Tag: North Korea

ESCAPE – Review

A scene from the South Korean action thriller ESCAPE. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

Recently, I’ve found a slew of Korean action flicks to be quite impressive, particularly for outstanding stuntwork and effects. Most have been contemporary crime-themed offerings. ESCAPE, despite its potentially action-heavy title, goes in another direction – longer on political propaganda. Still quite effective.

The protagonist is a sergeant in the North Korean army (Lee Je-hoon) in a unit patrolling the southern border with you-know-who. The area is riddled with land mines to deter deserters and defectors. He forms an elaborate plan to defect, including painstakingly mapping all the mines he’ll have to avoid when the time comes. Steve McQueen’s characters from PAPILLON and THE GREAT ESCAPE would both admire his level of preparation. His goal gets complicated when discovered by one of his men (Hong Xa-bin), who insists on going with him under threat of exposure. Any thwarted attempt would promptly be rewarded by execution, so the die is cast.

A greater obstacle arrives in the form of a smug, sadistic officer (Koo Kyo-hwan) in charge of enforcing discipline and managing political spin, when needed, to protect the image of the nation and its troops.  The two antagonists have an interesting backstory. The officer comes from a wealthy family for whom the sergeant’s family was employed, resulting in an uneven friendship of sorts in their youth. Surprising degrees of class difference emerge from a supposedly egalitarian Communist society, as the rich kid could have become a concert pianist, while the underling had few options among menial careers, despite his intellect and talents.

The mere fact of needing such extreme measures to keep its citizens and soldiers within its borders would be damning enough. But we also get plenty of elements that make the purported equality of the system look like a cynical lie. Privilege is not distributed equally or fairly. Intriguingly, despite the obvious agenda of demonizing the North, it wouldn’t take many script changes to flip the script and make it something the Supreme Leader would allow to be shown on his turf. I wonder if they shot some alternate scenes to go for that cash grab?

Most importantly, director Lee Jong-pil manages to pack considerable action, suspense and character conflict into his production. Koo Kyo-hwan is fleshed out as a surprisingly complex villain, even evoking a dollop of empathy beneath his overarching cruelty. The sergeant’s persona surprises with quick thinking and creativity on top of his stellar leadership and soldiering skills. The package delivers on action and entertainment irrespective of its polemic purpose.

ESCAPE, in Korean with English subtitles, debuts streaming on Well Go USA Entertainment on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

RED DAWN – The Review

If you’re anything like me, the first thought in your head when you heard about the remake of the 1984 classic RED DAWN was to shrug it off thinking “whatever.” Then, as the film is completed and nearing release, we hear that instead of being invaded by the Russians like the original — which is entirely understandable — or, as a way to update the story, invaded by the Chinese, which was the original plan, it turns out we’re being invaded by North Korea. Exactly. My first thought was… [scoff] “Yeah, right. How does that work?”

[Biting my tongue…] As it turns out, it works rather well. Surprised? I am. RED DAWN (2012) is, structurally, more or less loosely the same film as the 1984 original. I mean, when it comes down to brass tacks, both films are about the U.S. being caught off guard by a surprise invasion from a Communist enemy, occupied, then ultimately saved by a band of unlikely heroes. The difference is in the details. Instead of the Soviet Union, we’re invaded by North Korea… but, with some help from a couple of all-too-familiar [and previously mentioned] forces with a common goal. Nonetheless, the U.S. initially gets its ass handed to them, making the struggle to fight back all the more exciting.

Dan Bradley directs this modern retelling of the Cold War classic. Bradley is a stunt man with an extensive resume, stepping behind the camera as director for the first time. Its my theory that his time spent throwing punches, dodging bullets and taking falls are a significant factor in establishing the kind of realistic, modestly-paced action we get in RED DAWN. The film opens on a local high school football game, featuring the hometown Wolverines — from which the soon-to-be-realized American rebels get their name — and sets up the character profile for one of our two main heroes.

Josh Peck (THE WACKNESS) plays the star high school quarterback with an attitude, Matt Eckert, who must overcome his own selfishness and realize that in order to survive — ironically — he must learn to be a team player. Chris Hemsworth (THOR, THE AVENGERS) plays Matt’s older brother Jed, the more responsible of the two and a Marine on leave. Isabel Lucas (IMMORTALS) plays Erica, Matt’s sweetheart who is both the driving force for Matt’s fight against the invaders and the potential undoing of their small band of freedom fighters.

RED DAWN spends just enough time introducing characters and setting up back story, then throws the viewer head first into the invasion. The title of the film is no random choice, as the Communist, or “Red” invaders parachute from a legion of bombers into the Pacific Northwest. In our case, we witness what unfolds in Spokane, Washington as Matt and Jed wake to find North Korean soldiers have quickly taken control of their town, complete with fully armed soldiers, military vehicles and a barrage of exploding houses throughout the neighborhood. What little CGI is visibly present in this film, appears during the initial takeover, but is done so with a sense of holding back, not to exceed any suspension of disbelief, but actually causes a noticeable sense of dread and patriotism in the viewer.

As the viewer becomes attached to certain characters and distrustful of others, the film leads us through this devastating turn of events without ever sensationalizing them. RED DAWN is a violent, sometimes graphic film, but is never gratuitous. The characters are written in a way that we care about them, we want to see them succeed, even the ones who clearly have their priorities skewed. Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, and Connor Cruise round out the primary cast, forming the core of the rebel Fighters known as the Wolverines. Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes a welcome casting addition as Col. Andy Tanner, a Marine pulled out of retirement in the latter half of the film.

At one point, RED DAWN actually pokes fun at itself, but does so innocently by allowing Matt to reveal how ignorant he is to the current state of world affairs. Despite the opening title sequence revealing a well-crafted and much appreciated montage of world news broadcasts and the like, Matt fails to grasp the scope of events leading up to the North Korean invasion when he asks “How is that possible?” This all becomes clear, not only for Matt, but for an otherwise potentially skeptical audience. In fact, the premise of this remake is perhaps even more realistic and terrifying than that of the 1984 original.

Unlike so many films that shove a sort of uber-patriotism down our throats, RED DAWN delivers an easily digestible dose of patriotic storytelling that pleases the pallet, while still succeeding and it’s primary goal of entertaining the audience. RED DAWN offers a strong story, but one that’s not overly complicated; a satisfying portion of realistic action that never goes over-the-top; and a decent helping of relationship side story to please the female perspective without overwhelming the rest of the film.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

RED DAWN opens nationwide in theaters on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012.

RED DAWN (2012) – Fantastic Fest Review

If you’re anything like me, the first thought in your head when you heard about the remake of the 1984 classic RED DAWN was to shrug it off thinking “whatever.” Then, as the film is completed and nearing release, we hear that instead of being invaded by the Russians like the original — which is entirely understandable — or, as a way to update the story, invaded by the Chinese, which was the original plan, it turns out we’re being invaded by North Korea. Exactly. My first thought was… [scoff] “Yeah, right. How does that work?”

[Biting my tongue…] As it turns out, it works rather well. Surprised? I am. RED DAWN (2012) is, structurally, more or less loosely the same film as the 1984 original. I mean, when it comes down to brass tacks, both films are about the U.S. being caught off guard by a surprise invasion from a Communist enemy, occupied, then ultimately saved by a band of unlikely heroes. The difference is in the details. Instead of the Soviet Union, we’re invaded by North Korea… but, with some help from a couple of all-too-familiar [and previously mentioned] forces with a common goal. Nonetheless, the U.S. initially gets its ass handed to them, making the struggle to fight back all the more exciting.

Dan Bradley directs this modern retelling of the Cold War classic. Bradley is a stunt man with an extensive resume, stepping behind the camera as director for the first time. Its my theory that his time spent throwing punches, dodging bullets and taking falls are a significant factor in establishing the kind of realistic, modestly-paced action we get in RED DAWN. The film opens on a local high school football game, featuring the hometown Wolverines — from which the soon-to-be-realized American rebels get their name — and sets up the character profile for one of our two main heroes.

Josh Peck (THE WACKNESS) plays the star high school quarterback with an attitude, Matt Eckert, who must overcome his own selfishness and realize that in order to survive — ironically — he must learn to be a team player. Chris Hemsworth (THOR, THE AVENGERS) plays Matt’s older brother Jed, the more responsible of the two and a Marine on leave. Isabel Lucas (IMMORTALS) plays Erica, Matt’s sweetheart who is both the driving force for Matt’s fight against the invaders and the potential undoing of their small band of freedom fighters.

RED DAWN spends just enough time introducing characters and setting up back story, then throws the viewer head first into the invasion. The title of the film is no random choice, as the Communist, or “Red” invaders parachute from a legion of bombers into the Pacific Northwest. In our case, we witness what unfolds in Spokane, Washington as Matt and Jed wake to find North Korean soldiers have quickly taken control of their town, complete with fully armed soldiers, military vehicles and a barrage of exploding houses throughout the neighborhood. What little CGI is visibly present in this film, appears during the initial takeover, but is done so with a sense of holding back, not to exceed any suspension of disbelief, but actually causes a noticeable sense of dread and patriotism in the viewer.

As the viewer becomes attached to certain characters and distrustful of others, the film leads us through this devastating turn of events without ever sensationalizing them. RED DAWN is a violent, sometimes graphic film, but is never gratuitous. The characters are written in a way that we care about them, we want to see them succeed, even the ones who clearly have their priorities skewed. Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, and Connor Cruise round out the primary cast, forming the core of the rebel Fighters known as the Wolverines. Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes a welcome casting addition as Col. Andy Tanner, a Marine pulled out of retirement in the latter half of the film.

At one point, RED DAWN actually pokes fun at itself, but does so innocently by allowing Matt to reveal how ignorant he is to the current state of world affairs. Despite the opening title sequence revealing a well-crafted and much appreciated montage of world news broadcasts and the like, Matt fails to grasp the scope of events leading up to the North Korean invasion when he asks “How is that possible?” This all becomes clear, not only for Matt, but for an otherwise potentially skeptical audience. In fact, the premise of this remake is perhaps even more realistic and terrifying than that of the 1984 original.

Unlike so many films that shove a sort of uber-patriotism down our throats, RED DAWN delivers an easily digestible dose of patriotic storytelling that pleases the pallet, while still succeeding and it’s primary goal of entertaining the audience. RED DAWN offers a strong story, but one that’s not overly complicated; a satisfying portion of realistic action that never goes over-the-top; and a decent helping of relationship side story to please the female perspective without overwhelming the rest of the film.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

RED DAWN opens nationwide in theaters on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012.