Given the stricter regulations placed on firearms in Asia, it is conceivable that the average Korean college coed will be about as adept with a Glock 19 as, say, a monkey with a pair of chopsticks eating Fugu and Chow Fun. This theory is proven ad nauseum in the hip chick flick `A.F.R.I.K.A.', which stars (I'm guessing) the Korean equivalent of SPEED or MAX in a `Thelma & Louise'-type road movie. In it, two young coeds from Seoul embark on a weekend getaway, unknowingly `borrowing' a car belonging to a local gangster which contains two real live handguns (Beretta 92FS Inox and a short-barreled stainless S&W or Colt D/A .357 Magnum or .38 Special revolver). Not sure what to do, they embark on an odyssey in which they unwillingly gain two more companions (a hooker and an ex-con), both of whom have their own personal agendas involving the weapons. While the two coeds first draw the weapons in self-defence (to deter over-enthusiastic males), the unstable hooker wants to steal enough money for a nose job, and the ex-con wants payback on her ex-lover who made her take the rap for funds he embezzled.
By far the worst two scenes involve the actors trying to mimic the gunplay found in HK flicks, mob movies and rap videos. One involves the `gangster' (who reminds me a bit of Japanese actor/comedian Danda Yasunori) squeezing off a series of shots with guns in both hands recoiling whether or not a shot is fired. The other involves the quartet carjacking a diplomat's car, only to find that the driver is a big fan of the girls, who have become rogue heroes of sorts. The rather confused coed holding the 92FS Inox to the driver's head has her right index finger BEHIND the trigger instead of on it. Oh well. They should've given her a 1911 so she couldn't do that.
Granted, the film would be even less realistic (if that's possible) if the coeds suddenly displayed flawless firearms handling protocol, but I must admit that watching people wave guns around carelessly makes me cringe more than even Miike Takashi's `Odishon'. Okay, maybe not, but it is really disturbing. But taken with a grain of salt, the movie itself can be entertaining at times, and while clearly not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it - oh, who am I kidding? The plot, if any, was thin at best and the acting marginal. I don't know how accurate the English subs were, but if so, then the language (and ethics) of the girls rivals that of the gangsters. Mindless fun for the most part, but if terms like `Condition One Carry', `PASGT' and `Low Ready' mean anything to you, you should probably avoid this one. Just too painful.
