Temptation of wolves (2004) - Review

“Temptation of wolves” or “Romance of their own” is a teenage movie that was a huge success when it was first shown and catapulted its stars into stardom, especially Kang Dong Won. It is full of clichés, but I enjoyed immensely.

What is this about:

Directed by Kim Tae-kyun. Star Jo Han-sun, Kang Dong-won, Lee Chung-ah.
A young country girl Han Kyung (Lee Chung Ah) comes to Seoul after her father’s death and gets involved in a love triangle with two of the most popular guys. (Source Wikipedia)

My review:

This is a teen movie based on the internet novel written by a teenage girl. If you take that in mind, that this is not going to be an innovative movie, groundbreaking or anything, I think it is enjoyable.

The heroine, Han Kyung (Lee Chung Ah), is very standard female lead. She is plain and naïve, she comes into an unknown place, fish out of the water, she is being bullied by other girls, her so-called best friend dates her high school crush, and, yet, somehow, she gets the attention and interest of the two hottest guys. This is fanfiction, so don’t dwell on that.

Hae Won (Jo Han-sun) is the rich bad boy. These three words describe his character (or lack of) precisely. I honestly do not know what else to say, there isn’t anything, except that the actor is very charming and easy on the eyes.

Tea Sung (Kang Dong-won) is the sweet rebellious guy that tends to be more like a second lead, but not exactly. Again, there isn’t much here, just that the actor is very charming and I can understand how he became a star after this movie.

I will not say much about the story because there are twists – you can see them early on – and it is half the fan to see them unfold. The acting is …. Obviously the actors didn’t have much experience back then. Even though it seems that I am bashing it, I really enjoyed this movie. And my enjoying it relies heavily – solely – to the director. The director gave a youthful energy, a feel that these are teenagers with all their overflowing energy, even though their actions are not the ones of teenagers. From the music he chose and carefully put – very characteristic of the early ‘00s – and the grayish tones of the clothes and lightning, it shows that he put effort and paid attention to the details.

Why you should watch:

• Youthful, teenage movie.

• Nice, effective directing.

• Charming leads.

Why not to watch:

• Clichés, oh so many clichés.

• Acting could have been better, much better.

• Paper-thin characters.

• The story doesn’t make much sense, especially in the end.

Final verdict:

7/10. Probably would have rated it below 5, if not for the skilled director. This is more of a guilty pleasure, that you know don’t like it, but you enjoy it nevertheless.