 |
Friday, June 2, 2006
Spy thriller can't gather intelligence
As windy and overblown as they come, Kwak Kyung-taek's spy thriller is grounded in an intriguing political backdrop of international intrigue and flavored with a distaste for the political games that keep the culture and the Korean people separated. All promising enough, but ultimately this sprawling production belongs to a uniquely Asian genre: the tough, brutally violent action epic with a tear-jerker twist.
 | MOVIE REVIEW | ||
| |||
View all photosThat twist is rooted in the prologue, in which a defecting North Korean family is denied asylum. The ensuing tragedy transforms the adorable little son into a ruthless outlaw pirate on a mission of vengeance. Twenty years later, the savage plunder of the clandestine cargo of an American ship sets his plot into play.
American-trained naval intelligence officer Kang (the generically handsome and charismatically blank Jung-Jae Lee) is on the case. He chases pirate Sin (Dong-Kun Jang, with wild eyes and a snarling smile) through a nearly incomprehensible plot from Korea to Thailand to Russia and back, and then uncharacteristically chokes up with Sin in his gun sight.
Beyond a few sentimental lines of dialogue ("In another world, I would like to be his friend"), the anemic attempt at a John Woo-esque bond of respect between cop and quarry is as plausible as Sin's master plan, a high-concept howler of a scorched-earth revenge involving radioactive dirt, weather balloons and, yes, a typhoon.
The humorless and self-important execution attempts an operatic scale but only succeeds in sinking the remnants of the story's integrity. By the time it makes landfall, this incoherent production has blown itself out.
My web site
My Yahoo!
Google
· DVDs: 'Pineapple Express'
· DVDs: 'Babylon A.D.'
· DVDs: 'Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands'
· DVD: 'Hamlet 2'
· DiCaprio and Winslet's reunion a success in 'Revolutionary Road'
· A Conversation With: Leonardo Dicaprio
· 3-D goes big time in 2009; otherwise it's business as usual
· Limited Movie Runs
· Seattle Film Events
· DVDs: 'An American Carol'
· 'Terminator' named to National Film Registry
· DVDs: 'Swingtown: The First Season'
more· Oscars 2.0: The film academy revamps its Web site
· 'Dark Knight' vies for Producers Guild best pic
· Polanski lawyer claims LA Superior Court biased
· Death certificate: Travolta son killed by seizure
· 'Marley' digs in at No. 1 spot with $24M weekend
more
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 4 million unique visitors
and 45 million page views each month.
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2009 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
