Illang: The Wolf Brigade

Oh, Kim Jee-Woon, what have you done? Why? Jee-Woon's films 'I saw the Devil' and 'The Good the Bad the Weird' are among my favorite Korean films (and favorite films in general). I was very excited for this film, but what a let-down!

My first issue with the film was the running time, and how the film simply dragged at times. If they were to cut the film by at least 20 minutes, it would have been faster paced. Well, maybe a bit. The film moves at such a slow pace at times that it actually becomes boring. To add to my dismay, the characters (and actors portraying them) had very little enthusiasm. Gang Dong-won stars as Im Joong-kyung, who is the film's protagonist, but he is the most passive protagonist I've seen in a while. He was simply dull and boring.

The film also can't decide whether it wants to be a romance drama or an action thriller, and falls flat on both genres. It offered very little suspense when it should have and the action scenes felt theatrical. The sound effects were also bad and the score was bland and slow, and certainly did not enhance the action scenes.

Nothing about the film was convincing, from the plot to the characters to the dialogue. It did nothing for my senses, except maybe feeling...I felt the fast-forward button...

By the time the film resorted to full throttle action, I was beyond bored and it didn't really matter anymore. (Although the actions scenes are impressive). There's far better action thrillers around than this...Next!

This was a major flop on release in Korea.... But I found it stylish satisfying and at times genuinely scary! Perhaps not being aware of its background helped. I genuinely enjoyed it.

Failing to create any sense of intrigue about its futuristic world, The Wolf Brigade is one disappointing mess that carries bits n pieces of brilliance scattered here n there but the overall product is too weak & uninspiring to sustain the interest and leaves the viewers feeling rather indifferent in the end. An unfortunate misfire, Kim Jee-woon's latest is also his weakest film to date.

Alright, well why would Korean take on remaking "Jin Roh: Wolf Brigade"? That just eluded me.

Regardless, I found this movie on Netflix while perusing through their Asian section. Having seen the animated movie back during my late teenage years, of course I had to give a live action movie a view, without a doubt.

So how was it? Well in all honesty, I can say that it wasn't all that impressive. Sure, the visual effects and the armors were great, and there were a couple of good gun fights. But the storyline was just so mediocre that it was hard to get immersed into the movie, into the universe and into embracing the Korean remake.

The acting in the movie was fairly good, taking into consideration the horribly weak script they had to work with.

Sure, the movie was adequate for what it turned out to be, and it was entertaining for sure. I had just expected somewhat more from a live action movie based on the classic "Jin Roh: Wolf Brigade" anime. But for viewers not familiar with the 1999 anime, then I am sure this is a mighty fine and dandy movie. But for us already well familiar with the 1999 anime, not so much...

Entertaining and quite intelligent combat and action sequences throughout the movie; however, remarkably dumb reasons provided by the plot to explain the purpose of this combat. I thought all of the fighting and firefights of the movie were incredibly unique and interesting as far as movies go, the setting was also something that I enjoyed. But, it really feels as if the actions of any character become pointless, especially during the third act of the movie.