Memories of War

In 1950, the North Korean army has invaded and defeated South Korea. The UN coalition, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur (Liam Neeson), plots a bold plan called "Operation Chromite" to invade the South Korean peninsula, disembarking the troops through the Incheon port. However there are mines in the water and he needs to know the location of the defense first. MacArthur sends an eight- man military unit from the Korean Liaison Office in a secret operation called X- Ray under the command of South Korean Navy Lieutenant Jang Hak-soo (Jung-jae Lee) to find the location of the North Korean defenses. They disguise as a North Korean inspection unit to infiltrate the enemy headquarter. However, North Korean Senior Colonel Lim Gye-jin (Beom- su Lee) suspects of Hak-soo and does not provide the mine location to him. What will the spies do?

"In-cheon sang-ryuk jak-jeon", a.k.a. "Operation Chromite", is a magnificent South Korean war film based on a true story. The dramatic story is full of action and supported by excellent screenplay, direction and performances. The conclusion is melodramatic like in many other South Korean movies, but perfect to the great story of heroism and patriotism. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not available

Part spy thriller, and part action film this is a weird mix film. The spy aspect is done well, with good tension, and the framing scenes about the preparation around Macarthur are well done, but also largely irrelevant to the main story. But then things go wrong, the film becomes an over the top action film, with bullets flying everywhere. If it had been one or the other it would have been better, but the two aspects make for strange changes in pace which don't really gell well.

This South Korean war epic/action movie does get a marginal recommendation from me, being that it's not boring and it does contain some good action and some excitement. But at the same time, the movie is clearly being held back from maximum impact due to some significant flaws. For starters, there are the production values. While the movie was big budget by Korean standards, and indeed some shots look very nice, all the same there are many moments where the movie does not have enough "oompth" to its look, giving the movie a restrained feeling. Also, linking footage and entire scenes seem to be missing at times. A bigger problem, however, is the script. The script is severely underwritten at times, most notably being the heroes who set out on the mission. The heroes are poorly introduced, and we learn next to nothing about them. Also, the storyline has a lot of predictability to it; you'll have seen many moments in this movie in other war movies before. Another problem is that the English language dialogue often sounds very stilted and awful. This may be why actor Liam Neeson seems to be hamming it up at times. I realize I may be portraying this movie to be worse than it really is, so let me say again that while the movie could have been better, it is an acceptable time-waster. And it's a heck of a lot better than the 1982 movie "Inchon".

This is a little hidden gem of a film, you probably won't find it running anywhere as it has a limited budget and almost zero media behind it. But you SEE every dollar on the screen and it looks like it cost twice the sum, so stick with it. Very much a war film, behind enemy lines and a plot that, while based in Korea, is one we know very well. French resistance type of action. Liam Neeson makes a very good MacArthur (much better than Tommy Lee Jones and Sir Laurence some time back), at times catching even the face quite right. (Greg Peck has the high honor). But here we have a straightforward story of brave men doing brave deeds with honor. We should remember such men, and this film gives their heroism a chance to shine. BTW this may be a fictionalized plot but it is based on true events. All told, well worth the time.

As of late, it seems every country with a nationalistic concerns, has been turning out war films with what I'd call, "patriotic" overtones.

Operation Chromite offers up a South Korean/US take on the Korea war. There's a good back story, complimented by decent acting, directing and lots of well paced, polished action.

That said, I'd describe this film as also a bit simplistic in its approach. The North are, for the most part, the "bad guys" in a very black and white way and the Southern solders, the "good guys".

If you can accept these limitations, this war film remains a mostly enjoyable watch. Seven out of ten from me.