so it follows that Shim is the #1 reason why many Koreans will go see the new movie The Last Godfather which isn't exactly a tribute to any lurid Mafia epic but does star veteran Hollywood actor Harvey Keitel as the 1950's Mafia don Carini.

As many fans may recall, Shim's rise to fame to become Korea's top entertainer in which he played the good-humored Young-gu was due to his nightly appearances on TV sitcoms on KBS since the early 90's.

As for The Last Godfather, talk about a flash from the past ! Except for a few costume changes and other theatrics everything does seem to fit the bill all right. That is, once the audience settles in and realizes that yes, he's cast himself in the role of Young-gu, then its pure whimsy! In the new movie in which he ventures off to the Big Apple, Young-gu turns out to be the illegitimate son of a powerful mafia boss. Even after a brief stint training to head the organization, he is no where close to being prepped for all the responsibilities bestowed upon him as Carini's heir . Even though things are suppose to be run exactly the same way a la Carini, poor Young-gu proves to be ever so slightly non-composmentis . He starts becoming chummy with Nancy Bonfante and seems to be perfectly oblivious to the fact that her dad 's the head of the rival mob organization !

So what is the significance of "Young-gu" which means "fool" in Korean to American moviegoers ? Let's put it this way. It's Shim's trademark sense of humor known as slapstick, that in any assessment is the most difficult kind to develop on screen compared to the kind most of us have whether its's dry , sarcastic, witty, or campy. Then again, even if you don't have a sense of humor, you will leave the theater feeling some sense of relief since a minute of laughter usually is enough to feel the same benefits of a work out at the gym! And Shim's brand of comedy developed in The Last Godfather will do that .

However , despite Shim's numerous attempts at directing an entire cast of brilliant talents, one of the major pitfalls that left me a little miffed was that he never brings out the star power of the leading roles and leaves Harvey Keitel's character a little devoid of artistic direction. Plus,it takes two to tango but the pace of the romance between Nancy and Younggu does seem a bit brisk and it doesn't seem that's he's all that interested in his leading lady.

All in all , even though Shim is probably not trying to be the next Korean Francis Ford Coppola, he is smart enough to earn his fair share of accolades for the mastery of CGI displayed in his movies and will surely gain instant recognition from moviegoers worldwide.

I gave it one star only because I couldn't give it zero. Do not watch this movie.

what a fun movie . i have to say i watched it twice and although found some parts corny , other parts made my son and i chuckle . i can see why harvey wanted to do this film . where some other reviewers miss the point , harvey obviously does not . the film does try to go "deep" and yet manages to skim the surface more often then not and occasionally take a nose dive or two or three.... to some degree the humor is not unlike the film " they call me bruce ". it is slapstick humor that sometimes makes it and other times falls flat on it's face. some of the acting is strong while other times way overboard . there is a little something for everybody . if nothing else , a redeeming factor is the film tries to show beauty is more then skin deep and how pure and simple love should be . what is wrong with that ? i disagree with the reviewers that trash it . i suggest you watch and decide for yourself. know going in this is not going to win any awards but then again sometimes those awards miss the point also !

The director has been making movies for kids.

That's why he doesn't show blood coming out of bodies or bodies getting chopped off in his movies. It's not like he doesn't know how to use those special effects. He's not money-driven enough to break his own rules.

It may be unrealistic for adults to watch, but the director sure knows how to make kids laugh and entertained.

Most kids will love it.

If they don't, they have grown up too quickly.

Hope to see Mr Bean and young-gu act together in the next movie.