I went to this movie knowing nothing except that it was described as “kimchi western”. I wanted something different and if it resembled anything to the original classic, then I would definitely have a great time. And I did.
What is his about:
Directed by Kim Jae Woon. Star Lee Byunng Hun, Song Kang Ho, Jung Woo Sung). In the desert of Manchuria in 1939, a bandit, Park Chang Yi (Lee Byung Hun), is hired to retrieve a treasure map from a Japanese officer traveling by train. Meanwhile a thief, Yoon Tae Goo (Song Kang Ho), steals the map and a bounty hunter, Park Do Won (Jung Woo Sung), is hired by the independence army to capture Park Chang Yi and take the map.
My review:
I have rarely been so pleasantly surprised by a movie. Usually I have this intuition that I’ll like this movie or I won’t like it as much, and most of the times I prove myself right. Here I was more neutral, I had no idea what to expect, so my enjoyment was enhanced by how surprised I was to like it. It had humor, it had excitement, it had thrills, it had twists. I think it got me in the first minutes, when the Spanish guitar starting playing.
It ain't a western if there isn't a train in the middle of the desert with a hawk looming over it.
The direction is very sleek and very stylish. The film pays homage and gets its inspiration from the great classic “The good, the bad and the ugly”, but the director gives it a unique character. One moment we have classic western scenes, with the train speeding through a desert, the horse chase, and then we have something completely different, like rice cakes and Korean ghost markets. This is what worked so well for me, that I didn’t focus too much on the similarities, but enjoyed them in combination with characteristically Korean scenes.
The actors obviously enjoyed their roles, not only the three leads, but also the side characters. There is so much fun energy coming from their acting, you can’t help but enjoy their acting. The Weird is the funniest of them all. His face expressions are worth the movie. The Good gave a bit of Clint Eastwood vibes – probably that was the intention. And the Bad doesn’t need anyone to tell us who he is, the bad boy haircut says it all.
The Good
The Bad
And the Weird
And, of course, I have to comment the excellent stunt work and the beautiful choreography of the action sequences. The work done here is amazing, both from the actors and the stunt men. The fight scenes occasionally reminded me of comic books, maybe because they were so stylish and sleek.
But, for me, the best thing was the music. It made everything so much funnier and exciting, it gave rhythm and tempo. The soundtrack had various influences, from the Spanish guitar themes giving homage to spaghetti western, to traditional Korean and Chinese music. And somehow all this blended together, quite well. The stand out scene was toward the end when a Manchurian group of bandits, the Bad’s group of bandits, the Japanese army and the Good chase the map and the song “Please don’t let me be misunderstood” from “Kill Bill” plays on the background, you can’t get more epic than this.
However, I understand why this movie wouldn’t appeal to everyone. The combination of western and Korean chase movie might rub some people on the wrong side, with all the different and, perhaps, opposite elements cramped together. Also, the story is not the core the movie, in fact I don’t think it had all that much dialogue, the main focus is the action, so someone could get bored. Last but not least, this is not a masterpiece like the original.
Why you should watch:
Humor, action (lots of it), excitement, twist – everything you could ever hope from an adventure.
A fresh homage to a classic movie.
Great performances from all the actors.
Sleek and stylish is the name of the director.
The soundtrack is one of the highlights.
Why not to watch:
If action is not your genre.
The fusion of spaghetti western and Korean chase movie might seem odd.
It has lots of violence.
Final verdict:
9.5/10. Amazing and utterly enjoyable adventure
movie. Highly recommended. And, do watch the trailer, it is one of the
rare cases where the trailer is actually accurate to what the movie is
like.
Directed by Kim Jae Woon. Star Lee Byunng Hun, Song Kang Ho, Jung Woo Sung). In the desert of Manchuria in 1939, a bandit, Park Chang Yi (Lee Byung Hun), is hired to retrieve a treasure map from a Japanese officer traveling by train. Meanwhile a thief, Yoon Tae Goo (Song Kang Ho), steals the map and a bounty hunter, Park Do Won (Jung Woo Sung), is hired by the independence army to capture Park Chang Yi and take the map.
The actors obviously enjoyed their roles, not only the three leads, but also the side characters. There is so much fun energy coming from their acting, you can’t help but enjoy their acting. The Weird is the funniest of them all. His face expressions are worth the movie. The Good gave a bit of Clint Eastwood vibes – probably that was the intention. And the Bad doesn’t need anyone to tell us who he is, the bad boy haircut says it all. 
But, for me, the best thing was the music. It made everything so much funnier and exciting, it gave rhythm and tempo. The soundtrack had various influences, from the Spanish guitar themes giving homage to spaghetti western, to traditional Korean and Chinese music. And somehow all this blended together, quite well. The stand out scene was toward the end when a Manchurian group of bandits, the Bad’s group of bandits, the Japanese army and the Good chase the map and the song “Please don’t let me be misunderstood” from “Kill Bill” plays on the background, you can’t get more epic than this.
However, I understand why this movie wouldn’t appeal to everyone. The combination of western and Korean chase movie might rub some people on the wrong side, with all the different and, perhaps, opposite elements cramped together. Also, the story is not the core the movie, in fact I don’t think it had all that much dialogue, the main focus is the action, so someone could get bored. Last but not least, this is not a masterpiece like the original. 
Directed by Kim Jae Woon. Star Lee Byunng Hun, Song Kang Ho, Jung Woo Sung). In the desert of Manchuria in 1939, a bandit, Park Chang Yi (Lee Byung Hun), is hired to retrieve a treasure map from a Japanese officer traveling by train. Meanwhile a thief, Yoon Tae Goo (Song Kang Ho), steals the map and a bounty hunter, Park Do Won (Jung Woo Sung), is hired by the independence army to capture Park Chang Yi and take the map.
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