Kundo

This had a great balance of action with over the top martial arts in the context of corrupt Josean Empire. It was a great story, the chapters and Westernized score gave it a Tarantino flavor like a Kill Bill morning of the 1800s. The dialogue and story also had that comedic appeal that's subtle without overshadowing the action a hard balance to attain (I've seen it in the Bond Franchise, First 3 Die Hards, and Sergio Leone Classic "The Good The Bad & The Ugly". I found it Brilliant!

Best period action movie I've seen so far. With star-studded cast, badass martial arts choreography, a pinch of comedic lines, and boy Gang Dong Won as the hottest villain of the Joseon Dynasty.

I've seen a lot of good historical action films created by South Korea, but this one is on my top list. Though too late to have noticed this, I came across this film because I read Gang Dong Won's name included in the cast list. Surprised that he played the anti-hero role, but not surprise how good he is as the main antagonist. This is the first time I'm seeing a movie where I am fixated at the villain instead of the protagonist. LOL. And I am not regretting it. How could he looks so fine while delivering his inhumane lines and killing-spree moves? Not to mention (all) his fight scenes? Honestly, I was rooting for him instead of the heroes. That's how good the Gang Dong Won is. I've watch this film for 3x and still not getting over it.

A fine historical adventure film, clearly indebted to the Robin Hood story and indeed referencing ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES quite openly at the end. It's much more humorous than I was expecting, an all-star-cast story of the corrupt Joseon nobility and the outlaws who team up to take them down. Laughs early on give way to wholesale slaughter at a later point, with the usual heavy emoting interspersed with well-staged action sequences. An effortless watch, as usual with Korean cinema.

Lemme just say first off that anytime I sit down to watch Korean cinema I have to expect the unexpected. As anyone who has watched a Korean film should know these films do not follow any particular formula like a typical hollywood film. No nice package with a nice bow here. Predictable happy ending? Look elsewhere fan. And that's why Korean cinema is so fascinating to me. Creative, engrossing, dark, and always unpredictable.

We/I might not know this one particular story of Kundo, but we have seen this underdog story before. Which is not to be held against the movie, because it does a fine job telling the story of class distinction and the "small" people rising up against oppression. You might not agree with everything happening here, but you can't fault the movie or the story for that.

The action is more than decent enough and our hero against his own will, has a great journey to undertake. Some have compared this to some of the classic Japanese movies. But even if you don't agree with that either, you only have to like the story to get into it and enjoy the movie.