Spiritwalker - Identidade Perdida

A solid action thriller about a man who wakes up after an accident to find out he's not the person he used to be. To make matters worse, it turns out he'll "transform" into someone else every 12 hours.

The sci-fi gimmick is mostly used for a Bourne-style recipe; for every bit of mystery that the protagonist manages to clarify we get a round of fistfights, chases or shootouts. I wish that the film did more with its concept but it still manages to entertain throughout its runtime. There's almost no need to highlight the film's cinematography as it is as polished as we've come to expect from Korean thrillers. The last action scene is obviously heavily inspired by John Wick, but that doesn't take away from its intensity and well-done choreography.

Recommended for fans of high-concept Korean thrillers; however, they might need to lower their expectations a bit since this isn't really a top-tier pick in the genre.

SPIRITWALKER is a complex thriller from the first moment the film begins. We are dropped in the midst of a story where every twelve (12) hours it seems our main character's essence is somehow transferred into a new body. His memories seem to be retained from the start of the film, but not prior to the car crash that opens the film. He does not know who he is and how he got into this situation. What he does know is that there are dangerous people trying to kill him; criminals and, possibly, intelligence agents. He just needs to reconstruct the puzzle pieces to find out why?

Director Yoon Jae-keun (Heartbeat), along with award-winning martial arts choreographers Park Young-sik and Chung Seong-Ho (SAG Awards, Best Stunt Ensemble, "Squid Game"), bring to life the action-packed thriller

While the movie is complex it is not confusing. The complexity is not superfluous. It is part of what makes it interesting. As each change occurs the layers of the onion are peeled back and we learn a little more information towards solving this riddle. Is Yoon Kye-sang's character crazy? Is there a supernatural explanation? The film converges in an exciting climax.

Yoon Kye-sang, a former K-pop singer, is very good in the lead role. So is the supporting cast, which includes Park Yong-Woo (Nailed), Lim Ji-Yeon (Obsessed, High Society) and Park Ji-Hwan (The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure). They all do a good job of making you feel that the lead character's personage does change, even though Yoon Kye-sang, essentially, plays all of the characters in the transference.

This is a psychological thriller but it is also an action film. It has its share of well choreographed and realistic fight sequences. The climactic fight scene is riveting and fun to watch. This is top notch martial arts and action choreography. The action is engaging. This movie has a lot going for it.

This film has many of the underlying themes that are prevalent in South Korean Cinema. It is also a high quality film that rivals anything Hollywood has produced.

Spiritwalker is a South-Korean science-fiction thriller that looks very promising on paper but fails to deliver the goods as a cinematic experience. While the main idea is promising and the cinematography is up to the highest contemporary standards, the movie has a few lengths and the story is overall quite unconvincing.

The movie revolves around a man suffering from amnesia after a car crash who is found by a homeless man who is trying to loot his vehicle. The man gets transported to the nearest hospital where police officers are confused when the victim is unable to recall much of his past. He gets discharged from the hospital and soon seems to find out where he has been living and working. Just as things seem to become clearer, he suddenly has a strange seizure and awakes as a different man who is having lunch with his mother. He storms out of the restaurant and is trying to understand what has been happening to him. However, he soon realizes that he is in danger since members of a shady organization are tracking him down and attempting to arrest and even assassinate him. The stranger is able to ward off his opponents as he comes to the conclusion that he must have been some sort of special agent. As he is switching bodies every twelve hours, the protagonist is trying to find out what relates these different people with the help of the homeless man who found him and a mysterious woman who could have been his professional and personal partner in the past.

This film convinces on several levels. First of all, the main idea of the story is really intriguing and offers dystopian science-fiction at its very best. Up next, the cinematography of this film is excellent with precise camera work, dynamic lighting techniques and spectacular stunts. The martial arts sequences of this movie deserve to be mentioned separately as they stand out with much dynamism.

However, this movie also has several flaws. After an exciting first thirty minutes, the movie fails to progress and the story falls flat. The exchangeable acting performances lack identity as the protagonist is portrayed by numerous different actors throughout the film. The movie's conclusion is filled with great action sequences but the intellectual side suffers quite a lot.

Overall, Spiritwalker doesn't live up to its hype and qualifies as barely above average science-fiction thriller. This movie had the potential to be a true highlight with a cleverer script and better actors. This is why this movie's downfall is particularly disappointing. Here's hope that a movie with a similar plot but a more intellectual twist might one day see the light of day.

It's more flying or hopping rather than "walking", although there is a lot of walking in the movie too (outside of driving and car chases that is). And then there is fighting, either with guns or hand to hand combat. But I got ahead of myself ... a lot.

If like me you have discovered Korean action and thriller cinema (either a long time ago or because Parasite gave you a reason too), I do not have to convince you. Actually the movie itself is more than able to convince you - with more than a tight plot and story, that has as many twists and turns as one can imagine. I would wish that the main character would be a bit more charismatic and I know you can fault the movie on certain details too, but not on how it is thought through (convenient timings and other stuff aside too).

Great action, amazing cinematography and a sound design that is as subtle as it is genius. Another winner - even if won't be another Oscar (winner)

The special effects live up to the intriguing sci-fi premise, but the interpersonal presentation is inconsistently revealed and murkily convoluted. The initial slow pacing causes the setup of the story to drag out. Then the hyper action-packed finale comes in the form of a frenzied resolution without enough satisfaction of the plot complications.

The dubbed dialog mis-coordinates with the subtitles for increased confusion and sometimes results in unintended hilarity.

The bad guys have way too much of the upper hand throughout, and there is nowhere near enough righteous retribution. Even so, it manages to have an upbeat ending and turns out to be worth the watch.