Phantom

Pure firecracker of a spectacle, lacquered in glistening big-screen gloss, augmenting old-fashioned locked-room/whodunit approach and spycraft with con temporarily savage, propulsive, female-centred action, and well-timed dashes of comic relief. As far as styled-to-the-hilt historical pulp goes, a tremendously satisfying time. It's 1933 and Korea is occupied by Japan.

They are in the process of inaugurating a Japanese Governor.

There is a small organized Korean resistance group called the BLackout. It's members are called ghosts.

Their aim is to kick Japan out and assassinate the new Governor.

They have infiltrated the local government, the bravest of them being women.

After a failed assassination attempt, 5 members of the local government are taken to a remote castle to be interrogated by the Japanese.

They are suspected of being ghosts.

Among them is a vain Japanese police captain whose mother was Korean, making him a suspect.

It is in this castle that the carnage begins and eventually spreads.

Two dedicated Korean women prove to be invincible.

The cinematography is excellent as is the non-stop tempo and fight choreography.

The music was atmospheric and reflective of the time and the costume design was authentic.

I found the acting ensemble of Lee Hanee, Park So-Dam, Sol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo to be excellent.

For Korean movie lovers this spy action thriller is an enjoyable ride that should not be missed.

Beware: this movie starts out quite slow and uneventful during the first hour, in which there is a puzzle to be solved WHO is the spy. In the second hour though all hell breaks loose with lots a fierce drama and riveting action with a blisteringly mesmirising final, so please have some patience, you will be rewarded.

The story is quite simple, although it looks quite complicated at the starts, but it boils down to an interrogation of a group of suspected spies, of whom only 1 is the real spy. That is the first hour. The second hour is basically one long action packed drama, with riveting shootouts and fights and a few nasty torture scenes.

One heck of a solid spy drama the Koreans are masters at! Really good acting performances, beautiful photography and sound, solid direction and a fascinating storyline. What more could I wish for...!

"What a disappointment! You might be drawn to the actors of this movie at first, but over time, you discover how weak and poorly woven the story is. Despite enjoying Korean movies and having watched many of them, this film was an exception. The characters representing the Korean resistance were so provocative that it made you sympathize with the enemies. This, of course, is due to the poor story and direction. The Japanese soldiers acted extremely foolishly and without any justifications, giving the protagonists a chance to defeat them in a simplistic and poorly constructed way. There were many situations in the film that were dull, unexplained, provocative, and disrespectful to the viewer's intelligence. Unfortunately, despite the good performances by the actors, the overall work didn't meet the expected standard. The only impressive thing was the cinematography.