Yeom-Lyeok (2018)

Not entirely successful. Too many genres and especially too much comedy (a lot of seemingly funny shouting, as Onderhond aptly put it) that do the film no justice. The concept is nice and it is refreshing that this is the kind of superhero where there is no urge to save the whole world or where some big villain drops by. But on an emotional level, the film falls short; the basic storyline between father and daughter, in particular, is cloying and feels too contrived. It is atmospheric at times, though, and the film is reasonably watchable. 2.5*.

Translated from Dutch · View original

Well.

I watched it because I liked Chronicle so much, so I thought I would like this film, which has the same concept. Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite a disappointment. The director had entertained me quite a bit with Train to Busan, but this is a letdown.

The comedy is already pretty lame; I think I only smiled once. The characters range from okay to incredibly annoying. Eun-Kyung is particularly annoying—and his acting is terrible too, by the way—but the rest are also quite loud and obnoxious, which started to bore me at some point.

The father acts well, and visually the film is fine too. The superpower scenes are fun to watch, and used in a quite original way. Many genres are mixed in one film, but only the science fiction aspect is somewhat better. I would have preferred the film to be a bit grittier.

It's fine to watch like this, but it's absolutely not good. The humor is a bit too lame for that, and 100 minutes actually feels a bit too long.

Translated from Dutch · View original

I have little interest in characters who possess cartoonish powers. The clash between the residents of a redevelopment neighborhood and ruthless property developers, on the other hand, does appeal to me.

Director Yeon has brought those two premises together in this action-packed film and sprinkled it with a touch of social criticism. The result is a film that is actually quite entertaining.

Translated from Dutch · View original