Seoul Vibe

What can I say...

First off the movie is too long yet they are able to make the ending feel rushed. Draggy storyline yet filled with many loopholes. Somehow the main characters who claim to be "normal" people are able to pull off their plans with ease.

Secondly, there is too much subpar/low quality CGI that makes you wonder whether this movie is not only set in the 80s but also produced in the 80s. Too unrealistic driving CGI that even makes Fast & Furious feel legitimate. Footwork camera scenes are ridiculous.

Last but not least, the amount of promotion for the American dream/American related subjects makes this movie feel much like a propaganda. Again, it makes one wonder if this is a Korean movie or an American movie.

I'd been circling around this movie for a while, unsure whether to give it a chance, but eventually decided to go for it because of the strong cast.

I never thought I'd be writing something negative about Korean cinema, but this film is truly awful.

Who would have thought two such factors would coincide:

South Korea. I didn't expect Koreans could make such a terrible movie.

'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'. Or rather, its pale and talentless reshoot, transplanted into 1980s Korea. There's also some similarity to 'Baby Driver,' but only in a couple of minor scenes.

The creators had the fully written original script, audience feedback, and a huge database of information from almost 20 years. They could have relied on all that, but instead, they made an outright disaster.

Some might say you can't compare them due to the different budgets ($76 million vs. $15 million). But no one asked them to remake an already excellent film, and $15 million is not a small amount of money even today. The Koreans acted "smartly": they moved the events to 1988, eliminating the need for expensive cars, expensive tuning, and especially expensive special effects.

I admit, as someone who has rewatched 'Tokyo Drift' multiple times, I didn't immediately realize this was its remake. At first, I thought it was an imitation. At worst, a borrowing. But the further it went, the more I became convinced: this is a shot-for-shot remake, only worse and poorer. However, they did change and add some things of their own, since direct copying would have looked even worse. So at least they brought something good to the table.

About the actors:

Yoo Ah-in looks good on screen but appears stiff. Yes, his character is supposed to be that way, but I'm talking about the acting itself, which at times seems unconvincing and flat.

Park Ju-hyun is perhaps the brightest and most memorable thing in this film (almost like in the original. Only in the original, the most memorable thing is the cars). It's a pity she was given so little screen time and her character was completely underdeveloped. Her storyline and backstory here are completely different, and she looks better on camera than anyone else.

Graphics and sound: Everything was done on a green screen, and it's terribly obvious. The cheap special effects look like stock footage downloaded from the internet and inserted without any processing. The sound effects are equally generic and reminiscent of cheap sound libraries from old games. No cinematic depth or power.

If you've seen the original, describing the plot is pointless. The main beats are repeated here. The film's description explains everything briefly and without spoilers.

By the way, the "action" genre tag is completely irrelevant here. There is none. "Crime" - yes, but also superficial. This is not the kind of movie you might think it is or are used to watching. It's more like a parody comedy.

If we're talking about the most obvious quoting of the original, it's undoubtedly the ending. It's practically shot-for-shot, but due to the pathetic graphics and different context, it evokes not nostalgia but only a bitter smirk.

What's the main problem? The film is sharply divided into two parts. The first part is tolerable, even with a couple of nice shots. The second part is unbearable, leaving a feeling of vile disgust, as if you've watched a cheap Chinese knock-off.

Verdict: You're better off rewatching the original 'Tokyo Drift' or 'Baby Driver' twenty times. 'Seoul Drive' is a textbook example of how not to make remakes. It can only be watched out of curiosity for oddities, but be prepared to turn it off halfway through. Spare your time and nerves.

It's a crime, the way that CERTAIN US-BASED STREAMING PLATFORMS are all rushing to buy their way into Korean and Japanese markets by just green-lighting every lousy script in the local language they can get their hands on, and then producing what is basically just American television in Korean (also, Japanese). It's a crime because they are buying out the great creative powerhouse of our generation and gentrifying it -- within ten years they are going to destroy the local creative industry and replace it with Disneyland. It's like the Mission District and Williamsburg all over again. Netflix is basically the stinking sulfuric acid that dissolves culture.

This lousy turd of a Netflix production in no way resembles the flavor and genius of Korean cinema and tv drama that we know and love. Okay, we got that out of the way. But while we're at it ,it also doesn't resemble 1988 in any way shape or form - not America in 1988 never mind Seoul in 1988. I didn't bother to look at the credits, but it's 100% certain that this thing was made by first-generation Korean Americans from LA who weren't even born in 1988. So there is no nostalgia to like about it. Beyond that, it just feels surreal, how lazy you have to be to not even research the period right. In the 90s, people were making 70s period pieces that could pass... maybe it has to do with the collapse of culture from the internet, but it's just weird how far this is from portraying the "vibe" of a generation ago. Nothing like Korean cinema, nothing like 1988.

Apart from the fact that the film is rather conventional and not very original, it's atmosphere, the set up and the characters are good enough to lead you to the end.

The real dissapointement come from the chasing and racing parts. It feels too fake, too much CGI. And when it's not CGI, most of them feel too slow.

The soundtrack is quite nice.

You could have thought that with all these sponsors, they could have done better. A point that will probably irritate more than one. Especially when famous drinks explod exactly like in a commercial, this was clearly not necessary.

Worth the watching anyway.

As "Seoul Vibe" (2022 release from South Korea; 140 min) opens, it is "1988 Saudi Arabia", and two guys are driving a Jeep in the Saudi desert, delivering cases of weapons. The two guys then return home to Seoul just as the Olympics are about to open. As they are picked up at the airport, it seems they are followed by "men in black". At this point we are 10 minutes into the film.

Couple of comments: as the movie unfolds in the first half hour, this results in an easy comparison of the wanting to be the Korean version of the "Fat & Furious" franchise, and in and of itself, there is nothing wrong with that, if this version is compelling in its own right. Alas, that is where the movie falls way short. The multiple street car chases, which form the core of the movie, are okay at best. I can't help but think back to that other Korean action movie that was recently released: "Carter", Korea's version of "Mission Impossible", and a movie that absolutely blew my mind on every level. Compared to "Carte", "Seoul Vibe" is a poor third cousin once removed, if you know what I mean.

"Seoul Vibe" opened this past weekend on Netflix, and the New York Times had an interesting review on it. That was good enough for me to give it a chance. I must say, I was quite disappointed when all was said and done. Of course don't take my word for it so I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.